Suns Above The Young [???]

[The Mysterious Mr. Jameson Q.]

The day was hot. Cree was just walking down from the bailey, away from the heavy noises of construction, and holding his golden shield above his head as a sort of umbrella. All this activity and work surrounding him was only serving to make him anxious, as there was less free space for him to move around, and he just couldn't find Vane anywhere. You'd think with all these men at work, at least one of them would be Vane, but no, apparently not.

He rested back against one of the great stone walls, closing his eyes and yawning widely. His shield-arm sank to his side, and he wondered how long it would take to find Vane, and discover these things that his heart was trying to tell him.

Grrmblkrrk

"Hungry..." He muttered to himself, though didn't draw much attention to the fact.

[Spring [Complex]]

Radiant Garden had sure been eventful recently. Fighting off monsters after sneaking out of the Bastion, being scolded for doing such, then the discovery of another world, would things remain at such a fast pace? Needless to say, after getting such a taste from being out there with the citizens (and protecting them no less), there was no way Kairi could stay indoors. Her home needed help and she'd be out there doing her part.

Feeling rather motivated, she'd prepare her getaway just fine...except for one detail. She forgot to prep a disguise! After all if she was going to sneak out and try to help, it'd be a lot easier without the attention. So instead she was out and about, occasionally trying to imitate Yuffie's ninja stealth (not that she had any or at least demonstrated she had any). Once she found a somewhat safe spot, she proceeded to look out at the Bailey. People were hard at work doing something or another, then those blue eyes fell upon a boy. He...held a shield above his head, like an umbrella.

He'd no sooner come to a stop, his arms falling to his sides. He seemed...tired, somehow. Since she was there, she couldn't just let the boy suffer quietly, that is...if he was suffering at all. So the red head maneuvered her way over.

"Hi there, is everything okay?"

[The Mysterious Mr. Jameson Q.]

[Forgive the half-conscious nonsense post. You have no idea how many times I had to go back and erase something I'd typed because it made absolutely no sense at all.

The young blonde was caught unawares, and looked up suddenly, dropping down to collide with the floor. "Wah!"

[/color] He hadn't seen the likes of Kairi before, and didn't really know anything about her, but he did know that her sudden appearance was a strange one, and that her bright red hair was extremely eyecatching. As he sat dumbfounded on the ground, gurgling as if he had never seen something exactly like something he'd never seen before. "Red hair... "[/color] He grumbled, one last time before he realized she'd asked a question.

"I'm okay."[/color] He murmured, as his stomach began to act up again. "Just kind of hungry,"[/color] his stomach corrected for him.[/size][/blockquote]

[Spring [Complex]]

"Maybe it was just another day, yet it'd be the start of a fun encounter!"

"Okay note to self Kairi; Yuffie's ninja skills really do work."

The red head teen was able to actually catch someone off guard. She couldn't help but smile towards the boy. He looked rather cute, looking all dumbfounded. Though when he mentioned red hair, she couldn't help but comb her right hand through her short hair.

"Is Red hair really that special...?"

She couldn't help but think such, but no sooner did he acknowledge her question. No sooner was there an audible indication of something more pressing. He was kind of hungry, which made Kairi close her eyes. Her smile never ceasing, her head shaking for but a moment. She just thought the situation was rather cute.

"Would you like to get something, my treat?"

A friendly gesture but that's when something clicked within Kairi's mind. His reaction to her wasn't "Hey aren't you Kairi", or something she'd expect from many a Radiant Garden citizen. Perhaps she wasn't as well known as she thought, which meant she might just be able to experience a normal day for a change. Maybe even sneak back into the Bastion without being caught. Though it really depended on if he wanted to even accompany her.

[The Mysterious Mr. Jameson Q.]

Cree watched her curiously, trying to discern something, but not able to tell. She seemed like lots of fun, and had an endearing smile. 'Red Hair...' How had he never seen her before? It seemed like you'd be popping up everywhere if you had hair like that. Then again, she had been able to sneak up on him. Maybe that was it. She must have been a master-ninja. A friendly master-ninja perhaps, but a sneaky sneak nonetheless. He'd have to be wary.

Her voice caught up to him again.

"What? Really? That would be-"

[/color] His stomach grumbled as if finishing his sentence and he looked away self consciously. "I'm really hungry."[/color][/blockquote][/size]

[Spring [Complex]]

"Well that settles it." the red head smiled before motioning for him to follow. Kairi was no ninja, what little she copied from Yuffie could either be attributed to luck or simple tactics that didn't require such extensive training. Though perhaps she might have been around the teen ninja for so long that her antics rubbed off. Either way, Kairi walked onwards, rather not Ninja like this time.

Totally expecting him to follow, she then asked a simple question.

"So, what do you like to eat? We could go to the marketplace."

Yet as she mentioned 'marketplace', she stopped in her tracks. Thoughts of the battle from prior emerged within her conscious. She hadn't dwelled on the actual battle much the first night after the storm, but thinking about it now was rather unusual. If he had caught up to her, she'd just shake it off. If he was lingering behind, she'd just look over her shoulder and reply:

"Don't be shy, I don't bite."

[The Mysterious Mr. Jameson Q.]

Cree laughed slightly at her demeanor, and responses, still kind of nervous about her. Well not exactly nervous, just not completely sure how to approach the situation, as he was used to people openly giving him things with little reason or background. Although with the state of reconstruction that everything was in, he couldn't really be completely surprised. Everybody was trying to do something to improve things after the attack. To help get things back on track.

He followed after by a few feet away, quiet, which was his general attitude when he hadn't had any calories to keep him going in a while. Then Kairi made him think with all this 'What Do you Want?' Nonsense. Cree could eat anything... So he frowned and thought for a second, which was apparently too long.

At her statement noticing his shyness, he jogged up to her side, shield bobbing alongside him. "Ice Cream. Definitely Ice Cream."

[/color] He said with a grin, thinking about how long it had been since he'd last had ice cream, and how delicious it sounded right then.[/size][/blockquote]

[Spring [Complex]]

Little by little, he was starting to loosen up a bit. Kairi did have that effect on people, though she was probably working at a slower pace than usual. OH, well actually after her little comment on his shyness, he'd jogged on over to her side. "Much better." the red head mused, flashing him a smile. As far as what he wanted to eat, the ball was in his park. She wasn't going to force choose, even if he couldn't make up his mind. Instead, her option would have been to pick whichever was closest. Thankfully, that wasn't the case here.

When he mentioned Ice Cream, Kairi had caught the grin he portrayed. Everyone loved Ice Cream and what luck, the Ice Cream vendor was the closest to approach along their journey to the market place. Waving in the business man's general direction, he'd perk up with a smile. Kairi was for him at least, a familiar face. Always getting Ice Cream on her "adventures".

"Out on another adventure, I take it?"

The Ice Cream vendor responded once they were close enough. Kairi giggled, before speaking up.

"I'm with a new friend, so I'm treating him to Ice Cream." she explained before looking to the shield user.

"Go on, order whichever flavour you'd like."
Kairi smiled, it must have been unusual for a stranger to be so...kind. She hadn't even introduced herself yet.

[The Mysterious Mr. Jameson Q.]

When Cree noticed her taking notice of his grin, he immediately stifled it, playing the cool and collected broody character. It wasn't that he was trying to avoid her, or anything, just that he wasn't the sort to easily make friends, and strangers were not at the top of his list of possible friend choices. So he played the steely and distant cool as a cucumber, suave as a sandwich, orphan boy.

Cree followed by her side, surveying the area with detached interest, obviously somewhat elated that he'd found a friend, or at least someone his age to spend a little time with. And she was very friendly, despite being a little sudden and sneaky. He piped up when she offered him the ice cream. "Cucumber and Raspberry please!" The odd combination seemed to bring a look to the vendors face, but he brought the ice cream he was bid and Cree was just as happy.

[/blockquote]

[Spring [Complex]]

Kairi shook her head once Cree went into the brooding archetype. She'd have him open up just yet, it was like a challenge. When Yuffie met with a challenge, she couldn't resist completing it. Said ninja really had rubbed off on the Princess of Heart. Which got the red head thinking:

"What would Yuffie do...?"

It took a moment to click, Cree having ordered his flavour. Yuffie would always try to stand out and be different. Especially after being 'challenged' by her new acquaintance. Kairi nodded her head, as if accepting the challenge.

"I'd like Pineapple and Eggplant, sweet and salty please."

Kairi then proceeded to look in Cree's direction, she flashed a slight smile. After which, she proceeded to pay the vendor for the ice cream and motioned for him to follow her. She was looking for a quiet place to sit down. Upon said location catching her eyes, she'd sit down leaning against a wall. Motioning for him to sit down, she'd finally unwrap her ice cream bar.

"I'm Kairi, there's no better way to introduce yourself than over Ice Cream." Taking said bar into her left hand, she offered her right hand to shake.

[The Mysterious Mr. Jameson Q.]

Cree, with no sense of polity, had opened his ice cream, and started nipping at the corners of it, watching the hustle and bustle of the town. There was something about all those people, working together toward a daily goal that he admired, and at the same time, he felt there was no adventure in it. It was so boring. Maybe it was just a childish sense of adventure that entertained his fancy, but the boy just couldn't settle in such away as to do something so mundane. Life must be a grand adventure, with an overarching story. Not in those exact words, but the thought was still legitimate.

He followed after her, to the quiet place to sit, probably a good thing since the louder areas would steal his attention away surely. And when she sat, and invited him to come sit as well, he did, still nibbling at the upper corners of his ice-cream bar. "I'm Cree." The boy extended his own hand into hers, with a shake.

[/blockquote]

[Spring [Complex]]

Normally she would have scolded him for starting without her but she didn't specifically say not to. Perhaps Cree lacked simple ettiquette or was lost in thought. The hustle and bustle within the marketplace left lots to observe. Vendors selling wares, residents purchasing these wares, daily life was interesting when you didn't experience it the same way. Had the red head not been focused on navigating them to a quiet spot, she'd probably have done what her new friend Cree did.

"It's nice to meet you Cree, I see you really like Ice Cream."

Subtley teasing the boy for starting early and observing how happy he was with his ice cream bar. Taking a lick of her own crazy flavour, her eyes lit up in delight. "This is so good, I should mix flavurs more often." she mused for a moment, poor vendor would no doubt be on his toes in the future. Taking note about the boy, she realized that he was rather quiet. When he spoke, he was straight to the point, no desire to mix words or carry on long conversation. It reminded her of a familiar face, blond spikey hair, arms crossed at chest level. She shook her head for a moment, taking the time to enjoy her Ice Cream Bar.

"So...whereabouts the Garden do you live, if you don't mind me asking?"

At least the teen was trying to keep some conversation going, though the day seemed so ordinary.

OOC: I've finally thought of a fun plot idea, care to follow my lead ?

[The Mysterious Mr. Jameson Q.]

Cree made quick work of realizing her joke, as although he was oblivious to some things, not so strong, nor quick, he was clever. And he blushed, realizing that she had waited to open her ice cream, while he had just started devouring his right away. "Nice to... meet you too." he stuttered past his embarrassment, looking away as if hopefully changing the angle of his face would help conceal the blood in his cheks.

Cree took a chomp out of his ice-cream bar, purposely giving himself brainfreeze to avoid the awkward situaiton. The ache in his head was immediate and he made a variety of comical, exaggerated faces to display his state. By the time his head had thawed, the blush was gone. A small victory.

But then she asked that most detestable question. The one he didn't have an answer to. He was unable to help going silent for a moment, not replying in that stoic, cold way that you know someone doesn't have a real answer to give. "I..."

[/color] He tried for a second to formulate a good excuse.[/size][/blockquote]

[Spring [Complex]]

His change in expression indicated he caught on to the subtle reference. It made Kairi smirk somewhat, but she was happy that he was happy to meet her. Though he certainly was shy and reserved. The way he changed the angle of his face, it waas somewhat cool, but in the context it was more cute than anything else.

He was going to say something, uttering an 'I' but no sooner had someone rushed past the duo. They were wearing a tattered brown cloak. Considering the stranger had a hood up, they wouldn't be easily identifiable. However, what was identifiable was this person was a thief!

"STOP THIEF!"

Commotion in the market place had just begun, the voice whom called out was rather familiar. Twas that of a the Ice Cream Vendor. Strategically placing her own bar within her mouth, she motioned for Cree to follow her. Stealing in Radiant Garden...? Not on Kairi's watch!

Though that didn't stop the cloaked thief from moving to higher grounds...

[The Mysterious Mr. Jameson Q.]

Cree blinked up at the distraction and was never so welcoming to see a criminal. Cree attempted to copy Kairi's bravado, popping the remainder of his ice-cream bar into his mouth before the agonizing brainfreeze set in, and he barely managed to muscle past it.

"We gan't wed 'im ged uh-way!" He asserted past the mouthful of cucumber and raspberry flavored ice.