its_rose_damnit | Twenty Rose Petals Fall

[It's never simple with the Malnosso. Never. You give, they take, it's common knowledge around these parts now. Expecting anything less is just asking for trouble. Perhaps that's why Dist happened to return from his mission in the midst of an experiment. Or maybe his luck really is as poor as he complains about. Take your pick.

Regardless, instead of a man casually returning to the village, a young and very nervous young boy is stuck wandering around the square. He...knows this place. He remembers it. The name isn't ringing any bells right away, but Saphir knows he's been here before, long ago. And he also remembers two very important things about his sudden surroundings:

The Professor is here, and there should be a book - a book he can talk into.

In no time, Saphir locates his journal and hesitantly opens it up. He fiddles with it and - due to his skill with mechanics - figures out how to turn on the audio as well as make a filter. He doesn't understand, though, when the filter breaks, and just talks regularly into the strange and fascinating little book.]

P-Professor? ...Professor Nebilim, are you here? I-I think...I'm lost...a-again. [He ducks his head, somewhat ashamed, and on the verge of a meltdown.] Can you come get me? I'm...I-I see the fountain. I can wait there. P-Please hurry...

[There's a lot of really weird stuff wandering around right now. Halp. ;A;]

[OOC: So Dist here is now chibified! Replies will come from

minifontaku!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Or the Malnosso are just their usual, experiment happy, jerky selves. Y'know, the usual.

Though Saphir still jumps a little bit at the voice, it's considerably less than he might have if it were an adult. Pao-Lin's tone helps matters as well, and her smile is also comforting and reassuring. She looks a little older than him, by maybe five, seven years? He can, m-maybe, trust her. The Professor was taking a long time to respond. Maybe she was working? He did remember there being a school here, somewhere...]

I-I'm not hurt... I just--I'm looking for the Professor, um. Gelda Nebilim. If there's a school nearby here, she would be there! She's my teacher!

[Gelda Nebilim...she's heard the name a few times, but she doesn't think she's ever met the woman. But Pao-Lin knows where the school is.]

I can take you to the school to look for her, then, if you want.

Really?! Y-You'll really take me there?

[Saphir sounds both amazed, excited, and elated. He's never really had anyone outside the Professor and Nephry be really nice to him, so this is a more than pleasant surprise. He gets up, and moves a little closer to Pao-Lin, his nerves all but gone completely.]

[She smiles reassuringly.] Yeah, sure! It's no big deal. I'm Pao-Lin -- what's your name?

Saphir. My name is Saphir. [He starts to smile, too, a little timidly, but it's a start.] Thanks for taking me to the Professor!

Like I said, it's no problem. How long have you been in Luceti for?

Um, I...I think it was only a little bit. There was still snow around then, so it really looked like Keterburg, and I stayed with the Professor. But I...I think I went back home! Because now there's no snow at all.

[That must have been what happened. Yep.]

[Pao-Lin begins to lead Saphir in the direction of the plaza/school.]

Keterburg is where you're from, then?

Yeah. It's really cold, and covered with snow all the time! It's really different than here... [There's no snow or ice or anything there in Luceti right now, which is pretty bizarre to one who's not used to it. So, as they go along, the young boy can't help but look around with curiosity.]

Sounds like it. Here, there's only snow during the winter. I'm glad, though -- I don't know if I'd like to live in a place where it was snowing all the time.

It's not bad! There's a lot of really fun stuff to do! [Talking from experience here.] You can have snowball fights, and make snowmen, and snowangels, and sometimes there're these really neat fonmachines that come around and clear up all the snow that falls! And if it snows really hard, we miss school. ...Though I like getting to learn from the Professor.

Fonmachines... [She feels like she's heard this term before, or something like it, but it's not coming to her.] Oh, like a snowplow, then! We have those in Sternbild, too. [She wouldn't know anything about missing classes due to snow, though.]

Snow...plow? [What on earth is that? It's obviously something having to do with snow, and must be similar to the fonmachines he just mentioned. So, Saphir's going to assume they're pretty much the same thing, just termed different.]

Is Sternbild where you're from, lad--uh. Miss?

Mm-hmm! Well, it's where I was living the past few years, anyway. I'm originally from somewhere else, but I had to move to Sternbild for my job.

[Saphir blinks, and looks up at Pao-Lin as they walk. That does make sense, of course, but what could a kid possibly do for work? This girl looks pretty young - like a teenager or something.]

You work? But you're only a little older than I am!

Yeah, I know I'm pretty young. But I didn't feel like going to school anymore. [It's the partial truth, anyway.]

Wha--why not?! If the Professor's the teacher, she's the best! She's really nice, and...and really smart! She can use the seventh fonon and she's taught us all a lot of things! [SCHOOL IS COOL, OKAY.]

[Well, Pao-Lin's not going to argue Gelda's teaching merits, since she doesn't know the woman that well. (Seventh fonon...?)]

Well, I had bad experiences with school back in my world. So since it's not required for me to go to school here, I don't go. But I'm sure Miss Nebilim is a great teacher!

She's the best teacher ever... [Totally biased, sure, but whatever. Saphir has never encountered a nicer, more caring, and intelligent person in a very long time. It's probably for that reason that he's getting a little impatient at this point. H-He really wants to see the Professor again soon...]

A-Are we almost there?

Yeah, the school's not that far!

[In fact, as they're rounding the corner, the plaza is not too far away, and the school should be well in sight.]

See? Over there.

[There it is! Saphir perks right up and begins moving a bit faster, passing Pao-Lin by a few feet in his excited rush. Hopefully the Professor wasn't too busy and could see him for a few minutes! He wouldn't mind just sitting in on one of her classes until she was finished, if he was allowed. The boy loved to learn from the Professor, and he'd even try to pay attention if he could, maybe!]

Do you think she'll be there? Come on!

[Pao-Lin speeds up her stride a little to keep pace with the excited boy.]

Well, it's the afternoon, so school might be out already... [Hooray for not paying attention to this?] She might still be in one of the classrooms, though.

You really think so? [He thinks to ask if Pao-Lin would know which room is the Professor's office, or where she would be inside the building, but remembers she doesn't attend classes. Ah...so they'd have to check the rooms one by one? Or maybe there was someone there to guide them at the front. Some schools had those! The really big, fancy ones!]

I hope she's still there...

[Pao-Lin's only been inside the school's cafeteria and gym/stage area or whatever, so she's not really familiar with the rest of the layout. So yes, they're just going to have to check all the rooms. She'll let Saphir take the lead on this.]

Twenty Rose Petals Fall - [Voice]

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