{Almost like Home}{open}

[Serah Farron]

Here she stood at the top of this high mountain, or something. Getting off a gondola and arriving at what looks like a park, at least from what she could see on her small ride up to the top. Now she stood in front on many portals, unsure of what to do next. This was nothing like the festival held back home, with all the fireworks and dazzling shows. As she was about to head down one of the holes, the guy that greeted her when she got off the gondola called out to her. "Hey you can't just slide down the hole you want, you gotta pay for a pass". Walking over to the guy, she sighed. When she had just suddenly appeared here, Serah was so worried about where Snow was and also her sister. Where she woke up was like a barren wasteland, and then she had spotted this place so she decided to check it out. Maybe she would find Lightning or Snow here, it was worth a try.

Paying the gil for the pass, just the one day pass she went back over to the portals. Walking back and forth she looked at each hole, and read the writing of where each portal led to. Finding one that said Chocobo Races, Serah decided to try that one. Sitting down she pushed herself foreward and slid down the hole, coming out at the bottom. Standing up she brushed herself off, and heard a announcement about a race starting up. She had to move abit since there was alot of people here, no doubt to see the race.

Serah managed to make it to the front near the race track, then the lights went to green as the chocobos took off around the track. She had to cover her ears from all the cheering the that was going on, these people were certainly loud for such a race like this. But guess she couldn't blame them, sighing lightly she tryed to look for any sign of her sister or Snow but so far no luck. Hopefully they were alright, and that sooner or later she could meet up with them. Rubbing her arm lightly where her brand was nothing but a scar, she just watched the chocobos run to the finish line.

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[Penelo]

So...her airship wasn't what she'd call 'fixed.' There was a huge lack of aerodomes and moogle repairmen at the world...'Spira' she had been on previously. She had gotten it to take flight and fly for a couple of hours, trying to sense Vaan magically, but that went crappy. Not to mention she crashed into another mountain. With a sigh she had scrounged up what she could, but this time, she really knew there was no fixing it. Sparks flew from it at all angles and the cockpit was eradicated. She packed up her belongings and started to trek outwards from it.

That was when this place caught her eye and she paid her way in. She had over heard some people talking about some Chocobos and Penelo followed them because they were familiar in this otherwise foreign world (though this one was more populated than the last). They came to a track and at the track, she saw Chocobos behind a fence and people shouting. The lights went off and the Chocobo started running. She found herself cheering along with the crowd, but not for any particular one. She was just having fun. When the Chocobo came around the turn, she rotated her self to keep and eye on them, when she caught site of the girl next to her. She had her hands over her ears but looked excited, though lonely and troubled. Penelo immediately wanted to give her a hug. She refrained, however.

"I just love Chocobos, don't you?" She turned to look at her with a smile. Honestly, Penelo figured they were about the same age, this girl was just a little smaller than her (a huge surprise) and had the coolest pink hair. Penelo smiled a little more friendly at her and then looked back out at the track, cheering as one of them crossed the finish line.

[Serah Farron]

Serah continued to watch the chocobos run around the track, noticing that each bird was a different color and some were bigger then others. The chocobos she usually saw were big and golden, and very fluffy. She laughed lightly to herself about that, but stopped as worry washed over her face once more. What if she couldn't find Snow, or her sister. What if she could never get home again, why was she even here in this world to begin with. Serah had finally been freed from being a crystal, and Lightning had given her blessing for her and Snow to be married. That's why she couldn't stay here long, she had to find out where this place was and ask if anyone has seen her sister and fiancee. It was a long shot, but if she could get answers then she could be pointed in the right direction of where she should go in this odd world. It was not like Cocoon, this place felt different as well.

Putting her hands behind her back, trying to stop worrying. Serah rocked abit back on her heels, the chocobos coming to the final stretch in the race. While she was here she might as well have abit of fun right, she didn't have to worry about turning into crystal anymore or completing any focus. Snow and Lightning would find her sooner or later, lifting her arm up she cheered on a blue chocobo as other people seemed to cheer as well. The pink haired girl then heard a voice beside her, and turned to see a pigtailed girl with blond hair. Serah smiled at the girl, and nodded lightly. "Yes I love chocobos, they are such lovely animals and very tame". At least if you treated them right, they could be very loyal and gain their trust long enough you could ride them.

Serah turned back to see one of the chocobo's cross the finish line, as people erupted into cheers. She also heard some people who didn't seem so happy about the outcome of the race, that was to be expected in a place like this. You lose some and you win some, maybe she could place a bet on the next race. As the people started to file out to collect their winnings, or go place more bets Serah glanced back at the blond haired girl. "Quite a race huh, my name is Serah Farron". The girl looked kind enough, and Serah felt like she could share a friendship or bond with this girl. And who knows maybe they could help eachother out, trying to figure out why they were here and how come they had been seperated from the ones they care about. That's if the girl had someone she cared about, which she probably did but Serah was no mind reader.

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[Penelo]

Penelo had never seen so many different colored chocobos before. She had fought the rare White one, seen some wild black and brown ones, and of course the yellow ones....but never blue. It looked fantastic, and she wanted to pet its feathers and feed it some gyshal greens, so it would let her ride it. She wondered if Vaan had ever heard of a blue chocobo. She'd have to ask him when they found each other. She knew they would, someday. She got into the race and cheered as the chocobo won the race. She just wanted to give it a big hug for being so fast. She looked back at the girl when she answered her and she smiled and nodded. What wasn't there to like about Chocobos? They were nice, they were really cute, they made adorable noises, and they could run really fast and they made errands across the desert very easy. The best part was that other monsters generally left them alone. Thinking like that really had her missing back home...the sands of the Eastersand, the dried fruit, Migelo's shop, and all the orphans. Which made her wonder how Kites and Filo were...

She really needed to get home. Too bad her ship is busted...probably beyond repair. "Yes, it was a good race, really close up til the very end! Nice to meet you, Serah, I'm Penelo. Just Penelo." She smiled sweetly and held out her hand to shake Serah's. She seemed like she was thinking something important. She looked around, wondering were a good (and cheap) place was to eat. She glanced around, only seeing exits to the track, then she glanced at Serah.

"You wouldn't happen to know where a good place was to eat, would you?" If she did, then that would be absolutely great, and Penelo would invite her to join her, because she seemed like she was alone and Penelo never liked being alone herself. And if she didn't know, she'd probably invite her to come exploring with her.

[Serah Farron]

Serah forgot most of her worry, and just watched the chocobos being led around the track. It would be so exciting to feed one, that's if the trainers who owned these magnificant birds would allow it. And so many different colors as well, Black and Brown and of course golden and blue. Though she had never even seen a blue chocobo, was it a rare breed or did the owners feed them a special kind of greens to make them that color. Serah smiled to the girl beside her when she asked if she liked chocobo's, of course answering with a yes. These birds were just so beautiful, how could no one not like them. Back home they were also used for races, and doing tasks as well. Lightning had told her about Sazh, and how he kept a baby chocobo in his hair. Which she found funny, she also wondered how Vanille was doing too. Serah had met Vanille when she got branded as a l'Cie, and had saved her and the little boy.

Maybe she was somewhere in this world, and they would meet up again. Did she have to worry about turning to crystal in this world, she had already been turned into crystal once and didn't want it to happen again. Serah pushed those thoughts aside and cheered along with the girl, as the chocobo went across the finish line. What a great race that had been, she stayed in her spot so she wouldn't get trampled by people going to get their winnings. And of course every barrel has sour apples, she could see some people tearing up their tickets in frustration because they didn't win. Focusing back on the girl, Serah introduced herself and the blond did the same back. Holding out her hand after she said her name, no doubt to shake. "It's very nice to meet you Penelo". Serah shook the girls hand, smiling.

Putting her hand back by her side after, she noticed Penelo glancing around. Was she looking for someone, she saw Penelo look back at her then ask if there was any good place to eat. "I'm not sure, I just came right down here. I'm sure this place must have a place to eat in, let's go explore". As soon as some of the people had gone, Serah walked over to the different named holes wondering which one to go in.

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[Penelo]

Penelo smiled brightly as the two of them shook hands. She had made a new friend! Hopefully they could help each other (if she needed helping, because Penelo wasn't too prideful to admit that she needed help). She folded her hands behind her back as the shake was over and started to look around, especially at the tubes. It was odd. She hadn't really seen anything like that before, not in any city she had ever been in (not like that she had been in many of them, but still.) She looked sideways at Serrah as she said she had come right down here, and wasn't sure. She smiled as she invited them both to go explore the area, which was fine with Penelo. They may just meet someone that was helpful.

She walked behind the pink haired girl, and as she did so she caught snippets of conversation. She didn't understand most of the subjects the people were talking about, or where the areas the said they were going to, but she figured they were talking about the inside of this place, where ever that was. "Which to take?" She asked herself and Serrah as well. She read the names over some of them, but they meant little to her.

"How about we try that one?" She asked, pointing to the one that most of the people were going in. Her line of thinking was that most people had probably been watching the race for a little while and had worked up an appetite, or were hungry. So they would be heading to a place of refreshment. Right? And in the event she was wrong, they could just try another one.

[Serah Farron]

It was nice to have met a new friend in this strange world, at least now she didn't have to feel like the only one lost. When she shook Penelo's hand, then put her own back down by her side she was asked if there was anywhere to eat. Serah of course had no idea, she had never been here before and if there was a place to eat it was probably through one of those odd looking tubes. When she came up on the cable car, she had simply just went down the chocobo tube because she wanted to see the birds. And now that she had met a new friend, they could help eachother out. Or rather find someone who could help them, at least tell them what this place was. The man who greeted the people that got off the cable car did tell her what this place was called, all he did was tell her to pay for this thing called a gold pass to have access to the park.

As she made her way away from the track, finally seeing the big crowd disperse and go to get their winnings or sulk about losing. As she walked along, glancing behind to see if Penelo was following. Serah turned her attention to some of the people talking, somethings she didn't understand a word of and others they seemed to speak then burst out laughing for some odd reason. Walking a little faster she soon stopped near the portals, hearing what Penelo said and looked over the names of the different areas. There just seemed to be so many she couldn't decide which one to pick, and where would these odd little holes take them to. It would suck if they got lost in one of these, or stuck.

Penelo pointed to one, as Serah shifted her position and tilted her head reading it. "This one says Wonder Square, it looks like a place which may have a restaurant". It was worth a try, shrugging she glanced down into the hole then took a deep breath and jumped down the hole. Sliding all the way down after letting a few other people go in front of her, when she reached the bottom she kind of tumbled foreward and did abit of a roll before standing up fixing her skirt. She then backed away from the hole and waited for Penelo to come down, while she waited she glanced around seeing a big stairwell on the side of a wall. Leading up into a area above, maybe that could be somewhere they could get something to eat.

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[Penelo]

Penelo welcomed her new friend, because now, she wasn't alone and isolated, sure there was a lot of things she didn't know about the girl, but that was the point of getting to know someone. She was glad to have found someone so soon after she arrived at this crazy place because the desperation hadn't set in. She smiled to herself as she followed along behind the girl, though she kept her ear out on the conversations around her, trying to orient herself in this new place. Most people were talking about locations inside the place they were in, Penelo could tell because it usually involved the words 'let's go here next,' or 'I really liked this.' She also heard snippets of things that she thought were town names, "Nibelhiem" was among the most frequent, followed by "Edge", and "Midgar." Penelo had no way of knowing really what those places were, but if she could get her hands on a map, she'd feel much better. She glanced at Serah and wondered if she should bring this up, but decided to wait for later, after they got to know each other a little more.

She came up beside the girl and nodded as she suggested Wonder Square. It was a good of place as any, and Penelo wanted to avoid Battle Square. That didn't really sound girl friendly to her. She watched as Serah disappeared down the hole and she commended her for her bravery. Penelo didn't like going down the first tube, but she drew in a deep breath and slid down anyway. After she landed with two rolls to take away her momentum she got to her feet and dusted herself off. And after she removed a terribly heinous wedgie she located Serah and gave a tiny grin. She then followed the girl's line of sight to the stairs and then cast a quick look around.

"Lets go then!" She smiled happily and took Serah's hand and started to weave through the pedestrians towards the stairs.

[Serah Farron]

Serah was happy to have met a new face in this place, Penelo seemed to have a sweet nature about her. Upon first arriving she had been such a rack of nerves, panic and fear had swept over her like a huge wave beating against a rock. She thought she was going to be alone and not find a kind person to help her out, since most of these people seemed only interested in the chocobo race and cashing in on their winnings. Hopefully she could somehow meet up with Snow and Lightning, they must be going out of their minds looking for her. Serah knew she was just trying to keep herself calm, trying not to just yell. At first she wanted to do that when she came here, though meeting Penelo kind of made all that just vanish.

Serah walked pass the people, not really listening to the conversations going on. Though she did manage to catch a few small things, not really that important or helpful to her. Unless Penelo caught something she missed, she would tell her.....right. The pink haired girl wanted to get to know the blond a little more, after all they had just met. Looking over the different names of the holes, she heard some people saying Wonder Square had just added a new addition. A restaurant, they then took their leave. Perfect that was exactly what she and Penelo were hoping for, turning she smiled at the blond. "Wonder Square is the place to go, meet you down there". Serah then turned and jumped down the hole, coming out at the bottom with a tuck and roll before standing to fix her skirt.

Snow would have probably just laughed at her, after that small performance. Sighing lightly, she stepped away from the hole and waited for Penelo. Serah turned her face away from the hole for a second, and glanced towards some stairs leading up into a huge building. Could that be where the restaurant was located. The pink haired girl was almost so lost in her thoughts, she jumped ever so slightly when Penelo took her hand. "Alright, onward". She let Penelo guide her through all the people and towards the stairs leading up. What kind of food did they serve she wondered, and would they have enough gil between them to buy anything. Serah still had a fair amount, so everything should be good.

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[Penelo]

The area they were in wasn't really that busy, which was good because Penelo didn't want to lose her new friend in the crowd. Penelo really didn't like eating alone, after all. But nevertheless, she kept a hold of Serah's hand until they made it to the stairs. She let go then, only to use that hand on the rail to help herself up the stairs. Once they made it to the top, she looked around, looking a the different buildings until she located one that had tables sitting out front. "There!" She called happily. She took Serah's hand again and started to weave through traffic again until they made it to the shop front and she could see inside.

It was definitely a restaurant. She dipped her hand into the bag on her back, feeling around for her purse full of gil. She located it and gave it a nudge, just to make sure. When the sound of the gil clicking together reached her ears she took her hand out of the bag and smiled at Serah, "I wonder what they serve here....let's go in." She let go of the girl's hand and walked in through the open door, different smells of different food reached her nose and she immediately went scouting out for a table. When she found one, she waved Serah over and sank down into one of the seats.

[Serah Farron]

Serah noticed that this place wasn't that crowded, and as soon as Penelo came down the chute she had grabbed her hand. Leading her towards the building that had the restaurant, Serah didn't want to be seperated from her new friend so she just followed behind the blond girl. Once they got to the stairs, she felt the other girl let go of her hand and head up the stairs. And of course Serah was right behind her, excited and happy she was not alone anymore. Putting a hand on the railing, she ran up after Penelo. Coming to the top, the pink haired girl peeked around the corners of the stairs before she heard Penelo say 'There'. Smiling she also noticed the tables, and once again the blond took her hand and led her towards the tables. Having to weave through the traffic of people once more, but she could smell the delicious aroma of the food.

As they got closer she could see this was a new place, probably just built. There was that new smell feeling to it, using her free hand she went to a small little pouch purse on her side. Good she still had all her gil, and to make sure of that she listened as the jingle of small coins clinked together. She preferred to have her own gil on herself all the time, that way Snow never had to spoil her all the time. Lightning always told her to save, and spend it wisely. Maybe that's why she had been somewhat worried when she went places with Snow, except now he wasn't here so it felt a little odd. Giving a smile to Penelo, she tryed to see into the restaurant trying to see what they served. I'm sure whatever they serve, it's good."

You could only take a guess, but standing outside the building you could smell the food. Feeling Penelo let go of her hand, she nodded quickly and followed her inside. Upon entering Serah just stared at the surroundings, it was so beautiful inside. She could see they went into detail on certain things, trying to make it look as fancy as possible. Seeing that Penelo found a table, Serah went to join her and sat down. "I've never really been in a actual restaurant like this before, usually i'm used to fast food". She laughed lightly at that comment she made, before she saw a menu put down in front of her. Picking it up she opened it, and began to look over the different items. Hmmm maybe for now she would just start off with a drink, looking at the beverage part she saw they had soda. Telling the waiter what she wanted to drink, Serah set the menu down for now and waited for her new friend to pick something.

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[Penelo]

Penelo was glad they had found somewhere to eat fairly soon, she was pretty hungry. She was even happier when the place wasn't extremely full and they didn't have to wait in the front area for a chair, smelling the delicious food until a table was cleaned so they could eat. They just got to walk right in and sit and eat. Penelo, personally, had never actually been to an eat in place like this either. All the venues to get food at at home were in the bazaar or Lowtown and you got the food and then left to eat it somewhere. She also hadn't had a home cooked meal since her parents died and she was forced to move into Lowtown like the rest of the Rabanastre citizens. She tried not to think of it negatively, though.

But now, she was sitting in a soft and comfy seat with her new friend, reading a really fancy looking menu in a really fancy place like it came out of the rich part of Archadia, like where Larsa grew up. She looked over the drinks, not understanding what any of the drinks are. "I'll...try a Coke...cola?" She asked, not sure what it was, but the little picture next to it was interesting. She'd never had a red drink before. After she told the waiter that, she thanked him and he walked away. She then looked back down at the menu, not knowing what half of the things are, so she took to ready the little descriptions under neath them all.

None of them appealed to her, until she got to the Salad section. "I think I'll have a...chicken salad. Whatever Chicken is." Penelo said with a small laugh. She looked up and over at Serah, seeing that she was looking over the menu as well. "What about you?" She asked curiously.

[Serah Farron]

Serah had been quite surprised to say the least, she thought people would be rushing to come eat up here. Unless they wanted to spend their winnings elsewhere, the restaurant gave off a nice cozy feeling. She also thought there would be a big line up waiting to get into here, but that wasn't the case. She and Penelo had just walked in, no reservations. No sitting in the seating area at the front, just walked in and went to a table. As a menu was placed in front of her, she picked it up and flipped it open. Usually back home she would either pick something up at a fast food place, or cook something. After all it was her who made all the meals at home, Lightning was always out doing things which made Serah worry about her. That's why she gave her sister that knife for her birthday, call her a worry wart but when it came to Light she always worried about her. Glancing over the menu, she went straight to the beverages and looked at the list. Some of these she didn't really know of, and had such funny names. "I'll have a cola too, please".

The waiter nodded to them both, and walked off. Flipping back to the food section of the menu, Serah glanced at all the entree's and sandwiches. Nothing really stood out to her as interesting, lowering the menu for a sec when Penelo said she was going to have a chicken salad. "Chicken is a bird, really delicious and juicy". If cooked just right that is, and it could be prepared in alot of ways too. There was grilled, crispy, well alot. She couldn't list them all, it would take so long. As she glanced back to the menu, the waiter had returned to give them their drinks in big glasses with a straw. "I think i'm going to have the bacon cheese burger, with salad". What, she could eat and not gain a pound. Hence why she thrived on fast food, and junk. Snow thought it was cute, Lightning always lectured her on eating too much junk.

The waiter took down her order, just as Serah mentioned what Penelo was having. And with that he took off once more, taking the menus away as well. Serah folded her hands on her lap, sitting up straight before taking a sip of soda from the cup in front of her. It tasted nice and cold, and just what the doctor ordered. After swallowing her sip of soda, she leaned back abit in the chair. "So where are you from Penelo, and how did you come to be here?". Might as well start off some sort of conversation, she wanted to know more about her new friend. And she was sure that Penelo wanted to know her as well, it would be quite interesting on what kind of answers they come out with in the end.

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[Penelo]

Now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure there actually was a sit down restaurant in all of Rabanastre, maybe even all of Dalmasca (that isn't saying much though). She knew there had to be some in Archadia, because it was just so...big. There was bound to be a few. Maybe one day she could go there, with Vaan, or Larsa. Or maybe the entire crew, if she could get a hold of Balthier and Fran and Ashe. Of course she had to get home first, but Penelo knew that since she got her airship fixed once, she could do it again. It was all about fighting the parts, and the manpower to fix it. She had hope though, because this world seemed a lot more industrialized than the last she was on. Finding what she needed was probably going to be a lot easier.

That in mind she smiled happily as the waiter brought their drinks to them. She looked a little confused because the picture had been red, but the liquid...reminded her of Malboro blood. It was dark and murky and didn't looked very good at all, but Serah took a drink of it, so Penelo did as well. She was thoroughly surprised with the taste that filled her mouth. It was bubbly and fizzy and didn't taste like anything she had ever had before. She took another couple of drinks and as she sat it back down, she hiccuped from the bubbles. "That's so interesting!" She said as she leaned in close to look at the bubbles from the side of the glass. She tapped it experimentally. Where her finger touched, the bubbles detached and floated to the top of the drink. She was rather entertained by it.

She looked up when Serah told her what a Chicken was, she nodded her head a little, maybe it was like a Cockatrice? She looked up when the waiter asked her for her order. "I'd like the Chicken Salad." She said with finality. He nodded and wrote it down. He asked her what sort of dressing she wanted on it. She looked at him a little confused and then she shrugged. "Uhm...what's your favorite?" She asked him, the man said Ranch, so she nodded her head and told him to go with that. He grinned as he took the menu from her and Serah and then went away to put in the order. She chuckled a little as he left and then she looked over at Serah when she asked her those questions.

"I am from Ivalice, originally. I grew up in a small city in the middle of a desert called Rabanastre. I'd lived there until recently when I was flying my airship when it crashed into a mountain. That world was called Spira, of which I'd never heard of. Maybe you have...?" Penelo asked with a small raise of her blond eyebrow. "I was there long enough to get it fix and I was flying it in the direction I thought was home, but ended up hitting another mountain. It's not all my fault, these mountains are really high up, and my instruments keep malfunctioning. Anyway, I came down the mountain, and ended up down at the Chocobo race. I think I'll be here for as long as it takes to fix the airship. Again. Nono will be so mad at me." Nono was the moogle that kept the Straahl in running condition. She had also taken it upon herself to look after Vaan and Penelo's ship as well. She definitely won't be happy about it. And neither will Vaan.

"And what about you? And I have to ask, is pink your natural hair color? It's so pretty."

[Serah Farron]

This place was certainly different than back in Bodhum, everything here was so knit tight together. Her home could be called a tourist spot, for vacationers to come. But ever since the Pulse fal'Cie was discovered that kind of ruined everything, she had been branded as one and had been turned to crystal. Yet she soon recovered and was reunited with her sister and Snow, except just when she thought they could be truly happy. This happened, she was in a different world and still had no idea how she came to be here. Who would want to tear her away from those she cared about most, and if she could ever find out the answers to her questions would she be shocked or just completely surprised. As for this restaurant, either she never really payed attention back home or was always cooking. But she never saw anything as big as this, that's for sure.

The drinks were set down in front of them, Serah watched Penelo just stare at the liquid for a minute. As if she was unsure on wheather to drink it or not, guess where she came from they didn't have soda pop. The blond than took a sip, followed by a few more before setting the glass back down. Serah couldn't help but giggle lightly, taking up her own glass and taking a few sips from it. "It's called soda, a fizzy drink which tastes rather good". Of course if you drank it too fast, the bubbles sometimes backfired on you and made you well as Penelo just did. They make you hiccup, just don't burp with some in your mouth otherwise it will come out your nose. She had done that once, and boy did it sting. After explaining what chicken was, the waiter waited to take their orders. Leaning back in her seat once more, she almost spit through the straw when Penelo asked what kind of dressing the waiter preferred on the salad.

This girl was funny, but also a fun person to be around. Just with every little action, or words she said. When the waiter took the orders in, and the menus Serah asked Penelo where she was from and how she came to be here. Serah listened to each word that came from the blond girl's lips, a small city in the middle of the desert. That was rather interesting, but what really caught her attention was the fact this girl had her own airship. Than disappointed she had crashed into a mountain with it, in the world called Spira. "Sounds like a interesting place you come from, and no sorry i've never heard of Spira before". It was new news to her, as Penelo spoke again the pink haired girl nodded. So much crashing into mountains, guess that airship has been through alot. Tilting her head at the mention of Nono, got her curious. "Whose Nono?".

Was that a friend of hers, someone she knew who could fix this airship. Maybe Penelo could help her get back home, or to find her fiancee and sister. Setting her glass of soda down, she smiled lightly. Guess it was her turn to speak. "I come from a place called Bodhum, it's a nice place. I live there with my sister Lightning, and also my fiancee Snow.". Her hand reached to the pendant she wore around her neck.

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