The SOLDIER's First Town [Open/Iris]

[Red400]

Zack walked into the Sand-lot of Twilight Town, his sword swinging to-and-fro as he stepped. It seem the atmosphere was 'uncomfortable' as people gave him glares. Zack let out a nervous smile as he tried his best not to look like he was going to 'attack' anyone; The fact that he had the Buster Sword behind him didn't do too good on that part. Some people left the Sand-lot, still looking back at the SOLDIER. Zack just sighed to himself as he mumbled, "At least I'm not getting attacked...."

He was relieved that he wasn't being chased by Shinra anymore. In fact, it was soothing to him that he didn't need to worry about anything trying to kill him. He has been in this town for a while and he already had that feeling that nothing 'bad' would happen here. There were no 'monsters' to get rid of, or any of the corruption that Shinra had over at Midgar. Now that he thought about it, he noticed that nothing or no-one was ever rude. The citizens were kind and no creatures were around. This town was probably the 'image' that Shinra wanted for Midgar.

However, when he thought about his own world and its bad memories, he couldn't help but think of the good ones as well. Zack looked up to the sky, remembering everyone that he met in Gaia. Of course, the one person that stood out of his mind was Aerith. 'I wonder how she's doing...'

It has been at least 4 years since he met here; and it was probably longer since he was 'gone'. Still, not a day has gone by since he thought of her. He still remember his promise, and he was determined to get back to Midgar....if he only knew where he was.

Zack sighed to himself once again, as he thought, 'I don't know what to do...' He looked back at the ground again and realized that he was at the Tram Crammon. He looked around, wondering what to do next. "Hmmm..." He mumbled. "Well....I guess I have nothing else better to do than relax. I deserve a vacation, anyway."

The SOLDIER smiled at the thought, wanting to do something 'fun'. Although, his expression soon turn into a confusion as he folded his arms and asked, "What IS here that I can do for fun?..." He was still new to this town, and he still didn't know all that much about it. He shrugged to himself as he thought, 'I guess I find out for myself...' With that, Zack started to explore Twilight Town, trying to find something to get his mind off from Gaia or Midgar for a while...although, he wouldn't mind finding something that would help him get back there...

[Iris|Kairi]

I was strolling along...

And ran into something hard, cold, metal and asking about fun. But...it wasn't a lamp post. Too wide. Too talkative. And it gave way in front of her..just what was it?

The teenager stumbled back a few steps, and it became obvious why she'd run into him. Her overly large bat ear hat was completely covering her eyes! She cocked her head to the side, biting her bottom full pink lip a moment before she lifted one side of her head-covering to peek a single purple eye at what she'd smashed into.

...It was much taller than she was. And..shaped like a man. She tilted her head up to see spiky black points sticking into the air.

"Gee whiz, mister!" she exclaimed, her eye wide. "You have a really big sword. And it tastes like...dirt." she nodded, licking her lips and making a face. Sure enough, there was a pink, lip-shaped smudge on the middle of the blade. Her arm tightened around Man, and she pretended she didn't see the smudge.

"Are you a fighter? I know you're a stranger...ever been here before?" she asked him now. Mixi was a little hyper this morning. She'd had many sugary fruits for breakfast, so her energy level was high. At least her voice wasn't all high pitched and annoyingly squeak and fast. Her arms moved down to both grip her stickerbook, Man falling to the ground. Instead of lying there, he rose up to his clawed feet and walked around Zack to face him. Mixi followed. She did want to see his face, no matter how shiny and reflective the big sword on his back with her lip print on it was.

[High's .Valentine.]

“WOOOOOOOW!!!” There came a roar—or an excited squeal, whatever you want to call it—and wham! The little stuffed ‘Man’ would find itself resting between two black furry limbs and sharp claws pricking its stuffed animal back.

She laid, stomach on the ground, having dived for the walking stuffed animal, and excited brown eyes peered curiously at the button eyes and the adorable sewed mouth of the moving doll. The tackler herself was an anomaly. Since she was facing away from the sticker girl and the man with the big sword, she looked like a giant stuffed animal herself. Or a panda. But these people no doubt knew nothing about the big furry black and white bears. Nevertheless, there was one right next to their feet, marveling over a toy.

“You’re so cute! You can’t be real can you?” The girl cooed at Man, resting her head on a paw and tickling the toy with a sharp claw. Apparently, she had no shame, since she was in the middle of the street, ignoring the two people next to her and her attention focused solely on the gray bat. “I have to be careful with you! You’re all just stuffings and cloth. I’d accidentally poke a hole in you if I play around with you too hard.” The girl giggled, and judging by her voice and height, she seemed rather young, still in her early teens.

Finally, the Panda Girl looked up, surprised to see that there were two other people within inches of her.

“Oh!” She grinned at the two. “Hello!” The costume the girl was wearing was baffling. A human face peeked out from underneath a thickly stuffed hood, which was firm yet soft to the feel. The hood resembled the face of a bear, with two black eyes and a simple black nose sewed onto the white cloth. On the side, are two black stuffed ears. The rest of the fuzzy suit, which enveloped her whole body, leaving no indication of the figure underneath all the fluff and roundness, was white with black limbs. On each ‘paw’ are five dull, deceiving claws that looked as if made out of felt.

“Is this cute little guy yours?” The Panda Girl picked up and looked at the man in the turtle neck and the HUGE sword. Maybe not…

Turning, she looked at the girl, her mouth slipping open. The stuffed animal in her hands, she approached the teenager and peered at her from under brown bangs. It was apparent the girl was in awe.

“Hi, I’m Jeannie!” The girl suddenly shouted and tackled the girl with a hug, careful of her claws and squishing the stuffed animal between the two. “We gotsa be friends! I just know we can be the bestest of friends! I just know it!” Jeannie said, a bit louder than her usual loud voice. Now, it was apparent the girl was getting too excited.

Still delirious in her excitement—the girl was now bouncing around—she bumped into the SOLDIER. “Oops!” A bit of Jeannie’s excitement died down as she remembered the HUGE sword the man was carrying. Even with her sharp claws, that sword can clobber her in half! Scurrying towards the girl in neon, Jeannie hid behind her, looking at the Mister with the HUGE sword. “I’m sorry!” She called meekly, clinging to her ‘shield’. The man and the girl with the awesome hat seemed to be friends, right? He hadn’t clobbered the Cool-Hat-Girl in half yet, so that must mean something…right? Maybe Jeannie’s new friend can put in a good word for her with the man with the HUGE sword.

[Red400]

Zack felt an 'impact' that caused him to stumble a bit. His eyes widened a little bit, obviously startled from what had hit him. His hands instinctly reached for the handle of the Buster Sword, as he turned around to see what it was that hit him. He was about to take his sword out, until he realized that it was person that had bumped into him...although he had never seen a person like this before. Her attire was completely different from the rest of the residents. He also noticed the strange 'hood' on her head, which had compeltely blocked her view, he realized.

"Uhh..." Zack mumbled, as he took his hand off the handle. This was...weird for the SOLDIER. He looked a little surprise when the girl mentioned that his sword tasted like 'dirt'. Zack started to feel more sympathy for this person, more than anything. She had almost reminded him of that Wutai kid that constantly bugged him...

He looked down at what she was carrying. 'That thing is....interesting...' Zack thought, not wanting to admit that it had creeped him out a little. The doll looked like is made to 'scare' people, yet at the same time...comfort? Zack wasn't sure how to put it; all he knew was that dolls were always slightly creepy, no matter who a person was.

He heard the girl's question and he nodded his head at first, before he stopped. Well...technically, he was a fighter, but to be more specific; he was part of an 'elite' group. "You can say that...I'm part of SOLDIER, actually." Zack pointed to himself, as he pointed himself with his thumb, having his typical grin on his face. Being SOLDIER was one thing he could be proud of. As for her next question, Zack replied, "I have never been here before...I came here...well, not too long ago."

The girl suddenly dropped the doll and, to Zack's surprise, it started to move. Zack flinched a bit, asking, "What the?- That thing can move?!" He was completely focused on the little object, mostly to the fact that it was coming towards him. The SOLDIER took some steps back, deciding if he should just 'walk away'. He had that feeling in his stomach that some-how, this was going to led to a slightly uncomfortable path...

All of a sudden, another person came. It seem like she had came out of no-where, seeing as Zack jumped a bit. This person was even more stranger than the girl he just met; she had on some kind of...suit, if that's what it could be called. All that Zack could say about it was that it was black and white; there was nothing else he could use to describe it. "Uhhhhh..." Zack uttered, not really sure what to do next. 'This day is getting stranger and stranger...'

The new person was 'hugging' the doll, which was something that surprised him. Where did all of these people come from all of a sudden?...Better yet, HOW did they get here? Zack has never met people like them before in this town. The new girl seem to have finally noticed them; she looked surprised to see them after she had bumped into the SOLDIER member. Zack once again stumbled a bit. By now, he was expecting 'everything' to happen with the two of them. If Zack saw them like this from a distance; he would of thought that these two girls would be friends. At last, it seem there was a moment wher everything was 'calm'...

Then, it was back to chaos. The new person went behind the girl: Zack had guessed she was afraid of him. The SOLDIER sighed to himself quietly. 'I'm not THAT scary, am I?' He thought. He heard the girl apologize to him; he lifted one of his hands as he said, "That's alright. You didn't hurt me or anything like that, so it's alright." Zack smiled the best he could, not trying to show that he was still...'uncomfortable' with these two. He thought it was a handful with one of these 'type' of people....but now two of them?...it was going to be a long day.

Zack sticked his hand out for a hand shake. The least he could do was try to make the situation better. He grinned once more, introducing himself. "By the way, my name is Zack Fair. SOLDIER 1st class. What are your names?"