rekindleme | Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been?

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Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been?

Who: Kit, her new Chocobo, and you
Where: Anywhere around the streets of Saeng Seong
When: August 1st. afternoon
What: Kit is taking her Chocobo out for a ride, since Salali needs the exercise and Kit needs the time to think about recent happenings. Anybody want to talk to her?
Warnings: Probably none? Will update if that changes.

Salali loped at an easy pace through the city streets. Kit knew she could go faster, but until they got to a more open area, that probably wasn't a good idea. The chocobo was a lot bigger than her, after all, and running into someone at speed could really hurt them.

Also, the easy pace, gave her some much needed time to think. What the leader of the Ragnar had said disturbed her. From the way he'd described things, it sounded like things here were similar to how they had been back home between the Cats and the Lizards. If that was so, then the Ragnar had a right to be angry. And something needed to be done before things got as bad as they had been back home; the lizards had destroyed Thundara as soon as Mumm-Ra had given them the technology to do so, and a great many innocent people had been killed, including very nearly Kat and herself. Whatever those in charge of Saeng Seong might be up to, the regular people who lived there didn't deserve to be punished for it.

But on the other hand, the leader of the Ragnar hadn't exactly presented himself in a way that inspired a whole lot of trust, what with the spooky messages, power failures, creepy candles, and a message over the terminals where he refused to really show his face. And aside from the whole sorta-kidnapping thing- which Kit felt was somewhat understandable, under the circumstances- the people of Saeng Seong had been nothing but kind to them. They'd given them money, a place to live while they were there, and had included them in their festivals and daily lives. Living here was the first time in a long time Kit had really felt secure, even if she still missed her brother and her friends. What if he'd been lying?

But then, the way those in charge had taken down the message... Why did they do that? Were they just mad at the Ragnar for trying to cause trouble, like they'd said? Or were they afraid that people would find out that they hadn't been told the whole truth?

Kit didn't know. The smart thing to do would probably be to go and ask Rhea about it. The leader of the Ragnar didn't seem to have a problem with her, and she was important around here. If anybody knew what was really going on and would be willing to tell them, it would be her. Kit had even kept the remaining stub of her candle, in case Rhea could tell her anything about it. But would that get Rhea into trouble? Rhea was nice, and the last thing Kit wanted was to do something that might cause her serious problems.

She sighed. That message had sure made things a lot more complicated.

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Diarmuid is on his way to the lake with Lir, when he sees the chocobo and...is that Kit riding it?

"Kit!" Diarmuid waves at her in hopes that she will stop so that they can talk. First of all, he would really like to see a chocobo up close, but in addition to that, he is curious if she lit her candle. Did she talk to Zeloph, what has she learned, and what does she think of Rhea's brother?

He has talked some with Yu about all this, but Diarmuid can't help but wonder what another kid his age thinks.

Kit looked up as someone called to her, smiling as she saw who it was, and changed direction a bit to meet him. She reigned Salali in to a gradual stop and smiled down at him from the chocobo's back.

"Hi, Diamuid," she said. "And... what's that there?" She indicated Lir. "Is he your pet?"

"Hello, Kit! This is Lir," Diarmuid holds the Pokemon out so that she can pat him on the head if she wants to. "He is a horsea. Horseas are a water-type Pokemon, but he isn't a pet. He's my partner. We will fight together when we get bigger!"

To encourage her to pet him, Lir bobs his head and blows a bubble at her.

Diarmuid grins at the greeting and then turns to her chocobo, "I haven't gotten to see one up close before! Does it have a name?"

"Oh, so he's a Pokemon too!", Kit said. "I met Professor Oak and Dragonite while we were helping set up for the festival, but he was the only other Pokemon I've seen around here."

Kit giggles at the bubble and pet Lir's head a little. "Hi, Lir," she said. "It's nice to meet you."

Kit nodded. "She's not an 'it' though," she corrected. "She's a girl, and her name is Salali." At the sound of her name, the chocobo turned her head back to look at Kit and Diarmuid, giving Kit the opportunity to pet her head feathers a bit. "Her old owner isn't here any more, so I adopted her."

"Where were you headed?", Kit asked. "Me and Salali could probably give you and Lir a ride there, if you wanted."

"Yes! I left him to play in the river during the festival, because he can't really help set anything up. He doesn't have arms!" Diarmuid lows Lir down again and the Pokemon seems to grumble at him for the 'no arms' remark, "Sorry, Lir. But it is true!" The boy gives the Pokemon a hug and then turns back to Kit and her chocobo.

"Oh! A girl, okay. Sorry about calling you 'it,' Salali! I didn't mean to upset you," he reaches out to let her smell his hand as he continues to speak. "You are a lucky girl, Salali! Kit is really nice. Take good care of her, okay?"

"We are heading to the lake so that I can do some thinking about things and Lir can play. We would really like a ride if you don't mind. I haven't gotten to ride a chocobo yet!"

Kit nodded, giggling a little at Lir's grumbling. "He's right, Lir," she said. "Can't really do something like that without arms. But I bet you can swim and do other stuff better than any of us can, so don't feel too bad, OK?

Salali sniffed Diarmuid's proffered hand almost expecting there to be food in it. When there wasn't, she lowered her head slightly so that he could reach the top of it, making a little warbling noise, as if in answer to Diarmuid's command to take good care of Kit. Because obviously she would, but right now, if he didn't want to feed her then he must want to pet her, right?

"I think we can handle a ride to the lake," Kit said. "Salali's strong enough to carry a grownup, so both of us and Lir shouldn't be a problem, right girl?" She patted Salali's side, then indicated for her to crouch so that Diarmuid could climb on behind her.

"And were you thinking about that message from the Ragnar too?", Kit asked, taking an educated guess. That was the most likely thing she could think of that would required serious thought.

"Yes, he can! Lir is very good at swimming and he is also good at catching fish!" As he speaks, Diarmuid gives Lir another hug. Lir squeaks more happily this time. When Salali lowers her head to indicate he can pet her, Diarmuid smiles and his smile wides when she makes that affirmative sound.

"You are the best chocobo, aren't you? Thank you for watching out for my friend and for taking us to the lake!" Diarmuid gives her one last pet and then moves around so that he can crawl up behind Kit. It takes a little bit of fumbling around because he has Lir too, but eventually Diarmuid manages to get up and balanced behind her.

"Thank you too, Kit! Now to the lake!" Diarmuid's voice is full of excitement, though some of that disappears when she mentions the Rangar. His voice also becomes a lot quieter and very contemplative, "Yes...I am confused and not sure who to trust now. Why would Zeloph go to all this trouble and put himself in danger just to lie to us? And why can't the scientists tell us what they are really doing? Is what they are doing so bad that we won't want to help them anymore no matter how nice they are to us?"

Salali made a happy chirrup and leaned into Diarmuid's petting, clearly enjoying it. She crouched on Kit's command, though, and waited in that position until Kit nudged her back up. "Hold on to me," Kit instructed Diarmuid, then nudged Salali's sides with her heels, setting the chocobo trotting forward again, heading for the lake.

Kit sighed, though as Diarmuid voiced some of the same thoughts she'd been having. "I dunno," Kit said. "He said the people here don't treat his very well, and that they didn't, even before things went bad. There were places they weren't allowed to live, and places they weren't supposed to go. They have a right to be mad about all that. And when people get really mad, sometimes that's the only reason they need to do something."

"But he didn't really seem like he'd do something like that," she said. "He seemed nice, just kinda... spooky. Though he said that was Ragnar kids doing that, so I dunno. I'm not sure they could make the air feel like that, though; kinda heavy with magic." She paused slightly, thoughtful. "Or maybe that was the mi-as-ma doing something. It sounds like that's what's causing all the other problems around here." Except the heavy-feeling air didn't make anybody sick, just nervous, so that didn't entirely make sense either.

"I dunno why the scientists won't tell us," Kit said. "But... well, they said us touching makes energy, so they must be using it for something. And if they're trying to keep it a secret, then that probably means they think people'll be really mad if they find out what's really going on."

"I wanna ask Rhea about it," Kit said, "but I don't want to get her in any trouble. Cause if she knows something and tells us, the scientist'd probably be really mad if they found out." Grown-ups didn't like tattle-tales any more than kids did... and had a lot more power to do something about them.

"Zeloph said they wouldn't dare to hurt her because she is the one responsible for bringing us here! I am going to go talk to her later today. You should go talk to her too. I think it will be okay as long as you are careful. Don't talk about things where others can hear or on the Network, for example!" Diarmuid shifts Lir to one arm and then puts the other one around her, "I don't think he is so spooky. He's just...sad."

Of course, Diarmuid has an odd opinion on what is spooky and what isn't because of where and when he lives. For example, the miasma itself was spookier to Diarmuid than Zeloph was.

"I bet that he misses his sister, and he said that even though they don't age anymore they are still dying. We have to find a way to help save them! Maybe he can stop being sad then!"

"There are still a lot of us touching and producing energy, but...there hasn't been a new district opened in a long time," Diarmuid hadn't really thought about it before now. "They opened pretty quickly for a while, but it's stopped now. What are they using the energy for?"

"Even if we did say something on the network, they'd probably just take it down," Kit said, clearly a bit annoyed that they'd taken down Zeloph's message. "But you're right. Gotta keep quiet about it. I'll probly stop and talk to Rhea tomorrow, though, now that I know it won't get her in trouble."

"Yeah...", Kit said softly when Diarmuid mentions him missing his sister. "I know how that feels. I miss my brother too."

She nodded seriously at the comment about needing to save them. "We need to find a way to get rid of the mi-as-ma," she said. "Otherwise we won't be fixing anything, just stopping it from getting worse, like we are now." Pause. "I dunno how to do that, though."

"Touching-energy opened other districts before?", Kit asked, curious. "That hasn't happened since I've been here. How long ago did the last one open?" Kit had no more idea than her friend what they might be using, or saving the energy for, but was curious to know how it had been used before.

"I don't know how to fix it either, but there are a lot of smart adults around. I am sure one of them will think of something to get rid of the miasma! And we can help them. Don't worry. We will save Zeloph and his friends so he can see his sister again, and we will make it so you can see your brother too!" Diarmuid gives her a one armed hug, before thinking back to his time here to answer her question.

"When we arrived, only Districts 1 and 2 were open. We went around and charged generators with touch energy to open District 3 our first month here. District 4 opened..." Diarmuid tilts his head while he tries to remember what month it was, "...one...two...three months later, in September! And District 5 opened at the beginning of February, about five months after District 4. There hasn't been anything since then. That's almost six months! Even longer than the time between District 4 and District 5!"

Kit nodded. "Yeah," she agreed, sighing a little. "I'm sure somebody'll figure it out. Til then, we'll just have to try and help however we can."

She frowned, though at the news of how long it had been since a new district had opened. "That is a long time," she said. "It could be that it just takes longer each time. Or maybe that those 'generators' just need charged again. ...Though if that's true, you'd think they'd ask people about it."

She paused, thoughtful. "Maybe we should ask about that on the networks," she said. "See if anybody says anything. That wouldn't be too suspicious, right?"

"Right!" Diarmuid actually sounds excited about the idea, "We only actually had to charge the generators in one district. All the rest opened without charging generators of any kind. I didn't think about it then, but that is kind of odd, right? Why would things change like that?"

And why hasn't anyone noticed? Is it because so few from back then are still around?

"One of us should make the post soon! I have a feeling this might be important!"

"I dunno," Kit said. "It could be the same generators are connected to other districts too, but..." Kit trailed off, uncertain. That still wouldn't explain all the secrecy or other oddities.

"Right," Kit said. "I'll wait a little bit, then make a post on it. Don't wanna do it too soon, or it might look suspicious."

"Good idea! They might not hurt Rhea, but we don't know if they will be so nice to us if we make it too obvious we are looking into what they are doing. Please be careful, okay?" Kit is his friend and he doesn't want anything to happen to her! "Let me know if you find anything out, and I will let you know if I find anything out too!"

If nothing else, he is going to want to talk to Lord James about things and see if he knows anything else...

Kit nodded. "I will," she said, meaning both that she'd be careful and share what she found out. "Though if they do decide to try something, I can probably handle it. I've gotten out of a lot worse trouble back home." Of course that also meant that she'd gotten into it in the first place, but details, details...

And Kit also planned to talk to James, when she go the chance. Rhea would definitely come first, though.

Diarmuid knows about the trouble kids get into...at least on his world. Hers is a little different, but he isn't going to judge her for it. Kids are going to be kids, after all!

"Thank you! Did you find out anything else interesting? I found out why we can't remember anything when we leave! That mean scientist named Cynthia won't let us. Zeloph said if we changed her mind, we would be able to remember. We need to find a way to do that, don't you think?" His shoulders drop some and he sighs, "I just don't know how. She doesn't seem like she would listen to us..."

"I found out that the people here can't have kids," she said. "That's another thing the miasma does, and it's way the only kids here were ones who were brought here, like us. It makes it so nobody ever gets any older, but they can't have kids any more either. And Zelpoh's magic hurts him somehow, even if it does let him and the other Ragnar live outside the city. I didn't ask how, though." Partly because she felt it likely that she wouldn't understand it... and partly because she didn't want to know.

"I didn't know we couldn't keep our memories when we left, though." Kit frowned. That wouldn't do at all. "We do need to think of a way to change her mind, though."

Kit thought about it for a moment. "Maybe, if we find out what they're up to, we can say that we'll tell everyone their big secret if she doesn't change it?" She paused, though reconsidering. "That might just make her mad, though. ...Yeah, that's probly not a good idea."

"Oh! That would explain why the adults here always treat me so nicely! They don't get to see kids otherwise!" Diarmuid still remembers the three ladies who practically smothered him with kindness when the 3rd District opened. However, the happiness that comes with that memory quickly fades as Kit continues.

"If their magic is tied to the miasma, then that is probably what is hurting them. It could be what is killing them too! I hope we can find a way to help them soon..."

Diarmuid shakes his head, "That isn't a good way to do it. It would probably make her angry. Besides, just because they are being dishonorable doesn't mean we should be. We will find a better way. I know we will!"

Kit nodded. "Yeah," she said. "I saw a girl at the shrine who looked about 12 or 13, but she's the youngest-looking person I've seen here, besides us. No little kids."

Kit nodded at Diarmuid's theory. "That's what I thought too," she said. "Maybe not the same way as it is here in the city, but... it probably is."

"Yeah," Kit agreed. "We need to come up with a better idea. But that's hard when we don't know much about her. Like what She likes or wants. Other than keeping secrets from people, that is."

They were coming up on the lake, so Kit reined Salali in a little, gradually slowing them to a walk as they approached the shore.

"Fortunately, we aren't the only one working on this! Lets talk to all of our friends and then I bet we will come up a better plan," Diarmuid seems confident in that. He isn't one to give up, especially when it is something that means so much to him.

He is distracted slightly, though, when the arrive at the lake, "Wow, she really is fast! We are already here. Good job, Salali! Thank you so much for bringing me here!" The arm he has around her tightens in a hug, "Do you want to stay and play with me and Lir for a while or are you going to head off to talk to Lady Rhea?"

Kit nodded. "Yeah," Kit said. "There's a lot of smart people here; if we get everybody together we're bound to come up with something."

Salali made a little half squawk, half chirup noise at Diarmuid's thanks, turning her head partway around to look at him. out of one eye. "That means 'you're welcome'," Kit said, offering a 'translation' as she leaned back into the hug. "Though if you think that's fast, we'll take her to the park sometime and let her really run."

"But I don't have time to go see Rhea today," Kit said as she indicated for Salali to crouch so that Diarmuid could get off easily. "And I can't really stay either. I've got a lesson with Luke in a little bit and I need to make sure there's enough time to take Salali back to the stable then get back to the library to meet him. We'll play some other time, though, OK?"

"I would really like to see her run! She is so smart and strong..." Diarmuid pauses for a moment as an idea pops into his head, "I wonder if she is as fast as my brother's horse. We should all meet in the park sometime and have a race! Don't you think that would be fun?"

They haven't gotten Blackie out nearly enough since his brother got her. They should fix that!

"Oh! That's right! I forgot you said you were doing something later," Diarmuid shakes his head at himself as he slides off Salali. "We will just have to do things another day. Will you tell Luke 'hi' for me?"

"I don't know," Kit said. "I don't think she's ever raced a horse before.. But yeah it sounds like fun!"

Kit turned back to Salali. "What do you say Salali? Are you up for a race sometime?" Salali gave a confident sounding squawk. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." She turned back to Diarmuid. "Looks like we'll be having that race. Just let me know what you guys want to do it, OK?"

"I'll tell him," Kit assured Diarmuid as Salali stood back up, once the boy was on solid ground again. "You and Lir have fun!"

"Don't worry! I don't think Blackie has much racing experience either. They can learn together!" Diarmuid waves at her with one hand while Lir make a happy trumpeting sound, "We will have a lot of fun. You have fun too. I will see you again soon!"

And wrapped! :)

alley_kit - 2014-09-30 04:08 (UTC) - Expand

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Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been?

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And wrapped! :)