There She Goes [Vyn][Finished]

[Kari Muffin]

Clunk.

Well at least he was getting used to the blasted thing. The mouse gave a small sigh as he looked around at the local restaurants and cafes. He was getting hungry and he needed to stop for lunch. Considering today was his day off he wanted to spend it having fun, even if it was alone.

When was the last time he had been on a date? Or gone out with friends? The thought made him depressed. He sighed again. This was just miserable wasn't it? He rolled his eyes as he continued his walk. He was still pretty slow with this blasted arm, and he didn't want to hold up traffic. His sword dangled on the side opposite of what he was used to. It made things even more frustrating as he tried to concentrate.

And he didn't want to run into anyone either, which he so gracefully did. "Ah!" he said recoiling a bit, even if he hadn't run into the person particularly hard. "I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going." He bowed his head in apology before looking at who he had wronged.

His heart skipped a beat. He hadn't seen someone from Sorgaire Range in a long while, and none of them had been quite as pretty as this person in passing. And oh, she was quite lovely. He blushed slightly, and bowed again, "My deepest apologies, ma'am."

[Vyn]

Wouldn't you know, all the rumors of The Capital were correct!

Within hours of arriving to the bustling town she had not only seen the greatest mixing pot of regions she had ever encountered, but most of them had been loud, rude, overly friendly, or entirely unusual. And then, to firmly startle her out of gawking at the sights, someone stumbled into her.

With a little gasp of surprise, Liliana twisted around to see who had collided with her and, to her even greater surprise, found herself staring down at a little blue-eyed Mid-Ranger. If it were not for the sheer difference in their size she would've thought of Father, but there was no hint of the great Lion in the still unmistakeably proud Mouse. Which was good, Liliana had not come here to discover long lost relatives or to be reminded of Father. She was here to become independent.

...But it was nice to see a familiar sort of face.

"No harm, no foul. Especially not with such sincere apologies." The Sorgaire laughed and brushed back a few of the errant silver tendrils that had fallen over her face when she'd been bumped. "I'm not exactly the example of caution myself, I'm still a little overwhelmed from all the... People." Only partially true. She was used to them... just not while she was ridiculously lost in a brand new place, which was exactly her current situation.

[Kari Muffin]

His ears perked at her comment. He looked up slowly as he listened to the rest of what she had to say. So she was new to the city? He couldn't help but feel curious. And to top it off he could serve a purpose.

"As a proper apology," he said with a small smile, "If you're new to the city would you like me to show you around? Or at the very least would you allow me to buy you lunch?"

Perhaps that was too forward. The mouse was have tempted to retract the offer. Instead he bowed his head. "I apologize if that's entirely too forward, however it's been a while since I've met anyone for your region or mine. And when I was new to the city I had no one to show me around. I figured it would be nice to offer some assistance to make things simpler for you."

[Vyn]

The Lioness hesitated at the Mid-Ranger's rather forward offer. Still polite, maybe a little overly courteous... which also made sense considering the manner of his request. Not the typical sort of 'gentleman' that she was used to encountering. Not what Daddy had constantly made his fellow Mid-Ranger's out to be as well.

He also had that strange blue arm thing. Was it some sort of gauntlet?

The Sorgaire smiled, covering her surprise with a bit of the shy girl bashfulness. It, at very least, managed to hide some of the fact that she was rather out of sorts when encountering other locals. "Oh, well... I am rather new to the area, and... someone to show me around." He was right, though, about not seeing many others of his region -- or even hers -- wandering about. Maybe it was all the chaos? "It's nice and familiar being around a Mid-Ranger." Slowly Liliana laughed and bobbed her head, her smile gaining a bit more confidence as she fully made up her mind. "You know, if you could help me find the place I'm supposed to be renting and a nice little lunch place nearby, then you can maybe take to eat."

Not too forward, not too reserved, and everyone would be happy. He seemed to enjoy the prospect of spending time with someone from the Ranges, and she could definitely use a friendly face to show her where's where. Lunch, of course, seemed like a mutual bonus.

[Kari Muffin]

Awesome he hadn't screwed up completely! The mouse's ears perked as he listened to her dilemma. That wouldn't be to hard unless she was renting in some obscure place. He had noticed the glance at his arm.

Ugh, why did everyone have the stare?

"I'm pretty familiar with the area, so if you give me the address I should be able to find it for you. Unfortunately.... ever since my accident I've been a bit slow as far as walking in concerned. I wouldn't want to hold you up when you have some place to go." It was better to be honest after all. Even if it meant he lost his chance at the girl. He lifted his ice covered arm to illustrate it's stiffness. "It doesn't bend anymore, so I can't quite keep up with everyone's pace."

He refrained from sighing.

[Vyn]

Liliana's shoulders relaxed with a small but comical sigh of relief. "Oh good, I've been wandering around like a fool for what must have been an hour already." The lioness recited the address that she'd been directed to, about the only thing she could remember about the place she'd be staying.

And then he mentioned his leg. Had he noticed her glance? That made her feel a little bad, especially with what he was saying. Accident? "That's awful, not being able to move your leg properly." and to still be reliant on walking on it... Ack. Lili's gaze traveled from the arm to his sword and back to the arm again. Was he a swordsman? Intriguing. "Well, honestly, I don't have anywhere to be. I'm just looking for a place to stay while I get established here in the City, a leisure stroll while I get to know the area -- and you -- sounds fine to me."

Speaking of getting to know him, "You know, I don't think we've exchanged names: I'm Liliana. You?"

[Kari Muffin]

Well that wasn't too far off, though she had been going in the wrong direction. "It's not too far off, you've just being walking the wrong way. That's actually near the tea house I used to frequent." And sadly that place had gone out of business. He couldn't help but wonder what happened to all those people.

He glanced up at her, wondering if she had been looking at his sword or if that was his imagination. For now he would brush it off. "Ah, thank you. Though I manage even if I'm a little slower than I used to be. I'm happy that I can help you. I've been feeling rather useless since they won't put me back on my regular duty until I've completely recovered."

Which he figured was still a long way away. The thought just made him feel ill.

Names. Oh crap. He'd forgotten to properly introduce himself!

He gave a sweeping bow, as best as he could manage, "It's an absolute pleasure to meet you Miss Liliana. And I apologize for not introducing myself properly. My name is Ichigo."

[Vyn]

"The wrong way, huh?" The lioness laughed and shook her head, flashing a thankful smile to the mouse. "I'm terribly glad I ran into you when I did or I'd be only digging my grave deeper." Thank the suits for a mutual lack of attention to one's immediate surroundings!

As he went on Lili caught two very useful snippets: tea house and duty. Tea house was good, Liliana enjoyed sweet teas and those little places usually had lovely lunches too --hopefully he'd know of a few of them for her to stop at-- and duty, that made her curious. What sort of work did he do, and did his sword have anything to do with it?

With her father's military background, Lili had grown up knowing her fair share about weapons and sparring even if she practiced very little of it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ichigo! But please, just call me Liliana or Lili... Miss is far too much, I'm not nearly that important." She laughed, grinning toothily as she beckoned Ichigo to lead while they spoke. "So, while we walk, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself? Are you a swordsman?"

[Kari Muffin]

He couldn't help but smile at her comment. At least she had a good sense of humor, that made things a lot easier to deal with, didn't it?

The mouse blushed slightly. "Important or not, I just find it proper to respect people. However, it would be disrespectful to call you Miss from now on." He bowed his head in apology. He perked up when she beckoned him. Now it was time to start his usual march. At least he didn't make as much of a racket here than on the marble floors on the palace. He still clunked slightly though.

A bit about himself? Oh dear, was the blush starting to show through is fur? "Yes, I am a swordsmen. I use to be a sword for hire until I applied for a job at the Palace of Spades. I work as one of the guards... however since I've done this to my arm things have been difficult. I'm quite thrilled my father taught me how to wield a weapon with both hands." That had been some of the most painful training he'd ever experienced. Worse than learning how to take a flight of stairs with this arm.

"If you don't mind me asking, is this your first time away from the Range, Liliana? I know it's your first time in the city but when I came here it was the first time outside of my region."

[Vyn]

Liliana was enjoying the mouse's company already. Polite, respectful, but still casual enough that he didn't have to stick Miss or Sir or whatever at the front of every name in order to keep from bleeding himself dry. She inclined her head lightly in acceptance of his apology, purring as she did. "You're a wonderful gentleman, thank you."

While the blush hadn't burnt its way through his fur -- not enough for Liliana to notice, at least -- she could almost hear it in his voice. He didn't sound like he was used to talking about himself. "Oh! A gentleman and a mercenary?" She beamed as she spoke. "I bet that must have been interesting, heck... I doubt being a guard at a palace would be a cake walk either. My father is a weapons instructor, actually, and I've always been intrigued by the art form." Lili grinned, pearly white fangs showing fully for the first time in her excitement. "I'm not a fighter, mind you, but I enjoy the art."

The lioness coughed slightly, realizing she'd been rambling a bit as a fine blush crept up through her pale fur. She went on smoothly, focusing on his question. "Somewhat, yeah. I've been all over the Ranges, both Sorgaire and Mid to visit family, but that's about it. I went up to the Solandrian Glacier once as well, but it's way too cold and people are a bit more brusque than I enjoyed being around. The City is a culture shock, that's for sure... So many Cards from so many different regions I've never seen in person before." Okay, so she just talked a lot in general. Oops.