Winds of Chance (Various Locations)

[kaiyashu]

The Falcon soared amongst the clouds that dotted the sky, skimming through as if the airship were a puddle jumping tot. At the wheel, her captain stood tall, an amused smile curling his lips. Well, he had to do something to alleviate the frustration of not having found who he was looking for. From what Jina - one of the young orphans Terra had been taking care of - had told him, Terra had been driven out of Mobliz not too long ago. And here he'd thought that those people would have praised her for protecting the town's children, even though she didn't have to. And how about her role in saving the world? Did they thank her for that? No. Instead they branded her a witch and threw her out of town.

Ingrates.

Were he on the ground, he might spit at the thought, but up here with the wind in your face, it was a fool idea. Turning on his heel, Setzer engaged the autopilot and went below deck, heading left at the base of the stairs and into the map room. Only two years prior, this room was far smaller and contained naught but a single chair and an enormous window. The window was still there, but hand-drawn maps of all the places he'd flown around littered the walls. There were soft oriental rugs in reds, blacks and golds under the finely crafted mahogany furniture.

He'd finally broken down and redecorated the Falcon once he was the sole occupant. Without the company of the Returners keeping everything fresh and exciting, there was nothing to stop the gambler from realizing just how inhospitable the airship really was. There hadn't even been a toilet. All that was remedied with all his trips to different places. The Falcon was now outfitted not only for speed and maneuverability, but also to provide the everyday necessities and comforts of life for fourteen people, should the need to save the world arise again.

Violet eyes roamed the topography lines on a nearby map. This is where I am now, his finger hovered over some plains, If I fly around to the east, then maybe... Setzer raked both hands through his long, wavy hair and stalked back up to the deck. He wasn't good at playing detective, and had little idea where to even start looking. With the merging of the worlds, trying to find fourteen specific people was about as easy as counting grains of sand in Figaro Desert. Sighing heavily, he leaned against the rail and closed his eyes. The wind blew his hair every which way around his face. "My darling Lady Luck, again you've left me for another man..." With a shake of his head, he chuckled and added, "...you trollop."

Amusement opened his eyes and he cast them downward, catching the sunlight gleaming off the surface of a familiar set of royal armor. "And what's this?" His smile was as quick and bright as a shock of lightning, "The tramp returns, and brings me a king! HaHA!" To the wheel he jaunted, wasting no time, and he brought The Falcon into a smooth and easy descent, touching down not far from Figaro's young king.

[Beebee]

Sighing heavily, the King of Figaro called for a rest. He wiped a hand across his brow and frowned as it came away damp. This was so much easier a couple of years ago! He had decided against bringing the chocobos as he had thought the trek wouldn't be this long, or warm. He was regretting that now. He lived in the desert for goodness sake! But that was a dry heat, as opposed to this more humid one. He had never been to Alexandria, and was looking forward to the trip to a new area of the world. Edgar glanced around at the few soldiers he had brought along on his little trip. He was supposed to be meeting Queen Garnet in a couple of days, and a smile flitted across his face as the young Queen came to mind. He enjoyed meeting with her, very much so.

Easily setting himself down, he took a small drink of water and watched his people interact with one another. There were three of them, two younger boys who had only just earned their chocobos, and one of his more trusted men who was mentoring them. Edgar smiled again as he watched the boys tease each other mercilessly, each one coming up with an appropriate response that answered the other, as well as insulted them. They reminded him of himself and Sabin when they were that age.

When the world changed and Edgar found himself in a whole new situation, he had worked hard to make allies. He used South Figaro to sail to other continents, and had recently docked in Albrook in order to make his way to Alexandria. He hadn't run into any of his old friends yet in his travels, or his brother, but that hadn't stopped him from sending feelers out to other countries. They had to be there somewhere! The Figarian King sighed deeply as another bout of loneliness hit him. Things were so different now, and he almost wished he could go back to the way things were. Heck, he would even go back and battle the insane clown if that meant he could be active in some way again! Admittedly it was better when he was busy with the affairs of his kingdom, but he still was struck by wanderlust from time to time. That was partially why he had agreed to go to Alexandria, instead of the other way around.

Kartas, the middle-aged gentleman that was accompanying him, came over and stood beside Edgar with his arms crossed. "Your Majesty, you must put and end to this. They are going to draw every monster in the area towards us!" he growled as he gestured towards the ruckus Misha and Parte were making. Edgar chuckled as he took in the sight, as the boys had gone from conversational insults to a full-blown shouting match.

"Let them be for now, Kartas. They aren't hurting anything, and a little excitement could be just what we need to get their pent up anxiety out of the way. And one more thing...how many times must I tell you to call me 'Edgar'?" He rolled his blue eyes up to his steadfast soldier, who simply shook his head in response.

A shadow fell over the small party, and Edgar's gaze shot up to the sky. He could see the bottom of an airship, and he sighed again as memories of the past came to the forefront of his mind. There were a lot more airships these days, but this one looked almost familiar as it continued on its course before it started to set down. It was the Falcon!

The King shot to his feet and a wide smile parted his lips. Could it be...? His younger soldiers froze as the unexpected movement of their charge caught their eyes, and Kartas stepped closer to his liege. Edgar confidently strode forward, closer to the airship, not caring in the slightest if his group was following him. He was almost giddy with excitement at the possibility of seeing one of his friends again! "Setzer?!" he called out as he came within distance.

[kaiyashu]

The back hatch door opened with the unmistakeable sound of a couple chains being unwound via steam automation. Straightening his long jacket with a quick jerk of the lapels, the gambler strode out of the airship looking just like the cat that ate the canary. His silvery white hair was in it's usual unruly state - wild and free, like the man himself. His grin was wide and genuine at finally finding one of his friends, the skin tugging and wrinkling a little around the scars on his face.

"Edgar!" He called jovially, extending his hand for a handshake he'd hadn't given in nearly two years, "I've long searched and scoured this new world for months on end, looking for any trace of my companions and for what? An airship full of furniture and none to sink into it. And then I go on deck, debating on a smoke and what happens? There, on the ground is exactly what I'm looking for! Right under my nose!" He chuckled in amusement.

It was then that he noticed the three other men with the young king of Figaro and their current state of fatigue. "I see you've chosen not to travel with any of your lovely admirers. You've got business in an area nearby I take it?" A silver brow arched in question, "Do come in, Edgar. I've spent quite some time improving my airship to offer far more suitable comfort than it used to. And if it suits you, I can offer you safe travels. After we catch up of course, it has been two years."

[Beebee]

Watching the gambler exit his ship, Edgar gave a soft “ha!” of approval. It was Setzer! His old companion greeted him with nearly as much enthusiasm as he, himself felt. They shook hands briefly and the smile never wavered from the King’s face as he clapped his free hand on the back of Setzer’s. His friend spoke of having the same luck Edgar had had in finding a familiar face, and he nodded solemnly in response. “I know exactly what you mean. I, too, have been searching, and hoping to find Sabin or the others. I have had no luck as of yet, unfortunately. You are the first I’ve seen!”

It was Setzer that drew Edgar’s attention back to his men, and he turned back to them apologetically before returning his attention to his friend. “Yes, I am about to visit the lovely Queen Garnet. It’s a shame she is already married, but a man can hope to get some form of attention from a beautiful woman.” he chuckled with a wink. He was invited in and he waved in his soldiers that accompanied him as well, before following Setzer’s lead. “It has been far too long, my friend. Perhaps we can help each other with our projects! I don’t like to travel by ship. It’s too slow. However, if I were to hire a certain gambler, in possession of an airship, my travels would be much quicker and we could look for our other friends in our downtime.”

Realizing he was making an awful lot of assumptions, Edgar cut himself off. “I apologize. I am getting ahead of myself. First, I agree, we need to catch up!” He looked at his surroundings with an air of appreciation. Setzer had changed the interior of his prized possession! While it was still familiar to him, he definitely preferred the new Falcon. “So what have you been up to the past few years?” Glancing back, he saw that the two younger soldiers had followed him into the ship. Kartas must have waited outside to stand guard, which seemed a little silly to the King. They were in an airship! Not much was going to get through these walls. The boys – he really needed to stop thinking of them as ‘boys’, as they were young men – were looking around them in awe. They had never been in an airship before, and the Falcon was indeed a special craft. Shaking his head with another soft smile, he turned back and gave his full attention to his long lost friend.

[kaiyashu]

Setzer flopped down on one of the plush sofas with all the grace and dignity of a finely-dressed sack of potatoes. "Of course I'll fly your royal rear 'round the world!" He chuckled in amusement and gestured towards the furniture, "Take a load off. You lot look like you've been trying to relive our glory days when our little ragtag team traveled the land. Sit down and have a drink. I just picked up some sweet mead, if you've a taste for honey wine. An exceptional brew, if I do say so myself. But I've several other options if it suits you."

He bounded to his feet, swept across the floor to pull the beverage from a rack and returned with it and several glasses. "I've made several improvements to the ship, as you can see. Furniture, utilities, even upgrades!" He motioned towards the maple kitchen, pointing out the stove, refrigerator and smoke detector. He walked briefly about the common area, motioning to new things he'd added, such as an electrical system, eat and running water. "Before the world changed so drastically, I never would have thought it possible to be able to cook in The Falcon. Unless it was on fire, that is. Now my airship is outfitted to take care of all living necessities, there's even a water closet and bathroom!"

"As for what I've been up to - I had been flying about the day the whole merging occurred and ran into a continent. A continent! In the sky. At first I feared that somehow Kefka might have returned, but there was an entire civilization living there. The Falcon was heavily damaged by the time I set her down in a tree - " At this, he grimaced in embarrassment " - and was shocked to find what appeared to be a monster-infested town. There were so many of them, that I let out a cry of alarm that was decidedly unmasculine - but we shall not speak of that - and opted to flee. I found out later that they were merely sentient races and that the world had grown far larger than I could ever have imagined."

"Since then, I've made a good living with both my winnings and through airship maintenance and trade. You can see the results." He waved a dismissive have at their surroundings, sipped at his glass of mead, and continued, "But the boredom of having no one to talk to had finally gotten to me one day and I set out to find everyone. At one point, I spotted a woman with long blond hair in a crowd and, believing her to be Celes, kidnapped her as a joke. As it turns out, she wasn't our favorite ex-general, didn't find it very funny, and neither did the city's guards. I spent about a week locked up in Treno for that little misunderstanding. Aside from occasions like that, I've been just ducky. And you? How have you been faring?"

[Beebee]

Edgar grinned as his friend agreed to his...request. It had been rather unorthodox, but that simply proved how close their group had gotten during their travels. Even a few years later, he could make a request like that and Setzer would agree to help him without question. He sat down next to the gambler at the man’s offer, and nodded thoughtfully. “I’m a fan of most wines. I’ll try your mead if you have enough to spare.” Setzer moved to get the wine and the King leaned back a little more into the sofa to get comfortable.

He listened with interest as Setzer rattled off the changes to the ship, and looked to wherever the man gestured. He had to fight the urge to get a closer look at the machinery. He knew he would start to ignore his friend if he did that, but oh did he ever want to! “The castle has undergone some pretty drastic changes as well. We have access to so much more technology here! Nothing this fancy, granted, but it gets the job done. The tunnel to Kohlingen was destroyed when the Merge happened. Actually it wasn’t destroyed, but it just...ends. Not very effective. That’s why I need to travel by water everywhere now. I’ve been trying to make a new tunnel to go to other continents, but it hasn’t been successful so far.”

Setzer continued his tale, and Edgar chuckled softly when he mentioned running into a continent. How does one go about running into a continent? Even if it was floating in the sky. Was he talking about Bhujerba? He got along well with Halim. The King had no idea what the Marquis’ intentions were with his country, but he was a friendly man regardless. He realized Setzer was still speaking and focused his attention on the gambler once more to hear about the man’s ‘decidedly unmasculine’ scream. He burst out laughing at the image, covering his mouth with his hand. He would honour his friend’s wish and not comment further, although it was possible he wasn’t talking about Bhujerba. He knew of no other floating continent, not currently at any rate, but he still hadn't traveled the world as of yet. Setzer moved onto more familiar topics, and Edgar toasted to his comment about his winnings as he gestured towards his ship. “I give you my congratulations, my friend.”

At the mention of the kidnapping, the Figarian choked on his drink. It shouldn’t have surprised him, as that was how they had met each other the first time, but it was still a bit of a shock to hear that he hadn’t changed that much. “Setzer! Please tell me you at least apologized to the poor woman, regardless of the fact that you got locked up for it!” He shook his head exasperatedly, however another grin tugged at his lips.

“I haven’t been up to much aside from running my kingdom. I haven’t been able to travel as much as I would like to, so when I do get the chance I tend to jump at it. Unfortunately, there isn’t much time for sight-seeing. An airship would help immensely with that.” he said in a friendly manner, raising his glass once more. Taking a small sip, he nodded as he glanced at the drink. “This is a sweet mead. Very flavourful.”

A silence fell over Edgar as he closed his eyes in remembrance. He truly missed his friends, and his family, and talking with Setzer had brought all of that to the forefront of his mind. Perhaps now they could make some progress in finding them. He opened his bright eyes and smirked at his friend. “Are you planning on accompanying me to Alexandria, Setzer? I could introduce you as one of my delegates.” He crossed one leg over the other as he shifted position. “Queen Garnet truly is a sight to behold.” he whispered. She was a little too young for him to seriously pursue, but again a little attention from a beautiful woman was better than nothing.

[kaiyashu]

Leaning back, he raised his glass at the king's toast and congratulations on his ship's improvements. "I'll give you a more detailed tour once we take to the skies. You look like you're itching to see everything up close and personal. Truth be told, it would be a nice change of pace to have someone machine-savvy around who can appreciate how everything works. And most of the improvements came from Bhujerba. There was so much to cope with, so much to learn. I spent several months there. Which is fine, considering I was below deck and unaware that it suddenly appeared in front of my ship."

Setzer looked bemused at Edgar's reaction to his admission of kidnapping. Had the young king temporarily forgotten about that fiasco at the opera house that led to their partnership and eventual friendship? Perhaps he thought that it was only a one time thing. In truth, he hadn't planned on ever kidnapping a fine young lady to be his "woman" again. "Relax, my friend. I meant her no ill will. I merely snatched her up from behind, tossed her on my shoulder and made off with her. Once we were alone, I jokingly asked if this was a better kidnapping then last time."

At this point, he took a sip of his mead, the honey taste gliding over his tongue as he slowly savored it. He poured two glasses for Edgar's subordinates as well and offered them, then sat back to continue. "It was then I realized my error and apologized, explaining that I'd mistaken her for a comrade-in-arms. Once she calmed, I walked her back through town in an attempt to safely see her to her home. She walked me straight to the authorities. No doubt I deserved it, but that didn't improve my situation."

He watched as Edgar enjoyed the drink. "It is a fine mead, isn't it? And I am more than happy to join together our goals of finding everyone. The Falcon is so empty when I am the only occupant." Setzer watched as his friend spoke of Alexandria and her queen, interest piqued at the idea of meeting with royalty that wasn't hell-bent on trying to rule the world. And from what Edgar was saying, she was rather lovely. He always did have an eye for beauties, the gambler mused. Aloud, he said, "I'd be honored to be named one of your delegates. Just say the word and I'll fly us all to Alexandria."

[Beebee]

Edgar felt a shiver of excitement flow through him when Setzer offered to allow him to take a closer look at his machinery. It would be in poor taste for him to ask for the tour now, but he would definitely need to take him up on it later. With the airship, he would have a little more time once he got to Alexandria. He was also pleased to hear that he had been correct about his assumption on Bhujerba. Having Setzer here opened a whole array of possibilities. He could go visit Bhujerba himself! He could visit every single continent without needing to spend a couple of days on the water. He preferred to travel by air anyway.

Setzer reassured the King’s fears about the mistaken kidnapping attempt, and he smiled with an eye roll thrown in. It was kind of comforting to see that some things stayed the same, even in this brand new world he found himself in. He was glad to hear his friend’s acceptance to work together, as well as join him in his visit to see young Garnet. He was interested to see if the man would try to charm her, or if he would politely stand in the background and allow Edgar to do all of the communicating. “We don’t need to go quite yet. In hindsight, we probably should have brought chocobos, but I honestly didn’t think Alexandria was far from Albrook. However now that you are escorting us,” he tipped his head in thanks, as well as his drink, “we won’t need to rush as much as we would on foot. Oh! Speaking of which...”

Edgar turned to see the boys were still standing awkwardly near the entrance of the ship. Misha had accepted the mead with a quiet “thanks” to the gambler, but Parte had politely declined and set his down on the table nearby. They were talking quietly with each other, seemingly oblivious to their King’s interactions with his old friend. “Parte?” Edgar called. The red-haired boy’s head moved at his address and he snapped to attention. Edgar rolled his eyes again. “What have I told you? When we aren’t in public, you don’t need to stand at attention. You can relax. This...” he gestured to the area around them, “inside the airship, counts as private.”

“Yes Your Majes – “ At a sharp look from his King, Parte faltered. “I mean...King...Edgar?” Biting back a sigh, the Figarian King smirked instead. That was probably as good as it was going to get.

“Would you please retrieve Kartas? There is no need for him to stand guard if we aren’t going to leave.” Amusement coloured his tone at the older soldier’s devotion. Parte snapped to attention again before leaving, and Edgar’s head dropped. It was going to take a while to get through to these boys. Maybe there was more hope for Misha. He glanced at the lone soldier that was left in his presence, and saw that he was still standing awkwardly. He hadn’t looked like he had moved during the whole interaction with Parte. “At ease, Misha.” he whispered conspiratorially, and grinned as Misha complied.

Edgar’s gaze was drawn to a piece of machinery behind the soldier. “What...in the world...is that?!” he exclaimed as he got to his feet. “Is that Bhujerban?!” He pointed to the...thing...behind Misha as he turned his head back to Setzer. “What does it do?!”


(OOC: I figured Edgar wouldn’t be able to keep his curiosity at bay for long hahaha.)

[kaiyashu]

A silver brow quirked in curiosity.

Relinquishing his seat, Setzer walked over to where Edgar stood and was currently studying his find. The machinery in question was comprised of a windowed hatch that led into a closet-sized room, filled with more of the same machinery. In the middle of the machinery sat a large blue skystone, purchased from Bhujerba. The young king of Figaro had been correct when he'd ventured the question.

"This?" He opened the hatch enough so that they could get a better view, "This is what I like to call 'Plan B'. You've probably heard of skystones, the main cash cow of Bhujerba. Those amazing stones can hold nearly any structure in the air, depending on the structure's size and the size of the stone. This skystone is large enough to keep The Falcon in the air in the event of engine failure. All this machinery surrounding it is connected to the stone and moderates the activation, deactivation and amount of power flowing from it. In the event of a malfunctioning engine or other important part of the airship, I can activate this stone from either here or at the wheel and stop us from plummeting to the world below. In fact, activating it when ready for bed will keep The Falcon safely aloft while the engines can be turned off to save fuel. I must say, sleeping in the sky amongst the clouds is one of the most amazing things there is."

[Beebee]

Misha leapt out of the way as the King and the gambler made their way to where he stood. His eyes were wide as he watched them. Edgar completely ignored his younger soldier as Setzer described the skystone from Bhujerba. “I’ve heard of these!” he stated excitedly, as he got as close as he possibly could to the foreign technology. “This is fascinating!” he whispered. He hoped his friend would allow him to study the skystone, although he didn’t think it likely if it was key in keeping the ship in the air.

“I think I may have to join you one day, sleeping under the stars. I haven’t had a chance to do that since the good old days. Now I am almost always confined indoors for my ‘safety’.” He used air quotes to indicate his sarcasm. It was likely obvious regardless, but it really was a silly rule he was expected to follow. He was one of the people who brought Kefka down! Though he hasn’t done much fighting lately, he could still handle his sword.

Edgar’s musings were interrupted with the arrival of Kartas, with a submissive Parte following behind him. “Oh dear. Kartas, what did you say?” he asked with a small chuckle. Parte’s cheeks heated up as he moved back beside his friend, keeping his head low.

The older man actually let loose a low growl before he answered. “Somebody decided it would be funny to sneak up on me as I was standing guard. I nearly killed him.”

The King’s eyebrows rose as he glanced back at the younger soldier, who was doing everything in his power to avoid being noticed. A small smile graced Edgar’s face before he forced it into careful neutrality. “Parte?” he simply questioned. Amusement still coloured his tone and he cleared his throat.

“I didn’t mean to, Your Majesty! Honestly, I wasn’t sneaking! I mean, I wasn’t being loud or anything but...” The boy cut himself off as he realized he was rambling, to a King of all people!

Edgar raised his hands to calm everybody in the room. “Alright. Kartas, I believe Parte has learned his lesson for the time being. Now, Setzer is allowing us passage in his airship and he will be accompanying us to Alexandria. You three may as well get comfortable, as we will likely be here for a while. We aren’t due to meet Queen Garnet for two more days. If we were traveling on foot, it would take us close to that time to arrive so we have some time to spare. You may roam the ship as you wish, with Setzer’s permission?”

Looking to the silver-haired man, another grin flitted across Edgar’s face. “On board this ship, Setzer’s word is the same as mine. Now, old friend, how about that tour?” he asked excitedly. He was itching to see all the new technology Setzer had alluded to before!