I Left Mideel For This?! (closed)

[Lillet]

It had only been three days since Lillet had traveled to Midgar and she was already sick of it. There was no way she could get used to living in such a place. Mideel had been a small village surrounded by nature and full of people that were warm and friendly to each other. On the other hand, Midgar was a dark place where nothing ever grew and nobody cared about who you were. This was no place for a girl from the countryside.

Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if Lillet hadn’t been stuck in the slums. In such a big city like Midgar, you needed money and identification to go anywhere decent. Lillet had neither of these things.

The oddly dressed girl found herself wandering about sector six. It wasn’t nearly as bad as some of the other parts of the slums she had seen so far. Then again, that was like saying that being bitten by a panther isn’t as bad as being bitten by a tiger. The difference wasn’t that big. While sector six had plenty of light and at least had shops to browse, the people were still rude and most of them seemed like they would rob you blind if they got the chance.

‘I don’t even know why I’m still here,’ Lillet thought with a sigh. Her piercing green eyes wandered slowly from shop to shop. She avoided the gaze of any passing people, pulling her cape tightly around her body in a vain attempt to conceal herself. At least it made her feel better. Who knows? Maybe there was some redeeming quality about this place that she simply wasn’t seeing. Maybe there was some sort of diamond in the rough she hadn’t found yet. ‘If there really is something like that here, I hope I find it soon. Something about this sector makes me feel uneasy. I don’t know what it is, but the feeling is definitely there.’ Lillet cringed and wandered deeper and deeper into sector six.

[impulse]

Manuel never liked walking around the slums. He had spent enough time growing up there, now he was forced to patrol this depressing city. Up and down the alley ways he went, day after day with no interesting contact. Hopefully this round would be different, a fight, a conversation, Manuel didn't care which, as long as he wasn't just going to have to give his usual report on sector six, boring, boring, boring. At least this work would get him closer and closer to his goal of being recruited into the Turks.

[Lillet]

Lillet lightly bit her lip as she continued to walk through the sector. The uneasy feeling she had seemed to grow with each step she took. Everywhere she looked there were more strange looking people. There were men dressed like women and women who were barely dressed at all. Was this normal for Midgar, or was Lillet just lucky?

Normal or not, Lillet wasn’t comfortable in the least bit. She began to pick up the pace. The girl probably should have been paying more attention to where she was going, because she ended up colliding with a man going the opposite direction. The force of the collision wouldn’t have been enough to send either one of them to the ground. However, it did knock Lillet back a few feet. Her sheathed sword slipped from the belt it was attached to and clattered to the ground.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry!” Lillet apologized frantically before grabbing her weapon from off the ground. She bowed her head and waited for the man to speak. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too angry. ‘Man, today just hasn’t been my day,’ she thought while mentally smacking herself for not paying attention.

[impulse]

Manuel looked down at the sword that had fallen on the ground, then over to the young woman he had ran into, the woman was attractive that was hard to miss, but what was with that sword? "Well, that was unexpected. Doesn't appear that anyone is hurt-- Wait, what is a young girl like you doing walking around alone? Are you lost or something?" maybe today would be interesting after all. "What's your name?"

[Lillet]

Lillet eyed the man in front of her. He looked like he couldn’t have been any older than she was, and he dressed like he was normal. Normal by her standards anyway. The man didn’t sound like he was angry either.

Lillet breathed a sigh of relief as she raised her head and retied her weapon to her belt. “Umm, my name’s Lillet. Lillet Galvire,” she introduced herself with a small voice. It was abvious that the girl was nervous. She might have found someone normal to talk to, but that didn’t make the environment any less unsettling. “Lost? I’m not really sure if I would go that far. I’m new to this city, and I was just looking around...”

[impulse]

This girl seemed rather innocent, that was rare in todays society, especially with someone someone who could wield a sword. "Say no more, I understand these streets can be confusing to new people. That sword," Manuel asked, "are you good with it? Because these streets can be dangerous." Manuel decided he would try to stay with this girl, at least then his rounds wouldn't be so boring " I could walk with you if you want, after all I am a member of Shinra's police force." Manuel spoke with a smile, hoping she would say yes.

[Lillet]

“Don’t worry about that, I know how to handle a sword,” she reassured him with a smile. Though what he said didn’t help her nerves at all. Were the slums so bad that she would have to draw her weapon within the city walls? It sounded like it was a common occurrence by the way he talked. The very idea was utterly unheard of for someone from such a small village. ‘Grandma, I hope you knew what you were doing when you sent me here.’

“Someone to walk with sounds nice. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, that is...” Lillet trailed off. The last thing she ever wanted to do was become a burden. He was the one to suggest it, so it was probably alright. “You say you’re from Shinra? Their headquarters are here, aren’t they? What’s the company like?” Lillet asked as she started walking. Surely those questions must have sounded strange. After all, Shinra was all over the place in Midgar. Lillet didn’t know any better though. There wasn’t any trace of Shinra back home.

[impulse]

"I don't mind at all, as a matter of fact these rounds can get pretty boring." Manuel followed Lilliet, it wasn't as if he had a set path to follow, and he usually didn't cover all of the area anyways. "Well the company has been pretty good to me, money, shelter, food, although I didn't have much of any of that before." Manuel was surprised that she had never heard of Shinra, after all they were known world wide, or so he thought. "Seems some people don't think that Shinra is very good though, but I don't really see why I mean they give us energy and supply us with jobs, some people just don't like development I guess." Manuel tried to avoid looking at the drag-queens and strippers that were still around them, as they frankly freaked him out a bit still, no matter how used you are to the streets, you never get used to seeing men dressed as women.

[Lillet]

“I guess they can’t be so bad if they let you make a living. We don’t have anything from Shinra back home. That is, unless you count the boats,” Lillet commented while staring up above. A small frown crossed her face as her eyes were met with the plate above. You couldn’t even see the sky in this abysmal place.

Lillet shook her head and brought her gaze back to the shops that surrounded them. Sure you had hotels, item shops, weapon shops, material shops, and restaurants. Those were to be expected of a shopping district. Then there were the places that just seemed wrong. Places such as the gym that was full of cross dressers and the large sign that read Honeybee Inn that stood in the distance. It gave Lillet the creeps.

“Anyway,” the girl began, trying to get her mind off of whatever she was supposed to be looking at. “You know my name, but you never told me yours. That’s not very polite,” she joked.

[impulse]

Manuel chuckled "Right you are Lillet, I guess fair is fair. My name is Manuel Lopez, born and raised in midgar." Manuel noticed Lillet looking at the shops and such with a creeped out look on her face. "Yeah, it doesnt get any easier to look at some of these places, I wouldn't stay at that Inn if I were you." Manuel only half joked with that comment, it really wasn't the best place for a woman like Lillet to stay. "So I was meaning to ask you where you come from, that you didn't know about Shinra?"

[Lillet]

“I’ll take your word for it,” Lillet murmured. She didn’t even want to think about what went on in a place like that. She was sure it wasn’t pleasant.

She sighed before answering Manuel’s question. “Nice to meet you Manuel. I’m from Mideel. It’s a tiny little village in the Southern islands. There isn’t much in the way of technology there, so you don’t really see any signs of Shinra,” Lillet informed him. Talking about it was making her even more homesick than she already was. She missed being able to look out her bedroom window and seeing all that the town had to offer.

[impulse]

Manuel put his hands in his pockets as he walked along the shops. "It must be nice out there, living with nature and such, I never really got to see too much of the outside." Manuel had only been able to see the dome for most of his life, and when he did see nature it was only from a rather small window in his quarters. "Sorry for all these questions, I'm just a curious person I guess, but...why did yo come here?" Manuel wasn't quite sure what time it was, and he didn't really care, this was more enjoyable than giving a report to some guy who was just gonna throw it away any ways.

[Lillet]

“I’ve only been here for a few days, but I already wish I could go back. It’s so different here...” Lillet trailed off again. The idea of going home was quite tempting. If it weren’t for Grandma, she would have left this hellhole as soon as humanly possible after day one. Knowing Grandma though, doing something like that would be absolutely unacceptable.

“Hmm?” Lillet stopped walking and paused to think about his question. It rolled around in her head for a few moments before she shrugged and continued to move. “I know this might sound strange, but I don’t really know why I’m here either. I was told that I should leave Mideel so that I could spread my wings, and that I should head to Midgar. I don’t know what I’m expected to do here though,” she tried to explain. Lillet didn’t exactly expect Manuel to understand what she was saying. It didn’t even make sense to her.

[impulse]

Manuel wasn't too sure what she meant, but it seemed like he wasn't going to get a more in depth answer even if he tried, so he left it at that. "Well I have thoroughly grilled you about your life, I guess it's only fair to give you a chance to grill me, right?So let me have it." Manuel didn't know why but he felt happy tonight, it might of been that he was in a bad mood all day and finally snapped out of it, or maybe he was just relieved to meet someone he could talk too, a rare occurrence in midgar.

[Lillet]

“Eh?” Manuel’s response had caught Lillet off guard. She had been so relieved to be able to talk to someone that it didn’t even occur to her that she had basically been spilling her life story to a complete stranger. That wasn’t like her at all. Well, there was no point in stopping now. Midgar certainly does strange things to people.

The girl walked in silence for a few moments. What would be a good question to ask this guy? A couple came to mind. “You don’t seem to like this place very much. Have you ever thought about leaving?” Lillet asked with a tilted head. Not only did her Grandma tell her to come here, but Lillet felt that there was something in Midgar she needed to find as well. Maybe he had a similar reason for staying.

[impulse]

Manuel smiled while he watched ask her question, why did he stay here? she didn't hold back this one. Manuel looked around a bit before speaking again "I had thought about leaving, when I was a kid on the streets I used to beg for a way out of here, but I never got one. I guess I stopped thinking about it after awhile. I guess I just hang around, waiting for something exciting to happen. Highest chance of that happening is if I can get into the Turks." Manuel thought back to his early days and gave a small laugh to himself.

[Lillet]

The thought of a child having to grow up in a place like this didn’t sit well with Lillet. “It must have been awful. I’m afraid I can’t really relate to it either. Until Grandma brought it up on my nineteenth birthday, the thought of leaving Mideel hadn’t even crossed my mind,” she said quietly, her eyes focused on her feet. The two walked in silence for a little while.

“You mentioned the Turks. Is that why you’re working for Shinra?” Lillet asked, breaking the silence with another question. She had no idea what the Turks were, but it was better that walking around in an awkward silence. Besides, they must be good if Manuel stayed in Midgar for so long just to join them.

[impulse]

Manuel pulled his right hand from his pocket and removed his hat, running his hand over his hair and taking a deep breath, "It is a big part of it, after all, I have to do what I can to keep things interesting. Plus getting into the Turks takes skill, if I can do that, people won't doubt my abilities any more, I will be respected by everyone in Midgar." Manuel tried not to, but he couldn't help looking down after finishing his sentence. Respect, no one would be ashamed of him if he earned respect, even his parents would beg to be with him, and he could deny them this time.

[Lillet]

“Respect, huh? Sounds like quite a challenge,” Lillet said quietly. Her eyes found themselves focused on the sword at her side. She couldn’t help but wonder what kind of people were in the Turks. Did people respect them for just their skill, or was there something more to it? ‘I’m sure I’m thinking too much. Manuel knows the city a lot better than I do. I’ll just take his word for it instead of jumping to any conclusions,’ Lillet mentally told herself.

The girl looked over at Manuel to see that his mood had changed. He looked kind of depressed. Did she bring up a bad subject for him? Lillet’s train of thought was interrupted when she heard a soft growl coming from her stomach. Her face flushed from embarrassment when she realized she hadn’t eaten anything yet. “Why don’t we change the subject? Know any good places to eat around here?” she asked while turning her face away.

[impulse]

Manuel tried to shake off the gloom. Looking up to get his bearings, Manuel tried to figure out where there was any food, Putting on a happy face, Manuel finally spoke "Well, if you like Pizza I know a good place to eat, and please, say you like pizza." Manuel smiled with these words as he pointed to the Pizza Temple across the street.

(ooc: I made up a place...not sure if I can do that, but it is done.)

[Lillet]

“Pizza? Sure, sounds like a plan,” Lillet agreed. She was still a bit embarrassed that her stomach made such a noise, but she quickly got over it. The thought of food sounded too appealing for her to be mad that her stomach had betrayed her.

She strode across the street and poked her head inside of the Pizza Temple. It seemed like a relatively clean place. There weren’t too many people in there either. Lillet stretched her arms over her head, looked back to see if Manuel was coming, and then slipped inside of the restaurant.