[ He's usually more respectful of people's things, especially if they seem to hold meaning. But it weighs like nothing in his pocket.
As Reno leans against a car, Kahlil swings a leg over the motorcycle, testing the seat as he muses in response: ]
You landed in the wrong faction, I'm afraid. You'd have to hop the border all the way to Aquila to find the sunny shores.
[ Well, there's Borrel too, if he could find an excuse to be allowed to go. But Kahlil can't unsmell all the dead fish they used to catch those stupid birds, and he swears he still smells it every time he goes. Cannot recommend. ]
Man, I dunno. [ He leans back against the front of the bike that Kyle's chosen. Not gonna lie, it's not the worst to be here after hours with no one around demanding shit from him. ] Don't think a single place on this damn planet is the right faction. None of it looks like home.
[ Sure, yeah, he's seen the desert canyon, he's seen the snowy Great Glacier, but it's not like he lives there or hangs out most days of the year. Just places he's flown past on the chopper, dropped in to do a job then took off. Vacationed at every once in a while.
All that concrete and steel and glass in Midgar, he's never gonna find it here. It's not like he misses the shitty air or whatever, but it's just, y'know. Been home since forever. Plus, the crazy amount of grass makes him sneeze. He hates it. ]
[ His attention turns from all the little doo-dads on and around the steering apparatus to study Reno as he gives that answer, eyeing him thoughtfully. After a moment he turns away, smiling faintly to himself. ]
I think that's why I like it here. This world.
[ Not Thorne specifically. He understands now that the castle is where he was meant to be, but if he'd been given a choice it - he probably would've ended up in the Free Cities or Solvunn. ]
My world is small in comparison. People live more freely here.
[ Which is a bleak thing to say, considering the way Thorne is about the Summoned. But it's true. There are so many things he can do, can be here that he can't in Basawar. ]
[ Huh. Reno's eyes narrow, not in suspicion but something more thoughtful. Considering. He'd just never really, eh. Thought there were people who liked getting kidnapped off to another planet? What's up with that?
Maybe he can see it. If you don't got a lot to go home for, yeah? ]
Your planet must be pretty shit, if that's how you feel.
[ He's just sayin'. Like, the guy's gotta have friends? People he wants to see? Stuff he kinda misses? Hell, maybe Kyle doesn't. Reno's watched him for a bit, and Kyle sort of...floats around. Real good at what he does if you know him, not a hell of a lot of friends, even though from what he's gathered, Kyle's been in Thorne for some time.
[ He raises an eyebrow at that, then laughs. Shakes his head. ]
No, it's... things have been getting better, I think. Slowly.
[ The Rifter had passed through the Great Gate and the world had not shaken apart under his steps. The Payshmura fell, but life continued on. People no longer lived in fear of the Holy Road. ]
It's just that when I was young I always dreamed of traveling far away, to some paradise. I never could've imagined so many worlds actually exist, but - no one place is perfect.
[ Every world has its problems. But this is where he is meant to be. ]
[ There's a sense that what Kyle is saying is going over his head a little bit. Yeah, he gets the thought; big dreams and all that, he figures people have got those. He's just never really had them himself. Daydreaming's not his thing, and all of the ones he had when he was a kid, he dismissed a long time ago as just that. Shit you do when you're a kid.
Maybe he doesn't expect someone like Kyle to still be thinking back on that stuff.
Anyway. ]
You gotta have people waiting for you, right? I mean, no one's that much of a loner.
[ Everybody's got a friend somewhere. Even if they're hiding it. You just have to dig hard enough. That's the first thing he learned on the job. ]
[ Kahlil learned early to speak just vaguely enough to let people fill in the gaps for themselves. Most don't care enough to think too hard on the answers. Here is different, though. He lives with everyone here. They're a group, loosely connected as they are, but still connected. ]
Family's been gone a long time now. My job was my life, didn't have much outside of it. [ No relationships. No Rousma. ]
Maybe my boss wonders where I went. [ There's a fond smile at that, though if he had to guess Alidas probably thinks he ended up dead after what happened at the Bell Dance.
A pause, and he turns the question back to Reno with raised eyebrows. ]
[ Man. Reno likes to think of himself as a guy with no attachments, but even he sorta likes his colleagues. They're not family family, except they kinda are. Kyle's got him beat, though, if the best he's got is a maybe outta his boss. ]
Eh. [ He waves a hand. ] I guess I got a boss who might be wondering, too, but he's got a heart colder than Shiva's. Probably already found a replacement.
[ Ugh. What an awful thought. ]
I dunno. My partner, maybe. We've been working together since forever.
[ It doesn't feel that much of a risk to say it. Not like Rude's gonna pop up any time soon, and hell, everyone knows they're partners back in Midgar, too. They know how the job works. ]
Forever? Can't be too long - what're you, twenty five?
[ He offers another wry grin, swinging his leg over the bike to stand up again. ]
I kind of took you for a loner.
[ Not the partner type. Though, he did work well enough with him and Hilda on the mountain against that beast - ignoring all the bickering on the way up. ]
[ Reno matches that grin with a sly one of his own. ] Ain'tcha ever been told not to ask a lady her age?
[ He's pushing thirty, actually, but he'll take a robust twenty-five—though where the Turks are concerned, he still sits as the youngest of 'em. Comes with the territory when you climb the ranks fast.
His feet cross at the ankles. A loner, huh? That's a new one. ] Nah. Can't knock a good team at your back. They're just damn near impossible to come by.
[ Granted, Reno might operate as part of a unit, but that's not anywhere the same as always being a team player, 'cause at the end of the day, he'll do what he does. But he recognizes the value of having someone you trust. He and Rude have never been separated. 'Til now, he guesses. Which does suck.
He points at the materia Kyle pocketed earlier. ] You like those things, lemme know. I maybe got something in mind about them.
[ At that he laughs with a little shrug. A mystery, then.
Anything Kahlil's learned about teamwork, he's had to do here. The ushiri'im can work together to perform feats like God's Razor, but Kahlil was rarely a part of that. It was necessary for him to stand apart from the rest.
With another grin and a facetious oh, you caught me look, he pulls the materia from his pocket. ]
I will. [ with a raised eyebrow and a slightly curious look at maybe got something in mind about them. But with that, he gives a half bow and vanishes from the space, returning to his room in the real world. ]
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no subject
As Reno leans against a car, Kahlil swings a leg over the motorcycle, testing the seat as he muses in response: ]
You landed in the wrong faction, I'm afraid. You'd have to hop the border all the way to Aquila to find the sunny shores.
[ Well, there's Borrel too, if he could find an excuse to be allowed to go. But Kahlil can't unsmell all the dead fish they used to catch those stupid birds, and he swears he still smells it every time he goes. Cannot recommend. ]
no subject
[ Sure, yeah, he's seen the desert canyon, he's seen the snowy Great Glacier, but it's not like he lives there or hangs out most days of the year. Just places he's flown past on the chopper, dropped in to do a job then took off. Vacationed at every once in a while.
All that concrete and steel and glass in Midgar, he's never gonna find it here. It's not like he misses the shitty air or whatever, but it's just, y'know. Been home since forever. Plus, the crazy amount of grass makes him sneeze. He hates it. ]
no subject
I think that's why I like it here. This world.
[ Not Thorne specifically. He understands now that the castle is where he was meant to be, but if he'd been given a choice it - he probably would've ended up in the Free Cities or Solvunn. ]
My world is small in comparison. People live more freely here.
[ Which is a bleak thing to say, considering the way Thorne is about the Summoned. But it's true. There are so many things he can do, can be here that he can't in Basawar. ]
no subject
Maybe he can see it. If you don't got a lot to go home for, yeah? ]
Your planet must be pretty shit, if that's how you feel.
[ He's just sayin'. Like, the guy's gotta have friends? People he wants to see? Stuff he kinda misses? Hell, maybe Kyle doesn't. Reno's watched him for a bit, and Kyle sort of...floats around. Real good at what he does if you know him, not a hell of a lot of friends, even though from what he's gathered, Kyle's been in Thorne for some time.
So yeah. He knows the type. ]
no subject
No, it's... things have been getting better, I think. Slowly.
[ The Rifter had passed through the Great Gate and the world had not shaken apart under his steps. The Payshmura fell, but life continued on. People no longer lived in fear of the Holy Road. ]
It's just that when I was young I always dreamed of traveling far away, to some paradise. I never could've imagined so many worlds actually exist, but - no one place is perfect.
[ Every world has its problems. But this is where he is meant to be. ]
no subject
Maybe he doesn't expect someone like Kyle to still be thinking back on that stuff.
Anyway. ]
You gotta have people waiting for you, right? I mean, no one's that much of a loner.
[ Everybody's got a friend somewhere. Even if they're hiding it. You just have to dig hard enough. That's the first thing he learned on the job. ]
no subject
Family's been gone a long time now. My job was my life, didn't have much outside of it. [ No relationships. No Rousma. ]
Maybe my boss wonders where I went. [ There's a fond smile at that, though if he had to guess Alidas probably thinks he ended up dead after what happened at the Bell Dance.
A pause, and he turns the question back to Reno with raised eyebrows. ]
Who're you missing?
no subject
Eh. [ He waves a hand. ] I guess I got a boss who might be wondering, too, but he's got a heart colder than Shiva's. Probably already found a replacement.
[ Ugh. What an awful thought. ]
I dunno. My partner, maybe. We've been working together since forever.
[ It doesn't feel that much of a risk to say it. Not like Rude's gonna pop up any time soon, and hell, everyone knows they're partners back in Midgar, too. They know how the job works. ]
no subject
[ He offers another wry grin, swinging his leg over the bike to stand up again. ]
I kind of took you for a loner.
[ Not the partner type. Though, he did work well enough with him and Hilda on the mountain against that beast - ignoring all the bickering on the way up. ]
wrap soon?
[ He's pushing thirty, actually, but he'll take a robust twenty-five—though where the Turks are concerned, he still sits as the youngest of 'em. Comes with the territory when you climb the ranks fast.
His feet cross at the ankles. A loner, huh? That's a new one. ] Nah. Can't knock a good team at your back. They're just damn near impossible to come by.
[ Granted, Reno might operate as part of a unit, but that's not anywhere the same as always being a team player, 'cause at the end of the day, he'll do what he does. But he recognizes the value of having someone you trust. He and Rude have never been separated. 'Til now, he guesses. Which does suck.
He points at the materia Kyle pocketed earlier. ] You like those things, lemme know. I maybe got something in mind about them.
good to end here!
Anything Kahlil's learned about teamwork, he's had to do here. The ushiri'im can work together to perform feats like God's Razor, but Kahlil was rarely a part of that. It was necessary for him to stand apart from the rest.
With another grin and a facetious oh, you caught me look, he pulls the materia from his pocket. ]
I will. [ with a raised eyebrow and a slightly curious look at maybe got something in mind about them. But with that, he gives a half bow and vanishes from the space, returning to his room in the real world. ]