Mosaic City, located along China's coast, is quite large city sometimes called the Crossroads Between Nations due to its diverse population. While it was once a large tourist spot, the city was placed under a blockade as the military appeared claiming there was a radiation leak. The true hazard, however, is much more sinister.
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 21, 2014 17:43:56 GMT -5
"Looks like we're getting somewhere." Seiji happily replied before jumping up to get an espresso for Isolde and more dark coffee for himself. The clerk smiled at him upon noticing he ordered and paid for two drinks. Apparently, they liked seeing young couples get together. Good thing he didn't know where exactly he stood with Isolde either way.
Getting back to his seat, he gently sat Isolde's drink down before her and sat tenderly holding his own coffee cup as he took a sip. "I'm glad you said yes. I need people that I can trust going with me. The shadows seem to get stronger the farther from the city you get, so...having a full group would be greatly to our benefit. What would you say your Persona's strengths were?" He looked at her with renewed curiosity. He'd seen several different Personas in action. Perhaps Isolde's would fill out a role missing in their 'party'.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 21, 2014 18:04:45 GMT -5
"Don't sweat it." Seiji didn't mind buying Isolde things since she seemed like a nice person, even as he was desperately starved for cash. At least he made a pretty penny with his stolen mall kiosk and games taken from manga max. "Healing...hmm. That'll be a big help. Like I said last time we talked 'bout this, my brother has healing magic."
Everyone and their mother had healing magic except him. Seiji's strategy was to either kill things before they hit him or let someone else heal him so he could keep the enemy focused on him. It had worked so far, thank goodness.
"It'll be dangerous out there...dunno if you've ever been outside the ruins of the city but the shadows get even stronger the closer you get to the barrier. Can't wait to see you in action all the same." Talking was one thing, but you got to see a whole different side of a person if you fought alongside them.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 21, 2014 18:49:20 GMT -5
Leaning forward, Seiji took another sip of his coffee and thought about what she said. He wasn't the only other person that seemed to be taking things lightly if you judged purely off of words and not the meanings behind them. "That'll be a treat." He finally said.
Come to think of it, Isolde had asked about his family. It would be impolite if he didn't ask about hers in return. "I doubt you've been able to hear anything from 'em if they live outside the city but how's your family doing? Are you living with anyone or just staying by yourself?" He hoped that her family was alright, especially if someone in it was running a European country.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 21, 2014 19:56:05 GMT -5
But there was no mention of her parents. Considering that she claimed to be royalty and was too confident with her tone to be crazy, that could only mean bad things. Seiji didn't want to open that can of worms, especially since he barely knew Isolde. But the fact that she had given hints as to their fat by leaving them out meant she at least trusted him a little on personal matters. Considering she was talking about marriage and love, it was probably more than just a little to be honest.
"Wait," Seiji began with a look of confusion clear on his face, "The way you worded that...it's like your grandpa doesn't know you're here..." She said she'd been 'drawn' to the city. Had the 'call' as RPG nerds like himself called it, really known where Isolde lived and drew her so far away from her comfort zone?
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 21, 2014 23:42:06 GMT -5
In the words of M. Night Shyamalan: what a twist. Her parents were gone. Isolde was a perceptive person to be able to pick up on what he was thinking like that. Considering he'd picked up on some things he assumed she was thinking earlier, maybe they were in tune with one another to actually be destined lovers or something. Whatever, the more Seiji thought about it, the more he realized that Isolde might be letting their bad situation get to her head. He wasn't that outstanding of a guy anyway. "I'm...really sorry to hear that." Everyone but him seemed to have some sort of baggage with their parents. Takeda hated their mother, Alisa's parents were missing, and Isolde's were gone. He felt...lucky. But at the same time, he wished his relationship with his parents was something better or worse than 'eh'.
"That's a pretty bold move, though. Look on the bright side. Your grandpa rules a country. Chances are, he already knows where you are and is prepping the SAS for some sort of tactical infiltration of the place. And if not, I'm sure he'll forgive you once he finds out why you left...leaders are pretty understanding guys." He gave her a reassuring smile. There was obvious pain there and he hoped to somehow alleviate some of it down the road.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
"Given the situation now, I doubt he'll be able to track my location due to the blockade. I think he'll understand my position, though. Thank you for making me feel better, Sir Seiji." she responded with a warm smile. Yes, here she was while her grandfather was out there, ruling a country so far away. Her siblings don't know where she is either. Perhaps, the call had known where she had lived and brought her here. That was surprisingly a twist. She had not expected that one year ago either. Well, she'll have to deal with it before she can return home.
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 22, 2014 21:53:11 GMT -5
Considering her grandpa was probably filthy stinking rich, being the leader of a country and all, Seiji had a feeling he had enough money to throw at a problem to get results. Holding out hope for a crack team of commandos to swoop in and save everyone amounted up to very unrealistic expectations even for a man of faith like him.
"Well, I'm sure at least one country has an idea of what's going on considering there's enough low orbit satellites that one of them has to take a picture at just the right place to catch something interesting. Sadly, we really are on our own..." Not that he minded deep down in his heart of hearts, outside help would be cheating.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 22, 2014 23:24:08 GMT -5
"Look on the bright side, at least the nukes aren't going to go flying." There was dry humor in his voice. The city was safe in the short term, thank goodness. People were being surprisingly agreeable when it came to his plan to explore the far reaches of the city. Takeda, Isolde...hmm, who else would they need? Four or five was a magic number. "Say, Isolde...if you had to round out our little dungeon delving group, who would you bring along when we head outside the city? Us, my brother, and who else?" He was curious to see how she could think on a tactical level, or if she knew anyone else that would be willing to come along.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 23, 2014 12:44:26 GMT -5
That was the second person to mention the Indian girl to him. The phrase was kind of memetic and the thought brought a faint smile to Seiji's face. "Considering poison hurts like an eighteen wheeler bearing down on you after a while, yeah...I think someone with Poisima would be useful. As for Zhou, it might interest you to know that the two of us are co-workers. If I can catch him during a break, I'll definitely see about getting him to come along." With what little interaction he had with Zhou, talking to him was weird.
With anyone else, he could adjust to how they talked and chose to have a conversation, all in the name of being helpful and seeing their points of view. With Zhou, all he could seem to do was throw him off. "Small world, huh? Not only is he like us, but you know him and I have a job with him."
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 25, 2014 2:43:12 GMT -5
Isolde thought Zhou was a bit weird. Seiji was no expert on the vocabulary of royalty, but he hadn't really considered 'weird' as a word he'd hear from a princess. Strange? Obtuse? Alien? Yes...but weird? Weird was a bit too plain. Not that he voiced any of that because her way of wording things just helped him understand her a little better. "He didn't seem that weird to me...just a normal guy with a positive attitude." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. Forming an opinion on the only other sixteen year old he'd met in eight months outside of a classroom had proved almost impossible.
"Only thing that I think is weird is that he has a Persona directly related to mine. You'd expect Takeda and me to have some nifty tie-in like...Cain and Abel, or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, but instead he gets Faust and I get Sir Gareth. Meanwhile, Zhou comes out of nowhere with a black knight as his Persona...just seems a bit weird to me. But what do I know, I saw him in action once, and then during a hectic 'boss' fight." There were equal parts amusement, curiosity, and wariness in his voice.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”
Post by Seiji Dalton on Jan 25, 2014 15:43:26 GMT -5
Checking his watch, Seiji whistled. Time sure had flown while the two had their conversation. Seemed like a whole afternoon had passed while they talked about this subject and that. "Well, I think the idea of someone I don't even know having a...fate? tightly wound up in my own is weird. I hear he's in the acting club, so I might join that just to hang out with him." He felt stronger and more whole when around others and developing socially with them.
"But, hey, I'm sorry to cut this short, but I'd better get home before it gets dark. It was great, getting the chance to talk to you again and all that. I'll call you sometime in the near future and we can go off fighting shadows in the outer circle together." The words were once again lost in the murmurs and roars of the crowds. "Until then." He stood up and gave another polite bow. Finishing off his coffee and then gently bending down, he gave her a second kiss on the hand.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”