[Thursday, Ramuh 5th, 1360 AI] [Today is a nice day, compared to yesterday and last night's light rain. The ground is still a bit moist but a wind has picked up and carried much of the heavier clouds out of view. The temperature is fairly nice: a bit warm for this time of year, but the winds help offset that.] [The time is in the morning, a good 4 hours before lunch. Ne Rina got her summons last night for this morning, and assuming she filled out all the prerequisite paperwork and following through, she should be comming to the Council's hall-type-thingie soon. The summons said to be ready for anything, and the paperwork included a waiver. A moogle is at the entrance under the overhang and at the podium there. She looks bored.] [Session Start!] * Ne_Rina walks up to the moogle. She's a Selkie of about average height, with blond hair that comes down to her shoulders. Part of it is in a braid that goes around her head like a circlet of sorts. She has fair skin and blue eyes, and currently is also dressed in blue. Kupo. What're you here for? * Ne_Rina adjusts the backpack she is carrying - the summons did say to be ready for anything, after all - and then clears her throat and answers the moogle in a deep, husky, slightly raspy voice. "I've been summoned by the Council. Caravan interview." Oh! You are... Ne Rina Arata? * Ne_Rina nods. * The moogle motions. "Enter when you're ready! The council is waiting, kupo." * Ne_Rina takes a deep breath, adjusts the cuffs of her light-blue blouse, which are embroidered with a pattern of white and lavender flowers, and steps past the podium and into the Council Hall. [The council is sitting around a large U-shaped wooden hardwood table. From the left to right you can make out Mog, Penn Lak Illich, Loren Hasgord, Squenix Knackstedt, Cid, Gwesus Masahcarey, Ran Dom Iffin, Yarksetnik Czretzinger, and Darell Racht. Each of them observes you appraisingly, and a few whisper among eachother regarding what they see. Light is centered on you, although you can still see the council.] [Behind you and to the left is a small sparring area, and back and to the right is what appears to be the magical equivalent of a firing range. There is still a good amount of blood in the sparring area, which may or may not disturb you. Once you have entered proper and have had a seat on the chair at the focus of the U, Cid stands up and starts into one of his speeches.] * Ne_Rina pales slightly upon seeing the blood, then composes herself and sits down upon the chair, looking at each Council member's face in turn. Hello and welcome! I trust you are here about your application, and might I add I'd like to congradulate you for getting this far. But, I must also say that not everyone has what it takes to be a crystal caravaner, and it is a long and dangerous task that lies before you should you be accepted. This application process is to make sure we only send the most able and competent of our youths on this task to keep miasma at bay. Miasma's clutches have touched all of us in some way, as you know, and it is only a natural reaction to try and fight back. In many ways, you are living the natural instinct o- * Ran Dom starts snoring loudly. * Ne_Rina looks solemn during Cid's speech. Then a corner of her mouth quirks slightly at Ran Dom's snoring. * Gwesus, who is stuck between the two, gives Ran Dom a quick jab in the side and a sharp glare to Cid as-if saying 'Get on with it'. Well, I have, ahem... Okay, Mog, you may begin. * Mog, who had the papers, flies over to Ne Rina and looks as he flies around her. "Ne Rina, could you tell me... Do you like to write? Or read?" * Ne_Rina turns her head in an attempt to watch Mog, then gives up. "Well... yes, I like reading. Especially about far away places. I do some writing, but not very much." Oh, really? What are your favorite books, kupo? Hmm... the histories of past caravans. Their journals. I'm curious about the places they went and the things they discovered. * Mog nods and gets in front of her. "Did you read anything by me?" I did, I think. You wrote the journal for your caravan, right? And I read some poems by you as well. * Mog grins. "Kupo! And what did you like?" You did like it, right? * Ne_Rina nods. "I did. The one about Gernon Downs was my favorite. Although... who was Izen?" Was that one of the caravaners? I'd forgotten some of the names. * Ne_Rina looks slightly embarassed. "I tend to pay more attention to places than people." Oh, Izen! You should see him sometime, really big guy. Not the brightest, kupo, but really good at making sure nobody hurt us! That's a good sort of person to have on your side, I think. * Mog nods. "He is!.. Oh, and one more question. Why do you like to read, and why do you like my stories?" I'm curious about the world out there. Since I can't go out and see it for myself... yet... it's the best way of finding out about it. And I like the way you write. You know what you're talking about, so it's like having someone guide me along. And you seem to really enjoy it as well. * Mog smiles and gives Ne Rina a hug. "Thanks!" He flies back to his seat. * Ne_Rina is hugged. She looks startled, then smiles shyly and gives Mog a quick hug back before he goes. * Mog passes the papers to Penn Lak. "Kupo, your turn!" * Penn Lak picks up the papers and looks over. * Ne_Rina shifts her gaze to Penn Lak. * Penn Lak thinks for a few moments. "Let's say you're a farmer, and you farm potatoes. Now it says you don't like potatoes, and for this instance we'll say you *really* don't like potatoes. But any other food you want would take so many potatoes that you couldn't survive until the next year from starvation. So you're in a bit of a pickle. What would you do to remedy this problem?" Well, I guess I'd just get creative with the potatoes. I'm sure there's something I could trade someone for some dried herbs, or some butter, or things along those lines. I mean, when it comes to eating potatoes or starving, I'd go with the potatoes. ("I'd take the pickle I'm in and eat that instead.") (*snerk*) (Creative!) (Thanks! ^^) * Penn Lak nods. "Let's say you find out that those potatoes are poisonous... but only to Selkies. What would you do then?" Not eat them! I'd try to trade them to non-Selkies for things I *could* eat, and warn other Selkies about them. And if no one would take them, then I'd go fishing or hunting or *something* so I could have food! Anything else? Grow something other than potatoes next year. * Penn Lak snickers. "Okay, I'm done." She passes the papers to Loren. * Ne_Rina clears her throat again and looks over at Loren. * Loren picks up the papers, taking a couple minutes to read through them. "You say you don't want to hide anymore. Hide from who?" * Ne_Rina looks startled. "The monsters," she says quietly. "The miasma. The world, really." And why are you tired of hiding? Because I think I'm strong enough now to go out and see things for myself. Or I'll become that strong. I want to try. I like it here, but there's so much else out there to see. So you wish to see the world on the outside. Why is that? I'm curious. I've read about a lot of interesting places. I read because I'm curious, but that also makes me want to go out and see them even more! * Loren nods. "And how important is satisfying this curiosity to you?" Well... it's why I'm here, really. If given the chance to satisfy your curiosity some other way, such as by joining a traveling caravan, would you do so in favor of a substantially more dangerous position on this caravan? And why? * Ne_Rina thinks for a while. "I don't want what happened when I was little to happen again. If things go wrong, I want to be able to defend myself. I'd probably be able to see the world on a traveling caravan, but I don't know if I'd learn how to be stronger there." So you are not only here to become stronger, but to also satisfy your curiosity, and you want to be able to protect yourself. Correct? Yes. * Loren pases the papers to Squenix. "Thank you Ne Rina." * Ne_Rina nods politely. * Squenix picks up the papers and sets them down in front of her. Today, she's got round corn kernels and cobs and cobs with kernels in front of her, stacked and shaped in the way of various creatures and vehicles, like a horse, chocobos, boats, wagons, and other odd things. (YAY CORN.) (They're like Lincoln Logs of CORN.) * Ne_Rina peers at the corn. * Squenix has been, and still is, staring without blinking at Ne Rina. * Ne_Rina shifts in her seat slightly. (Fish.) (Fish.) Where do fish come from? * Ne_Rina blinks. "Fish? Well, um... they come from other fish. Fish lay eggs, and then you get baby fish." * Squenix breaks off three small cobs from the fishing boat. Baby corns, and actually cooked. She offers them to Ne Rina. "Corn?" Is this for me to eat, or to plant, or are you asking where it came from? (Hee.) I don't think you can plant cooked corn, though. I mean, you can, but nothing will grow. I think. * Squenix simply holds it out. * Ne_Rina takes the corn. "Thank you?" * Ne_Rina looks at it. * Squenix passes the papers on. The corn does look good, even though they used to represent small fish. * Ne_Rina shrugs and just holds onto the corn. Yay corn. * Cid picks up the papers and peers at them, moving them in and out until they focus in his bifocals. He flips through them and nos. "Ne Rina, can you tell us how much you trust others? Because, as you know, trust is a very important thing, and cannot be over-exaggerated in this line of work. Why, I remember adventuring, and the last thing you ever want to do is trust something that can eat you, really. That's just asking for trouble, unless you know what you're doing of course! Then it's not so bad sometimes. I mean, uh... Where was I? Trusting people? Of course! So, how much do you trust others? I trust my family a lot. Other people... well, when I was younger, they made fun of me. Because of my voice. So I pretty much kept to myself, and I guess I still do. But on the caravan, something like that won't matter much, really. I mean, if I'm good at what I'm supposed to be doing, then who cares what my voice is like, right? What if someone did? I... I'd tell them they were being stupid. Then I'd ignore them. Unless they were about to get eaten by a monster or something, and then I'd help them out. * Cid nods. "Would you trust someone who made fun of you?" To be honest, I'd have a hard time doing it. You don't make fun of people unless you don't like them or you're not confident in yourself. * Cid takes the papers and passes them down. "Thank you Ne Rina." * Ne_Rina looks a little nervous this time. * Gwesus takes the papers and looks at them. She stands up and towers a massive three and a half or so, maybe less, feet above the table. Yeah, she's short. You say you could never leave someone alone in the miasma. If you were forced to do so on the caravan regardless, what would be your primary purpose? * Ne_Rina looks down. "Only if we'd all die." What would your primary purpose be? * Ne_Rina looks at Gwesus. "To leave someone behind?" After. It would really depend on the circumstances. I'm guessing we'd be in pretty bad shape, or in danger, so first I'd want to make sure everyone else was okay and we were out of danger. Then I'd think about why this happened, and how to keep it from happening again. * Gwesus sits down and passes the papers. * Ran Dom picks up the papers and looks through them. * Ne_Rina folds her hands and glances down at them briefly. How important is your life? * Ne_Rina blinks. "How important? Well, um... it's very important. I think it has to be the most important thing. I can't see things or experience things or learn things if I'm not alive..." Is anyone else's life more important than your own? * Ne_Rina thinks for a good long while. "If I had to sacrifice myself to save my family, I'd do it." Singluarly? I'm afraid I don't quite understand. * Kaede has quit IRC (Ping timeout ) You would sacrifice yourself for your family, but would you sacrifice yourself for one of them? Yes. Even though your life is the most important thing? * Ne_Rina looks down. "I guess when you put it that way, it's not." They are. * Ne_Rina looks up and smiles a little. * Ran Dom hands the papers down to Yarksetnik. "Yarksetnik, you may begin." * Yarksetnik puts the papers to the side silently and doesn't bother looking. She 'speaks' from who knows where, but you think it's her... maybe. "Ne Rina, what would your first thing to do if you knew what specific monsters killed your family?" * Ne_Rina freezes. "They can't still be alive. Can they?" * Yarksetnik looks at Ne Rina uncaringly, like a lot of Yukes seem. "It is possible that they are. Goblins can live a long time if undisturbed." Goblins? Is that what they were? * Ne_Rina clenches her hands. If they were, what would you do? * Ne_Rina closes her eyes and clenches her hands tighter, squeezing her fingernails into her palms. She takes a deep breath, and then opens them. "If I could, I'd go hunt them down. If I were strong enough to take them on, I'd do it." But you can't. Would you put the caravan at risk to end this vendetta? * Ne_Rina sighs and shakes her head. "No. I wouldn't put other people at risk just for me." * Yarksetnik glares at Ne Rina for a second. "What would you do to obtain such information?" What information? About the monsters? Didn't you just say they were Goblins? I said they might be. What would you do to gain such information? Oh. I don't know. I'd have to think about it. I'm not even sure of where to start... I guess I could ask Kuralov, if he remembers. * Yarkestnik passes the papers along. "I may be able to provide some insight if you do manage to join." * Ne_Rina blinks at Yarkestnik. "Really? I... I'll think about it." * Darell picks up the papers. He gets up and walks around the end of the table and leans there, so he can see you better. Who says he doesn't appreciate Selkies? "So, people didn't like you too much because of your voice? Did you ever make fun of anyone else about oddities they have?" No. But I stayed away from people a lot of the time. Did you try and make friends with people before that? A little. I've always been pretty shy. Well, maybe not as much now. Those that you've made friends with, are they close to you? * Ne_Rina shrugs. "I don't really have any close friends. Not here, anyway. There's Kuralov, but he's usually travelling somewhere." Would you be able to make friends anyways? I think so. I'm better now, and I do talk to people sometimes. I hope so. Otherwise Mog won't stop complaining about you when all this is over. * Mog almost glares at Darell. Almost. * Ne_Rina looks over at Mog briefly. "I thought you liked me?" I do! But if you're not a friendly person... Kupo... I like you! Yay! (*snicker* Mog's cute.) (Stupid kupo.) * Ne_Rina laughs. "See, I'm getting better. Or I can get better. I'll try, at least." Alright, that's enough for me. * Darell walks over and hands the papers to Penn Lak, throwing them half the way. He then walks back to his seat and sits down. * Penn Lak glances at Ne Rina. "You're a nice girl, but can you show us what you can do for the caravan that's most important?" What can you do that makes you better than one of the other applicants that has applied? We've got just about any prop you can think of if you need it. * Ne_Rina thinks for a while. "Do you have any maps?" I'll chart a course for you. I think my fighting skills need work, and I *will* work on them, but I'm a good navigator. Yarksetnik, do you have any of the old maps? * Yarksetnik nods and pulls out some scrolls from underneath the table. She walks over and hands them to Ne Rina, then goes back and sits down. * Ne_Rina unrolls the scrolls and starts looking them over. [The maps are indeed old, but still usable. They generally cover the Sanriem Gateway, Tipa Penensula, and Ironmine Downs.] Okay, what are my starting point and destination? Oh, hmmm... Start from the Jegon River and plot us a course to here. * Ne_Rina moves the maps over to a table. "May I also have a pen and a compass?" * Yarksetnik also produces those items, and hands them to Ne Rina. * Ne_Rina takes them and gets to work. * Ne_Rina pulls a piece of parchment out of her backpack and makes a few notes on it. She taps the pen against her cheek as she works. * Ne_Rina goes on for a while, measuring and checking and double-checking. She scribbles more notes and draws a quick copy of the maps on another piece of parchment. Finally, she looks up. "I'm done." Can I see? * Ne_Rina nods and carries everything over to where Penn Lak is sitting. * Penn Lak looks over it. "Nice, nice." She nods. "Now, planning a course isn't terribly effective in combatting the monsters that you will inevitably run into. Do you have any talents in dealing with them?" * Kaede has quit IRC (Ping timeout ) I've been working on my fighting skills some. I don't really know anything about tracking, though. Let's see some of your fighting prowess, then. You wouldn't imagine how many have come in here not knowing how to swing a sword or throw a spell. * Ne_Rina looks at the sparring area, bites her lip at the blood, then motions to it. "Shall I go over there?' Nono, here is fine. All right. * Ne_Rina withdraws two short swords from her pack, unsheathes them, and takes up a fighting stance. * Penn Lak does notice Ne Rina's reluctance about the arena, though, and doesn't make any move to cover it. Should I just go through the training forms? Of course. Do you need a partner, too? I can do either. It's your show. ^_^ I guess I'll do the solo forms, then. * Ne_Rina shifts position slightly, then begins. A few slashes with the right sword, then the left. Blocks, crosses, turns, parries... no doubt the Council can find ten thousand holes in her stance, but for a beginner, she's probably fine. (Dude, we found holes in Leran's and Harmony's stances. Don't sweat it. :P) * Penn Lak nods. "Well done. Not as flashy as some others, but it shows you value practicality over theatrics." * Penn Lak turns to Gwesus and Squenix and motions for them to begin. "There's one more test for you. Gwesus will explain... Go over to the sparring area, could you?" * Gwesus gets up, spear in hand, and starts to the sparring area. Squenix shortly follows, a bit more slowly. But then again, Squenix is weird. * Ne_Rina sheaths her swords. "Ah, all right..." She heads over there, although her steps slow when she sees Gwesus take up her spear. * Gwesus glances back when she steps in the arena. She's *always* with Gugnir, and that's not that big of a secret. "Ne Rina, do you have an idea what is going to happen?" No. I'm not supposed to fight *you*, am I? * Gwesus shakes her head. Members of the caravan have a grave responsability, and it is often necessary that every member must face this reality sooner or later. That is to give their life for the caravan. To make sure you don't throw your life away. * Ne_Rina nods slowly, but still looks very confused and worried. Step into the ring. If you still don't understand, I am going to kill you. You may back out now, but if you do you will certainly not get on the caravan. * Ne_Rina inhales. "You're going to...?" She looks at Gwesus, then at the arena and Squenix, and then back at the council. She closes her eyes, swallows hard, and then finally says in a very soft voice, "All right." * Ne_Rina opens her eyes and steps into the sparring area. If you must know, I do not do this for enjoyment. I do it for the good of the caravan. (For the good of the caravan!) (Yes, for the good of the caravan. ^^) * Ne_Rina bites her lip. Hard. She's visibly shaking, but tries to brace herself. ( Except when it is fun. Then I enjoy it. Oh baby.) * Gwesus assumes attack position. "Are you ready?" (FOR THE GOOD OF THE CARAVAN!) * Ne_Rina swallows again and nods. ( Like with that Dorn freak. Oh, he SO deserved that.) (I bet she licks the dry blood from Gugnir when no one is looking!) (... Eew.) (Ewww?) (EW.) (err... Wait!) (That's my MOM you're talking about!) (Fourthed, Eww) * Gwesus focuses for an instant, then is upon Ne Rina. She stabs the Selkie five times in the chest very rapidly, the last time impailing her on Gugnir. She picks up Gugnir and jumps up, pinning the spear to the ground and, thus, Ne Rina to the various pointy implements that the spear posesses. Have you seen that thing? It's *evil*. * Ne_Rina can't even get a breath out as she's stabbed, then pinned. She dies. Really, what else is she supposed to do in this sort of situation? * After almost an eternity of nothingness and emptyness, Ne Rina feels like waking up! She's got a seriously splitting headache and a small pain in her chest, but not much else. Also, her shirt is just *drenched* in blood, and holy. The first faces she probably sees are Mog's and Darell's. Gwesus is cleaning Gugnir of blood, and Squenix is busy meditating about her corn. * Ne_Rina takes in a few ragged breaths. Then she looks down at her shirt. In a very hoarse, shaky voice, she says, "I really liked this shirt..." Then she sniffles hard and lets out a half-laugh, half-sob. I did it, though. * Ne_Rina wipes at her eyes. * Darell smiles and hands her a new shirt. "Yes ya did child." Good job! I hope you'll feel better soon. Dying hurts, kupo. ^^; * Ne_Rina swaps shirts and stands up shakily. "It does. I hope to n-never do it again." Her voice is recovering, though it's still hoarser than normal. * Mog gives Ne Rina a hug. "Stay in bed for a little. The headache will go away soon." Well done, your audition is complete. Do you have any questions for the council? * Ne_Rina hugs him back. "Thank you." She looks at the rest of the Council. "When will we find out who's made it and who hasn't?" Maybe a week or two. When we're done. You'll know if you made it on, naturally. * Ne_Rina nods. "That's all the questions I have, sir." Very well. Good luck to you Ne Rina. * Ne_Rina nods. "Thank you." She slowly walks out. She does not run, although it's possibly because she's too drained to do so. [Session end!]