Seeds of Spira (Broomhandle45 and Candira)

"Yeah, yeah..." Garen groused, scratching his head as he followed her through the crowd. "How the hell do you stay so calm all the time, Loose? How does that not frustrate you?" Well, coming from an extremely expressive background like Bikanel Desert, he supposed he simply didn't grasp how she could hide it. Their teacher just snubbed them and to her it sounded like it started raining, that was it. It was a little freaky, to be honest. He was a man of pure expression, for better or worse-and often for worse at his age-.
 
"Well, it kind of helps that you freak out so much, honestly. I'm frustrated, but you're wasting an awful lot of energy on complaining. It's like it balances me out a little." She shrugged and kept looking around, searching for anyone who might be LeBlanc Syndicate and the shop. "I mean, it's not like there's anything I can say to make him come back, right? It's better to just focus on the task at hand." And if he called her Loose one more time she would have to slap him.
 
"That makes too much sense," Garen grinned. "You really need to relax, you know that? Loosen up some, you look like you got a bar up your butt. Come on, this is exciting! We're out here, our first job...you don't gotta make it look so dull, you know." Heaven forbid she look like she didn't belong in a temple, that'd just be too much wouldn't it?
 
She sighed and looked over at him, that cocky grin making the vein in her temple throb a little. "If I need to relax, you need to get serious! Reese's place in the program, and quite possibly human lives, are at stake here! You're acting like we don't have a purpose here at all. God forbid you look responsible for a change." She didn't know why he was getting under her skin so much, but she was not fond of his attitude. Then again, Lucy knew exactly why she was so pissed--he had a point. She wanted to appreciate the moment for what it was--but her up-bringing simply would not allow it. It bothered her that she couldn't be more normal, but all she had right now was what she'd learned in her books and studied in her courses. She had nothing else to go off of at this point. Really, she was being too harsh, but he'd hit a nerve and he should have expected she'd be a little defensive.
 
For a moment, it looked as if Garen was actually seriously contemplating what she was saying. But that expression came and gone within a second as he put on that same cocky grin as he adjusted his goggles a moment. Well, look at that! Lucy Niles had some spine in her, some real spine! Not just the spine that came up when he bugged her and picked at her!

"Tell you what, Luce. I know a great place we can get some information, you gotta promise me you'll try to relax and I'll take this serious. My word as an Al Behd, deal?" he said honestly, or as honest as Garen could usually sound with that cocky as hell look on his face.
 
She felt her lip curl as he called her loose again. God she wanted to smack that cocky grin off his face. Taking a moment to count to three and let it roll off her back, she sighed and shook her head. "You're unbelievable, you know that? Fine. I will try to tone it down a little. Now will you please take it a little more seriously? We need to find Reese's family's shop before we look anywhere else." She took another deep breath and let some of the tension out of her shoulders.
 
"Alright, alright!" He said easily, arm around her shoulder in a friendly fashion as he lead her along. "Leave it to me, partner! I know exactly where the item shop is!" he said cheerfully. He was just hoping she'd relax a bit in the meantime!
 
Wait, what? Just what was he doing? He had his arm around her, pulling her along like they were friends. Well, they might have been friendly, but he didn't know her like that. She looked at his arm and then up at the Al Bhed, as if to offer him the opportunity to remove it himself. Well, at least he wasn't picking on her. Her temple pulsed a little as they walked and she tried to control the frustration that was making her tense. It wasn't working all that well.

"Sure thing, Garen..." He was still a little too cheerful for her liking, but then, she supposed that that had been his point.
 
"Sure I'm sure," Garen grinned. "I know this place like the back of my bright orange coat, I know exactly where to go!" he said, and sure enough...he actually was right for a change. In merrily homey spiran script was a sign denoting an item shop on third street. It was quite the nice little store front, and it was obvious that the second story of the building was where the family probably stayed.

"Pehku!" he said cheerfully, arm waving in front of him. "Not bad, right?"
 
Well, she'd know that bright orange coat anywhere, so she had to assume that meant he knew where he was going. She didn't fully let her guard down, but she managed to calm down. When they stopped in front of the store, she managed to worm her way out of his grasp and smiled. "Good job, partner. Now let's go inside and see what we can find out." With that, she entered the shop, glad that she didn't have him hanging onto her anymore. It wasn't that the contact wasn't nice--just the loudness of his outfit increased with proximity. When she came into the shop, she noticed right away that something wasn't quite right.

"Umm...Garen? I think we're about to find out what happened and we're not going to like it."
 
It was a mess and a half, to say the least as they walked inside. The place looked halfway ransacked, and Reese's parents were worried messes that were talking to Lucan Police. Garen glanced around curiously, welp...that wasn't good news was it? Maybe if their illustrious leader was here, they'd consider something more serious.

"G...Garen? Is that you?" Reese's mother blinked in surprise as he smiled and moved forward. Oh my, it seemed people were growing to appreciate his sense of style. The glimmering little gem on his hip told them all they needed to know.

"Yes ma'am," he said. "What uh...what in the world happened here?"

"We don't know!" she insisted. "These...these men in strange outfits came in and just started asking all these strange questions and started wrecking the place looking for a dresssphere! They left and we haven't been able to find Van after that! I don't know where he went!"
 
Lucy's eyes cut over to the Police. It was a good thing they were here. After all the family had been through, it was no wonder they were worried sick about their son. Van was just a little guy, after all. The LeBlanc Syndicate could do some real damage to a little kid like that. They weren't exactly known for being delicate. At least one thing was clear--the kid had the sphere, and the syndicate knew it. Lucy returned her attention to Reese's mother and smiled softly.

"It's okay. We're here to help. You stay here with the police and try to answer their questions. We'll look for Van for you. Do you have any idea of where he might have gone?" She placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, radiating warmth, concern, and understanding. Her feelings were amplified by the dress sphere and she knew it. Hopefully, the woman would calm down enough to tell them something.
 
"No, we're not...we're not sure." she sighed, wiping her face a moment. "When those strange men in those purple get-ups came in, Van ran away..."

"Strange, purple get ups?" Garen sighed, tapping his forehead idly. Oh boy, he knew what that meant...and it meant nothing but trouble.

"Yes," Reese's Mom mumbled. "They came in this morning...I don't know why."
 
Well, it looked like Garen was caught up. She looked at him and then rubbed the woman's shoulder. "We'll look for him. Try not to worry. Stay here in case he returns." She smiled and then took Garen's hand, leading him out of the shop. Time was of the essence. The syndicate was probably looking for Van, too. And they weren't going to be nice about it.
 
"So...that complicates things, huh?" Garen said idly, following after her-like he had little choice, because the woman had a surprisingly strong grip- Well, if these goons were even remotely capable they wouldn't be trotting around in their little uniform to find him. And finding Van before they did would be quite the trick, gee...if only Eddie Lightning, hero extraordinaire deigned this important enough?

Hopefully, Eddie actually DID have something important going on. Otherwise, he was going to be incredibly upset...to a man he probably couldn't do anything to, but still. It was the fact of the matter!
 
"It doesn't make our job any easier, that's for sure." Lucy kept pulling him along until they were around the corner and then turned to face him. "Okay, if you were a scared little boy with a dress sphere, were would you go in Luca?" She asked, looking around. There had to be a better way to do this, but at the moment she didn't really know how else to find the kid. Back in Lady Yuna's day, there were methods one could use to track down spheres. Fat chance that anything like that would be here and available for use.
 
"You mean a normal boy?" Garen said dryly, tapping his goggles for reminder. "Barring that? Somewhere remote, out of the way...places where kids have lots of easy places to hide." he said, casting a glance behind her. "...Hell if I know, Luce. Maybe we should check a school or something?" he shrugged.

"Or you could check somewhere boys like to play in Luca," And from out of nowhere and practically scaring the life out of him was the known hero, Eddie Lightning.

"Fryd ec ouin bnupmas!?" Garen cursed, with Eddie having that casual, friendly smile as Garen clutched his chest in abstract terror. What in the WORLD!?
 
Garen's reminder got her to wondering just how an Al Bhed boy would be different from a "normal" one. Rather than dwell on it now, however, she made a note to ask about that later. Now she had something else to focus on. He made a good point about checking at a school. If nothing else, they could learn about what Van liked to do. It was an awfully round-about way of searching, though.

And that was when their mentor appeared out of nowhere. She jumped a little, her hair standing on end for a moment. Her heart was just about ready to burst out of her chest from the shock. She sighed in relief when she saw it was Eddie and put her hand over her heart. "Well, I guess we should keep our guard up," she mumbled, though she couldn't help but think that Garen's reaction was entirely appropriate.

"Well, there are a few parks around. Maybe we should try there first?"
 
"You've got the right idea, my dear." Eddie grinned. "But you're forgetting a very important aspect of Luca in this of the year!" he suggested idly. "What's the big thing this year, my dear students? That has been advertised just about everywhere in the main street?"

"...Just where have you been, anyway?" Garen asked, eyes narrowed idly.

"...Not important," he coughed casually. "Focus, Garen!"
 
As Lucy caught onto what Eddie was talking about, Garen asked a question that she'd been wondering about herself. The answer earned their instructor a bland stare before the red mage answered. "Blitzball? Yeah, I could see Van running to the stadium. It's sure big enough to hide in. Plus, he could play around there. Tons of vendors and gamers hang out there. It's as good of a place to start as any."

She smiled and then turned to look at her partner. "How should we do this?"
 
"Ugh..." Garen sighed, scratching his forehead in annoyance. "Alright...fine, why don't you take the front entrance and I get the back?"

"And I'll take a look around myself," Eddie added easily. "Sounds acceptable, and we'd best hurry. Remember, you should be able to sense the dressphere with your own." Well, that was a benefit, wasn't it?
 
"Alright then. Be careful. If you need my help, find a way to get my attention and I'll do the same."

With that, Lucy took off toward the stadium, hurrying along down the streets. Thankfully, a girl her age wasn't out of place, either in costume or out. Running wasn't uncommon either. Glad that she didn't have to worry too much in Luca, the girl began looking for Van as she came closer and closer to the stadium.
 
It was a madhouse in the stadium, but then again that wasn't much of a surprise. Blitzball season was in the high point, with pre-season warmups being scheduled and all kinds of chances to meet some of the blitzers.

And he really wanted to, it wasn't often he'd get a chance of meeting Eigaar of the Pysches. But he had a more important business, it was probably just about the only time an Al Behd boy in obnoxious clothing would fit in.

"Hey, excuse me." he said politely to a pair of men. "You guys seen a little kid run around here? Dressphere?"

"...The hell are you wearing, son?" one of them sighed, scratching his head softly. "Is this Al Behd fashion now?"

"...It's a dressphere, sir." Garen replied dryly. "You know, what the people teach at the Academy?"

"Dressphere?" The other mused. "Sounds a bit...odd if you ask me, isn't that just for girls?"

...He really, really hoped that Lucy was having a better time than he was.
 
Lucy was at the front desk and lost and found asking about a little boy that matched Van's description. The ticket agents didn't say anything about the dress sphere outfit. Clearly, they had seen just about everything. "Actually, there was a big group of kids that went through earlier. They had season passes, so we just let them through. One of them might have been the kid you're looking for. Unfortunately, I can't help you more than that. I see a lot of little kids, so they sort of blend together."

Well, any lead was better than no lead at all. "Thanks. I'll just go in and check around for him."

Since she was on official business from the academy, nobody questioned her presence there. All she had to do now was...find a child in a sea of children. God damnit. Thanks to Eddie, though, she did remember that her sphere would resonate the closer she got to the one Reese's little brother had stolen.
 
This was ridiculous, how in the world was he supposed to find anything or anyone in this crazy mess? And like usual, their illustrious teacher was nowhere to be-

"Looks like your sphere is glowing," That smooth, casual voice said behind him that made Garen almost plow over a cart of Besaid Auroch shirts. The cashier looked about terrified that Garen was going to steal them.

"REALLY!?" Garen hissed, squeezing the corner of the cart so hard that he thought it might shatter. And he was more than ready to give his big hero teacher a piece of his mind until he felt it. And boy, did it feel weird.

He paused at that, his swirled eyes narrowing thoughtfully. No, that was not the feeling of a dormant dressphere...that was the feeling of an active one. He knew that feeling, at least...and it was stable. That meant nothing good in the slightest.

"Dammit," Garen growled, stalking through the crowd in annoyance. He should have seen it a while ago, they knew they were being followed! Eddie seemed entirely non-plussed by the situation, sitting down on a bench with a fold of his legs. Garen had a good sense of his surroundings...and good instincts, everything else...however?

"Improvise, Garen." he reminded easily. Honestly, did he need his hand held? Lucy had the clearer head between the two of them, clearly.

"Fine," he muttered, improvise? He could improvise. He knew he was being stalked and he was getting sick of it. He moved to the center of the hallway, casting his eyes across...that dressphere was getting closer. Typical Leblanc thugs, they always loved making an entrance.

"Well, well, well..." he heard, and soon he started to spot the purples and silvers that slowly began to meld into the crowd. It was obvious who the dressphere user was, the only one with the glowing garment grid on his hip. It didn't matter if it was the boy's stolen one or not...he could work with this a lot better than searching for a kid.

"What luck that we have, finding a little Academy student wandering far from home?" he smirked, lifting up a wicked pair of claws that made the crowd begin to part and separate around them. Counting the goon leader, he saw six.

Terrific, hopefully whatever he was doing would be enough for Lucy to find Van.
 
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