Ramza walked through the streets of Twilight Town, humming a cheerful tune. He rather like this world; with it's peaceful people and idyllic scenery. After he found his sister, perhaps they could stay in Twilight Town? That way he'd no longer have to worry about war and violence, and he hadn't even seen any heartless in the place.

Then, while walking, he saw a banner claiming that some red haired guy could answer any questions. He stared at the man skeptically. He wondered if, perhaps, the man, if he was telling the truth, could find Alma for him? Then again, it said he only knew answers to questions Ramza himself already knew. A mind reader, then? Or at least someone who wanted others to believe he was a mind reader. Oh well; Ramza had time to spare, at least while in Twilight Town, and he still had the bags of gill that Alma had tucked into his tunic, before she'd disappeared.

'Oh well, might as well pass the time,' he thought, and walked up to the other man. "Hello," he said, smiling politely, taking out his pouch of gil. "How much is this?"

He tried to think of a good, complicated question to ask.

-- Edited by Ramza at 00:02, 2009-02-25

(Sorry, I fixed it. Don't worry; I was going to do that either way.)

Ramza's wine-red eyes widened in surprise, and he took an involuntary step back. He blinked, regaining his composure, and straightened out his face, but he was still internally surprised. Even so, Ramza was raised to be polite, so he didn't let any of his surprise hold him back. He gave the red haired man a ploite bow from the waist, as was greeting in his land, before offering him a smile.

"Yes, I am Ramza Beoulve. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," he took his bag out of a pocket in his tunic, and offered the man two hundred gill. He didn't have many questions, really, but it would be a sufficient tip. He had enough. Now for the hard part. What to ask? "Um, I suppose I'd like to ask the whereabouts of my younger sister, but even I don't know that. So I'll ask instead a question that I suppose no one should know, save myself and close of kin. I went to school before, to train to be a knight. From which order did I come and whom did he order serve?"

(Answer: the Order of the Northern Sky, or Hokuten, and they served under the Duke Larg.)

-- Edited by Ramza at 00:14, 2009-02-25

Ramza blinked wide, wine-red eyes, surprised. If he'd been brought up any differently, he might have been gaping, but the youngest son of lord Balbanes Beoulve did not gape. He was, however, capable of surpise.

'I wonder why I'm so surprised,' Ramza thought almost bitterly. 'After all, I met and killed the supposedly dead saint/demon of my land. Things don't get much stranger than that.'

But he was surprised, and awed by this, too. He gazed at the man before him in a new light, looking him up and down. In his black coat and bright red hair, he almost looked out of place in peaceful, quiet Twilight Town.

"That was amazing, I've never seen such a gift," he told the man honestly, tilting his head slightly. Perhaps traveling around the worlds wasn't so bad, if he got to meet such intriguing characters. Alma would have been excited at encountering someone with such a mystifying gift. Ramza sighed, before offering the other man a weary smile. "No, I don't suppose I have any more questions. I only wish my younger sister was here. She'd be more excited than I at such a thing. Perhaps we can visit you, after I find her?"

The other man, most probably, wouldn't even be in Twilight Town, but it didn't really matter. He'd be happy with Alma back at his side; nothing else really mattered. His sister could be amused in other ways. He was about to turn and leave, giving the man one last farewell, but hesitated.

"If you see young girl, about sixteen summers old, who looks a bit like me, will you tell her her brother is looking for her? You know, if she ever comes here once I have left?" He paused, looking thoughtful. "She could even wait here. The people are kind, and I would probably return."

Ramza blinked in surprise, somewhat takenaback by the offer. But he smiled nonetheless. He wasn't very used to being alone, having Delita at his side until well into his teenaged years, and then having a team to work with. Even after he'd first ran away from home, after he'd learned how corrupt his own older brothers could be, he'd had someone at his side. This offer was a godsend.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," he told Nero, beaming. Not only could they get more done, he wouldn't have to feel so achingly lonely all the time. "And I'm sure it will be all the more easy to find your brothers and my sister."

He really did have hope on the matter. After all, he was safe and alive. That should mean Alma was, too. They were just seperated, and while that seemed bad enough, it really could be worse. He flashed another thankful smile to Nero.

Ramza laughed. Nero felt exactly as he did. It was a blessing.

"I've been lonely, too," he said, shaking errant blonde locks out of his face. He smiled at the small display of magic, too. In his world, Nero would be something of a black mage, he guessed, observing the man's do away with the sign. He wondered if he could do other spells as well? He, himself, only knew the basics of black magic, a few simple spells, because he'd taken more focus in combat. Plus, he'd deemed the white mage's cure spell a bit more important, just in case anyone was hurt in the field. "Yes, we can leave now. Who knows what trouble Alma will get in without me, and I'm sure your siblings are the same."

He pondered the question thoughtfully. "To be honest," he replied. "It's been only a few weeks since I started looking for her, but I only had her back for a month before she disappeared again. When I was younger, I ran away from home, and I didn't see Alma for years afterwards. Then, when I finally met her again, she was taken by the corrupted church in my land as a sacrifice. It took me months to rescue her on top of those years, and when I finally got her back, she was taken again by those black demons, the heartless."

He couldn't keep the frustration out of his tone. True, he had trained to be a knight. True, in the underground of Ivalice, among those who knew the truth of all that had happened, he was considered a hero and a truly formiddable tactician/warrior, but Ramza was only sixteen, and all he wanted was to be with his sister and live a peaceful life. Something -- or someone -- was always taking that from him. He sighed, took a deep breath, and forced the smile back on his face. It was somewhat easier since he was talking to Nero, who understood what he was going through.

"Sorry, I become frustrated just thinking about it," he told the other man, laughing, and ran a hand through his hair sheepishly. "Do you have any preferences on where we should start?"

((Sorry I haven't replied in so long. I'm so lazy, and this probably sucks.))

Ramza frowned, feeling his throat tighten, and had to almost fight back tears. His pale lashes used to fill with them so easily, when he was younger, and Delita had always laughed, though kindly, at him for that.

Nero was so much like him that it hurt, but he forced a comforting smile and placed a gentle hand on the other man's shoulder. "I know how you feel," he said, sighing wearily. "I swore to myself when my sister was born that I would protect her, half-sister or not. This is not even the second time that I've failed, and I hate myself for it."

He became even more worried as he listened to what the man had to say. If Nero had been looking for so long and hadn't yet found his siblings, what hope had he? He, too, had been hoping that Alma would return to his side in no time. He bit his lip and considered Alma's powers.

"My sister is...a healer. She's been trained in a monastery since her youth, but..." he bit his lip again, harder this time, and forced himself to plow on. "Recently, she was stolen away from me by a...demon of sorts, to be its host. I think her body has changed since then, because she certainly did develop stronger, darker magical abilities. She might be able to travel between worlds, but even if she can't by magic, I know her and I know that she will find some way to do so..."

He trailed off again, blushing, but he was smiling this time. "She probably thinks I need rescuing, and she will make it difficult for me by moving around to find me, which I admit is somewhat ironic."