“Mhm.” She nodded before putting the item back into her bag carefully. To Serah, these cores were interesting, being small crystals that would someday hold an entire planet in the sky for all of humanity to reside on. It was a good thing they were around since there were no more Fal’Cie to do the job. Not that humanity would want them anymore, anyway.
So far, Serah had covered the entire beach and even spoke to some of the villagers, showing them the example. None have reported to have seen one. The only place now was beyond the gate that separated New Bodhum and the rest of the wilderness of Pulse.
“I’ve searched the entire beach, but found nothing. The next place to go would be outside of the village.” a glanced finger pointed over to their destination. “You don’t have to go. There’s a lot of monsters roaming around. It could be dangerous.” Serah didn’t mean to make any assumptions that Stella couldn’t protect herself, but she didn’t want her to get hurt trying to assist in her task.
{☆} — So the village had already been thoroughly searched, and what remained now was a vast wilderness for them to rake through. Stella crossed her arms in thought, estimating how long their search could possibly take. Without so much a hint as to where they could pinpoint an appropriate location, would they be able to find such a small object in a reasonable amount of time? It was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack, really. Perhaps Serah had a sort of plan in place to narrow the search effort, she hoped. Time was a luxury she didn’t have after all.
Hearing the concern present in Serah’s voice, she looked up to meet her gaze and a smile etched upon her lips in return, grateful for the pinkette’s consideration.
"I appreciate your kind thoughtfulness. But rest assured, I am more than capable of taking care of myself.“ Stella replied with an air of raw confidence, albeit a little too proudly. Her genteel appearance was indeed deceiving. While most people perceived her as merely an heiress who was gifted in numerous ways, not many were aware of her love and talent for sword art.
”And… It would not sit well with me to leave you out there to fend for yourself, so please allow me to accompany you.“ She added. Her assistance would be crucial during the trek to the outside lands, and she doubted the moogle could offer much protection on his own.
With a nod and a smile, Serah greatfully accepted the woman’s offer. She and her partner decided to split up to try and cover more land, but it wasn’t working so far. Even though New Bodhum wasn’t a large place, the core could have been hidden anywhere.
“Sure. Thanks. I’m Serah by the way and this is Mog. Nice to meet you.” She introduced herself with a friendly tone which she always spoke with. Now, if only she knew what it looked like as well, work could be done faster. Just then, it hit her. One had been collected prior to coming here. They hadn’t made any trips back to Academia yet. “Wait! I have one in my bag.” Serah pulled the object out of her bag carefully. It hovered in her palm and gave off dim and gentle warm light.
“It’s called a gravitation core. They look like this, but can be tricky to find. she informed before placing it back into her bag. Couldn’t have any curious children trying to touch it.
{☆} — ”Ah, is this it?“ Stella inquired, bringing her face closer to inspect the core from the pinkette’s hands. She had never seen anything like it before as it hovered over her dainty palm, emitting a soft, warm glow that was foreign to her. Her quizzical expression was then replaced by a puzzled one as she tucked a curved finger underneath her chin in thought. She had initially imagined it to be somewhat more… impressive? Considering the core was to be a valuable component of a weapon her kingdom was constructing for the war they would inevitably be embroiled in, she did not expect it to be so diminutive. To think that such a small object could be capable of its creation left her somewhat baffled.
”I appreciate you showing me this, Miss Serah.“ She nodded contently at the pinkette and offered her a small smile. Now that she had a solid idea of what she was looking for, she would no longer have to conduct her search blindfolded like before. However, the question remained; who would be the one to keep the next gravitation core? Serah had much need for it, as did she. Perhaps a civilized negotiation of sorts could be dealt with later.
”Now then, which areas have yet to be covered?“ She asked determinedly.
“Huh?” The pinkette stood up to turn to the blonde. She looked new here. Then again, she couldn’t have memorized every face in New Bodhum even if it had a small population at the moment. She was very pretty and seemed really nice. “Oh, yes. You wouldn’t’t have happened to see something…strange appear around here, have you?”
Maybe being more descriptive would help. “It looks kind of like a jewel and it appears randomly. Have you seen anything like that?”
Strange? Jewel?
The young maiden shook her head and replied apologetically. “I’m afraid I have not witnessed the existence of such a thing, sadly.” She genuinely wished she could be of some help to this young girl, seeing as how she was going through the same frustrations as herself just moments ago. But…
It was certainly an odd choice of words one wouldn’t hear very often. While it was true that she did not come across anything out of the ordinary during her initial investigation, however, judging from the pinkette’s description… just what if–the things they had been searching for were one and the same?
The young heiress scoffed at herself for even thinking so and thought it impossible. From what she had been told, not many people knew about the existence behind these enigmatic objects. Though she remained adamantly skeptical, a part of her cannot completely dismiss the possibility, now could she? There were no solid leads but vague descriptions to guide her and she had made no progress since she arrived at the seaside town. At this point, what would even be the harm in trying? Tossing her rationalizations aside and resigning herself in defeat, she decided that this was the best course of action to take should the girl lead her to what she seeks.
“Would you care to have some assistance with your search? I have some time to spare, after all.” She offered warmly, hoping she’d accept her proposition.
She really missed home and it saddened her that they couldn’t stay for long. She missed the salty breeze, the warm sand in between her toes, and all of her friends—no—family. As much as the tropical feel of the area made her just want to sit down and relax, they were here on a mission to find a Gravitational Core which was said to be somewhere in New Bodhum. The real return home would just have to wait. She began to head to the small area of beach houses, bending down to look under the wooden ramps for anything unusual to be hidden under there first.
Hours have passed from the time she first landed in this beachside village known as New Bodhum. Upon her arrival, she immediately began the mission she had set out to do, not even taking the time to pause and take in the unique, tropical locale that the world she came from lacked. A rare material called a Gravitational Core was all she needed from this place, but her efforts of searching so far had bore no fruition.
“Now where would such an object be hidden?”
The blond-haired maiden sighed inwardly to herself, tapping her chin in deep contemplation. Not that she knew what it looked like, but it was said to have phenomenal properties that would be of benefit to her country. It was something of dire importance, and she must take it back with her at all costs.
After another exhausting hour had gone by, she decided to take a short break from her search, and sat herself on one of the docked boats resting on the shore overlooking the sea. Taking a nice, deep breath, the young heiress reveled in the seasalt breeze and stretched her fatigued slender arms. She held her gaze on the ocean for a few more seconds until the petite form of a pink-haired girl nearby caught her attention.
“Hmm, searching for something, perhaps?” She pondered, trying to discern the girl’s peculiar actions.
