Impromptu Adventure [Safi]

    "Mom, really, I think you can-"

    "Noooooooo-!" The childish wail drifted from the phone next to his ear. It was much louder than he intially suspected, but he managed to keep his cell phone to his ear with only a wince to show his discomfort. I neeeeed that picture! Really, I dooooo-!"

    Julian let out a sigh sigh before beginning again in the mildly sweet, understanding tone that he'd learned she loved. "Mom, if you really need a picture of a tomb, why don't you just Google one?"

    "..."

    "...Mom?"

    "..."

    "Mom?"

    "..."

    "...You forgot about that, didn't you?"

    "No!" she snapped, "I just--uh--mis-...uhm...stapled...it?"

    In other words, yes. Not that the woman would ever admit she was wrong, but her tone and fumbling were dead giveaways. Despite himself, the dark-haired teen felt his lips curl up in a light smile. "Sure you did mom." He allowed her a moment to huff into the receiver before continuing on. "If that's all, mind if I talk to you later? I might as well check out this place before heading back, and I don't think the cell phone reception is that great out here. The place wasn't inhabited, after all. It was only because he was standing at the entrance of the subway station that he was getting some kind of service out here. The moment he started along the trail though, that'd probably be long gone.

    A long, almost painfully drawn out sigh echoed through the speakers. "Fiiiiiiine. I want details when you get back though, y'hear?" ...Sometimes Steph could sound downright terrifying. A quick "alright" was enough to turn her from orge to woman again. "Thankies! Talk at'cha later Sil." Click. ...Annd there she went. Shaking his head slightly, Julian tucked his phone into his pants pocket and walked out of the subway entrance, pausing for a second at a nearby kiosk in order to grab a brochure and map.

    // Ruins, ruins, ruins...Ah! Here we go! // Spying the trail he needed to find the excavated site on the map, Julian walked deeper onto the island, glancing around at the landscape. So this was Malstu, huh? He'd never been here before, so that in itself would be an adventure. He'd picked a good day to come, it seemed; even though it was a weekend, it was still early in the school year, meaning that lots of families preferred to stay in their homes and away from the touristy places. How lucky for him; it meant there wouldn't be someone telling him to move to get a picture, or shoving him aside to see something. He'd planned on staying home today himself, but maybe this impromptu trip (*cough*Steph'sfault*cough*) would be interesting.

    This place wasn't so bad. Sure, it didn't have all the comforts of Penecia or even just Zela Academy, but it had its own charms. For example, it was pretty quiet. Normally there'd be honking cars or eager teens racing down the streets after school; here, thought, it was almost silent. This would be a nice place to go if he needed somewhere to think. Folding his guide map and stowing it away in his back pocket, Julian tilted his head up and inhaled deeply. The air smelled cleaner here, too. He wasn't really an outdoors kind of person, but he wouldn't mind coming back every once in a while.

    The teen was mildly surprised to see someone else on the trail, given how the place seemed practically deserted. But what struck him as strange was that this guy was just standing in the dead center of the walkway. He couldn't be admiring the scenery; his head seemed to be stuck in one position, not scanning the surroundings. He wasn't taking pictures either, it seemed. So what was he doing...? ...Weird. Shrugging off his thoughts for a second, Julian shoved his hands into his pockets and passed the man on the trail, intent on heading towards the ruins. He wasn't sure how long the trek was, but it'd be best if he got there and back before it got dark; walking around this place with limited vision didn't sound like a particularly good idea, after all.

    // Hm? // Coming to a smooth stop, Julian blinked up at the man who'd called him out. ...Damn. Wasn't everyday he found someone taller than he was. It was a little disorienting at first, having to crane his neck in an unfamiliar way to see the stranger's face, but he adjusted quickly with a slight, questioning smile. "Go ahead."

    For a moment he just stared at the other man's face, tilting his head slightly in thought. There was something about him...something that made a little spark of recognition go off in his brain. Had the two of them met before...? ...If so, why couldn't he remember meeting someone who had grey skin? That was a feature that was a little hard to miss, especially in broad daylight like this. ...Unless...no, not at the Wave's Peak...San Malarus...? Narrowing his silver eyes slightly in thought, the teen attempted to sort through the various areas he'd been to around Azores. Surely if he hit on the right one, he'd figure out why this persona looked familiar, right?

    The way this guy started off, Julian half expected him to say something much different. He wasn't exactly sure what, but it sure as hell wasn't "I'm lost". All at once, the knot of concern starting to tangle in his gut loosened, and his mildly concerned smile relaxed a fraction. "Sure. Just lemme-" he trailed off slightly as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his map, promptly unfolding it the second it was in his sights. "Alright...Well, if I'm reading this thing correctly, we should be about right..." He held the map up like one would a poster, allowing the man to see the layout of the island. Using one finger, he tapped one of the trails leading to the ruins. "-here."

    Still holding up the map so the stranger(?) could examine it further if he wished, Julian tilted his head again. "...You wouldn't happen to visit Penecia a lot, would you?" he asked, frowning slightly in thought. Was that where he'd seen this guy? On the streets of Penecia? He looked a little too old to be a high school student, so it couldn't have been at school...dammit, this was going to bug him until he figured it out.

    Seriously? ...Well, with GPS and Siri and everything else that made maps nearly obsolete, maybe not being able to read maps should have been something he considered. "Where you headed? I can be your navigator for a little while." Julian grinned brightly, folding up the map but keeping it in his hand. Sure, he was technically on his way somewhere, but it'd be kinda rude to say "too bad, so sad" and keep walking. Might as well offer to help, in that case. Besides, letting this guy walk around 'til dark-thirty and possible breaking his neck in the meantime was something that Julian would prefer not to have on his conscience. "Broken man found at the edge of Malstu"...yeah, that was something he really didn't want to see on tonight's news.

    One hand rose to the back of his neck, rubbing the skin there lightly as his smile turned apologetic. "Sorry...for a second there, I thought I knew you from somewhere." He actually still had that feeling. And it was starting to bug the hell out of him, especially since he felt like it was on the tip of his tongue. Honestly, not many guys looked like this one, so why was trying to recall where he'd seen this man before so hard...? Was it because it happened a while ago...?

    "...Well." One finger rose up to his face and scratched lightly at his cheek, taking up a moment of awkward silence. "That sort of puts a damper on things." Being a navigator was pretty pointless if your charge had no idea where he wanted to go. Really, though, why did this guy come here if he wasn't intent on visiting old ruins or a dormant volcano? Was he one of those wandering types? Maybe he just liked to explore or something...? ...Ah, well, no reason to dwell on it. Sure, it was weird, but if this guy wanted to walk around aimlessly, why shouldn't he? His time, his life, his choice.  

    It didn't seem like his memory would cooperate any time soon, so for now, Julian figured he might as well drop this tangent. Penecia seemed like the most likely guess anyways, so why not go with that for now? "Ah well. Seeing as neither one of us really knows if we've met or not and our memories are apparently kinda hazy," The teen held out his free hand for the man to shake, a friendly grin lighting up his features. "we might as well introduce ourselves. I'm Julian."

    Julian smiled broadly, shrugging one shoulder. "That's fine with me. Hope you like visiting ruins, though; you might be a little bored otherwise." It was only fair to warn this guy where he was going. Some people, he knew, weren't all that into history; might as well let him know what he was getting himself into.

    For a second, the teen thought something was wrong. This guy was looking at him kind of intently. Was there something on his face? Head tilting to the side, his smile took on an inquisitive twinge, only to fade a bit as the man finally gave his name. Sharaku, huh...? ...Well, that did sound familiar...now where had he...oh! Wasn't this the man he'd run into at the park who could speak...what was it...Portuguese? Heh. No wonder he couldn't remember the meeting that well; he'd only gone to Galaxy park, what, one time since school started? Pleased that he could put the nagging little feeling to rest, Julian's smile came back full force. "Same." He released Shraku's hand after a few moments before nodding in the direction he'd been walking before. "Well, I'm headed this way. You coming?" If the answer was no, Julian would shrug lightly before giving his goodbyes and continuing on his way.

    Should Sharaku have decided to come along, Julian would give a slight nod before starting to walk, glancing back once to make sure his companion was actually following. For the first minute or so, he kept quiet, unfolding his map and making sure he was actually on the right trail. Getting himself lost would suck, but dragging another person into that was ridiculous. Might as well make sure everything was good now before they walked too far in. His expression sobered in concentration as he traced the path lightly with his finger. // Seems...yeah, this is right. // Great. They were actually headed in the right direction. Once that was done, the map was folded and crammed into his back pocket again. "So what brought you here? Curiosity?" Julian's silver gaze focused on Sharaku. He'd already said he wasn't here to look at anything specific, but still, if he wanted a place to walk, wouldn't Penecia be a better option? He lived there, after all; less chance of getting lost in the end.

    A slight nod and a silent "ah" of understanding was his only response to Sharaku's answer. It made perfect sense, really. Penecia was hardly known for being quiet and quaint; everyday seemed like something new, what with its constant attractions and nonstop flow of tourists. That made it fun to visit, but having to deal with all of it every single day seemed like just a little too much. No wonder the guy wanted someplace a little more removed. Julian decided to forget the second piece, though. As curious as he was about who Sharaku was going to such lengths to avoid, he thought it best not to pry. Wouldn't want to get off on the wrong foot here, right? Might as well keep his mouth shut, then.

    "Kinda, yeah." It wasn't really the reason he'd come to Malstu, but it was what he was doing right now, so that sort of counted, didn't it? Besides, although the two of them had met, there was no reason to start talking about his family to who was, simply put, a stranger. That was just asking for all kinds of trouble. "I've never been to a ruin before, so I figured 'why not?'" That part was true, though. While he got decent marks in the subject, history had never really been an interest of his, so he never bugged his parents to take him anywhere really "historical". Even the museums he visited while growing up were a lot less mainstream than most; while his classmates went to places that detailed the signing of the constitution or World War I, Steph was dragging him to the Coca-Cola museum. ...Now that he thought about it, it was a wonder he ever earned a "B" in U.S. History. "Think the ruins here will be interesting to see?"