Sifting Through Sand [Social]

Alexei walked through the open air of Desierto, admiring the 'scenery'. This was one of the few places on Pandora that he hadn't seen yet; looking at all the rolling dunes around, he wasn't sure why he didn't come here sooner. Sure, there wasn't much civilization here, but sometimes, that was exactly what the God of Chaos wanted; occasionally, some time away from the confines of society was exactly what he needed.

Of course, that was the opposite of what he was looking for now. He had been wandering, alone, for quite some time now; while Alexei was used to that, even he felt the urge to associate with people sometimes. The problem was, he had no idea where his friends were. Malm and Bea had been off his radar for a while, and the mute girl he had been spending time with had vanished as well. He certainly wasn't about to ask Kaseki, but that meant that he had no idea where anybody he could socialize with would be.

Which led Alexei to his current situation: No friends, no idea where he was going, in a desert full of gorgeous but repetitive scenery. God, he was bored.

As Alexei wandered through the vast empty space in front of him, he noticed something he never thought he'd see here: Another humanoid figure. Granted, he couldn't be sure if it was an actual human or not right now; from here, it just looked like a white splotch against the blue sky. But it was a chance Alexei was willing to take; if it was a person, his boredom would be over, and that was more than enough. He picked up the pace, trying to meet the strange figure.

As the God of Freedom got closer, he was able to make out more of the figure. The white splotch was because it was wearing an entirely white suit of armor; it was holding a staff as a walking stick as well, so it was definitely intelligent. Friend or foe, Alexei no longer cared; he just wanted a conversation. "Hey!" He shouted, his voice echoing across the vast empty desert. "Over here!"

Alexei watched as the armored figure turned to face him, the pair now walking towards each other. While conversation would be nice, Alexei was beyond caring about that; even just having the mysterious figure to look at and theorize about was enough for now. Alexei picked up the pace, closing the gap between him and his target. Once he was within a few meters of the armored figure, he halted, raising his hands in the air to show that he had no hostile intentions. "Can you speak?" Alexei asked calmly, wondering whether or not he would elicit a response.

Alexei chuckled at the figure's response. That had killed two birds with one stone; not only was he now sure that the being was intelligent, it also proved that he would be rather entertaining to be around. Alexei still intended to repay the insult in kind, however. "My hair might make me look old, but it's better than walking around in a sheet all day. What are you, a ghost?"

Alexei inspected the other creature, trying to figure out what was under the cloth as he continued. "Still, I hadn't expected to find another living thing in the middle of nowhere like this. What brings you here?"

Alexei couldn't help but laugh at the strange creature's response. Now this was a man (based on his voice) that he could get behind! None of Kaseki's holier-than-thou attitude (justified though it might be), and none of Aknaid's detached manner. He was seemingly more open to chaos than Malm, as well; it was similar to talking to Bea, in ages long past. This man was both entertaining and shared similar ideals with the God of Chaos; in short, it was everything Alexei was looking for in a companion. They were going to get along well.

"Well said," Alexei responded, after his laughter had died down. "What's your name? And would you mind if I traveled with you for a short while?"

"Wonderful!" Alexei exclaimed, giddy at the thought of being able to spend more time with this bizarre, yet wonderful creature. Words were failing to describe how excited he was; they had only exchanged a few words, but Alexei could already tell that the two of them were going to be close friends. Not only were they similar in snark, but they seemed to have similar goals as well: The exploration of Pandora. This was going to be fun.

Alexei fell in step with the wandering creature, continuing the conversation. "So, where are you from? I doubt you're from this barren desert."

Alexei was so enamored with thinking about his new companion that he didn't even notice that he hadn't given his name, or that the terse answer was meant to be protective. "From around here, huh?" He said cheerfully. "Guess I was wrong, then. Oh well. Can't get everything right, I suppose."

The God of Chaos spun around lightheartedly, completely missing his companion's suspicions. He was too busy imagining the adventures they would have together. In his mind, the two of them were scaling mountains, fighting monsters, and much more; perhaps they might go even further than friends?...No, that could wait until later. Alexei was just so happy; he'd never expected to find a kindred spirit here, of all places. "Ahh, this is the best," he muttered happily.

Alexei watched as his new companion seemed to debate something with himself, having what seemed to be a rather heated argument. Was it about him? Part of him hoped it was; he wondered if the creature was wondering about him the same way he was wondering about the creature. Still, it seemed at odds with itself; after the argument, he seemed to fall into a funk of some sort. Alexei hoped he hadn't done anything to hurt the poor man's feelings. "Are you feeling alright?" Alexei asked his new friend, feeling bad. "You can ask me anythi-"

Suddenly, Alexei slapped his face with his hand. "Of course!" Alexei groaned, feeling stupid. "Me! I've been so curious about you that I forgot to say anything about me! I'm sure you're curious." He stretched out a hand to the other figure, smiling. "My name is Alexei Sarona. I hail from Fiore. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Alexei was glad to shake Ramen's hand, but he froze up at the mention of Bea's name. "You...you..." Alexei stuttered, before suddenly grabbing the other man's shoulders. "YOU KNOW WHERE SHE IS?!" Alexei shouted, shaking Ramen back and forth for a while before letting go and backing away. "I've been looking for her since the last time I met Kaseki," the God of Chaos muttered, more to himself than to his companion. "I was so bored, with nothing to do. I was looking for Bea since she's the best at entertaining me, but then I met this guy, who's just as good at it..."

Alexei suddenly whirled to face Ramen, his face serious. "What's your relation with Bea?" He asked, almost coldly.

"She's my bitch."

Alexei froze, the color draining from his face as he stared at Ramen. He stayed like that for a while, seemingly staring past the other traveler into the horizon. "Your...bitch..." he muttered softly, his mind unable to comprehend what he just heard.

It's happening again.

Alexei fell to his knees. "Figures," he muttered. "I thought I found them, but it turns out they're all beyond me." Against his will, pictures of Vivian started to flow through Alexei's mind. "Why?" Alexei spat bitterly, feeling his anger rise against his will. "Every time, it's always something. I always drift away, and something bad happens to them. She's gone, Malm's cursed, and now Bea is..." Alexei broke down into incoherent sobbing, tears falling onto the sand and quickly evaporating.

Alexei's head quickly snapped up at Ramen's words. "...Wife?" Alexei muttered, confused. 'Bitch' and 'Wife' had very different connotations, after all. Within a few seconds, it clicked in Alexei's brain. This man was just as chaotic as Alexei was, so it made sense that he would exaggerate things like that. It still meant that both Bea and Ramen were out of reach, but he would be able to survive it if Bea was being treated well. For now, what was important was salvaging what little sanity he had left at the moment.

"I get it now," Alexei said solemnly, standing up once again. "I misunderstood your comment earlier. My apologies." Alexei adjusted his clothes, trying to get the sand off as he continued. "As long as Bea is being treated well, I'm happy. I couldn't stand the thought of an old friend like her being treated badly, you understand. Still, though, would you happen to know where she is? I haven't spoken to her in a while, and I would very much like to."

"Yuna, eh?" Alexei muttered under his breath. Something about that name sounded familiar...Had Vivian brought it up once or twice? She had enjoyed talking about her old guild a lot; perhaps this Yuna had been one of her old guild members? The word 'Starfall' also sounded very familiar, but for a different reason; it was something important, that much he knew, but he couldn't remember for the life of him who had told him about them. It was probably Kaseki; conversations with that man tended to lose all specificity after the fact.

Either way, it appeared that Ramen was as in the dark about Bea as he was. That was a shame. "So you don't know where Bea is either?" He said, somewhat disappointed. "I see. Well, either way, I'll be sure to keep in touch with you. As soon as I see her, I'll let you know. In return, will you do the same for me? She's a dear friend of mine, and I'd hate to see her injured."