(Maybe it's Alex's own calming aura that has him humming to himself now. It's nice. Everything feels nice.)
Hmm... Derdriu is a port city. As the capital of the Alliance, it naturally has a lot of resources. The buildings are beautiful, the streets seem to float on the water, and the atmosphere is lively. It's a popular vacation spot and an active port so you can often meet people from all over Fodlan... and sometimes people from other places, too.
I remember the first time I saw it, I thought how lucky I was to call a place like that my home.
No, I only arrived a couple of years ago. I was raised... somewhere else for most of my life. I moved to help my grandfather.
(... And it looks like that might be it!! But actually, he continues, almost wistfully,)
Where I'm from, you can see the sea but you have to travel far. Where I stayed, it was mostly grasslands and dessert. If you rode for a day or so, you could come to the forests and mountains but you really had to travel to get to the sea.
(And in case she thinks he's complaining,)
It's still beautiful and I'd like to return some day.
I hope you get to go back there, then. It sounds lovely either way -- forests, mountains, oceans...
[ she'd like to see those too. they've got the forest in the town, and now the ocean as well... maybe next week it'll be mountains and she'll get to see all three. ]
Leaving what you know behind is kinda daunting though, isn't it?
[ ergastulum’s a terrible place claude, are you sure. ]
It’s... well. Not a lot of people like it.
It used to be a quarantine zone, and when there was an overcrowding in prisons they opened it up as a place to house criminals. And then that sort of morphed into it accepting refugees, and things sort of went from there.
It’s governed internally by four mafia families who oversee different districts. So it’s... quite violent, but it’s also governed by people who can answer back with just as much force.
(Oh, that's interesting. It sounds a little bit like bandit communities in the mountains. At first it was just a place to isolate and get away but over time, some develop into communities run different bands of thieves or rogue mercenaries. Of course, this sounds more complex,)
I've never heard of a whole society like that before. It... doesn't sound like an easy life. (Or a particularly good one but that feels rude to just say to Alex,) Does this mean you're from a particular district? Do they differ between each other?
I'm living in district 8. I'm not sure how they work or what the divides are for, other than divvying up territory. The middle's a government neutral zone? I know that much.
I think it's just... you'll find things run by different familes in certain areas. And those areas come under the jurisdiction of the family that runs it? So... protection, law enforcement... it has a police force, but they don't want to step on the toes of the families either. So... next to distract 8 is district 2? That's where the Cristiano family is, and their brothel/bar where I sing is located there too. You'll find the head, Loretta there, and her bodyguards work security at the bar... but you wouldn't see people from other families there because it isn't their space to be muscling in on.
[ she shrugs. politics in a city she doesn't know all that well. ]
(He can tell! So he won't press it much more than that. This is enough to keep him satisfied. )
I think I get it. (He's pretty sure he does,) It's interesting that no matter where the place is, if enough people gather, they'll begin to create their own rules and norms. I suppose people desire some sort of structure and order.
[ or you just create a dumping ground for the outcasts of society who are left to do whatever until the government decides to stamp out an entire race of people. haha! ]
...
I don't really know. I'd thought it might feel like home, eventually. But I'm not sure I really have a place there.
[ the people mean so much to her. but it's never as simple as being with people you want to be around. ]
(The feeling in the air isn't quite sympathy... it's more than just feeling sorry for her. It's deeper, and there's soft ache as he feels like he can relate somewhat to her. It's empathy.)
I understand what it's like to feel like you don't quite belong in a place.
... It's difficult, huh? [ she laughs, but it's a little sad. ]
I know I should leave, but it's never as simple as that. And everyone's very quick to remind me I should leave Ergastulum. [ it's difficult to feel like you have a place when the people there are insistent you leave. even if you know it's for good intentions. ]
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Derdriu? [ hm. ] ... Describe it for me?
Ergastulum's just ... well. I don't know if it's landlocked or not, but there's no ocean, just city.
The breeze is nice. [ she... likes this a lot more than the space station, she's nod even going to pretend ]
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Hmm... Derdriu is a port city. As the capital of the Alliance, it naturally has a lot of resources. The buildings are beautiful, the streets seem to float on the water, and the atmosphere is lively. It's a popular vacation spot and an active port so you can often meet people from all over Fodlan... and sometimes people from other places, too.
I remember the first time I saw it, I thought how lucky I was to call a place like that my home.
(Implying he isn't actually from Derdriu.)
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and yeah, she's pickin' up what he's dropping. ]
You're not from there originally then? It must be nice to love the place you moved to as much as where you came from. Or more?
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(... And it looks like that might be it!! But actually, he continues, almost wistfully,)
Where I'm from, you can see the sea but you have to travel far. Where I stayed, it was mostly grasslands and dessert. If you rode for a day or so, you could come to the forests and mountains but you really had to travel to get to the sea.
(And in case she thinks he's complaining,)
It's still beautiful and I'd like to return some day.
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[ she'd like to see those too. they've got the forest in the town, and now the ocean as well... maybe next week it'll be mountains and she'll get to see all three. ]
Leaving what you know behind is kinda daunting though, isn't it?
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(He's quiet for a moment, glancing over towards her,)
Have you ever moved before?
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(PUshing back his hair with his bangs, laughing just a little,)
You could say learning about other places is kind of a hobby of mine.
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(Really!!)
I'm sure anything you say would be interesting. It's a whole new world for me, you know?
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It’s... well. Not a lot of people like it.
It used to be a quarantine zone, and when there was an overcrowding in prisons they opened it up as a place to house criminals. And then that sort of morphed into it accepting refugees, and things sort of went from there.
It’s governed internally by four mafia families who oversee different districts. So it’s... quite violent, but it’s also governed by people who can answer back with just as much force.
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I've never heard of a whole society like that before. It... doesn't sound like an easy life. (Or a particularly good one but that feels rude to just say to Alex,) Does this mean you're from a particular district? Do they differ between each other?
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I think it's just... you'll find things run by different familes in certain areas. And those areas come under the jurisdiction of the family that runs it? So... protection, law enforcement... it has a police force, but they don't want to step on the toes of the families either. So... next to distract 8 is district 2? That's where the Cristiano family is, and their brothel/bar where I sing is located there too. You'll find the head, Loretta there, and her bodyguards work security at the bar... but you wouldn't see people from other families there because it isn't their space to be muscling in on.
[ she shrugs. politics in a city she doesn't know all that well. ]
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I think I get it. (He's pretty sure he does,) It's interesting that no matter where the place is, if enough people gather, they'll begin to create their own rules and norms. I suppose people desire some sort of structure and order.
(Even if they might rebel against other kinds.)
... Do you like it?
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...
I don't really know. I'd thought it might feel like home, eventually. But I'm not sure I really have a place there.
[ the people mean so much to her. but it's never as simple as being with people you want to be around. ]
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(The feeling in the air isn't quite sympathy... it's more than just feeling sorry for her. It's deeper, and there's soft ache as he feels like he can relate somewhat to her. It's empathy.)
I understand what it's like to feel like you don't quite belong in a place.
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I know I should leave, but it's never as simple as that. And everyone's very quick to remind me I should leave Ergastulum. [ it's difficult to feel like you have a place when the people there are insistent you leave. even if you know it's for good intentions. ]