Where I go I just don't know

[steepled]

Who| Vivi and you!
What| Vivi explores the Capitol...or tries to. Overthinking is bad, man. Help him out?
Where| Starts off at the park, but it could go anywhere you like!
When| After his arena death in week 6.



There's a lot to see in the Capitol, probably enough to distract Vivi from these thoughts that seem to lead him nowhere. He had been roaming around for a while, eventually feeling the need to adjust his hat to block his view of the curious glances from the citizens. They're not screaming and running away, but having so many eyes on him like that makes him feel smaller than he already is. He's in a big city just like Alexandria, but that's where the similarities seem to end.

The bench he finds faces out to the rest of the park with the jogging path and a playground in plain view. He looks to sides first, searching for a familiar face before giving up and taking his seat. None of this is a dream after all. He really isn't in Alexandria anymore and he hasn't seen or heard from the others either. Zidane would've found him by now, Vivi thinks, knowing him.

He tips his hat back to better see and take note of the people around him. It's not the first time he's been in a big city and seeing friends and families playing with their children. But for some reason, instead of joy, he feels sadness.

"...I'm all alone now." He thinks to himself, lowering his head to look at his own feet.

Comments

[steepled]

Vivi can't count the number of people that dress funny here if he had all the time in the world. But given the strange looks he's been getting. He really can't tell if they like him or find him repulsive, but there's a fascination there that makes him uncomfortable still. It doesn't help knowing that these people are apparently okay with seeing others die for entertainment...

But he hasn't been in the city long, and this man seems friendly, so he doesn't want to think that's what the whole population is like.

"Y-yeah, I think so." The last memory he had was falling over coughing from all the smoke that clogged up his lungs. It didn't feel nice at all. He shuts his eyes to shake off the feeling he still can't find words to describe to look at Cullen again.

"...I just don't know how I got here. Or...that forest. I was in another city before all this happened."

[revocation]

Cullen is used to people looking strange, honestly. It doesn't faze him much.

"None of us is quite sure how that happened," he points out with a shrug. "I agree it's very disconcerting. But the fact of the matter is, you're alive, and that's something."

[steepled]

"I am...right?" Golden eyes meet Cullen as if to seek confirmation. He's probably over thinking it. It certainly isn't the first time he's done this, to ponder on things without much to go by. It just leads to more anxiety for him, but he can't help it. He's a curious boy, always looking for answers.

"...everything was on fire," he continues, thinking back on his experience in the arena. "I remember coughing a lot but maybe...maybe I just fell asleep."

[revocation]

What a strange little - person. Cullen knows better than to say that aloud, though, and he doesn't think he's a demon - though he's been fooled before. Somehow, though, he doubts a demon could be brought here. These people aren't that powerful. For all their technology, they know nothing of magic, of spirit summoning and binding.

"It's possible," he says quietly. "I don't think it really matters in the end. Do you have any friends here?"

[steepled]

It's usually Zidane that finds him because...well, he seems to be good at doing that. Vivi hasn't had much luck in his search though, as big as this place is. "No...I haven't found anyone that I know since I got here. A lot of the people I've asked haven't even heard of Alexandria," the little mage responds with a small shake of his head. He tried looking while wandering about the arena, but the dangers lead to him to hide himself for most of its duration. He hasn't gotten around to exploring all parts of the city yet, let alone the districts, so the possibility of him simply not looking hard enough is there.

"What about you? Are you here by yourself too?"

[revocation]

"I'm sorry to hear that," Cullen says after a moment. "I have some loved ones here - it's a two-edged blade, though. To have their support can be a blessing, but I wouldn't wish this situation on even most of my enemies."

[steepled]

The "situation" being that they're stuck having to participate in a game of death. It's nothing like the Festival of the Hunt that he had participated in. Defeating monsters is nowhere near the same as the prospect of killing your friends.

With that in mind, he lowers his gaze. "Y-yeah. You're right. It's probably better that they're not here then, if that's what it means." He quietly stares at his feet that barely reaches the ground before looking up at Cullen again. "...um, I'm sorry. That your friends are here too."

[revocation]

"There's really no good way to be stuck here, with or without people you care for," Cullen says with a shrug. "All we can do is make the best of things, however we can. If nothing else, there seems no shortage of things to do here in the city..."

[steepled]

This is where Vivi would probably hear Zidane tell him to not worry about things so much. It's true, or he'd be stuck sitting at this bench forever.

"Like what?" He could tell that there's a lot to do. It's almost overwhelming that he doesn't know where to start. He blinks when he realizes he hasn't introduced himself yet. "Oh and um, my name's Vivi by the way."

[revocation]

"Cullen," he replies with a nod. "Well, I've barely scratched the surface, but for one thing, there are more places to procure food here than I've ever seen in one place before. Some of them are called restaurants, and you can actually sit down at a table and servers will bring you a meal you order, made especially for you."

[steepled]

"Especially for me?" Cullen can't mean it in the same way as getting a home cooked meal from grandpa or anything like that, so Vivi can only guess. "Do they know who I am?"

Not that he thinks they should. He hasn't done anything here worth remembering...he thinks.

[revocation]

"No, but they have a whole list of things to choose from," Cullen says. "You pick what you want, and they make it for you."

As opposed to just eating whatever the proprietor happened to have on hand that day, which was the norm where he comes from.

[steepled]

"It sounds like they have a lot then," he muses. Occasionally, he'd sit down at an inn or even a pub with his friends to enjoy a meal but most of the time they all get served the same thing. "This whole city...sounds like it has a lot."

Indulgent. The city is very indulgent.

"Maybe I'll go check one of them out. My grandpa always told me to try the food at every new place I find." Quina and grandpa would love the food the Capitol has to offer, but the indulgence seems to go beyond gluttony. There's something else about it that just doesn't sit right with Vivi but he can't place what, besides the Games that is.

He slides off the bench and adjusts his hat, looking up at Cullen.

"...er, which one should I go to?"

There's...a lot of them, he's sure.

[revocation]

"Honestly? I have no idea," Cullen says with a shrug. "There are so many of them, and they all seem to do slightly different things - different sorts of food, different ways of eating it, some less expensive and some more expensive..."

It's all very baffling to him.

[steepled]

Cullen's right. If the Capitol has anything to offer, it's the overwhelmingly amount of variety. And a lot of the times, just because somethings cost more doesn't always make it better than the things that are sold for less. Vivi hums thoughtfully, twiddling his thumbs before speaking again.

"Do you have a favorite place?" The best places to eat are usually considered as such because people hold the food close to their hearts, grandpa wold say. (Also because the food is just tasty.)

[revocation]

"I can't say that I do," he admits with a shrug. "I've tried a couple - one merely offered coffee and pastries, though they were very nice. Another had strange things called burgers, meat between two chunks of bread, and cheese and other things on them."

[steepled]

Don't know if Cullen just heard that, but the mage's stomach just growled. If his face wasn't so pitch dark, he might have been able to notice his cheeks warming up. Vivi's body language says all though as he looks down at his stomach on cue. He had been so preoccupied with his own thoughts that he hasn't even had a meal yet.

"...all of that sounds really good." He and grandpa may not have been related in the same way most families are, but some things have been passed down and one of it is his appetite.

"I wanna find a place to try that...burgers."

[revocation]

Cullen definitely didn't miss that sound - it takes him a moment to figure out what it was, but once he realizes, he nods a little.

"There's one up the street a bit," he says, pointing at the sign. "I haven't had lunch yet - perhaps you'd like to join me?"

[steepled]

Vivi's head follows where Cullen points and nods. His eyes brighten a bit with new found enthusiasm as he looks at the man with a look translating as a smile. "Okay! Thank you, Mister Cullen!"

And maybe someday, whenever he returns home, he can tell the others; the mages whom he promised to relay stories about places he has discovered.

Although there are already parts he'd rather leave out...