A Corner of the World [Lenne]

[Balthier]

every step that i take

is another mistake to you

TAG: Lenne Words: 696

ONE LAST THING: I'ma tired, so not a great starter. 8'D

For what had to have been the hundredth time since he’d arrived on this miserable planet, Shuyin’s chest heaved with the light effort of an audible sigh. With arms crossed over his chest, the ex-blitzballer surveyed, with no interest at all, the city sprawled out before him. Shuyin had seen Zanarkand. This technological marvel they called “Academia” was worth nothing at all in comparison. The place was stifling, filled with too many people for Shuyin to be able to walk among them for too long without their presence taking a toll on him. A hand moved to rub at his forehead. He wasn’t sure what it was now, that he couldn’t really tolerate too many people around. Back when he’d been blitzballing, one of the things he’d enjoyed game in and game out had been the large crowds that would come out to see the game. Before Lenne, their presence had given Shuyin a feeling of…fulfillment. After he’d met her, Shuyin hadn’t needed those crowds much anymore, but they sure hadn’t bothered him in the slightest. Now, as he stood on an isolated overlook in this overbearing city and glared down at the people crossing the moving sidewalks below him in the hustle and bustle of their daily lives, Shuyin decided he would rather be anywhere than in among them. Maybe he could stay here, and those PSICOM soldiers – he couldn’t stand soldiers – would leave him be during their little scouting mission here that he had, just to escape the metallic shell of Bhunivelze, agreed to become a part of.

Shuyin would have been perfectly content to ignore whatever problems PSICOM had with the Academy and with their little weird world where time had stopped and with their god-creatures that they called fal’Cie or anything. But damn it, Shuyin couldn’t bring himself to do nothing while he was stuck here in nowhere world and…well, Lenne was probably somewhere else. He balled up a fist, easing it down towards the railing where it reclined. Shuyin knewthat anywhere but this place would be safer for her, but to have her separate from him after…death and after whatever had happened to him when it felt like he’d been having those horrible nightmares filled Shuyin with a sensation somewhere between anger, pure confusion, and resignation to his fate. Shuyin had tried to blow up half the planet, if one was to believe what people had said about vengagun…so if his punishment was for him to be miserable here while Lenne was at peace….ugh, he didn’t want to think it, because it ripped him up inside to do so. But maybe that arrangement was for the best in some way. Shuyin took in an intoxicating breath. So he’d be here, doing whatever PSICOM claimed he needed to do, because apparently it was all he had right now.

Shuyin ran his hand through his hair, leaning over the edge of the railing. If things were as they should have been, Shuyin would have been taking control of his own fate, not letting these…PSICOM cronies keep him tied down to their objectives. While Shuyin definitely didn’t agree with the Academy’s ways of sitting on their asses and coming up with useless solutions without taking any action, he didn’t care much for anything PSICOM was doing other than the fact that they were doing. As if on cue, the little communicator they’d given him to stick in his ear buzzed a couple of times. Shuyin rolled his eyes, but brought a hand up to turn it on. ”What do you want?” The voice on the other end showed sure signs of displeasure at Shuyin’s abrasiveness, but the PSICOM captain shook it off for the pleasure of being able to give him a direct order that he almost audibly scoffed at. ”We’re leaving on assumption that the Academy suspects us. Meet us at the center courtyard in five minutes, no more.” Shuyin didn’t answer – a good enough indication that he’d follow the orders – instead switching off the earpiece and trudging off back towards the escalator that would take him down…down to where the people were again. Staring at his own feet, Shuyin began his descent.

i've become so numb

TEMPLATE BY: THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE MIKEY ! @ CAUTION.

[Lenne]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=style, background-color: #423c42;,true][cs=2] & YOU'RE NOT EVEN HUMAN ` YOU'RE JUST A LOVELY IDEA OF ONE WHO I ACCIDENTALLY LOVED AND GAVE EVERYTHING TO BECOME THE GIRL ON THE PIANO BENCH SINGING ALL OF HER TEARS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - away
[atrb=width,240] "Uhhh! E-excuse me," Lenne spoke in a rather frightened manor instead of rude as another person brushed up against her elbow, almost hooking her blue frilly-like sleeve on their wrist watch. This place was madness! Everywhere Lenne looked or turned, there were crowds taking up her entire view. She felt like a worker bee coming out of the bee hive with it's armies surrounding her. It was possible that she'd only felt that way because everyone seemed as though they were incredibly busy. People were rushing as if they all were late for something or another. She had never seen such a thing in her life. Lenne had only been around people who'd taken their steps with grace, or well, at least they didn't try to mull her over everywhere they walked. Lenne felt as though she was going to get trampled if she had stopped talking. It must have been a busy time for the city of Academia. Or, at least Lenne assumed so. Why else would people be moving so crazy fast. She wondered if their was some sort of event going on that she hadn't heard about. Whatever it was, she was sure it wasn't so important that people didn't need to use manors anymore. "Go to the city, they said. Explore the major places this world has to offer, they said," Lenne mumbled on to herself. Normally she wouldn't be so worried about how other people were acting, but she just hadn't been able to get back to her old self since her re-awakening. Things had been, needless to say, messy in her mind. She had so many mixed emotions, and her brain wasn't finding places to store them. She was acting a little less ridiculous since the time she had arrived in this world though, so that was a plus. She assumed it would still be some time before she managed to put aside the pain and go back to just being, well, Lenne. At least things hadn't been all bad since the young songstress arrived. She wasn't starving, and she had shelter. That was all thanks to the Academy taking her in as one of theirs. They were, from what she'd gathered, peaceful people. Their way of dealing with things was exactly the right mind set. They weren't violent, and they always managed to figure out how to talk things through. Their actions, in the end, reflected well upon her decisions. If she had to be somewhere on this planet, she was sure she was in the right place. Still what she wouldn't have given to just go back to resting again. She'd fought enough emotional and physical battles in her life time. The last thing she wanted to do was have to be born again to fight for someone else. After pushing past as many people as she could manage, Lenne was pleased to spot an area that wasn't nearly as crowded. It was set up with benches that remained surprisingly empty. Not wanting anyone to take her spot, she walked at a faster pace until she reached her destination. She felt as though she was suddenly in a safe zone, free from the crowd of people who walked around her. Her chest stopped pounding as her heart managed to become better relaxed. She took a seat on the right side, and looked down at her hands. Twittling her thumbs, she began to think that she shouldn't have come here. Back at the Academy, they told her this was a good place to go and forget your thoughts for a while. It had worked to a point. It frustrated her into a panic which made her heart ache slip away. Sadly, those cloudy moments weren't meant to last. Her mind was clear again, and her thoughts were swimming once more. She would give anything to not have to be like this. She wasn't the bitter or angry or even constantly sad type, but she was afraid that she was going to end up that way if she didn't find more ways to get her mind off of the life she had once had and the fact that she didn't even belong here. Lenne looked up and watched as the groups of people passed her. Moments ago she'd thought of them as angry mobs, but now she was noticing them in a different light. They were just people who happened to be gathered in the same place. There was a group of children laughing and walking together, there was a man that looked as though he was trying to sell something to another man, and there was a woman walking with a smiled on her face. It seemed like she had no cares in the world. Sure, some people did seemed rushed and unhappy, but Lenne had forgotten to take a moment to suck in the good people. It lifted her thoughts up for a moment before she looked at another young woman about her age walking with a young man who had his arm around her waste. She couldn't help but feel like life had just stung her when she gazed at the two. It made her momentary hopes of happiness fade away once more. The brunette's eyes went back down to her hands in her lap, and she sat there....quietly.	[atrb=width,140] words , 918 words tagged , Shuyin notes , I usually re-read my posts more than once but this post was just written and posted, because I'm tired. Forgive me for my sloppiness. >.>
[cs=2] TEMPLATE BY CALIFORNIA DREAMING OF CAUTION 2.0

[Balthier]

every step that i take

is another mistake to you

TAG: Lenne Words: 865

ONE LAST THING: Well the quality of this went up considerably.

A short hesitation preceded Shuyin’s decision to finally step onto the escalator and begin his descent towards the smattering of people crisscrossing their own escalators and sidewalks. Shuyin avoided looking at them as it carried him down, feeling discomfort at even the sinking sensation that the escalator could produce. Folding his arms over his chest and propping himself up on the railing to ignore the sensation, the only uncomfortable feeling Shuyin felt once he reached the bottom was the remaining trace of that same notion that made him question why he should be bothering with PSICOM anyway, but having decided that bothering with someone was necessary for him to leave this planet that held nothing for him, Shuyin stifled any more notions as he crossed back towards the general direction of the courtyard, but taking the more scenic route to avoid the impressive crowds that now sat off to his side. A distasteful glance at the lot of them and a slow, indifferent gait carried him in the direction of an alleyway which opened up directly into the courtyard, where Shuyin only had to stay for a few seconds before he and the rest of these PSICOM guys exited the city hopefully for good. They could come back…Shuyin didn’t think he wanted to see it again.

The alley was empty save for a few young people watched over by some sort of guardian, all of whom Shuyin ignored to the best of his ability. He’d never done well with kids, anyway. They did distract him enough, though, that he almost found himself running headlong into a set of shoulders that rested a few inches higher than his own and, upon inspection of the obstacle, seemed to be higher than Shuyin in every aspect. The ex-blitzballer only cast a frown to the suited man before he tried to pass by. The man discouraged him, though, with a slight movement that cut Shuyin off from the end of the alleyway. A touch of anger hit Shuyin enough that he brought his hand up to shove the one accosting him, but Shuyin lowered it in favor of simply trying to press close to the the wall and fight past in a display of pure defiance. This time, the man basically threw a shoulder into him. ”I’m afraid we can’t let you go until we’ve brought you in for a few questions. You don’t seem busy, so we won’t be wasting your time.” Shuyin figured he didn’t have to much ask who the “we” happened to be, especially considering how arrogantly smug the man sounded. Idiots, of course the Academy suspected…

”Tough; I don’t have time,” Shuyin said threateningly, before simply throwing his own strength into getting past. A hand met with his shoulder, trying to shove him back against the wall, as the man started to speak again. The anger from before waxed, leading Shuyin to give a sudden shove into the man’s chest hard enough to send him stumbling back a couple of inches. Again the man, showing patience, stepped in front of Shuyin. The blond wished the man would go ahead and hit or grab him, and he’d have a perfectly good reason to give into his anger and lash out in return. Still, though, Shuyin showed his own patience, staring down at the pavement. ”No, we’ll need to question you now. You’re not being accused of-“ Again came Shuyin’s shove, and his realization that some of the people by the entrance to the courtyard were now taking note. Absolutely fantastic, now the whole world would know what was going on if he had to really take care of the man beside him.

And finally, the man wrapped a large hand around Shuyin’s elbow. Both in favor of not being caught and out of his own pride, the ex-blitzballer whirled around and struck the man strongly on his own arm at the bend of his elbow and simultaneously kicked him directly in the knee. The maneuver worked to great effect, as the larger man completely lost his grip and gave Shuyin the chance to break away. Gritting his teeth towards the assumed Academy agent, Shuyin swung around and took off in the general direction of the crowd, only to have a woman dressed in similar-looking attire to the man – a yellow-and-white sort of getup – pop up from nearby and step before him, with what looked to be a baton in her hand. Shuyin knew there wasn’t anywhere to go but through her, so he carefully picked his way towards her and only made a sudden movement to try to slide under her and send her forward by knocking her feet out from under her. It worked well enough that Shuyin got by and renewed his escape afresh, spotting one of the PSICOM troops up ahead of him, already backed into a corner. Damn it! Why would whoever was in charge of this whole reconnaissance mission have let this happen!? Angrily stopping in place, Shuyin whirled to draw the sword at his side on his two pursuers and get the idea in their heads to leave him alone and let him leave this damn city. Crowds scattered.

i've become so numb

TEMPLATE BY: THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE MIKEY ! @ CAUTION.

[Lenne]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,10,true][atrb=style, background-color: #423c42;,true][cs=2] & YOU'RE NOT EVEN HUMAN ` YOU'RE JUST A LOVELY IDEA OF ONE WHO I ACCIDENTALLY LOVED AND GAVE EVERYTHING TO BECOME THE GIRL ON THE PIANO BENCH SINGING ALL OF HER TEARS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - away
[atrb=width,240] Everything was just so messed up in the young woman's head that she felt as though she was sinking back into nothingness. She was nobody in this world any more. None of these people were her people, and she was having a hard time dealing with the fact that she had no friends to rely on anymore. In fact, she had nobody. She was completely alone, working with The Academy was all she had now. She was trying to get herself to let go of the life she had before and focus on the life that was in front of her. With all the stored up unhappy emotions, Lenne would be able to make some of the harder decisions that she'd been having issues with before. After all, what didn't keep her dead had to make her stronger. She was hoping she could pull enough heart ache from her previous life to be able to turn it into enough determination to be able to help as many people as she could now. It was too late to help herself, but that didn't mean she couldn't be there for others. Lenne was knocked out of her though train by the whispers of a lot of the people around her. It was as though they were all reacting to something going on around them. Being oblivious to it, Lenne was confused. Her eyes focused in on the direction they'd been starring in long enough to focus in on a man kicking another man in the knees. She focused in closer, and suddenly her brown eyes widened. That....wasn't just any man. Lenne sat there, completely in shock, not being able to force herself to do anything. She watched as he ran away, only to stop again by a woman. He kicked out her feet, and Lenne began to wonder if this was merely a copy of the man she once knew. Perhaps someone who was born with his looks. Lenne stood up, finally being able to get enough signals to her brain. She wouldn't stand for violence like this when there were other ways. As he ran some more, Lenne completely lost sight of him. She quickly bolted in that direction, needing to stop this before anyone got hurt. When she'd finally reached the scene, crowds were beginning to scatter. They'd finally moved enough for her to get a clear view of the back of the head of the man looking similar to her lover. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, but maybe she could talk to this guy before anything else crazy happened. Her heart felt like it skipped a beat when she noticed his attire. This was....way too much of a coincidence. Confused by what she was seeing, Lenne took a shot in the dark. "Shuyin?!" She was told that she had been the only one who'd shown up out of the blue. They told her there was little to no hope. Maybe...maybe they were wrong? She waited to see if that name would cause him to turn around. If he was the man she thought he was... he'd know her voice.	[atrb=width,140] words , 542 words tagged , Shuyin notes , This is awful, and I'm sorry. I just haven't been able to summon my muse, and I wasn't really sure how I was going to reply to this. But, I managed. >.< (: So, I'm proud of myself for sucking it up. ROTF. I was trying to picture the city...and it was hurting my head to try and imagine his position from hers.
[cs=2] TEMPLATE BY CALIFORNIA DREAMING OF CAUTION 2.0

[Balthier]

every step that i take

is another mistake to you

TAG: Lenne Words: 607

ONE LAST THING: Finally! Exams took everything out of me, sorry for the delay.

A deep frown set on his face, Shuyin didn’t watch the man in the suit help bring the woman to her feet, instead trying to find out if there was anyone else he needed to worry about sneaking up behind him. The rest of these Academy snobs were probably after the other PSICOM members on the reconnaissance team. Shuyin would be left with these two, it seemed like, and if he was, he’d have no issues getting out of here. Knowing that he could probably find an escape route, Shuyin disregarded the idea in favor of leaving these two sprawled on the ground so they wouldn’t know where he would go and couldn’t call for people to follow him. Thus, he waited them out a few more seconds until both were up and starting to circle him again. The crowd had also dispersed almost completely save for a few who were demanding to know what was going on. Good, Shuyin would have all the room he needed to make sure he could take both of the attackers out and leave them without anything to show for it but a few bruises…

Just as he was preparing to rush at one, planning to drop them with another sweep of the legs, a voice that had to be calling his name distracted him long enough to shoot his head to the side and search a portion of the fleeing crowd. Immediately, he passed the notion off as his hearing things that didn’t actually exist…because it had sounded too much like the voice that Shuyin knew he wanted it to be for it to be real. Squinting his eyes shut to compose himself, he’d find the thing that he should have been doing was defending himself, as he felt something wrap around his head before momentum carried him around and backwards, skidding against the uncomfortable pavement on his back. Only once he slightly managed to recover and roll onto the side did he know that the woman had flipped him with a headscissor – okay, so she knew how to fight - and was now boring in on him with the baton. Ever the athletic one, Shuyin kicked out his legs and pushed up with both hands to return to his feet, spinning around to connect with the woman’s shoulder with the side of his sword, before he hopped up and kicked to knock her backwards.

Now the male was on his way. Shuyin rushed at the man in return, preparing to drop him with one well-placed rising knee as he rushed past, but a flash of what had to be a ghost in the edge of his vision drew his eyes long enough that Shuyin missed, connecting with the man’s chest and nearly sending himself to the ground as he scrambled for a recovery. He didn’t look at the man, though. Shuyin instead became captivated by what he’d thought was a ghost. Now, he couldn’t be so sure. She was the right height. The face, though she was a couple of dozen yards away from him now, was right. The hair. The clothing. Now it made sense as to why he’d heard the voice. Shuyin stared, dumbfounded, before he felt a blow connect with his diaphragm that sent him stumbling back and demanded that his focus be turned to the male that was now assaulting him. Shuyin grit his teeth and chanced one more glance back at the ghost woman before he started to unleash a few kicks that forced the man’s retreat.

Maybe he’d been hit in the head. Either way, he had to end this fight to find out.

i've become so numb

TEMPLATE BY: THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE MIKEY ! @ CAUTION.