Again for the First Time [Fran/Penelo]

[Balthier]

you're like diamond

and i'm like glass

TAG: Fran, Penelo Words: 539

ONE LAST THING: Terrible starter, but as he's only waiting it shouldn't hinder your posts.

So it would seem that he and Fran were not as alone – the solitude one could only find in a bustling city – as initially thought.

”Penelo always was a curious type, Fran.” Balthier leaned back to the quiet tick of his brandy glass in his hand and the rather irritating scratching of static on the insignificantly small communication device before him on the table, another piece of this world’s unaesthetic and unreliable, if partially impressive, technology. Ivalice seemed the only world interested in the appeal of an elegant curve or neutral shade of color; the rest had their neon blocks that provided a cold efficiency and not much else. ”Drop a hook and we may find ourselves with our first interesting catch on this shabby planet, assuming your eyes and ears serve you well and you manage to find our fledgling sky pirate.” Balthier took a sip of the brandy and a pause. ”And if our survival in these past months is any proof, those eyes and ears always do serve the both of us well.” The people of the wood could say what they wanted about the “dulling” of Fran’s senses during her time spent with humes of Balthier’s ilk. In Balthier’s experience, none were as in tune as his partner; it was the reason that she was the one out and about in pursuit of the tiny dancer they’d grown to know especially well instead of Balthier.

The two had spotted, just faintly on one of Gran Pulse’s “television” screens, a girl that, if she wasn’t Vaan’s longtime friend and their ally towards the end of the war in Ivalice, was a strikingly accurate image of her nonetheless. Considering the two of them had been scraping the streets of Academia for news worthy of their attention – and managing to capably scrape together the tidbits they acquired into something concrete – the appearance of a close acquaintance like Penelo would prove their first discovery of merit. Balthier had considered the fact that Penelo might react to his appearance...guardedly if he approached her alone and made the offer to join him at his “hideout.” As well as they might have known each other, Balthier did have a courteous reputation to uphold. Aside from those reasons, Fran simply struck a more impressive figure in a crowd. On this particular planet with their apparent lack of Viera, perhaps she struck too impressive of a figure. But Balthier knew more than most that Fran could certainly handle herself, even in the most trying of situations and as a part of the most trying company. These Pulsians were certainly trying company more often than not; it was all Balthier could do to tolerate these reports of war brewing. The so-called leaders calling the shots on Gran Pulse hadn’t learned their lessons about war as of yet, it would seem.

Their warmongering was of no matter of Balthier today, however. Bringing the glass back to his lips, he silently listened for his partner’s voice to come over the communication device, eyes set upon their dazzling view of building tops in the distance. Lack of architectural creativity or not, these Pulsians did know how to build rather striking arrangements of their blocks on the horizon…

like oil and water we always clash

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

[fran]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Excuse me while I light up the Sky {WORDS } 1031 {TAGGED } Balthier, Penelo{WEARING} Normal armor Fran had never gotten quite so many odd looks in her life. Nor had she seen so many mouths drop open either. Despite having this same situation happen to her many times before, she had to admit that she’d never quite seen so many people drop what they were doing and scurry over to peer out from behind their transparent barriers of glass. Fran hadn’t expected anything but this reaction though, if she was honest with herself. Humes had always been strange creatures, and this planet seemed to be crawling with that single species. A pity really, for they seemed far too close-minded about things, especially a veira wandering their streets. Instead of being offended though, red eyes flickered to look at the spectacle they were causing in the slightest show of amusement. Moving through crowds seemed to be a problem as well, which could make this tricky. As soon as she thought that, the piece in her ear crackled slightly before allowing her long time partners voice to come through. Flicking her reddened gaze to her left, Fran continued to walk slowly through the crowd. “She seems to share that same trait with every hume from this planet.”, she commented softly while she watched a surprised hume staring at her from the right. “They do need to learn to close their mouths or they might catch flies. Despite seeming uninterested in what was happening around her, every sense was attuned to the crowd. To her right, she estimated there was a hume child about twenty feet away softly gurgling his displeasure over something that was causing his displeasure. Behind her ten paces was a young teenage hume who had been following her for over two hundred yards. Fran guessed she was wondering about her height, ears, or armor choice. Whatever it was, Fran wasn’t so keen on the teenager following her. Subtly she stepped to the side and near a vendor. With slightly narrowed red eyes, Fran looked over her shoulder and looked directly into the eyes of her follower, silently sending her a warning. The teenager seemed to realize that she had been found out, because immediately she branched off and started to walk the opposite way, though she continued to stare over her shoulder as if Fran was some two headed beast. Her own response to such nonsense was a barely noticeable flick of her eyes upward in the equivalent to an eye roll in her standards. Unfortunately there had been no sightings of her actual target yet, which disappointed Fran. Only then did she return to her watchful state of scanning the crowd in hopes of seeing the young woman she was looking for. Fran didn’t react physically to his quip about her senses, simply stood and flickered her eyes here and there. “She is not making herself easy to find.” She didn’t feel the need to defend her senses to anyone, but Balthier in particular. Out of anyone, he knew her perhaps best, and understood her the best as well. She couldn’t help one comment however, making an educated guess that he was drinking brandy, as he seemed to favor that drink over any others. “Are you sure brandy is good for a man your age to consume?” Her tease was hidden beneath a monotone voice. A moment later his comment caused that same twitch in her lips that was her own form of a smirk. And then she saw her. Narrowing her eyes in concentration, Fran shifted slightly to the side and concentrated on the figure she had seen walking. It wasn’t hard to get a good view with her height, so she quickly figured out that it was indeed the ‘fledgling sky pirate’ that she had seen. “Sighted.”, she simply said, before she pushed away lightly from the wall she had been standing beside. Fran moved once more into the crowd that was walking around the city, her red eyes peeled on the figure that was walking slightly to the side. Her leisurely pace picked up onto a slightly faster walk while she effortlessly made her way toward the younger girl. It wasn’t hard, as the sea of humes seemed to part as easily as if a behemoth was bearing down on them to stare at her. She ignored them – or attempted to ignore their noises in her sensitive ears while she positioned herself in such a way to gain the attention of the girl she was attempting to lure in. When Fran was sure that she had gotten the attention of Penelo – in the form of seeing the subtle movements she displayed, the Viera angled away in her walk and started back for the bar. “It is started.” {NOTES} I...I really hope this is okay @_@

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by Enix

[penelo]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 380px; border-left: 20px solid #595454; background-image:url(http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/Sara_Shadow/PRIVATE/texture.jpg); padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 20px;] i walked across, AN EMPTY LAND. I KNEW THE PATHWAY LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND. I FELT THE EARTH BENEATH MY FEET. SAT BY THE RIVER AND IT MADE ME COMPLETE. OH, SIMPLE THING, WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? I'M GETTING OLD AND I NEED SOMETHING TO RELY ON. SO TELL ME WHEN YOU'RE GONNA LET ME IN. I'M GETTING TIRED AND I NEED SOMEWHERE

[/size][/div]

to begin,

somewhere
only we know

That's it. She was done. Done, done, done, done, done! She was getting out of this city before it killed her. She ought to have known better than to come here any way. Cities never ended well for her and this was almost the worst one yet. Archades hadn't been this bad and the only reason Rabanastre was still at the top of the list was that she had watched her parents had died there. In fact this one might tie with Rabanastre, as her home was allowed some leeway due to it being her home.

She was going to find this world's equivalent of Balfonheim, get royally scuttered and risk what meagre gil she'd managed to scrape up so far on cards. If she lost it all then she'd earn some more with her dancing and then do it all again. She figured a week of that would be enough to make her feel better and then she could run back to the area she had crash landed on and make a living off of the land. She knew how to do that, could survive easily that way and it would be some much easier for her to handle.

Making sure that her staff was firmly strapped to her back, Penelo stepped out of the alley she had slept in and slipped into the crowd. She made her way towards the outskirts of the city. She wasn't about to use one of those creepy, two wheeled machines or tiny air ships as they terrified her. No, she would make this journey on foot. She was getting back into the habit of walking for miles and didn't really care how long this walk would be. Once she was out of the city she could take her time, setting up camp whenever she needed to and living off of the land.

She didn't have any supplies, true, but that wasn't a problem. She'd made a camp without a tent before and she always had her magick. How, she didn't quite know. Mist didn't appear to exist on this world but that didn't seem to be a problem; she could use her magick as easily as ever. She wasn't really in the mood to stop and think about it though. Other people here had magick so maybe she was simply accessing it in the same way they were. The important thing was that it still worked and if it stopped, well, she'd survived without it before and she could do it again.

The blonde felt her spirits rise as she drew closer to the edge of the city. Freedom. "Oof." The man in front of her stopped dead in his tracks and she ran into his back. "What-" Frowning, she went to ask why he had stopped, only to find him staring at something ahead of her with his mouth open. She turned, not really expecting anything worth looking at. The civilians in this city would stare at anything that wasn't standard form. Her mouth dropped open to match his as she caught sight of some very familiar ears.

"But..." Her gaze flickered from where she knew the outside lay back to what were unmistakeably Viera ears poking out over the crowd. For a brief moment she was torn between just getting out of here as fast as possible and going over but a tugging feeling welled up in her chest. Even if it wasn't Fran, and knowing her it probably was, it was still someone from home. This world, aside from the technology, was nice enough but she was so lonely. She'd always had someone around, be it her brothers, her parents, Reks or Vaan, until now. While she wasn't about to cling to Fran's waist like she used to with her Reks after her parents died, she supposed a little conversation couldn't hurt.

"Fran?" She tilted her head in a greeting, knowing that if the Viera was facing her way she'd see it despite the crowd. Penelo didn't bother raising her voice when she said her name; Fran's ears were plenty sensitive to hear her from over here. She stared towards her as the Viera began to move in a different direction. Her curiosity piqued and her mind made up, Penelo rolled her eyes and threw her arms up in defeat. So much for leaving double time.

Knowing that she wouldn't get any answers without following, the blonde took off after her, keeping track of her by the ears bobbing above the heads of the crowd. As she drew closer, she could make out the head piece and familiar hair. Well, at least it actually was Fran she was following. It could have been a little awkward if it wasn't. It was easy enough to keep up as the crowd parted like water for the Viera. Cursing the others long stride, she picked up her pace, practically jogging after her. She couldn't see Balthier but she knew that if Fran was here then it was likely that he would be too. The two were always together and she doubted that even whatever it was that had brought them here would be able to prevent that.

Why they couldn't just come up and say hello like normal people she didn't know but she was starting to get used to their particular brand of mysterious. She snorted to herself as she wondered if Balthier was still obsessed with playing the leading man. He'd almost weaned himself off of it after Lemures but maybe without Vaan getting in the way he'd reverted back. She supposed she would find out in due time.

[/left]

953 WORDS, BALTHIER, FRAN, outfit, REUNION TIME! =D
SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW by KEANE
made by ANYA of caution 2.0

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[Balthier]

you're like diamond

and i'm like glass

TAG: Fran, Penelo Words: 702

ONE LAST THING: I was much happier with this one.

Balthier’s mouth tore into a deep smirk at Fran’s mention of the humes that were surely staring at her as curiously as all those that he and his partner had met on this planet already had chosen to do. ”I suppose we can forgive them for having little variety in their lives, even if they may lack the same tact as the people of Ivalice.”

It had come to their attention that Gran Pulse’s natives were all humes or some sort of meeting between god and man known as a “l’Cie.” (They could also not be marked among the most skilled at terminology.) For the people to be surprised at the site of a Viera was no shock to Balthier and likely not to Fran, either. For the people to spend minutes upon minutes inspecting every inch of Balthier’s partner crossed a line from curiosity to outright leering. The Viera were worth looking at, indeed, but these Pulsians could at least have some common decency about them. Etiquette likely didn’t fall as high on the list of learned practices on Gran Pulse as on Ivalice. Balthier would be perfectly content to blame their excessively advanced technology for such a downfall, and tipped his glass to his blame as he waited for Fran’s continued reports.

As the next of those reports came via Fran’s accented voice filtered through the microphone, Balthier stayed silent. Fran would find their former friend if she was available to be found, of that Balthier had no doubts. Fran also did not need the assistance of his encouragement repeated time and time again. Instead he produced only the slight clink as he tipped over his brandy bottle to pour a bit more into his glass.

The faint smile that accompanied her next comment as he sat back and took a long sip of the drink quickly turned bittersweet as he retorted. ”You know what we humes say, Fran. Old habits die hard.” And the old man was never to be seen without a glass of brandy in his hand before nethecite became his favored way of easing his nerves,” he added, silently, swirling his drink and recalling the numerous times his father would sit around with his business associates when Balthier was only a boy, almost drowning himself at times in the aged liquid but never seeming to fall prey to its effects. Perhaps it was time Balthier parted with this last link to a man who had turned against nation and family for a chunk of enchanted rock.

Eh, Balthier had plenty of time to make such a parting in the future. ”We’ll just have to agree on the distressing fact that my palate has prematurely aged,” he said, to ensure her that he hadn’t retreated into his own thoughts for good.

And then came the confirmation that he’d been waiting for, earning a prideful nod from Balthier to the empty if furnished room that surrounded him. ”Then both of us were right to say we had spotted our little Penelo.” He took another sip of his brandy. ”I do hope she looks well.” For having seemed a fragile girl during their first meeting, Penelo had certainly proven herself beyond what anyone could have expected of her during the end of the war. Her capable survival during her captivity, her assistance to the party during their trials, and most of all, her ability to tolerate Vaan had proven her worth to Balthier quite easily in the past. Unless she’d suddenly deigned some quarrel with the crew of the Strahl over the past few months, she would likely be more than happy to inquire into Fran’s presence on this foreign planet, and Balthier would be glad to have her at arm’s length for the day.

And happy she proved to be, as Fran confirmed to him. ”The girl does not disappoint,” Balthier quipped, taking his glass and the little communication device and standing to make his way over to the door and thin windows. There he clipped the little device against his ear and peered out, not expecting to see the lean form of his companion nor her hume follower just yet. ”Keep me posted, Fran. I don’t find this city brimming with any other worthwhile form of entertainment, after all.”

like oil and water we always clash

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

[fran]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Excuse me while I light up the Sky {WORDS } 1034 {TAGGED } Balthier, Penelo {WEARING} Normal armor If she was freer with her thoughts and expressions, Fran would have snorted over Balthier’s mention of the ‘tact’ that those in Ivalice had. Right. Tact. Was that what he wanted to call it? Another subtle flicker of her eyes in an upward fashion was how she felt about that lie. “If tact is what you call the reactions of the humes in Ivalice to viera, I do not believe I want to meet any without.” Despite what she said, Fran was quite used to the reactions she seemed to stir up among the humes every time she came in contact with them. Most, she had come to realize, couldn’t get past the type or armor she wore. Typical to her species, it didn’t take anyone with unnatural powers to notice that the humes had no such armor that they wore. How well she knew her partner. Fran didn’t make any comments directly after he told her the age old long saying, but mulled it over in her mind. She supposed they were both old dogs when it came right down to it. They’d been at this profession for long enough to have become the best they could be, and had yet to fall from that esteemed position. “I am aware.” The same flicker of her eyes happened as she picked one hume out of the crowd to study her – a youngling about the same age and build as Penelo. Quickly she dismissed her from her thoughts and picked another hume out of the crowd to study closer while she wound her way through the crowd. “Some new tricks you seem to learn quickly.”, she easily stated, though Balthier seemed to have quieted down on the other side of the line. She didn’t question him about the silence, as she almost never questioned him. If he didn’t want to say anything, he would have his reasons, and she could understand why. He never pushed her beyond what she was willing to give, and she had always returned the favor. His voice soon assured her that he hadn’t fallen asleep, and so she concentrated all her effort on scanning the crowd for this one young hume they were looking for. As soon as she saw her, Fran was on her trail with a confirmation back to Balthier that she had indeed caught sight of the youth they had spent so long with. It didn’t take her long to approach the vision range of the hume and be seen. As soon as that happened, Fran was headed back to Balthier’s place of waiting with a steady clip, white hair floating back and forth to accent the sway of her hips. “She looks fine. She spotted me at least.” Fran didn’t pause in her stride while she made her way purposely through the crowd. “She would have to be blind not to.” Though blending in was a problem with her appearance, Fran had to admit that it worked to her advantage in keeping ahead of their young friend – what with the humes instantly parting to allow her an easy trip through the otherwise milling crowd. Despite the noises infiltrating her sensitive ears, Fran could quite easily pick out the one figure that actually mattered. Her name, softly spoken, was nonetheless heard by Fran while she made her smooth getaway. Along with that, were the shuffling of feet that had a purpose in their direction. No matter what had been said about her senses becoming dulled, Fran could pick the footsteps of her pursuer out as simply as a mother could distinguish her own child’s cry. Making her way through the crowd, Fran walked into an alleyway that would take her the back route to where Balthier was waiting. It took only a moment’s hesitation to realize that Penelo was still following her. When she did, Fran turned and strode down the alleyway and toward another street on the opposite side. By the time she had reached the other side, Fran paused in order to allow Penelo time to catch up with her long strides. Though she didn’t want to be caught by the other hume from Ivalice, she did want to keep her curious and following her. Baiting her every step of the way. “Do you not find humes with narrow minds entertaining?” At that moment Fran was once again being stared at by a shocked hume that couldn’t quite seem to get enough of a grip on the muscles in her mouth. “Alongside being narrow minded, they seem to have a problem controlling the muscles that support their mouths.” Her sensitive years were picking up the footsteps of her pursuer as well, so Fran was once more ready to be on her way and lead Penelo on to the bar that she was headed toward. She could get her cue to move – which was as soon as Penelo saw her from the other opening on the long alleyway – without actually seeing the movement, as her hearing painted as vivid of a picture as she needed. {NOTES} Agh, I hate all my Fran posts @_@

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by Thousand Foot Krutch

[penelo]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 380px; border-left: 20px solid #595454; background-image:url(http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/Sara_Shadow/PRIVATE/texture.jpg); padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 20px;] i walked across, AN EMPTY LAND. I KNEW THE PATHWAY LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND. I FELT THE EARTH BENEATH MY FEET. SAT BY THE RIVER AND IT MADE ME COMPLETE. OH, SIMPLE THING, WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? I'M GETTING OLD AND I NEED SOMETHING TO RELY ON. SO TELL ME WHEN YOU'RE GONNA LET ME IN. I'M GETTING TIRED AND I NEED SOMEWHERE

[/size][/div]

to begin,

somewhere
only we know

Penelo let out a noise of frustration as she followed the long white trail of hair ahead of her. Honestly, it was as though the two were allergic to convenience. She could have understood the secrecy if they were still on Ivalice; She doubted there was a single city left there that they weren't wanted in. However, surely they couldn't have gotten themselves into that much trouble on this planet already. Oh, what was she thinking? Of course they could have.

She briefly considered not playing this game and instead going back to her original purpose of getting out of here as soon as possible but she was both lonely and curious. She also disliked the idea of either of the sky pirates thinking poorly of her. While the blonde didn't usually place much stock in what others though of her, so long as they were willing to trade, it was different with Fran and Balthier. As illogical as it seemed, she felt that as long as those two had a good opinion of her it would mean she was validated. The two were well travelled and world wise and if they didn't considered her just another child then it must mean she was going good with her life.

The idea of her own self-validation resting so heavily on someone else's opinion rankled her but she couldn't deny that it was true. Instead of fighting it she had given up somewhere on Lemures and decided that she might as well go with it and just make sure that she did her best to not slip in their estimations of her. One step above that on her list of priorities was making sure that they never found out. Fran would likely be highly unimpressed and Balthier would most likely kill himself laughing at her.

Having reluctantly accepted her mild dependency on them she was left with no choice but to continue following Fran and being careful to not lose her in the mass of people in Academia. A path appeared for the Viera wherever she went, something Penelo had noticed occasionally on Ivalice as well, but with so many people around and the difference in strides between Fran and herself, the gap had begun to close by the time Penelo reached it.

The blonde wasn't a city girl for nothing however and made good use of her pointy elbows to make her own path through the crowd. More than one of her children had cursed the sharpness of her elbows when she would use them to break up fights or rouse them in the mornings and she was starting to understand what they meant as the limbs proved themselves to be very good at getting people to move out of her way. She gave a sly but particularly harsh nudge to an Academy uniformed person as she passed, feeling just a little spiteful after the recent business with the speech and ensuing riot.

Halfway through an alleyway, this city was a complete bloody maze, she had a naughty idea and paused for a second to pull off her shoes, carrying them in her hands instead. If Fran wanted to make her play 'Chase the Viera' then she was going to have some fun too. Barefooted, the dancer switched from walking to running on the tips of her toes. She didn't know how long the change in the sound of her footsteps would throw Fran off but she was going to take full advantage of the little time she had to close the gap between them.

The ground on her bare feet didn't bother her much as she'd built up callouses after many years of not being able to afford proper shoes and a lot of her dancing practice having been done barefooted to try and stop her shoes from wearing out too quickly. She didn't bother ducking as she ran, knowing that either the crowd would hide her as she was or Fran would see her no matter how she tried to crouch and hide. Her attempt at trickery would eventually run out thanks to Fran's ears or eyes so she didn't really see the point of putting in too much effort. It was just for fun after all.

She reached the end of the alley and caught sight of the ears again. It looked as though Fran was facing the other way but she couldn't be certain. Using both her elbows and her shoes to swat and shove people out of her way, she pushed closer while trying to prevent her feet from being trodden on. She hoped they would reach the end of the trail soon because she could feel herself getting more and more irritated with the crush of people around her and if she knew Balthier he would be somewhat out of the way from the crowds, possibly somewhere where he could watch them disdainfully.

[/left]

836 WORDS, BALTHIER, FRAN, outfit, NOTES
SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW by KEANE
made by ANYA of caution 2.0

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[Balthier]

you're like diamond

and i'm like glass

TAG: Fran, Penelo Words: 865

ONE LAST THING: I figured too much more pursuit could get old.

”We could count Vaan among those without,” Balthier said, shaking his head at the memory of their exit from the wood during which the male among their pair of street urchins-turned-heroes had asked Fran so bluntly about her age. The pirate would have thought that, through all their years together, Penelo would have instilled a little more of a sense of manners in Vaan, but what was to do be done about it? Vaan’s curiosities would have won the day in either case.

Hmm, speaking of Vaan, Balthier thought it unexpected that he and Fran had spotted Penelo without her young companion on two separate occasions now. His absence could be easily explained, considering all the many hindrances that could come between the two younger pirates managing to meet one another. Though Balthier and Fran had appeared in essentially the same place at the exact same time, perhaps Penelo and Vaan’s arrivals hadn’t proved quite so convenient. And to speak of their arrival assumed that the shirt-deprived young Dalmascan had appeared on Gran Pulse at all. Penelo could answer any questions about Vaan in due time, assuming she kept her interest in Fran for the duration of the trip to his current position.

They couldn’t help but get a tad distracted from their self-appointed task of leading the tiny dancer right into their hideout, however. Again forming a faint smirk at his distant partner through the carrier of her voice, he again tipped his glass to her. ”You flatter me, Fran. I suppose we both share a penchant for learning new tricks, though, don’t we? Heroism among them, considering the fight with Vayne…and now, we’ve had the displeasure of learning how to adjust to a new world entirely. By the end of our careers, we may find ourselves the two most well rounded people walking the earth.” If they survived to the end of their careers, they would certainly have evaded more blades, bullets, and other means of death than any two people to walk this planet or Ivalice. Perhaps Balthier would have settled down and written a book by the time he’d reached an age of retirement, but considering how many Archadian, Rozarrian, and Dalmascan legs he had aiming for his lap even with him in the height of his prime, he doubted he’d be able to reach around them to write even a single word once he’d ceased his travels. Ah, the company of narrow-minded women never ceased to dampen his view of humanity.

Only nodding thoughtfully when Fran mentioned that Penelo looked well, he considered that he never really should have doubted that the girl would be perfectly fine as time went on. If Penelo had the constitution to survive her travels with the princess- queen, then travel to a different planet, filled with all manner of mysteries but, thus far, not an extreme amount of danger beyond the little scuffle witnessed on the television that would have likely proven a stroll through a field of Dalmascan lilies for the young pirate, would have been the simplest of adjustments to make.

Balthier, knowing they shouldn’t be terribly long in coming, took to waiting for the pair of ladies by the door and window to his and Fran’s little hideout, still working at his drink. He made a noncommittal hmm to Fran’s comment about the narrow-mindedness of the humes on this planet, taking a few seconds to answer. ”I don’t find humes with broad minds entertaining, least of all those supposed scientists sitting back in their Academy and thinking so highly of themselves.” Ah, another reminder of his father’s profession as a madman setting the world aflame with nethecite. These Academic minds surely liked playing with their own forms of that accursed rock; they only hid their schemes behind the sheen of metal and a friendly hand for their multitude of foreign refugees. If only Balthier and his partner could have found a world where the populace was truly ignorant as opposed to bright enough to build their fancy machines and foolish enough to use them for their ambitious designs.

Fran fortunately broke him out of his loathsome thoughts, giving him reason to again smirk despite her absence. Ah, she did have a knack for putting human tendencies into the most interesting terms. ”Do watch yourself. You may end up leading an entire troupe of admiring citizens back to our little home away from home at this rate.”

She wouldn’t have to answer his quip, as, from his position at the window, he could see her approaching. His eyes shifted behind his Vieran partner to the scatterings of the crowd, in search for a blond head and short, Dalmascan nose among them. What he found was a girl in her dancer’s attire and with her shoes in her hand, doing her best to keep up with the suitably long and strong legs belonging to her enticer. Tapping a finger against the side of the glass in his hand, he stepped around to the door and pushed it open, exiting to the street and propping up against the door, greeting Fran with his gaze before he turned to scrutinize the young Dalmascan in tow.

like oil and water we always clash

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

[fran]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #171818; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #171818 solid; border-bottom: 10px #171818 solid;] Excuse me while I light up the Sky {WORDS } 923 {TAGGED } Balthier, Penelo {WEARING} armor Fran frowned in the memory of the other youngling sky pirate and his lack of any sort of manners. Though her and Balthier had gotten closer to the group than perhaps any other group of people, she couldn’t help but have one memory come to mind whenever she thought of the slightly annoying boy. Unfortunately for Vaan, that one memory was the moment he slipped up and so rudely asked her age. Something told her that Balthier was thinking of that same moment, as he had reprimanded Vaan for being so rude. Fran wasn’t open about her life or anything about herself to anyone besides Balthier – and even he didn’t know a lot. He had the sense to not pry her for that information however, and for that she opened up far more than she did elsewhere. “How old are you Fran?” That one sentence was spoken in a higher voice purposely to mock the blonde. If she disliked anything the most, it would be those that dug into the lives of others needlessly. With a shake of her head, the viera put that thought out of her mind and once more concentrated on the task at hand. Or listening to Balthier talk in her ear, a voice she heard often and perhaps the one she would never tire of. ”If we do survive until we are that advanced in years, we will be.” Fran already believed they were highly advanced in most areas – especially It would seem, when it came to the people that inhabited this land. However, there was room to grow, and that was perhaps the single quality that did make them cut so much higher than any others around them. The likelihood of their living to that point was probably only guaranteed because of their prowess, seeing as how many people seemed to desire their deaths. At that moment the footsteps that the viera had been tracking suddenly went silent. That nearly caused her to pull up in her stride, though she quickly continued to move. Swiveling her head only slightly, she flickered her eyes to the side only far enough to look behind her. Though she couldn’t see the blonde through the sea of humes as Penelo was shorter than them, Fran quickly picked up the trail of humes that seemed to be moving prematurely or in a startled fashion. That was the route that the youngling sky pirate was following. With slightly narrowed eyes, Fran turned and continued toward her destination, walking a bit faster to make up for the moment of hesitation. So the youngling had managed to soften her step. Fran quickly picked up on the fact that she must have rid herself of her footwear. Fran felt a moment of respect that she had thought of that, but then let it pass and simply attuned herself to more subtle form of footsteps. It took her a few moments to register that sound, and took much more concentration on her part, but eventually Fran could also hear the soft padding of the now barefooted strides. At that moment the earpiece crackled once more and Fran once more heard Balthier’s familiar voice on the other end. Though she remained silent for a few moments – knowing what he was really referring to – Fran finally spoke again. “Perhaps we should find a way to relieve them of certain items as a repayment for…helping others.” Fran would not have to explain that further, as Balthier would know exactly what she was speaking of. They hadn’t gotten any really valuable items in enough time that she wanted to raise a bit of hell. After all, that was generally their way. Finally ending up near where Balthier was, she was attacked with the gaze of an obviously surprised hume, who could not seem to control the muscles in her mouth, much to Fran’s displeasure and a grunt of agreement – along with disapproval at Balthier’s words. The narrowed look she sent the hume didn’t seem to discourage her from the staring either, so after a moment Fran simply swaggered past her and continued on her way. “Humes…”, she muttered very softly. At that moment she could hear those same soft footsteps coming up behind her, along with some faraway disgruntled voices. It was time to lead their little sky pirate back to Balthier. Finally she made it to her companion at the same moment he decided to walk out. Giving him a matching look of greeting, Fran stopped and turned, a hand resting on her hip, weight more heavily on her left leg while she waited for the blonde to catch up with them. “She still has a sharp wit about her.”, she mentioned, thinking of her taking off her footwear – or so Fran assumed she had. {NOTES} This didn't take me all day at all

table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0, lyrics by Thousand Foot Krutch

[penelo]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 380px; border-left: 20px solid #595454; background-image:url(http://i592.photobucket.com/albums/tt7/Sara_Shadow/PRIVATE/texture.jpg); padding-left: 10px; padding-bottom: 20px;] i walked across, AN EMPTY LAND. I KNEW THE PATHWAY LIKE THE BACK OF MY HAND. I FELT THE EARTH BENEATH MY FEET. SAT BY THE RIVER AND IT MADE ME COMPLETE. OH, SIMPLE THING, WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? I'M GETTING OLD AND I NEED SOMETHING TO RELY ON. SO TELL ME WHEN YOU'RE GONNA LET ME IN. I'M GETTING TIRED AND I NEED SOMEWHERE

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to begin,

somewhere
only we know

Penelo caught the quick twist of ears in her direction and felt more than a little smug that she had managed to, however briefly, pull one over on the elder sky pirate. It was a difficult thing to trick a sky pirate and even more so a Viera so she felt that she had the right to be somewhat proud of herself for the feat. She wasn't well practised at being sneaky, usually leaving that sort of thing to Vaan whenever they were on heists, and it was nice to know that she wasn't completely hopeless at it.

As she followed the ears, an uneasy sensation settled in the pit of her stomach. Her footsteps stalled as she paused, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip. Was this really the best thing to do? Sure, she'd love to see people she knew again but so far she had been successful in staving off the homesickness that was crowding around the edges of her consciousness. She wasn't the type to get homesick usually but she'd never gone somewhere that she couldn't get home from before.

Even when she was trekking across Ivalice with no real guarantee that she would survive the venture she still knew that she could have headed to the nearest aerodome and caught a sky ship back to Rabanastre. Things were different here. She couldn't just take a short flight home or even make the journey on foot. She might never be able to go home again and coming face to face with people from her home might be the final straw to send her spiralling into a panic.

A passer-by jostled her from her thoughts and she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and started moving again. Maybe the reality of the situation really would hit her after this meeting but she couldn't afford to miss the chance to establish a link with people she knew and trusted to have her back when it came down to it. If she really needed to freak out when all was said and done then she could find a quiet corner and let go then. She wasn't a coward and who knew, maybe together they could figure out a way back. It wouldn't be the first time they had pulled a miracle out of thin air.

She had to crank her speed up to a jog to catch up with Fran again but it didn't take her long. A quick swat of her shoes made sure that people kept out of her way. The bobbing wave of long white hair had come to a halt so she assumed that they had reached their destination. She drew up in front of the Viera before coming to a halt and ignoring the two in front of her as she wiggled her shoes back on. Once they were on and tied she tilted her chin upwards and gave the sky pirates a look. There was no real significance behind it but she didn't think she'd get the chance to give them a look again and she knew how to take her opportunities where she found them.

After a moment the snooty expression cracked and turned into a real smile. She had missed them, though for what reason she couldn't really say. The blonde planted her hands on her hips in a move practised dozens of times on her kids. It was that or hugging them and somehow she didn't think that would go down as well with them as it did with some of the other pirates she knew. There were some very cuddly sky pirates out in Balfonheim who didn't even try to get frisky. That had been one of the strangest things for her to adjust to when she'd started spending time there; sky pirates just didn't seem like the type to be cuddly.

"Well aren't you two a sight for sore eyes? I hope you're not just going to try and kill me again, hmm?"

[/B] She was joking of course. Mostly. While Penelo appreciated that Balthier and Fran had been a great help on Lemures after that particular incident, it was still something of a sore spot with her. She tended to hold a bit of a grudge when allies tried to kill her; she still wasn't quite over Vossler's betrayal either, though she had at least stopped bringing it up every five minutes. Hopefully they would understand the sentiment at least.
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755 WORDS, BALTHIER & FRAN, outfit, NOTES
SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW by KEANE
made by ANYA of caution 2.0

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