Calm was not quite the right word to describe how she felt in that moment, because calm oftentimes meant both outer and inner peace. As passive as she made an effort to appear on the outside she knew well that panic was not so far away, or at least a sense of panic that was bound to hit her eventually. Deep down she could feel something curling in her gut, in her chest, burning at the back of her head where her neck met her scalp, and impending thing that she could not hold off forever.
So calm just was not quite correct, as much as she wanted it to be. Honestly, Vaan gave her far too much credit, and she wasn’t sure whether she was thankful for that fact or not. The knowledge that they were officially going to be transported to be incarcerated was not exactly the most pleasant of thoughts, but all the same she willingly stood back and willingly let the guards cuff her hands and followed along besides the young man who had gotten dragged into this with her. Truly she wished that they would just let him go, at least then neither would have to continue to be in this situation…
Perhaps the sense of calm that she was apparently emitting was just exhaustion from not having slept the night before. Drowsiness made her more compliant than usual, made it more difficult to express things and be as active as she wished, even though the rough handling and clear lack of amusement that the guards were expressing towards them. Contempt was certainly being directed at the duo, even if their eyes were not visible, the blonde could at least tell that much.
”I’m not calm.”
Oh, her voice was betraying her also.
”Just… tired.”
What was truly regrettable was that they were unable to look at the sun rising outside as they were being loaded onto what was apparently their transport, a mechanism of which she had never seen before and wanted to pause and stare at, at least for a moment. Truly she had stayed up for the entire night then, without even a moment of rest, and while she was unsure at what time they had been arrested at the night before she was sure that it was not too far into the dead of night. Enough so that Vaan likely got a relatively solid night of sleep, which was good enough for her.
Casting a glance over at him as they were pushed onto the shuttle with a few other prisoners, two of them, one definitely a man—a thin man, but a man all the same—and the other one perhaps a man, though he was turned away from them in such a manner that made it hard to tell, she gazed at him for a few moments before shaking her head, rebutting his statement. As much as she truly wished that she were calm…
All the same the doors were shut behind them loudly and the cuffs were still on and she fidgeted slightly, wishing that she could see outside. Even the smallest peak, for the slightest moment—just a glimpse of the sky, a reassurance that the world was still legitimate and whole. That was unlikely to come, though, and instead she turned to Vaan again and tried to keep her breathing steady. ”Do you have a solid plan?” To be fair she wasn’t really counting on one but she definitely needed some sort of distraction to stay a semblance of alert.
The two had stood idly on the platform before the conversation had struck between them. From what Vaan could tell, the air transport was private, likely routing strictly to Dalmascan guard postings and the occasional lock up in the dungeons. The air still held a chill from the night before, the sun likely not completely raised into the sky enough to reheat the warm sands from their nocturnal temperatures. He mildly envied Naminé’s choice of attire and the coat still on her person.
Still, the calm tone’s dismissal as fatigue alerted him. Had Naminé even slept the night before? Even if she felt the need to keep some kind of watch, surely she realized she would need some kind of energy today to escape. Granted, Vaan realized his mind generally withdrew itself from the anxieties most others held. It was more than likely that to the more regiment focused individuals that the present situation could present its own form of insomnia.
The doors opening to present a space ideal for the guards to shove them into, allowed Vaan to realize their new confines would be shared with two other guests aboard this grand venture. The slimmer one which had faced the two seemed benign enough, but Vaan made note to keep hush about the plan, lest further accompaniment ensue post-arrival.
Still, some sort of explanation or plan was past due, and Naminé’s inquiries required some sort of answer. Gesturing for her to lean closer, for what little privacy could be attained, He hunched a bit as if shrinking would decrease his conspicuousness. Vaan began in a softer voice, which he felt a struggle to maintain, to explain his strategy.
“We have to await arrival. Once there, I think I remember the way through a gate into the guards’ area.”Casually recalling his prior experience, the thief continued after pondering for a moment, establishing a less certain chance of another escape. “Last time, we … encountered some troubles and ended up in Barheim. That’s an old mine, but should we look around; there is bound to be several exits. We should take whatever is the quickest out. For all I know, they’ve completely sealed it off since I’ve been there.”
Dabbling in his own thoughts of possible precautions, Vaan thought aloud for a moment, “We should try to get our stuff too. We won’t get very far without some way to fight. It shouldn’t be too far from the guards. I don’t know if you can use magic or techniques or anything along the way?”He wavered, only half-posing the suggestion as a question out of hopefulness. Surely any form of ability could be used; he merely assumed these as the most common in Ivalician tactics. As for her less than rugged appearance, one didn’t have to be a soldier or mercenary to have some sort of self-defense.
Cutting off his thoughts, the engines started a loud then quieting rumble from the rear of the vessel as the doors were shut from the outside with force. The guards gone, he tinkered with the mechanics of his cuffs, hopeful at the least that he could loosen them a bit. Confinement had never been much of a pleasantry, and it would seem that his attempts were futile.
Exhaling a noticeable sigh as a form of mild complaint, the blond looked over at the other two which had settled into sitting positions on the floor and then back at the girl and her tired eyes. Posing the suggestion before awaiting her thoughts, he spoke in his regular audibility,“For now you should get some sleep. It’ll be a while before we get there, and you need to keep on your toes.”
He avoided the appearance of looking at the other two suspiciously but was uncertain of just how well he had concealed it. Not that it mattered. There was little loyalty where they were headed. The best he could hope for would be that Naminé would not only trust him but be trustworthy herself.
Who was he to give orders or plans though? Despite his poor attempts to conceal it, he was just as lost and hopeful for some solidity in a course of action as she was.
“Naminé…” He echoed, blinking, as the realization dawned on him. Snapped his gaze to her, frantic ‘neath composed warmth. "Oh, dear, how rude of me! I have yet to introduce myself, haven’t I?” He bowed his head, a hand on his heart. She was a lady, after all. “My name is Larsa Solidor. I am—a friend of Vaan’s." Raising his head, he tossed a brow in way of his comrade. Little more need be disclosed to strangers, no matter how polite or… gentle. "Isn’t that right, Vaan?”
Honestly Vaan was all too happy about her admitting that he probably shouldn’t return the thing that he had grabbed, and she opened her mouth to say something in return, but was distracted by the voice of the other young man. Apparently they were friends, and she pulled a slight smile to her face in greeting, nodding to the boy—Larsa. ”Hello, Larsa, it’s nice to meet a friend of Vaan's. I’m Naminé.”
A second thought, Vaan realized that the two were likely not acquainted.
“Oh, yeah. I should’ve thought to introduce you guys, but we all seem to know each other now.” The two seemed to be getting along pleasantly, Vaan noticed. Each had their own formalities he supposed. Larsa so easily revealed his nobility, while it felt that Naminé so nimbly danced around with her words out of consideration for others.
That’s right, it was night. Among all of the chaos and the things that had happened thoughts of the time and proper behavior during those times had been lost, even though she logically knew that yes, night had fallen. With a moon high in the sky and while sitting in a cell she said nothing to Vaan’s statements, instead staring at veritable nothingness as she pondered her options once more, thoughts and images dancing around her head.
Oddly enough, in that moment, no pressing thoughts seemed to push against her brain, her skull, demand to be heard and seen and acknowledged. In fact things seemed peaceful to her even if the situation was not, and certainly she could fall asleep if she wanted to. But the urge to sleep was far away and distant, nothing to really think about because even if her mind would allow her to rest, it would likely be one that would be unpleasant. So she would simply have to stay awake, though—
Apparently Vaan had different plans.
Already he appeared to be fading and she wasn’t sure whether or not to be exasperated with him—though surely he deserved the rest. Turning back away from him she allowed him to sleep, instead carefully sitting down and staring at a wall. Perhaps he had the right idea and she could try to pursue sleep… from what he had said he was trying to formulate some sort of plan or some steps that would lead them out of there, though she couldn’t be sure about that. If they were going to attempt to escape she may as well valiantly attempt to get some sort of sleep, at least for a little while, but thoughts of sleep were eluding her, dancing along the edge of her conscience and teasing her.
So she sat and waited as time passed and the sun started to rise once more and she played with the hem of her jacket, fiddled with the hem of her dress, played with the tips of her hair, and sat placidly. As the sky began to lighten once more into a purple color she could hear the sound of guards approaching, armor clattering rather loudly in the silence of the early morn.
Logically, guards should be silent…
At least, she thought so.
They were growing closer and Naminé glanced over at Vaan who was still sleeping soundly and she stood up, striding over to him and leaning over to shake his shoulder gently. Waking someone up wasn’t something she was necessarily familiar with, but it couldn’t actually be that hard. ”Vaan,” she called out softly, glancing over her shoulder once before looking back down at his sleeping form. ”Vaan, wake up, guards are approaching.”
There was little urgency in her voice though she certainly wanted to wake Vaan—the blonde had no idea why the guards were approaching, whether it was for no reason or for transport, but he needed to be awake either way.
Before he had come to realize his slumber occurring, the slight tug on his shoulder and Naminé’s voice disrupted the apparent ambush of sleep that had overtaken him. He woke startled at first, as he realized where they were, rubbing his eyes to find them once more in their cell.
It took only a few moments for him to hear the clanks of armor approaching and comprehend just what the girl had said to him moments before. Guards were coming. The chimes of metal advancing in a pattern of audio to match the authoritative pace all too known of them.
Recognizing the need to be alert, Vaan scrambled off the bench to force himself standing, still stiff from uncomfortable sleep. He waited with intense eyes for the guards’ arrival, holding back the desire to stretch his sore muscles from sleeping on the bench.
There were three of them, one slightly shorter and more feminine than the others which had stood at average heights. One of the taller guards, slightly more ornate than the others and likely holding a higher rank of some sort, began unlocking the cell gate. “Stand back,” had been all he had uttered in a groggy voice. The man conveyed a tone of what appeared to resentment of some kind to be transporting the two. Perhaps he had been up the night before in the commotion, or perhaps he simply held contempt for his position. Upon the cell’s release, the non-leader and what Vaan assumed to be a female guard came in first to reapply the handcuffs which Vaan was beginning to find regrettably familiar.
Following their movements, the leader gestured for the group to follow down the corridor which they had entered from in the night. Further down the halls, Vaan noticed a line of grates, each beginning to give way to a slight bit of light, similar to that eerie glow the sky gave just before sunrise. Early movement, then. Probably best to keep the riff-raff’s shenanigans from distracting the locals.
They traveled toward what must have been their shuttle for transport in silence across the empty streets. On an average day, Vaan would likely be in awe over the mechanics of such a vessel, but his minor bit of discernment told him that now would not be the best time. Instead, he leaned over to attempt at inquiring from the girl beside him something that had stayed in his mind. “Naminé, you seem awfully calm.”
Which, he stated with true curiosity. Her sense of civic duty as she had displayed before seemed to be one which would often lead her to imprisonment.
Her words earned from him a nod of agreement, distracting him amply from the courtesy of introduction. Instead, his focus returned to Vaan.
“Do as you like,” shrugged the young lord. “You are a sky pirate. You don’t cater to laws and restrictions, remember? I’ll just pretend I didn’t see you.”
Apparently these two knew each other—or appeared to know each other at least, but it wasn’t like she knew whether or not they did, and she did not want to ask. It seemed to infringe upon their privacy, which she did not necessarily want to do. ”Returning it would be the right thing to do, though it is more likely to get you caught,” she admitted with a sigh, knowing there was nothing she could really do.
The two did have good points, at least what of them Vaan had chosen to register. Almost proudly then, he changed his demeanor, “You’re right, Larsa, I don’t.” Then turning to the other blonde, he continued his boldness with a jovial smile,“You too, Naminé. To return it would only be a hassle. Glad you understand.”
Pocketing is lesser souvenir, he continued to have that oblivious smile upon his face.
