001 ~ ୧☉□☉୨ ~ Exploring

[thegreatninja]

Who; Yuffie Kisaragi and her victims~! aka you!!!
What; Exploring the City & getting into trouble.
Where; Market, Arena & Docks.
When; 07/06 - 07/09
Warnings; None


The sun dropped below the horizon and the soft orange glow of dusk was soon to fade into the darkening sky of night. The stars had yet to wink into existence as the young ninja princess made her way from the red building to the nearby roofs of the grand ballroom, heading towards the noble district that laid on its opposite side. She had gotten a rough idea of the city's layout over the last few days but planned to gather information on locations of interest.

Her top clung to her skin as the humidity of the day ebbed and chilled. It wasn't cool but the heat wasn't so unbearable that Yuffie couldn't pull a hood over her short dark hair. Accompanying the splashes of black was a pair of tan khaki shorts and knee-high travel boots that somehow kept their grip on the smooth tile she stood on. Dark eyes scanned the horizon and streets before making a running leap from the roof of the grand ballroom to the district that lead her towards the area.

She's heard a bit about the Arena from eavesdropping on the general populace but it didn't tell her what she wanted to know. Was it a cruel sport or was it the entertainment that it appeared to be? Did they have Phenix Downs or potions for those who took damage? If they did, they probably had some to spare. After all, this was a dangerous new town and she needed some insurance so that she could heal herself if she got into trouble.

After the attempted theft at the Arena, Yuffie circled back towards the market. It appeared as if there were primarily stalls set up during the day but some of the shops looked to be open late into the evening. It appeared as if many of those shops were located closer to the taverns and other establishments where people got wasted.

Over the next few days, Yuffie split her time between the market and exploring the shadier side of the docks. She asked to work part-time at a few places but quickly thought better of it when she noticed the prevalence of the city guard. They appeared to take their job very seriously and probably didn't put up with her type of misconduct. Even so, Yuffie found it difficult not to pocket items that looked interesting. She didn't think it was bad, after all, they gave them money, so things here were already weird and didn't make sense. Maybe nothing was really worth anything or why else would they gift them money for free. So this was probably fine.

Her adventures at the dock were a bit more exciting. Not only did she kick some guy's asses who had thought to corner and steal from her but she stole from them in return. It was a shame they didn't have anything more interesting on them, if they had she might not have also stolen their paints. Any useless items that Yuffie stole would be dumped into the water but the valuables were kept in the various bags and pockets on her. The key was to have too many pockets for a pick-pocketer to think of you as an easy target. Naturally, Yuffie was anything but an easy target.

After some time of exploring she found a dock that didn't look like it was falling apart and sat at its end. Her eyes stared down at the wildlife that filled the water and she wondered if a lot of the food here was like the food from Wutai. It was also fairly close to the coast and the river that ran through the country brought enough fish inland to supply the small country. The thought made her miss home as a sudden pang of distress ached in her chest.

It was stupid but it was quiet moments that reminded Yuffie of everything that she'd left behind... everything that she was fighting for.

It annoyed the shit out of her.

[ooc: feel free to find her anywhere that's listed in the prompt, doing things illegally or otherwise. I am honestly open to anything and playing it out. Of course, if she gets caught she'll give the items back and I am totally open to community service or some form of punishment. Hit me up :D]

Comments

The Docks

[skyward_eyes]

It wasn't often Nida came out here in the evenings. But sometimes work demanded, and there had been rumors. Rumors of a new thief working over parts of the town, one the other guards were having a bit more trouble with than normal. And Nida? Well, he was known to be a bit better at handling those out of the common cases than other people were. It came, mostly, from the fact that he'd once worked as a spy (among other things) back home.

Still, it took him a few days to follow all the rumors and whispers to find that the target had moved toward the docks it seemed. And here, one evening, he found a young woman sitting along at the dock. One who, from how she looked and dressed, probably wasn't a native.

And Nida, well, for now he was happy he hadn't shown up in his guard gear. If this really was a newer arrival, he owed it to them to talk first, before acting in his duties.

"It's a good view from here, right?" he asked as he strode slowly down the dock toward the sitting figure.

The Docks

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie remained seated, only her eyes moving to catch sight of the man who was walking towards her. She didn't know if she wanted company or what brought this guy to the fairly empty docks but she wasn't going to automatically dismiss him. There was always something to be gained from interacting with others.

"If you like ominous mist in the distance... sure." Her tone was soft and heavily sarcastic.

When he got closer her body shifted so that she'd be able to stand should this stranger attack. Yuffie didn't do well around strange people in strange places. "What brings you here?"

[skyward_eyes]

"I mean, I'm not against ominous mist if it helps make a good atmosphere," he suggested as he moved to stop. He didn't want to get too close, better not to upset her.

"I'm looking for you, if I'm honest."

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie's mouth tugged into a frown before looking back out over the water. She had been wondering if she could find a way to escape but their captors were thorough. They were firmly stuck here.

"Me?" Her eyebrow rose as she turned to face him instead of the water. "What are you looking for me for? I don't know you." Or at least she didn't think she knew him. After running into Leon she wasn't so sure what to trust anymore.

This place was weird.

[skyward_eyes]

"No, you don't," he agreed, sighing. "But see... The guards have heard about you."

It's a thing he has to say, and he hates to think that this will be so bad. She might run. And then he'd have to chase.

[monochromatically]

Yuffie had a small, very good stalker that day. Someone had taken note of the new face in the city (he always did, after all) and slipped back into his habit of following the newcomer till he could get a decent read on what kind of person they may be. After all, one of these times, the boy was sure this world was going to bring in someone who was worthy of being wary of. More than just the general, unfounded anxiety he got around the excessively tall people that were here (who were all great people, even with his discomfort).

And when your survival banked on not being noticed by adults with the sharp senses of a predator? It meant you were really good at being a quiet little shadow, only noted sometimes off the corner of one’s vision once in a while when he got a little too eager or close (it had been a while since the boy was in his world, after all).

This new face, though? She was kinda weird, in Mono’s opinion. She seemed to just be taking stuff from people at random, and pocketing it without the person having any knowledge that something had been taken from their person! Why was she doing that? Didn’t she know she could get her own stuff at the market? Or was it stuff she couldn’t afford to get that she needed? Mono could understand that if it was food… But it wasn’t food she was taking, now was it?

Given there was safety in being up high, and he was getting very good at moving around ledges of buildings and rooftops thanks to Nida’s training, Mono had largely been following that way. He was sure certain people would be vaguely concerned by the sight… But Mono was comfortable by this point, and he was too caught up in his curiosity. So as the woman stopped after… who knew what number of encounters? To check her pockets, he figured, Mono sat down on the ledge and tilted his head slightly at her. She didn’t seem dangerous, aside from her very sticky fingers. “Why’re you taking so much stuff from people?” He finally asked, brim of his newsboy cap pulled low over his dark eyes. His question was out of the blue, quick, and to the point.

And pretty obviously non-threatening, despite the slight eeriness of his sudden reveal in general.

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie moved swiftly and often jumped from roof top to roof top once she was done exploring a certain area of the city or if she got incredibly bored. It was in this way that she slowly mapped out the city and got a taste of the environment that she was brought to.

As for the steeling...

"Mm?" She met Mono's gaze before offering him a noncommittal shrug. "What is it worth? If they give us money then nothing is worth anything here. So why not? Isn't it cheaper this way?" It was partly because Yuffie found some things interesting and wanted to take a closer look at them but they were rarely valuable. It wasn't like she needed money here. However it made her curious. Would people be pissed off? Was there a police force here? Was it as corrupt as ShinRa? In a sense, it was a social experiment.

Yuffie glanced at a nearby cart and used it to vault herself up to the roof where Mono was hiding. She landed gracefully on the ledge and grinned at him. "What do you think?"

[monochromatically]

Yeah, this lady was definitely new. Even if he had already figured it out, that alone kinda cemented it for the boy. “Yeah, they put money in your bag when you get here, but they don’t give you much after that. I needed help to buy stuff, like my music box.” And people kept helping him out until he could figure out stuff like getting a job. “You gotta get jobs to make money around here. I carry messages for people, that way I could buy stuff when I needed it. I don’t think I’d be very happy if people stole stuff from me, especially since some stuff isn’t from here. Like my hats, I didn’t buy them here. I found em back in my world.” The child responded, very seriously, with a hint of confusion in his voice.

Confusion over the whole stealing thing aside, the boy’s mouth popped open wide with her acrobatic display. That was very cool! “Wow!” Popped out, not really loud considering Mono’s voice tended towards more quiet and whispery, but louder than he usually was. “That was really cool! Kinda like the stuff Nida does sometimes!” But Mono wasn’t that good at stuff yet, so he wasn’t quite ready to learn until his teacher thought he was ready.

[thegreatninja]

"Is that so?" She hadn't known that she wouldn't get more money. It made her feel a little worse for stealing random people's things but then it was all a part of her plan. The best way to figure out what the rules were were to break them. She'd give the stolen items back... if she remembered who she stole them from.

Yuffie didn't always pay attention to who she stole from.

"Nida? Someone, you know?" She'd have to keep an eye out for that guy since he probably had the same thoughts as this kid did. "Anyway. I won't steal your hats." Yuffie had stolen things that she assumed could be replaced. She'd snagged a few buttons that looked cool but no hats or anything like that.

[monochromatically]

“Yeah, otherwise I don’t think anyone would get jobs and stuff. Unless they really liked what they were doing, I guess.” He responded with a mostly certain nod. Mono liked helping people by carrying messages and stuff, but even he was pretty sure he’d rather be spending time with his friends here and learning new stuff instead of working if he had the choice. It would mean less old ladies cooing at how cute he was and trying to pinch his cheeks!

Mono nodded though, managing one of his clumsy smiles that he was starting to get a little better at. “Uh-huh! He’s really cool, and he’s teaching me to climb better and stuff. He said he was gonna teach me how to do cool stuff like that too, and I live with him and his husband.” It was just that he had to get a little better at everything else first, because the adults were trying to make sure he knew how to do things the safe way… Even if that meant waiting to try the fun looking stuff out. “Thanks, I spent a lot of time looking for them and I haven’t seen one’s like them here either.” He responded with a relieved tone. Some of them had been pretty challenging to get!

Finally, he decided he relaxed a bit on the stealing thing now that she knew more about how the world worked. “So… What’s your name, thief lady?”

TDM Continue:

[thegreatninja]

Continue from Here.

Yeah! Lets do that!

[Yuffie is a live in the now kind of person.]

Cloud! Is he grumping all over this city too? Cool. I'll have to pop in and say hi. [In the most obnoxious way possible.]

I'm sorry I lost this

[cetrary]

He is. Is there any other way for him to be? [ Grumping is basically his favorite pastime. The sport he's best at. ] A friend of mine here said he was afraid Cloud's face might freeze in his mopey frown.

<3

[thegreatninja]

[Yuffie burst into laughter.]

That would be so funny! He'd look like an angry pineapple all the time. You'd think he'd be happy being away from Gaia for a bit. [She'll ask him later.]

I'm close to the market district. Your flower shop should be somewhere around here.

[cetrary]

I'll go outside and see if you can see me!

[ And she immediately does just that. Complete with the standing outside her shop and waving to draw attention to herself. ]

[thegreatninja]

[Yuffie spots Aerith easily and comes jogging over while shoving the communication device into her pocket. She doesn't stop running towards Aerith either, not until her arms are forcefully wrapped around the other girl's shoulders.]

AH! It's really you! I don't care if you don't know me!!

[She's too happy to care. They can just create more memories here and be friends again.]

TDM Continue:

[thegreatninja]

Continue from here.

"Of course I know them." She looked back at Leon like he was crazy. "And Tifa and Vincent and all the others. How do you know them?" This was making less and less sense.

It was starting to give her a headache.

"Whatever. Looks like there is nothing here. probably a ghost or something." Because ghosts were totally normal.

Yuffie straightened and walked away from the roof edge to take a look at this weird stranger who knew her. She stopped in front of him and then walked around him like a hawk. "I think I'd remember someone as cute as you."

[heartofalion]

"I know Tifa." Leon replied with a nod at the name. "Cloud knows her." To him she'd come in kicking walls and scaring the crap out of Sora, Goofy and Donald while looking for the blonde swordsman.

Vincent was a name he didn't know.

But then he had to shrug. "I'm sure if you keep looking for trouble, you're going to find it eventually." This was typical Yuffie, and it was more in keeping in sync with the girl he knew back home.

Leon sighed and pretended her walking around him didn't bother him, but it irked him. However, that wasn't a thing that she was going to find out. And only after she gave him the 'cute' thing did he bother to look at her.

Aerith had said that Yuffie had a crush on him back home but he brushed it off as inconsequential. Apparently this 'version' of her had the same taste if it could even be called that.

"I'll keep that in mind."

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie knew that what she was doing was annoying. That was part of the reason she had decided to do it. After all, he knew all this stuff about her and her friends but she'd never met him before. It only seemed fair that they were both annoyed at the current situation.

"Good." She spoke simply before taking a small step back, returning Leon's personal space. "So. I think I should clear the record. I'm not looking for trouble." At least at the moment. "I'm testing some stuff."

Yuffie shrugged. "I don't know enough about this world not to check it out. Don't ya think so too?"

[heartofalion]

"You don't have to look for trouble, because it'll find you." That much he knew from experience, or at least with another version of her or whatever the hell was going on.

Grey blue eyes slid over to the ninja at her comment about checking it out. "Nothing wrong with checking a world out." So said the man who drove Gummi ships to help people out when their worlds were being invaded by the Heartless. And somehow that had attracted the attention of the king.

"But being careful while doing it is something to keep in mind."

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "That is not always the case." She grumbled. "Okay maybe like half the time but I'm not looking for trouble." Yuffie never looked for trouble on purpose but she caused trouble.

"I was careful. I noticed you didn't I?"

She eyed where he'd been sitting and then realized something strange. "What on Gaia were you doing up here anyway?"

docks

[neurotoxicity]

Vampires, like more Inderland races, were mostly nocturnal. A living vampire like Ivy didn't have the problems with the sun that an undead did, but somehow they'd still developed a distinct preference for when the sun began to go down. Despite her time here that preference hadn't faded away. It just came more naturally to her, especially when she was in the mood to hunt.

That mood was what had her out wandering the docks just as the sun was setting. She'd headed to the seedier side of things, a place where people might be too drunk to think twice about letting someone bite into them. Back home if she'd wanted something like this she might have chosen a club, but here? There weren't such easy options and she struggled more than she wanted to admit to people. It wasn't a good system but she hadn't killed anyone. That was something, right? At least that was what she told herself. There were a lot of things she had to tell herself to make herself feel less pathetic and messed up over the entire thing.

At least she fit the part, dressed in black leather pants, a black shirt with long mesh sleeves, and boots that looked like they were made for kicking doors in. Her long black hair hid part of her face as she let out a sigh. It was all set to be a great night of brooding, until it was rudely interrupted by an attempted theft. She'd caught the scent of someone before she actually felt them reaching. Ivy reached a quick hand out to try to grab the would be thief by the wrist, pupils dilating to make her eyes appear almost completely black.

"Can I help you?"

docks

[thegreatninja]

Yuffie was surprised when her thief had gone noticed. She was certain that she hadn't made a sound but then she knew that there were those like the SOLDIERS in the city and they were always harder to steal from. It didn't bother her. It just gave her a bit of a fun challenge to overcome.

"You could let go of my wrist." She replied simply while trying to dislodge her wrist from Ivy's grasp. Yuffie was fast and lethal in her own way but she wasn't incredibly strong. She'd lose an arm wrestling competition against Cloud if she'd ever been given the chance to do such a ridiculous thing.

"Or you can keep staring at me all creepily. I'm open to options."

[neurotoxicity]

"I could. As long as you keep it where it belongs." She did let Yuffie's wrist go but continued to stare at her in the exact same creepy way. Not that she's aware of the fact that it's creepy. But then again Ivy often wasn't particularly aware of how creepy she could be.

"What were you trying to do?"

[thegreatninja]

"Yeah yeah." Yuffie grinned, not at all bothered by being caught. "I'll keep my fingers to myself..." She paused thoughtfully. "Unless asked." It was unclear if Yuffie was trying to be suggestive or not since she looked serious.

"I was testing something. Looks like you caught on. Did you know that you're the first? People here are weird or just really bad at noticing stuff. Don't you think there is something wrong with that?"

[neurotoxicity]

"Bit too young for that," she said with a twitch of her lips. At least she looked young, but sometimes that didn't matter. Ceri looked young but was even older than Ivy but a considerable amount.

"There's a lot wrong with this place," she rolled a shoulder in a shrug. "Most of the locals suck at noticing things. Weirdest part is when things change and they act like it's always been this way."