[Action/Voice] 013

[fallenambitions]

[Alexei was finally returning from his mission today, unaware of what's been going on the last two weeks he had missed. He knew of a draft, but that was about it.

He'll definitely be asking around what he's missed, but first he's going to go and grab himself a seat at the Good Spirits Bar for a drink. He could use one or two of them right now.

It's there that he'll flip open his journal, vaguely gathering what people were even talking about before closing it. He decides to ask whomever was nearest to him. Could be the bartender or could be just another customer.]

Has anything been happening the last two weeks?

[Once he's had his fill of information-- and a bit of alcohol, he'll go back to the journal again and...start complaining about various things into it.]

You would think that if the Malnosso can manage to take us off this planet, they could get us all home.

Comments

[voice]

[fallenambitions]

That's very nice of them. I'm sure you'll hear from your father soon and he'll appreciate you writing a letter to him.

[A beat] What is his name, if I may ask?

[voice]

[alabastatomboy]

Papa?

He's King Nefertari Cobra of Alabasta Kingdom. [She delivers his name with a more formal tone of voice as well. There's some protocol she's picked up, especially when she went along with her father to the Council of Kings earlier that year.]

[voice]

[fallenambitions]

King Nefertari...Ruling a kingdom must keep him very busy.

[voice]

[alabastatomboy]

Yeah, sometimes. It's his job, though.

What do you do, Alexei-san?

[voice]

[fallenambitions]

I am a knight, sworn to uphold justice and peace for the Empire back home. Although...I've long retired from my duties to lead the Imperial Knights.

[voice]

[alabastatomboy]

Oh! A knight! [She looks suitably impressed; Alabasta doesn't have knights, per se, but she's well-informed thanks to her storybooks.] I think if I wasn't a princess I would wanna be a knight when I grow up. But I don't think you can be both.

...can you?

[voice]

[fallenambitions]

I've never heard of a princess becoming a knight, and that isn't exactly part of our tradition. Although, our Princess did train under a knight to wield a sword. It was more out of self-defense purposes.

[voice]

[alabastatomboy]

I'm learning how to sword fight too!

[Well. That's overstating things a bit. It's more like play with wooden practice swords than any kind of actual technique, but Vivi takes it pretty seriously.]

[voice]

[fallenambitions]

Are you? Perhaps you can give me a demonstration of what you know one day. I'm curious to see what you can do.

[voice]

[alabastatomboy]

[That earns a smile. Perhaps he's only humoring her, but even if that's the case, Vivi doesn't pick up on it.] Yeah, okay! I'm still learning, but I can show you what I know!

[Admittedly not much. For all that she works at it, she doesn't have much guidance yet regarding form.] Maybe you can even teach me some new stuff!