Still Standing [Vanille]

[Coulson Pike]

This completely empty house...shop could get pretty boring some days, especially since Cole still felt, despite Rygdea's assurances that he would be find as far as PSICOM was concerned, as if he were cooped up within it, unable to walk out into the world of Gran Pulse for fear of someone spotting his brand and burning him at the stake. Heck, Cole wouldn't have minded if this Aya person that he was starting to feel as if he knew (by accident, he swore - he was finding her more private stuff accidentally all over the house) decided to finally show up from her portal trip and walk in. At least she would be company, even if she did tackle him to the ground and try to claw his eyes out yelling "Intruder!" Cole just didn't know what to do with himself anymore, really. He was stuck here for the time being, even after he'd accomplished all that he needed to with the expedition. Problem was - not a single portal seemed to be popping up anywhere, much less one that would take him back to Ivalice. Leila had been lucky (?) enough to get dragged out of this place at some point before the fal'Cie had gotten hold of her, and he hadn't seen too much of Light, Fang and the others of late. They were all going through some sort of trouble now, from what he'd heard in his last phone call with any of them. Cole wished he could help, but by the sound of it, they were dealing with private stuff. That left him here in this wide-open house, with Alice occasionally providing him company, feeling completely useless.

He found that this "television" thing could be okay sometimes, but Cole wasn't the type to enjoy sitting around idly and staring at something all day. More often than not he just roamed the house and tried working out or something. Occasionally he would wander into Aya's actual shop and try to tinker with the machinery there for no particular reason. More often than not, though, he was bored completely and totally stiff. The current hour found him in that state. Eating because he was bored. Cole imagined he'd probably gained ten pounds since he'd been here - boredom and really good food were not a great combination. On the TV in front of him as he sat on the couch, there was some sort of...show about the election of Galenth Dysley as primarch and the failure's of Cocoon politics and blah blah blah. Cole cringed visibly seeing the old man standing at a podium, pointing his fingernails out at the crowd as he gave some sort of dramatic speech about a new day under the protection of strong fal'Cie and other things that to Cole sounded like complete and utter bullshit. He had to wonder how everyone on Cocoon had elected this guy after hearing this whole nonsensical rant about fal'Cie and seeing those fingernails protruding out at them. That didn't seem like a great public image. Of course, killing your kin wasn't a great public image, either, and Vayne had never been overthrown...

A ring of the doorbell caught Cole by surprise, and his eyes moved to the clock. Wouldn't this be high time for Alice to be drinking? She wouldn't bother ringing the doorbell, anyway - she'd just let herself in. One of the others? Cole eyed the door suspiciously, putting his plate down on the coffee table before him and moving into the kitchen. Grabbing his usual armband from there, he pulled it onto his forearm and over his brand, just to be sure. Still uneasy, Cole stepped over towards the doorway, putting his hand on the handle and peering out of the little peephole that sat in the middle of it. He could only see the very top of someone's head - bright red hair. Cole...didn't know this person. For a moment, he debated not letting the person in, but the humanitarian side caught hold of him and with a reluctant sigh and a stiff nervousness, he turned the handle and opened the door to see who waited for him outside. Pleeeease don't let them be holding a gun to his chest.

Words - 788
Tagged - Vanille!
Muse - Excellent!
Place - Aya's shop
Outfit - Boop (No he's not naked at the bottom, either.)
Notes - I dunno what this is, but have a post. :D[/size]

[Oerba Dia Vanille]

Vanille was on a mission. A very important one, it wasn’t everyday Lightning sent you on a task, and she must’ve really trusted the energetic red head with this task, Vanille was astounded when Light had pulled her aside just before leaving through some weird and different looking portal. She said something along the lines of Valhalla, or battles of her own to fight, but Vanille didn’t quite understand everything that had been going on lately, it was crazy, but still, she understood what the pinkette had told her to do, and since Vanille was a Pulsian down to her very roots, it would be easy to find someone, especially in the location given. Vanille had traveled not very far from where she had spoken with Lightning, but a good enough distance to take on a bit of wildlife. A few annoying flan here, an imp there…it wasn’t anything she couldn’t handle. Nille was just hoping that she’d be able to find this…Coulson Pike guy before he left said location.

From what Light had told her, this guy was a friend, branded a L’Cie by Barthandules and was going to face a tough road ahead, Nille knew that, she knew the horrible feeling of being a L’Cie, of being cursed like that, so of course this was another reason for her kindness. As her emerald eyes gazed up and down the somewhat cleared paths of Oerba, Nille had to admit she was impressed with the slight reconstruction, it was looking nice, and not too much like Cocoon had, she actually gave a nod of approval as she wandered around, a blueish colored wristband attached to her right wrist. It was the package she was supposed to be delivering to this guy. He must’ve ended up on Lightning’s good side seeing as she was doing something to help him, instead of punching him in the face like…people who need not be mentioned – we all know who it is though. It was nice that the former soldier was being a bit nicer these days, but no one would expect her to make a complete 360 with her personality, it would be just too weird, but whatever, Vanille was happy to help a friend, and the friend of a friend who was in need made it seem even nicer!

Trotting up to a doorway, Vanille looked at it for a second, wondering if she was just supposed to charge in. Back when she lived in Oerba, everyone shared homes, no one really had doors or locked anyone out, everyone was welcome considering they were just one big happy family, but these days things were very different. Her eyes hit the sight of a small button on the wall next to the door and with a curious look on her face, she poked it, hearing a faint sound of a bell from the inside of the home. Her eyes widened slightly at the weird button, she almost felt like poking it again, but refrained from it. Instead, she simply waited, wondering if anyone was even home. She clasped her hands together and turned around, taking a few more glances at the town, but should this Cole guy not be here, she’d go looking for him, ask a few locals and see what they could tell her. Closing her eyes for a moment, she remembered something Lightning had told her, it only motivated her more. “Give this to a man named Coulson Pike, he’s a L’Cie, Vanille, and not from around here, he needs it more than I do.”

The sound of the door opening grabbed Vanille’s attention, and instantly she whipped around, curly pigtails bouncing as she did so, a bright smile appearing on her face as she gazed up at a man, she assumed he was Coulson, and she was pretty sure her assumption was correct. “You’re Coulson right? Of course you are! I’ve heard good things about you, and I’m glad I actually found you! Traveling across Pulse looking for someone is almost as difficult as taking down an Adamantoise.” She was talking pretty quick, but that was how she normally was, far too friendly and happy to have succeeded in finding this man as Lightning had requested of her. “Lightning sent me. She said it was important, she would’ve arrived in person, but…she had to leave- I wasn’t interrupting anything, was I? I mean. I can always come back later…Fang might get worried if I’m away for too long though…” the ending of her sentence was more mumbled to herself than anything, oh the people you know!

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Words:[/color] 867
Muse:[/color] Excellent!
Tagged:[/color] Cole
Wearing:[/color] Tribal Outfit
Listening To:[/color] Something!
Notes:[/color] --

[Coulson Pike]

Cole didn't end up facing down a gun. He didn't end up facing anything at all, for that matter. Instead, his eyes met with open air until he lowered them to see what was clearly the back of a female head there before him, unless it was a fashion trend for men here to wear wavy pigtails. He sure hoped not. Said pigtails started to angle away from him almost as soon as he started to look down further at the girl and wonder if she'd backed her way up to the door, so he moved his eyes back up to the face once it was revealed to him. She looked pretty young. Cole glanced at the rest of her. And pretty...lacking in clothes, but compared to what Leila had been wearing when she showed up, this girl was all wrapped up in a robe. Cole barely even had time to match the young girl's smile or begin to process explanations for the girl's presence before she started talking. And talking. And talking. In a squeaky, slightly accented tone that hindered Cole's understanding for the first few words. She started answering her own questions and rattling off something about an adamantoise and fighting one (what?) and then he finally said something he was able to process before she started onto another subject.

That something was Lightning's name. And then there was more chatter and mention of Light leaving and interrupting things and then Fang and Cole didn't even know if he was breathing anymore, he was trying so hard to catch up with what she was saying. Once she was finally done, mumbling her last few words, Cole was sure his jaw hung halfway to the floor in complete and utter confusion. He tried to put the whole rant together piece by piece...but considering he'd only been able to catch about a fourth of it, that wasn't going to happen. After stuttering on a few ways to start and express his confusion, only managing halves of words or less, Cole just shook his head a little and looked down at the space between them, then back at the girl. "...What?" Oh yeah, that would make things better, he decided once he'd said it. If she hadn't just rattled off enough at him, he'd given her a chance to do it all over again. Realizing his error, he held up a hand and made a breathy sound to stop her if she decided to try explaining everything once more, and rubbed his eyes a little. "You said...Lightning sent you?", Cole asked her, figuring that would bring him to the bottom of the whole situation if he could just figure out why Lightning would send someone he didn't know down here. Who was this girl supposed to be anyway? She clearly knew Light and Fang...apparently...he hoped...and she knew his name, so what did that make her? Hopefully not someone sent down here to...he didn't even know what anymore. His brain couldn't function. "And...who are you meant to be?"

Words - 562
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - Sorry for shortness. D8[/size]

[Oerba Dia Vanille]

Vanille felt rather proud of herself. Here she stood in front of the very man she was supposed to find, and she found him with very little difficulty. An easy success was always nice, wasn't it? With a bright smile, she went into her fast paced rant, not really thinking much about her quick tone or smushed together words. She was speaking quickly, making sure she didn't forget something, like mentioning Lightning for instance, that was a key fact in all of this. Of course things would've been easier had Light been able to deliever her gift herself, but whatever! Vanille was more than happy to assist, and the chipper tone of hers definitely showed that. Her quickness finally caught up with her, at the end of her words, she heaved in and out a giant breath, calming herself as she waited patiently for a response, emerald eyes just blinking at Cole.

When he asked 'what', Vanille's eyebrows furrowed a bit, a small frown forming on her face. Did he not understand? Was it the accent? Hmm...how odd. She'd never had that issue before, but when the mentioning of Lightning came up again, she nodded once, slowing her tone down a ton from what it had been before, Vanille started to explain a bit more, slower and trying not to let her accent get in the way, not that it was that bad, she just wanted Cole to understand. "Yes, Lightning sent me. She told me about you, how you're a L'cie and whatnot-" yes...an introduction, it might've been nicer to have done it first, but Nille was just overwhelmed, wanting to do what Light had asked and get it done correctly. Taking in another breath, her tone still a more normal pace, she folded her hands behind her back. "My name is Oerba Dia Vanille, but...just Vanille works. I'm a friend of Fang's and Lightning's of course. I assume she told you something about defying her focus? Her group of friends...Fang and I were there. Now...about what she sent me for..."

Nille brought her hand around with the blue looking wrist band on it. She removed it from around her wrist and held onto it, pointing at it with her free hand. "This is what she wanted me to give to you. It allows the user to manipulate a portal to whatever he or she wishes. At least, that's what Lightning said. She'd swiped it off PSICOM some time ago. She said you needed it more than she did." Shifting the device around in her palm a bit, she looked at the assortment of close buttons, there weren't a whole bunch of them, in fact, the device was rather straightforward, even Vanille could figure it out if she tried. She knew that this was important to her friend though, no testing the device for her, it was Cole's property now, and he could do whatever he wanted with it, Vanille was just the delivery girl. "I do hope you get some good use out of it. Lightning...isn't the type to just give powerful items away, she must trust you. Kind of a difficult thing to do these days."

With that said and done, Vanille gazed back from the device to Cole, her chipper expression still remaining on her face like always. It really was a confusing thing, Vanille and Fang being complete opposites, but being the best of friends, sisters was more like it. Funny, hm? "Here, it yours now." She started to hand the device over, and then she'd let Cole get back to whatever it was he had been doing before, interrupting one's day was never a part of the plan.

[/blockquote]

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Words:[/color] 721
Muse:[/color] Good!
Tagged:[/color] Cole!
Wearing:[/color] Tribal Outfit
Listening To:[/color] FFXIII OST
Words:[/color] PHONE POOOOOSTS ><

[Coulson Pike]

Oh, so now everyone was finding out he was a l'Cie. Cole scratched the back of his head awkwardly as the girl mentioned Lightning had told her about his plight. Sure, Cole trusted Light not to go telling the wrong person, but the fewer mouths there were to spread the word that Cole was some kind of monster, the better. And this girl definitely had a mouth on her. That said, though, she definitely didn't seem to be anything but a nice person. And...very happy and chirpy. Cole wanted some of whatever she was on, to be honest. He wasn't all down in the dumps about his situation now as he had been when it first happened, but he still could have used any new excuse he could find to live a little more...loosely.

"Wait, Vanille?" Vanille...he knew that name. Oerba Dia Vanille, she'd said. Ooooh, that was right. There was another Pulsian besides Fang who was also from Oer- this was the girl they'd called Fang's sister? Cole had been expecting another hard-talking, quick to fight warrior goddess-type woman. Yet here before him stood a small, wide-eyed woman with pigtails and enough ceremonial bead-like things on her clothing to start a new business. And she'd been a l'Cie? And done all that...fighting Barthandelus stuff? Wow. Don't judge a book by its cover indeed. "You're Vanille," he said, essentially to himself, as he pointed a finger at her. "You're not as...Fang as I expected," he admitted to her with a shrug, still looking confused. Now there were two people on completely different ends of the personality spectrum (well, judging by what little interaction he was having with Vanille now, at least). For once, what they said was right. Opposites did attract.

Cole shook off the stupid look that was plastered on his face and stepped out the door a little further when Vanille decided to get down to the point of her arrival. What the heck could Lightning have wanted him to have? He peered down at the small band on Vanille's arm, thinking here was another device he would barely know how to use and probably end up abandoning in favor of the safety of the people around him. Yeah, the tech in this world was never going to be something he could wrap his mind around. But once Vanille told him what it was, Cole became very interested. He stared at it expectantly. A portal...thingy? That could take you wherever? Hell yes, this was exactly what he needed right now. No, Cole didn't want to up and leave Gran Pulse out of the blue because he'd made more friends - real friends - here than he'd made ever since he helped out the Dalmascan resistance, and he never got to see those guys anymore. But he needed to get started on figuring out this focus. Plus, he could check and see if Leila had returned home or been tossed to another world altogether. And his father...he needed some finality there, to see what that old bastard thought he was supposed to be doing still trying to direct troops around.

Firmly contained within his thoughts, Cole had missed some of what Vanille had said, but looked back down at her once she started to hand the wristband over. Cole took it gingerly, not wanting to hit any of the buttons on it and cause a small disaster. Once he'd turned it over in his hands a few times, he turned his eyes back to the temporary delivery girl. "Thank you" was all he could really think to say with her, but he couldn't just...leave her with that, could he? He actually kind of wanted to talk to her some...after all, she'd been a l'Cie too. She knew Fang and Light, two of Cole's most loyal associates since arriving, so...it just made sense to get to know Vanille here some, too. With a motion of his head towards the inside of the building, Cole spoke up before she had a chance to leave. "I'm actually...bored out of my mind. You wanna come in for a few minutes?", Cole asked. "Might as well get something for making the trip over, right?"

Words - 784
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - Nada. [/size]

[Oerba Dia Vanille]

Blinking for a few moments after Cole had said her name, she figured something had sparked. Vanille just pondered for a few moments, rocking back on her heels with her hands clasped together even still. She was more than amused by his words and gave out a small little laugh, a chipper one of course as she shook her head slightly. “Yeah, it always seems to surprise people, the differences between Fang and myself are quite great…but…I still consider her my best friend, no matter how different we may be in personality, looks, and just about anything else you can imagine.” She said with a less squeaky tone, but still optimistic, she was genuinely happy, glad to have met someone who obviously heard of her, so maybe now he wouldn’t think her just some odd friend of Lightning’s, she was strong, a capable fighter, and of course when it came to secrets, she knew how to keep her mouth shut.

So, now it was time to hand over the device then be on her way. And that’s what she did, minus the being on her way part. With a small smile, she nodded towards the offer to step inside for a moment, it’d be nice to rest up before wandering all the way back to…somewhere. Wherever it was she was destined to go, it never really was a set thing for her, she went wherever she wanted to go at the time, and right now, she wanted a seat, a chance to rest her legs and feet before trotting off to either around the corner or halfway across the world of Gran Pulse. “Sure, sounds nice! A chance to sit before traveling off again seems like a wise idea.” She said with a small shrug before trotting her way inside the building. It didn’t look like any home she’d seen before, bits. It looked like no one really lived here, and it made her take slower steps as she walked inside, taking a good look at things as she did so.

“You…live here? Temporarily, I mean.” Vanille asked as she tapped a finger against her chin, still looking around. Examining different things, a few pictures, she noticed a blonde girl in most of them, this must’ve been an abandoned home, or…whoever this girl in most of the pictures was, she was a friend of Cole’s, or…something. Vanille wasn’t going to ask about it, but simply…enjoy the peace and rest for a few moments. With a large sigh, Vanille let her shoulders slump a big before placing her hands on her hips. “So…Coulson, Fang and Lightning assisted you with some sort of…expedition? I heard some…things about that, but Lightning was very brief with her words, did you guys find anything worthwhile?” Vanile said before whipping around, her hands clasped together once again as she had a curious look on her face, but not all that hopeful. The place she and her comrades looked was the place all this L’Cie stuff started, Oerba, and even there they came up empty handed, it left the red head stumped, almost disappointed, especially at the time, but their search had been cut short due to Barthandules…perhaps…they just hadn’t looked hard enough?

“If there’s anything you need, I’m sure myself or Fang would be more than happy to assist you, I know these times can be tough, but if six strangers can come together and defy a focus, so can you!”

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Words:[/color] 683
Muse:[/color] Meh
Tagged:[/color] Cole!
Wearing:[/color] Tribal Outfit
Listening To:[/color] Nothing
Notes:[/color] A Failtacular post!

[Oerba Dia Vanille]

At first Vanille hadn’t been sure about being some sort of delivery girl for Lightning’s sake, but doing her friend a favor sort of won her over. Even now though, she felt pretty good about it, being nice to Cole and trying not to babble too much about things, still, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him, or any L’cie out there. It tore her to pieces really. She’d gone through being a l’cie, twice technically, and it hurt her too much to see her friends suffer from it. She couldn’t understand why the nice people got branded, were doomed to a destiny as dead inside. It wasn’t fair, a world without fal’cie, or rather, a universe without them…that was a nice wish. With a small smile still on her lips as she enjoyed the invite inside, she simply looked around, folding her hands together and just listening quietly, she heard her own voice in her head, an echo of something she had spoken before. That wish about a fal’cie-less universe…it was a nice wish, but you couldn’t just wait around for them, something needed to be done.

‘Wishes can come true, but not if you just wait for miracles. Miracles are things we create for ourselves, here and now.’

Everyone needed to abide by those words. Drawing herself back to paying attention to Cole, she nodded slightly, listening to how he had been staying here, the person who lived here was gone, he needed a place to stay, it sounded like a fine deal to her. Shrugging her shoulders, she began to think of the way of life her hometown had been way back when. Everyone shared homes, you could walk in and hang your hat anywhere – so to speak of course. “I’m sure whoever lives here, she wouldn’t mind. I’ve grown to know some of the Cocoonian people – those residing her now – and they seem like a good bunch, especially when they all had to pull together after…well…everything. I’m sure Light or Fang filled you in on some of the events that occurred, yes?” She spoke quietly, less squeaky and more informative. Tilting her head slightly, she continued to take baby steps around the home, looking around and noticing a few things she’d never seen before, and some she had seen during her time on Cocoon or in Academia.

Turning swiftly, Vanille had asked about the expedition, knowing there was no HUGE significant find, but they hadn’t come up empty handed. It made her feel even worse, wishing there was something she could do to help both Cole and Rygdea. At least Rygdea had Fang, and Cole had former l’cie popping up all over the place apparently! Seeing people who had been through it, seeing them alive, it sort of raised spirits. You can make the impossible, possible. You just have to have enough faith in yourself to do so. “That’s too bad, and I’m sorry for that. I’m sure Hope will appreciate any information given to him, maybe his research can help in the long run.” She shrugged her shoulders, trying to add a bit of optimism in her tone, she’d rather build someone up than tear them down anyways.

Giving nothing but a simple confirming nod towards her offer to help and his thanks for it, Vanille’s attention perked back up at his question. What was her part in all this? Well…that was a long story, one might say she was the reason Light, Snow, and the rest of them had been branded in the first place. It was a hard thing to accept, but it was true. Had she not played dumb, had she not ran away from the stark truth and horror that was her focus, perhaps they could’ve lived different lives than they do now. Everything would’ve changed had Vanille went to complete her and Fang’s focus rather than getting Serah Farron dragged in, Dajh Katzroy dragged in, and the rest of the lot that followed shortly. With almost a saddened smile on her face, Vanille figured explaining would be best, though getting into a long and detailed story wasn’t really something she wanted Cole to sit through, unless he was THAT interested. “Fang and I grew up together, over 500 years ago. We had been branded L’Cie together, but fell into a crystal sleep with our focus only half complete. We’d cracked Cocoon’s shell, our focus was to destroy the planet altogether.”

“We awoke 500 years later, Fang having forgotten her focus, and that’s when Lightning and all of them got dragged into a mess I had created. The rest, I’m sure you know by now.” Nille shrugged, keeping her explanation brief, not wanting to bore anyone with the excruciating details of her journey with Sazh, her apologies to Serah, and her second crystal sleep in which she had evaded eternal life once again. “We tried figuring out a way to get rid of the brands, as did you and your…expedition crew. Perhaps we aren’t looking in the right places…"

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Words:[/color] 962
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Cole
Wearing:[/color] Tribal Outfit
Listening To:[/color] Something!
Notes:[/color] Nada!

[Coulson Pike]

"Ah, yeah, I know that crystal that gave me a heart attack when I first saw it...because I thought someone had built it...is the planet everyone but you and Fang lived on. I still don't understand how someone knocks down a planet, but you can paint me impressed by the feat," Cole told her, when she mentioned wondering if he knew about the whole deal. Knowing about it and being able to fully believe it were two different things, but his doubt was only because his mind was blown every time he thought about a planet just falling from the sky. That up there was Ivalice if it just decided to fall and come close to crashing into another planet. Ridiculous crap to think about. "I hope whoever lives here wouldn't mind. Don't want her to kill the random hobo l'Cie in his sleep if she ever shows back up from out of another portal," he added, reusing a joke for the billionth time. Not much of a joke. Knowing who Alice was, this Aya person could have been an assassin who specialized in killing people in their sleep or something. Nothing would surprise him anymore in this world. Nothing at all.

Cole could only really nod at Vanille's words about what they'd found on the expedition. He couldn't have everything exactly as he wanted it, which was something any sort of tomb raider had to figure out early-on, but something more tangible would have been just great. But if this Hope guy was the genius everyone claimed him to be, then he could take even that crappy, worn shield they'd found and make some kind of use of it. "Yep, hope so. Too bad the long run probably won't be short enough for me or for Rygdea, but hey, if we've gotten something done for someone else in the future, we pretty much did what we set out to do." He took another bite of his food, staring off into space and thinking back on the expedition. Maybe a little more searching could have nabbed them some kind of immediate remedy...but that was some serious wishing in a pan. Heck, they were lucky to have found anything on a planet four of them hadn't known much of anything about, right? Wasn't much consolation, but it would work for now.

But, bad thoughts. Cole had gotten himself out of his bad mood lately, and he needed to continue it, especially having Miss Chipper standing here before him now. He was still trying to figure out how even she and Fang had met to become friends. They seemed to think of everything in the exact opposite way. Cole's good friends over the years had been like-minded individuals...maybe too like-minded in the case of some. He just needed to see the two Pulsians together sometime. Maybe then he'd understand it. He couldn't tell if it was reluctance that crossed her features when he asked about how she'd become involved with the other l'Cie, but she decided to explain anyway, so he just decided to chalk it up to a bad memory or something. He nodded along with her explanation as he finished his food, eyebrows raising at hearing that just her and Fang had managed to put that odd hole in Cocoon that he'd kept seeing. That..was some serious business. Could he go and do something like that, as a l'Cie? Made him wonder if he couldn't beat Barty silly until he removed the brand and went running off with his tail between his legs.

There was one thing he did find really odd, though. How she mentioned that she had created a mess. Cole knit his eyebrows lightly in thought adn propped his head on his hand to try and decipher that without having to get too explicit with asking. Maybe that's why she'd had an odd expression when he first mentioned her role. Ask about it or don't ask about it? Well, that answer was easy - don't ask about it. If anything, she'd bring it up herself if she thought she needed to. So, he lightly changed the subject. Part of him wanted to know more about what Pulse had been like when there had been natives here, and Cole hadn't actually gotten more details beyond what Fang had told him about the ruins they'd explored. "So you're an Oerba name, right, so you lived here...", he said aloud, without really needing to. "What was this place like before? Looks to me like you kind of had a tribal society kind of thing going on."

Words - 844
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - Nada. :3[/size]

[Oerba Dia Vanille]

The rest was nice, the chatting was just as pleasant, but Vanille wasn’t sure if she was feeling the best. No, she wasn’t feeling sick or anything, it was the fact that there wasn’t anything helpful going on for Cole, or Rygdea, or anyone else who was a l’cie at this very moment. Nille considered herself and her friends lucky to have gotten by and away with defying their focus…but what about Cole and Rygdea? It was saddening, there was nothing even she could do for them, well…nothing aside from providing optimistic words for them, when even she knew it didn’t look good. Holding in a sigh, she just continued to be chipper and try to act like nothing was wrong, things would work out, and if Lady Luck really did exists like Fang liked to believe…then hey, maybe something would end up turning for the better?

“I think things will be fine with you staying here though, no one around here is generally uncaring, I mean, as far as I know.” She said optimistically with a small shrug of her shoulders, folding her hands together and plastering a new kind of grin on her face. It wasn’t completely happy, almost sorrowful as she thought back on the mess she had made of things, wanting to forget her focus and just run away from it all. Letting her eyes move around the room rather than focusing on Coulson, she stood in one place, trying not to feel the need to move around or even fidget. “Well, he’s smart, so whatever it is you found will definitely come in handy, he’ll make it come in handy no matter what.” She added on to her words as her gaze finally came back to her newfound…ally? Well, whatever, he was nice, so she considered him a friend already, especially if he was friends with Lightning and Fang, that was always a good thing, besides, getting people like those women to trust you…well it wasn’t easy to come by.

Letting a few moments of silence pass by, Nille didn’t mind, she was lost in her own little world of thought, thinking about the future, thinking about everything that was in store for the future and not really seeing much of a problem…but generally, that meant something was coming. Bright green eyes looked up, and her attention came back when another question came her way, one that didn’t really bring up anything bad, memory or feeling wise. Moving a hand to her chin, she tapped at her lips for a second, feeling more upbeat and peppy like usual. “It was very lively, everyone was one big happy family to be quite honest. You could walk into any home and be welcome, it was very care free and everyone worked together to keep things running.” She started to explain, not feeling there was a WHOLE bunch to say on the matter of Oerba and what it was like before, but informing someone who had no clue was always nice, it put her world in a better light if she did explain the good things about her small little village. “Everything was green around here, flowers, grass, there were chocobos running around the streets even…I miss those days, but…things seem to be getting there!”

With a bit of a pause in her words, Vanille decided to drop her hands to her sides and finally throw out a question, it was about dang time she got to ask questions instead of being put up for an interview with every person she came into contact with. “Where are you from? Not Cocoon obviously, seems the portals are dragging more and more people in and out of their respective locations.” That last bit was more or so a statement of fact, she’d been pulled through portals before but gotten home at least…so far, some people hadn’t gotten as luck as she did in regards to portals, maybe someday the portals would be stable, people could get home safely and maybe all these messes they were causing would be solved.

Wishful thinking.

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Words:[/color] 788
Muse:[/color] Good once started!
Tagged:[/color] Cole
Wearing:[/color] Tribal outfit!
Listening To:[/color] Stuffs!
Notes:[/color] Weeeeee more posts!

[Coulson Pike]

"Well, they don't seem to be the types to kill people in their sleep, at least. Maybe she'd just stand over me until I woke up and challenge me to an old-fashioned duel at high noon," Cole joked, trying to make sure Vanille knew he wasn't being completely serious in his paranoia. Sure, it could happen that Aya was some sort of deadly assassin, but the chances of that? One in about a million. Sure, he'd lucked up and come across a former soldier and former l'Cie, but that could happen to anyone...probably. Actually, the odds of Aya being a homeowner slash mechanic slash murderess were actually going up. Disturbing thought, that.

Being a history buff by nature, unfortunately thanks to his dad's influence, Cole was obviously interested to hear about what Pulse had been like a loooong, long time ago. Heck, it would be ten times better than anything on the television. Leaning back with an arm slung over the back of the couch, he listened to Vanille's words on the place. Sounded pretty darn nice, to be honest. If he'd asked Fang about the place, she would have probably told him how "damn good" the hunting was and stuff about toughness and sparring and roar. Good things, yes, but Vanille managed to paint a much prettier picture of the place. "Yeah...looks like some of the flora's coming back," Cole commented, idly, simply because he felt like he needed to make a comment. He'd heard that Oerba, before everyone had moved down to this planet, had been filled with Cie'th and some kind of sandy crystal dust that had made it look like some sandstorm-swept shell of itself. Well, he thought it looked pretty dang good now, with people having rebuilt some stuff and expanded on things and getting some of the plants to grow back. Some of the streets still looked pretty bare, but the place looked kind of alive now, and not just because there were probably three hundred-odd people here at any given time. "Must've been nice back in the day. You had one of those few 'nice' fal'Cie around here protecting the place too, right?" Something else he'd heard and wanted to know about, because the idea of a nice fal'Cie seemed completely and totally ludicrous when one's experience had been with Barty and Barty only. Some of the nice fal'Cie needed to beat on that jerk's head and put some kind of brand on him. Show him what it felt like...

And she was asking where he was from. That was pretty much expected...since everyone he'd met ever at any time here who actually gave a damn was asking him the same question. He sure didn't mind answering it - heck, people didn't care one bit if you were a foreigner as long as you weren't trying to steal their stuff or kill them, probably. "Ah, Ivalice," he started, wondering how far he needed to go into an explanation of the place. He diverted his eyes from her towards the television, halfheartedly pointing at it. "We don't have television there." Ah, wait, he had a good way to explain how far behind Ivalice was in comparison to this place. Reaching forward, he took one of his flintlock pistols off the table in front of him and hefted it a couple of times to let Vanille know he was going to toss it to her, before making a light, accurate underhanded throw. "That's our guns. Then, there's your guns. That should explain all the difference you need to know." Well, aside from the monarchies and different airships and weird royal magic and sickly insane dictators who tried to raze the entire world just to fulfill their ambitions, but those were all just details, right?

Words - 700
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - Not a thing. :3 I don't think we'll need too much more to this, we've accomplished mostly what we wanted to. XD[/size]

[Oerba Dia Vanille]

Vanille was pretty sure that no one would try and attack Coulson in his sleep…or at all, I mean…the people around here seemed pretty hospitable, despite what Fang would’ve said about them and their ‘damn Cocoon technology’, so there wasn’t much to worry about, even though she knew well he was only kidding…or at least by his tone and manner of speaking, she sure hoped he was. With a chipper grin and a nod in agreement, she simply let the topic drop, no need to babble and drag on things that didn’t need to be stretched any further than they already had been. The next topic was one Vanille had repeated a few times, but not too much. She remembered her hometown of Oerba to be much more lively than it was currently, but even still, the current state of this ruined town was much better than the last time she visited it with Fang, Snow and the rest of the gang in tow. The crystal dust had covered everything…making it look like a legitimate ghost town.

With a small nod, she had noticed a bit of the greenery and spark that Oerba once had starting to return. “It’ll be nice once everything is back to…the way it should be. Never the same, but hopefully never as dull and destroyed as it once was before the fall of Cocoon.” She commented, placing her hands together and thinking about the possibilities that Pulse had for the future. It could be somewhat like Cocoon, meshed with the natural beauty of Gran Pulse. Never did she want it to seem like a second Cocoon, she was sure Fang would fall off the deep end should something like that ever happen, but…who could blame her? This was their world, not Cocoon’s, but…still, losing herself in the memories of happier days was nice. “A ‘nice’ fal’cie…I suppose that’s accurate. Anima was Oerba’s protector…he chose Fang and myself to help protect our world, to protect Gran Pulse from the so-called Vipers of Cocoon.” She explained, hopefully shedding a little bit of light on the fal’cie that protected Oerba, the situation, and more about how she and Fang had known one another.

“All and all, Pulse was peaceful until the war with Cocoon erupted. From there…it just…practically deteriorated.” Vanille added with a small shrug before trying to get a bit of light shed on Cole and where he came from. The first and most obvious of questions. Where was he from? Ivalice…it wasn’t a place she’d ever heard of, but the lack of technology she could understand. It was still a difficult adjustment to get used to the things that Cocoon had. Still, the red head was a fast learner, it wouldn’t take too long for her to get familiar with some of the devices, or at least she hoped it wouldn’t take long. At least she’d have Hope to help her! That was the plus side of most things. “Hmm. I don’t think I’ve heard of that place before.” She said tilting her head, looking at the pistol he’d picked up and was ready to toss it her way. With a careful catch, Vanille started looking at the pistol, carefully to keep her fingers away from the trigger, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world…she was probably one of the best medics ever. “This is a difference even I can see.” She said before stepping forward and carefully placing the pistol down, not wanting to risk anyone’s safety. At least she could tell a distinct difference between his world, her world, and Cocoon. There was a similarity in the technology part of things at least.

Looking around once more, only for a few brief seconds, Vanille put a quiet tone in her voice, not so squeaky or annoying, but she’d done her duty for the day, just as Lightning had requested. She’d delivered the device, spoken briefly with Cole, and…what else was there to do? It was probably time to backtrack and head back to maybe Academia, maybe the Steppe…somewhere where someone would know she made it back safely. “I hate to intrude like this, and I’m sure Fang will be worried about me should I be gone too long, you know how she is by now.” She said with a half hearted smile and a small laugh to add to her words. “I think I best be heading back towards where I came from. But I’m sure we’ll see each other again! Especially if you’re a friend of Fang’s and Lightning’s.” she insisted with a step backwards, not that she wanted to leave…but she knew how Fang got when she was worried. Besides, they would end up meeting again someday…maybe a helping hand could be lent towards this l’cie. For now, Vanille would just put her thinking cap on and try to figure out a way to help him…to rid of this focus, just as she’d done with hers.

Words:[/color] 977
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Cole
Wearing:[/color] Tribal Outfit
Listening To:[/color] Stuffs!
Notes:[/color] Godmod her leaving if you wish!

[Coulson Pike]

"Oh yeah, I know all about that kind of 'vipers' bull...", Cole informed her, again thinking back on Vayne's bologna about how everyone was such a threat to him and he had to kill them all to ensure stability and blah blah, lie lie. The fal'Cie were probably all about that kind of crap, weren't they? Even the semi-good ones like this Anima were probably all trying to get people to buy into the nonsense, too. This was why Cole hated people in power. They were always handing out lies just to seem like the ones that were in the right. It was a rant for another day and probably something Vanille didn't really care to hear all that much, but damn if it didn't make him mad. He had to wonder if he shouldn't use these powers and this stupid focus of his to rattle the cages of that kind of leadership...heck, he was going to die anyway, why not go out with a bang and make some kind of an impression?

He knew a little too much about places deteriorating, too, though Nabudis' deterioration had been...instantaneous. It was another thought he figured he might as well keep to himself, since he didn't really consider Nabradia to be home all that much anymore. Not that it would have been a home anyway...nope, all that mattered about Ivalice right now was the fact that its simplicity made everything here seem absolutely ridiculous. Heck, even Cole's pistol was probably the most antique thing Vanille had ever seen, and apparently from what he'd heard, Pulse had been almost prehistoric compared to Cocoon back in the day. He glared at the pistol once she'd placed it back down. "Yep, I'm sure Barty had a great laugh with me pointing this little pea-shooter at him while he started shooting lasers out of his butt." With a sigh, he flicked the pistol back over towards the other one at the other end of the table, sending it skirting along weakly towards its companion. Thank God he'd upgraded, though, with some of the equipment the others had bestowed upon him...like this little device Vanille had brought him from Lightning.

But, by the sounds of it, Vanille needed to be making her rounds back to the other folks, and heck if Cole wanted Fang on his ass for making her worry about Vanille's whereabouts. "Boy do I," he told her, popping up off of the couch. Now what was he supposed to say? He made a motion of his head, awkwardly. "Ah...thanks for the chat." He confirmed his appreciation with his usual crooked-mouthed smile, before clearing his throat and motioning towards the door. "If you ever, you know, want to stop in the neighborhood, you can visit this house that's not mine." Yep, might as well finish off this whole thing with a joke. As she started to make her exit, Cole watched her head to the door and spoke one last time before she pulled it open. "Tell Light I'll drop in to see her again sometime." And with that, the young woman was gone, leaving Cole to stand there by himself.

He plopped down on the couch again, still wondering how the heck two people like Fang and Vanille were fast friends. Strange planet. Strange.

The TV was turned back on, and he didn't think about it anymore.

Words - 627
Muse - Excellent (aside from feeling crappy)
Notes - Fin![/size]