thehometree | Glimmer, glitter, shine...

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Glimmer, glitter, shine...

One by one, new adventurers now arrive in the Tree. As one gain wings and rises to the second floor, another light brings in the next person. Soon, a steady stream of people from all kinds of worlds, times and realities come to join the others. Whether confused, angry, excited or scared, your arrival is welcomed with nothing but joy as the fireflies and glow worms descend to greet their new friends.

The Tree offers no explanation and no reason, but the truth is undeniable.

As you will soon realize, it isn't easy to be tiny.

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Kaoru looked up at this stranger -- way up, actually. How tall was she?

"A whistle? For calling something?" Or maybe it was simply for alarms. In any case, he could understand how even humble personal items could hold great value for their owner.

"I haven't seen one." But he also hadn't been looking, either. "...I can help you look."

Unfortunately for about everyone, she's on the higher end of the 3.5-4 inch scale (considering her height is 2 metres normally) and that is but short for women of her race. Thank the gods she's the only Roegadyn here.

Massiveness aside, at the very least Chora's got the presence of mind to stop manhandling Kaoru; that's not the way to go making contacts in a new place, is it? Might as well try to, uh....Make...Nice?
"...Yes. Could say this. Is very important right now to find whistle, but--" And here she stops, squints at him as if he's just started talking another language. How peculiar. "Have no reward on hand; could not repay you for work. Is no point to this job, sorry."

Yep, she's one of those sorts.

Well. What an honest person this stranger was. Howard would simply demand everyone search for it without offering any sort of reward at all.

"If it's important, then we should find it," he said, rubbing at the spot where Chora had gotten hold of him. Probably his shoulder or something; he was pretty short compared to her.

"You can pay me back if I lose something."

"This...This sounds fair. Alright, if are so willing to help, cannot turn you down! Come on!"

Despite having noted Kaoru's clear discomfort (mild or no) from her previous manhandling, Chora practically snatches his hand up in hers and begins to tug. ...At least she's trying to be a little gentler? Little fleshy humans can break pretty easily, she's found. "Ah, forgot to mention; has small cord attached, so can put around wrist. Very surprising that it is lost, in honesty."

She looks over her shoulder and grimaces apologetically, feeling stupider still for having managed to lose it despite so many security measures in place. "Thanks. Really appreciate help; will not be good if cannot find whistle. Best to start at place where we arrive, I think; seems good idea to you?"

"Searching will be faster if we look in different directions. I can't do that if you're holding on to me" Also, it was just kind of weird having a giant woman hold his hand.

"That sounds reasonable. We can retrace your steps from there. If it fell into a crevice somewhere, the cord will make it easier."

"Right, 'course. Sorry, old habit."

She instantly lets go, hands whipping up to sit behind her head and lips pursing in a distinctly amused kind of expression. "Hope did not embarrass you? Anyroad, you take left and I'll take right; cannot have fallen far since have not much moved about for it to fall."

Tittering away to herself, Chora breaks away to lean over the ledge of the Lifestream; after a few seconds of contemplating the leap down onto the floor below, however...She stops and turns back, looking rather sheepish. "Hey, kid. ...Thanks again. Do not see many who help without price; is very precious value."
And then she sits on said ledge, before pushing herself over like a child hopping into a swimming pool. Stupid when she's got wings, but...It looks cooler in her mind.

Somehow it seemed that Chora had been hoping for just the opposite. Hmm. Hmm.

In any case, Kaoru began searching the floor; his smaller size made it easier to check the cracks and crevices other people might have missed. And even though he'd been thanked quite a few times over the past few months, it never really got less awkward. "...It's nothing. Was the whistle a present?"

What, innocent little old Chora teasing people at every chance she can get? Never. How rude.

"...Kind of. Standard gift for stating allegiance to Immortal Flames; cannot do anything if have to travel by foot over entire state."
Amazingly, her voice seems to carry rather well to the floor above; maybe it's the giant gaping hole in the roof, who knows. "Did not mean much at first, but became very precious to me."

Poking around the Day and Night gems, she can't help but heave a rather exasperated sigh. "Probably sounds stupid; big idiot loses whistle, cries over it like baby. Will forgive if you laugh at me."

"I won't laugh," said Kaoru, shooing away a glow-worm that was getting too close and too curious. "It's important to you."

He could understand how even common, everyday sort of possessions might gain some elevated importance. After all, he'd carried around Louis's old ID for god knows how long. "What are the Immortal Flames? Is that some kind of organization?"

If so, it'd make sense that they issued their members some sort of sign of membership. Maybe it was like getting your piloting license?

"Better than most people, then. Would probably laugh at myself, in honesty--"

Hm. How to explain the Flames. Chora actually stops for a second, bodily leaning on the Day Gem and tipping her head back in thought. Not like her whistle has legs, after all. "...Each citystate has ruling militia; Thanalan, where am living now, has Immortal Flames. Figured was a good idea to state allegiance and get extra rewards for doing work would otherwise do anyway. And, ah...Flame General Raubahn seems like man would enjoy serving for, were so inclined. This helped decision greatly."

...Okay, so he was attractive in all of the posters and whatnot too, that definitely also helped. Not helping now though, considering that she's currently staring into space and thinkin' about said General instead of looking. Honestly, kids these days.

Kaoru thought he found something, but... nope, just a fragment of acorn. He listened as he searched; honestly, it was a little bizarre hearing about city-states since everyone where he came from lived in a colony -- militias weren't even really a thing.

"I see. It's a volunteer organization." He walked over and peered over at Chora; it sounded like she'd stopped. "...Is it okay to lean on that?"

He tried to mess with weird artifacts of power as little as possible.

"Oh?"

Right, things to do, someone she's in the middle of a conversation with. Chora just grins sheepishly as she straightens back up, shooting a hasty look over her shoulder to make sure the gem hasn't exploded or something. "...Seems okay. Strange, given other gem broke off piece when touched it. Flames are more than just volunteers, though; need to be upright, moral citizen worthy of serving Flame General Raubahn and Sultana Nanamo Ul Namo. Am nowhere near upright or moral, so am more like...Very casual contractor."

Still guilty about shunting her work onto Kaoru for even the briefest of moments, she kneels and begins scrabbling at the base of the Day Gem instead. "What, no militia where you are from? Cannot imagine life without Maelstrom or Flames protecting us."

"Yes. It broke off easily for me, too. Maybe it's some kind of alien artifact." Lord knew he'd run across plenty of those on that last planet he was on. He still didn't like it, though. He kind of preferred understanding what the hell was going on and weird glowy rocks that made you sprout wings sort of defied understanding.

He resumed his search. "There's nothing to defend ourselves from. After we abandoned Earth, we had bigger problems than blowing each other up. Colonies need to work together... more or less." Maybe once they had a little while longer enjoying peace, they could resume trying to kill each other.

"For you too, huh...Odd. Definitely no cracks that can see, no flaking."

Yep, she's just cocked her head so as to look up through the gem, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. There's an abundance of magical crystal nonsense in Eorzea, so really this isn't anything new to Chora at least, but...Why flake otherwise? Weird and weirder.

...Weirder still that Kaoru's just said the words 'we abandoned Earth'. Stopped dead on her hands and knees, she mulls that over and over and over again. Nope, still no sense made, and still no sign of the whistle or its cord so she might as well ask the obvious. "So. Left world entirely? Where did you go? Into sky instead?"

"Space. Mars, because it was close by; the moon for the same reason. A lot of people live in space colonies, too. With warp travel, you don't have to wait months or years to get from place to place."

Hopefully... she understood that?

"I knew someone whose family was from Pluto. That's one of the harsher places to live."

Not a word. But damned if she doesn't nod like she gets every last bit; surely it's like...Living on Dalamud, except without the 'falling to Hydaelyn and exploding into a billion dragon fireworks' bit. Living in the sky, on whatever's out there...

That doesn't sound so bad at all.

"Is it nice, up there? Closer to stars and gods? Or same as living anywhere?"

"It's dangerous sometimes. But it's... nice. There's less war. I was going to be a pilot." Or maybe he still was. There was something about the stars, the sky... it had been a while since he'd remembered what it was that had first drawn him to the possibility.

"There are a lot of rules that you have to follow if you live on a colony, though. I like being alone more." Which if someone was super amazing at putting two and two together was probably one reason why piloting appealed to him. No one bugged you while you were flying, and you could get away for a bit.

"Pilot? As in...Airship."

More murmured than said, considering she's got her chin fairly tucked into her chest at this stage; at least she remembers to look back up when she has something of actual worth to say, even if one foot's still prodding and tapping at the ground. "Sounds very dangerous indeed; pilot would be important job. Could get this loneliness, stuck at wheel...But would be many rules in place, imagine?"

Basically, it sounds like a job where Kaoru can't win, not completely. It's about the lesser of two evils here, and she's curious about which evil he'd choose (personally, the idea of a heavily regulated job? not her cup of tea).

"There are rules no matter where you go. If you want something, you have to pursue it regardless of the obstacles." At least, that was how he'd thought about it.

"...I quit. But maybe I'll go back to it." After whatever happening here was done, anyway. "When you get back, will you return to the Flames?"

"Is one way to look at it. Some rules...Chafe less than others, 'course. But is hallmark of any dream, yes."

Man, dreams. What a distant concept; still, she's got the itch for becoming a monk, and that involves its own set of rules and requirements now that she's thinking about it. "Huh, very smart of you; have not thought of own dream this way before. Regardless, would still hope that you chase your own. Sounds beautiful, far as aspirations go."

She's about to think properly about the Flames when lo, her foot bumps into what feels like something solid. Sorry Kaoru, she's just going to hunch down and dig at the dirt floor for a good minute, and it's not even good news. Just a pebble, great. Great. Wonderful. "...Starting to think whistle didn't make it on journey. Hope is not lost forever; couldn't think of joining Flames without it. Would be cruelty...You have had no luck in finding it either?"

Of course not, but this stupid, futile search is starting to wear down on Chora's patience, a fragile creature at the best of times. Without any prompting at all, she starts ranting at the little hole she's just dug (and there may or may not be a slight shake to her voice, what a hot mess). "Would not afford me another one, surely...Too much effort in breeding. Would not want more anyway! Ugh!"

"Maybe someone found it and picked it up. We could -- " Uh oh. Sounded like Chora wasn't too happy about the loss of her whistle, as inconsequential as it had seemed when she'd first asked him to help find it.

"...Are you okay?" Yes, brilliant. A++ comforting skills.

"No!"

...For all the theatrics, at least Chora's less upsetting and more hilarious to look at considering she's just tipped over onto her back and started rolling around in a tantrum. A twenty-something-year-old woman, rolling on the ground. Wonderful. "No no no, am not! Have left best friend behind, and no one will feed him or care for him if I am not there!"

After another few seconds of irritated and incoherent yelling, she flops down into a subdued pile and stares dolefully up at Kaoru, as if she's just remembered he's there. "...Sorry. Was not just any whistle am looking for. Is summoning whistle, but did not need to make you sit through this when have been gracious enough to assist. Are good person for not running off, ha."

Oh. Well. That certainly was a thing. Kaoru looked unsure of whether he should be backing off and leaving Chora her space, or trying to comfort her. Feelings were awkward. Thankfully, though, she stopped, saving him the necessity of having to come up with a reaction.

"...What's your friend's name?" That, at least, he could understand.

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Glimmer, glitter, shine...

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