World Tree MUSH

    It is night.
    That in and of itself is of no particular relevance, in most places. The sun has set. All the good people finish their day. Hard-working folk sleep, and gather themselves for the next day.
    On the other side of the token, night is when the blackguards and scoundrels of the worlds come out to play. It is the devil's hour, the witching hour; the hour of the wolf.
    That is the time when sky pirates come out to play.
    The Strahl lies at anchor in a particularly generic world, on the outskirts of a city that would not be out of place in Victorian London. The airship floats, but its hull is concealed. Clocking systems render it nearly invisible, and only the finest eyes would spot the distortion of light caused by the optical camouflage shrouding its hull.
    Aboard it, sprawled out on his bunk with his arms folded behind his head, Balthier looks for all the world like one asleep. His eyes are closed, and his breathing so level that it's a good effort.
    Perched on the side with one leg hanging carelessly off the edge, Fran checks the fletchings of an arrow, ears faintly twitching this way and that, alert to sounds even in her seemingly relaxed state. Her red-brown eyes are hooded, though; not quite at full alertness.
    The viera glances in Balthier's direction without quite looking at him; a silent and languid inquiry. She sights critically down the length of the arrow as she waits for him to answer.
    "I'm still awake." The hume doesn't trouble to open his eyes. "Just resting."
    She flicks an ear at him in what might be indifferent gesture, but the line of her mouth is amused. "You are not convincing. Your heart I still can hear, sky pirate."
    "I know." His supreme nonchalance seems to amuse her still further. "That is, I know you know. I'd be a poor sort of partner if I didn't have a general idea of your limits, wouldn't I?"
    She doesn't comment, but their silence is comfortable; companionable.
    In all, it's a quiet night for the infamous duo. Sometimes it pays to take it easy.

    And sometimes mishaps will happen. One such mishap comes in the form of a low, muffled sound that might be a cannon in the distance. Close enough away to hear, but far enough to not be an immediate threat. Just, perhaps, something to think about. Perhaps something to draw the duo into alertness, to snap them out of the companionable quietness.

    But after the firing of that cannon, instead of a cannonball impact nearby, Fran's sharp hearing will pick up something else first.

    "...aaaaAAAAAAAAH!"

    And then a loud CLANG! as the sound cuts off abruptly, the ship likely rocked by an impact shock from the side. It honestly felt like something was shot at the ship. Something unfriendly. Perhaps that cannon had been fired closer than it sounded.

    The actual problem, however, will be noted instantly by anyone who looks at the side of the ship. There is a slightly rotund fellow in blue denim overalls and a green shirt, green hat, and a mustache... quite literally plastered to the side of the ship, as if he'd just slammed into it. He slides down onto one of the secondary wings, falling back onto his head with an "Oof!" Then he sits up, seeming to wobble as if dizzy.

    Might be a familiar face, come to think of it...

    At the sound of the cannon the viera's ears immediately swivel toward the disturbance. Fran sits bolt upright and leans forward, listening; she keeps Balthier from acting with a claw-nailed hand splayed over his chest. The gesture is clear; to be still. He obliges, reluctantly, watching her face and her twitching ears for guidance.
    Her expression twists. Hume screaming? What in the gods' names--
    CLANG.
    The ship is too big to be rocked by aight but cannon-shot, but it does rattle the bulkheads in a ripple of impact that both can hear. The sky pirates exchange a glance and in the span of a breath, both are up and seizing their weapons.
    "Fran. How many?"
    The viera freezes. "Two... no. One."
    "Let's go." Balthier sounds displeased.
    When the two sky pirates appear around the side of the ship, it's not in their usual attire. The hume is missing his gold-embroidered vest, his shirt open a few buttons. The viera wears a simple shift-like dress, parts of it nearly translucent, though enough to be decent.
    Vith have weapons trained on the green-clad hero.
    "I'm certain there's a very good explanation for this," Balthier states, affable, though his half-smile doesn't reach his eyes. "I do believe that you're trespassing--"
    His rifle lowers just a smidge, but it stays where he can easily lift it. Fran's bow and full-drawn arrow never moves.
    "You look familiar. That fellow from the Mushroom Kingdom, is it?" His mouth twists. "What /are/ you doing here...?"

    Luigi shakes his head sharply, clearing it, as he hears someone speaking, and looks towards the source of the noise. And of course finds himself on the business end of a rifle and a bow being pointed at him. "Waah!" He kicks to his feet, not seeming to be any worse for wear after slamming into the ship. Though as he does, he hunkers down, putting his hands up. "S-sorry!" he yelps. "I didn't-a see your ship!"

    Well, at least he hadn't been LOOKING for them, so there's that. And if they were indeed using optical camouflage, there wouldn't have been any way he could have seen the ship anyway. Of course, why -- and HOW -- he was flying through the air like he'd been shot out of a cannon is anybody's guess.

    The hume of the pair continues to watch the plumber with clear suspicion, squinting just a little and keeping his hand iron-steady over the rifle. Its muzzle never so much as wavers. The other man's incredible resilience in the face of blunt trauma is to be admired, and it might even be sinister, if not for Luigi's continued demonstrations of incompetence.
    Clearly no sort of leading man, that. Not even secondary cast.
    Both sky pirates exchange a brief look, but the meaning of it isn't immediately clear.
    "You didn't see the Strahl because she wasn't /meant/ to be seen," Balthier points out, with a slight dip of the rifle's muzzle in meaningful gesture. "If you could see her, I might be inclined to worry a bit. Even the sharpest eyes ought not see through the cloak."
    He cants his head to one side, as though he were considering what to do with this untentional, green-clad intruder. With a long and resigned-sounding sigh, he puts up his rifle, slinging it over his shoulder, regarding Luigi with hooded eyes.
    "The question is, what am I to do with you now...? What, indeed." He folds his arms, tapping the fingers of one hand against the opposite forearm. "Fran, what do you think?"
    "His motives, we must question." The viera still regards Luigi with the rock-steady, laser-beam intensity of a creature on the hunt. Yet a faint twinge of disgust mars her features. "A /dent/, you left... but how? Impact like that, it should kill a hume like you."
    "Pity Ivalice is closed to us, or I might otherwise suggest that maybe we ought just toss him off over the Ogir-Yensa..." Sounds menacing, whatever that is. "But I'm feeling generous, tonight, so instead, I'll settle for a few questions."

    Suspicion or not, Luigi's just sort of hunkered down on the place he landed, shoulders drawn up under his ears closely. He's not AS frightened as he was in the tomb -- his teeth aren't chattering, nor are his knees knocking together -- so there's that. He is keeping an eye on Fran, though. Mainly because she still looks like she's about to ventilate his skull a little more than it already is. Balthier at least doesn't look like he'll put another hole in Luigi's head if he breathes wrong. Mind, Balthier likely still IS that close to doing such, but he doesn't LOOK it. And that's all the difference.

    As to the question of his motives? "I was just-a traveling around the worlds, and I went into the wrong Warp Pipe. It was a Warp Cannon, and I didn't-a realize it until it was too late," he explains. He's still nervous, still fearing some harm may come to him, so the accent's still pretty strong. And then comes the mention of the dent. He winces. "Oh, I'm sorry! Do you want-a me to fix it?" he offers.

    He does have a fearful reaction to the thought of being thrown off of the... whatever that is. It doesn't sound pleasant. "Aaah, no don't-a do that! P-professor Gadd w-would worry... a-and so would the Princess, and Mario... and Obaken, too...!"

    Having put up his rifle, Balthier reaches up to fasten the unfastened buttons on his silk shirt, then meticulously neatening up first one cuff, and then the other. He does all of this without ever taking his eyes off of Luigi. As before, his eyes are calm and his regard almost sleepy, although only a fool would mistake that cunning a man for being only halfway alert.
    There is that unsettling aura of stillness about him again, more focus than a man of his helter-skelter profession ought to display. The hume of the pair's regard might feel just as unsettling as the viera's, in his own way.
    "I think about half of those words made sense to me," Balthier points out, even as he fiddles with his cuff, not even looking up at Luigi. "I'll pretend I heard something sensible and we'll continue on with this scintillating conversation."
    He's really quite sarcastic, isn't he? Very blase about it, too, his tone of voice almost bland as he neatens up his slightly rumpled appearance. He /had/ been about to go to sleep, soon, but no, his well-deserved rest had to wait. For this. He is, for once, not actually at his best. And that's terrible.
    Maybe that explains his exasperation and impatience, both just a whisker above his usual ability to hide his emotions. He can see, maybe, how nervous his viera partner is making the cowardly middle-aged man, and so he finally sighs. "Fran."
    Without a word she unstrings the arrow and shoulders the bow. Shifting her weight, she rests one hand on a hip and simply stares at Luigi in silence, wary as a rabbit disturbed. Those ears are still twitching this way and that, as though she were listening to everything. She folds her arms and settles her gaze on Luigi.
    "So, the bottom line is, you were travelling around and some vine or another spat you out... into the side... of the Strahl." Something approaching disgust flickers across Balthier's expression. Why do these worlds behave in such idiot ways? How can so many of them thumb their nose at physics and science? Balthier folds his arms and pinches the bridge of his nose.
    Does he want Luigi to fix it?
    Balthier continues to massage the bridge of his nose.
    So aggravated by that answer is he that it's Fran who answers, shaking her head and momentarily swivelling her ears back. "That will not be necessary."
    Oh, come, now? The princess would worry if something happened to this hero in green? Balthier arches a brow, gradually letting go of the bridge of his nose, eyeing Luigi with the kind of cunning that should probably make him nervous. It's the look the fox gets when it realises that the chicken coop is unlocked and unwatched.
    "Is that so?" So mild, his voice, so smooth and mild; such an unimportant detail he mentions. Oh, yes. Balthier is turning up his charm and charisma to the maximum for this. Gleaning this kind of information could make all of this exasperating nonsense and interruption worthwhile.
    Fran flicks an ear. Whether it's a sign that she's paying attention to Luigi, a sign that she's simply listening to something elsewhere, or whether it's a silent signal to Balthier, it's hard to say.

    Not having a rifle trained on him is good, Luigi thinks. So yes, he's a little less visibly scared now. Though when Balthier seems not to understand quite what he means, Luigi tries to explain, "Warp Pipes are... they're pipes that connect to other places. Good way to shave a trip across the world to minutes." That probably doesn't help Balthier's understanding much, but at least he knows what they're for. Just not WHY something like that would exist.

    And then Fran is putting her bow away and not pointing an arrow at him. He breathes a sigh of relief, visibly relaxing. Oh he realizes he's still in trouble. Just in less immediate trouble. For now. At least in his mind it's less immediate danger. It helps him not look like a complete coward. So while he's a little tense, now he's not visibly hunkered down anymore.

    Balthier's change of tone gets a blink. But he does nod. "Mario's my brother, he's a hero -- he's saved the Princess almost every time Bowser's kidnapped her!" He speaks highly of his brother, given the hero-worship tone he uses. So this 'Mario' is the 'leading man' in the Mushroom Kingdom, it seems. He also offers, sheepishly, "I... well, I've had to save her a couple of times too -- Bowser doesn't give up, and sometimes Mario's not here."

    The sky pirate looks at his quarry, frowning a little at the explanation of warp pipes. That makes absolutely no sense at all on so very many different levels. With the way he's staring at Luigi, that much is probably communicated. He is if nothing else generally good at non-verbal communication.
    Fran, meanwhile, continues to stare at Luigi in the same sort of way an owl stares at a mouse.
    "So, some sort of nationally-renowned hero, is it?" Balthier goes back to fiddling with an embroidered cuff. His earlier rumpled state aside, it really is a fine shirt, and even in the dim light cast by the distant city lights it's clear to see that it's woven silk. "I see. Your bravery is to be commended," he says, in a tone that actually says he doesn't care. At all.
    He exchanges another look with Fran, and both of them regard Luigi thoughtfully. Fran absently smooths down her shift, seemingly nonchalant, but her eyes and her ears are both trained on the Not Green Mario.
    Poor Not Green Mario.
    "Why don't you tell me more about this princess of yours? Always pays to be in the know about a given world's status quo," Balthier adds, conversationally. "Come on into the Strahl. Have something to drink."
    He turns, strolling into the ship. Fran waits a fraction of a second more, still staring at Luigi with those predator's eyes, before turning and loping after the hume.
    If Luigi follows, he'll find the Strahl close and oddly comfortable. Its corridors are small and narrow without being claustrophobic, and everything about it is the bleeding edge of sleek, smooth design that screams 'high fantasy magitech.'
    The den, such as it is, is the main room off the corridor. Balthier pushes open the hatch and gestures everyone inside. Plenty of chairs, here, all bolted to the floor. His missing vest is discarded casually across the back of one; there is a bottle of wine three quarters empty, and two empty glasses. There are the remains of a simple meal. There is, in point of fact, a second bottle of wine, unopened, beside the three quarters empty one. Looks like the sky pirates had planned on a night in, and some time off from shenanigans of questionable legality.
    The sky pirate throws himself into a chair, cracking open the wine bottle and pouring himself a glass, Fran a glass, and Luigi a(n admittedly very small) glass. It's slid across the table toward Luigi.
    "Do continue."

    The non-verbal communication Balthier receives in response to his 'that makes no sense' is a sheepish look, and Luigi raises a hand to rub at the back of his head, shifting his hat a little. He clearly doesn't know how to explain better, unfortunately. Heck, he doesn't really understand them much himself, truth be told.

    Luigi, meanwhile, avoids looking directly in Fran's direction. Because that is a really creepy rabbit-lady glaring at him. Also she's in less than her normal attire and it's not polite to stare at a lady in such a state. So do excuse that the mustachio'd fellow doesn't look at you, Fran -- he's just being polite!

    "Mario? Oh, definitely!" Luigi agrees, to the mention of his brother being a hero. "He's so brave, too, going right through Bowser's minions, right to his castle to save the Princess, without a single second's hesitation!" As for Balthier's nonchalant tone? Surprisingly he doesn't react much to it. He knows he's not brave. So of course the tone isn't going to have any genuineness in it -- it's a formality, right?

    The invitation, now, gets a bit of hesitation from Luigi. Mainly because he looks at Fran, noting her continued glare, before she turns to follow Balthier. Luigi makes the hop over to the proper place to board properly, without a moment's hesitation. He doesn't seem to be afraid at all that he might fall or miss.

    Though as he enters the ship and gets a look around? "Wow... this is really nice. It looks like it's a lot more advanced than Bowser's or the Koopalings' airships," he comments. He does seem suitably impressed. And it seems like Balthier may have the Princess's usual competition out-gunned. He enters the den at Balthier's urging, but waits until he's absolutely sure he's not sitting in someone else's chair before he picks a place and sits down.

    Luigi doesn't complain about the smaller glass of wine, just nods and offers in return, "Thank you." As for going on? "About the Princess you mean?" he confirms.

    Lounging comfortably, Balthier even goes so far as to kick his feet up on the table, deceptively sleepy hazel eyes never leaving Luigi. He folds his arms over his stomach and cants his head to one side, the gesture one of almost feline nonchalance.
    "The Strahl's the bleeding edge," he comments simply, in regards to how nice the environs are. "She's a classy lady. After all, the leading man deserves no less. She may be a tad finicky from time to time, but I'd have her no other way. While I'd say I'd wager gil that the Strahl is finer than whatever you're comparing her to, I never gamble with my money. Only my life," he adds, airily.
    Hazel eyes still watching. Slight shift to fiddle with a cuff. Fran appears from behind Luigi and in the chair beside Balthier's, between one breath and the next. She swills her glass of wine, still staring at the green-clad hero.
    "About the princess," Balthier confirms, likewise staring at Luigi through hooded hazel eyes. He has the air of a lion that's feasted and content, for the moment; but like a thing of the wild, that contentment could change at any moment.

    By contrast, Luigi is still kind of on edge, though his blue eyes have an innocence in them that belies his years. Middle-aged? Sure, but he has the innocence of a child. Definitely something that can be capitalized on by a cunning mind. And of course, Luigi does jump a bit at Fran's sudden appearance. He's jumpy, and he's not in his comfort zone! Fortunately he doesn't spill anything.

    Though at Balthier's prompting, Luigi nods. "Well, Princess Peach? She cares a lot about her people, and she's really friendly!" Good a place to start as any, right? "She can heal people, too. And she can bake a mean cake, too. You'd think with all the servants, that she wouldn't have to do that, but she does -- she's a really good cook, and she seems to like cooking."

    It's worth noting that, while Luigi does speak very fondly of Princess Peach, he doesn't speak of her as though she's any more than a friend and a very good and fair ruler. So nothing scandalous is going on, that much is probably clear.

    It's rather like walking into the lion's den, isn't it? The plucky plumber might be equipped to deal with a variety of situations, but sauntering into a ship belonging to two dangerous sky pirates isn't one of those things. They do seem less inclined towards arbitrary evil behaviour... but at the same time, there's something about them; a whiff of danger, a hint of menace. Maybe it's just the mystique of their job. Maybe it's their cunning.
    Balthier is not half as relaxed as his posture suggests.
    "Ugh." He's also not exactly pleased by those answers, but it's still information to file away. Instead, he steels himself, and rolls a shoulder in a careless, casual shrug. How he loathes this pointless chatter, but it might buy him valuable information. Balthier tries to pretend to be interested. It's difficult. "Mayhap it's catharsis for her."
    Fran is still watching, but she sips at her wine with all the nonchalance in the world. Balthier seems to remember his glass is there, picking it up and swilling it about idly. His eyes haven't left Luigi, thoughtful. "Sugar, and spice, and aught that is nice," he recalls, sighing. "I suppose she must rule over this... Mushroom Kingdom, then? Mayhap I ought pay her a visit. Pay my respects," he adds, arching a brow in sleepy nonchalance. "Tidings from the leading man."
    Robbing Peach's castle blind. Yes. That would be nice. His eyes flick over to Fran, and she regards him with an indifferent flick of an ear. Or maybe it's encouraging. Hard to say.
    "Yes, we'd like to pay her a visit, if that's something you could arrange." Balthier folds his arms over his stomach, regarding his wine glass with detached interest. "As a gesture of good faith, we'll even return one of those statues."
    Fran's eyes flick to the hume; one ear makes a quarter-turn backwards.
    Oh, lying comes so /easily/ to him.

    Sadly, no, Luigi's forte isn't dealing with sneaky sky pirates. Bowser rarely has such insiduous plans in place, and both Mario and Luigi have always been able to foil them by jumping on his head a handful of times. This is not a problem that can be dealt with this way. Particularly since Luigi isn't even aware that there's a problem.

    "That might be," Luigi agrees, to the mention of catharsis. "She doesn't go out a lot, that I know of. And you should see her at tennis. She's brutal! And when she and Daisy team up? Oh boy, look out!" He mimics a swing -- carefully, now, so he doesn't knock anything over. "POW!"

    He nods to the mention of Peach ruling the Mushroom Kingdom. "That's right. And yes, she's a very sweet girl." The mention of paying Peach a visit gets a blink. "You would? Well, I'm not really anybody special there, but I could ask her, if you really wanted to visit." Then he seems to remember something. "Oh! Thank you for letting us take the shroud. Everybody that had the mummy rot is better now, I think."

    Balthier leans back in his chair, dutifully filing away the information on what an adept tennis player the princess is. It isn't a sport he's familiar with, but he can look that information up later, or have Fran handle the particulars. The two sky pirates share a look. Worth looking up later. It may prove relevant.
    His arms fold as he regards Luigi with hooded eyes. Between his expression and his mannerisms, one might even mistake him for being somewhat inebriated. He is, in point of fact. His control is better than to act without thought, though, a necessity come of living on the razor's edge.
    He drums his fingers on the table thoughtfully. "I would," he confirms, and lifts a brow at the information on the mummy rot, which--
    "Wonderful," he says, in a dismissive tone. Then, he straightens, squinting at Luigi thoughtfully, seeming to look at him, as though really studying him for the first time. One brow lifts in an expression of skepticism. "...Hold a moment. Just what do you think a sky pirate is, anyway?"

    Luigi has been going easy on the wine, himself. Because despite having relaxed enough to talk, he DOES remember they were really upset at him a little while back for accidentally denting the ship. So he knows better than to let his guard down too much. He might look like he's relaxed enough, but he's still ready to spring into action if he needs to. Then again since his fighting looks like the most blitzed variety of drunken-fu in the world, that's not saying much.

    He tilts his head though, as Balthier seems to stare at him for some reason. And of course, out of habit he brushes at his moustache, as if to dislodge something from it. Surely that's why Balthier's staring, right? Though at the question, Luigi nods. "Oh, I know what a pirate is," he assures. "But the Princess would probably still give you a fair chance. Nabbit steals things all the time and she hasn't exiled him yet. Well, not that I know of, anyway."

    "Fran, I believe we've caught ourselves a simpleton." Balthier rests an elbow on the table, cupping his chin in his hand as he regards Luigi.
    Red-brown eyes slide over to the hume of the pair. "And what is to be done with him?"
    "I haven't decided, yet."
    Such idle chatter is probably not encouraging for Luigi, that's for sure. Both sky pirates are still watching him, as though they really are wondering what in the gods' name they can do with him to salvage this quiet evening. Surely there's some information they can wrest from him that would be worth their while... like the castle, and the princess, and the riches she no doubt hides in the citadel of the Mushroom Kingdom.
    Balthier is left to rub at his clean-shaven jaw, thoughtful and somewhat distracted. When Luigi comments on the princess giving the pair a fair chance, the sky pirates exchange a look, and the hume of the pair frowns just a little. A ruler giving the criminals that just robbed them makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
    "I don't know quite what a Nabbit is, but I'll pretend the term is relevant somehow." He sighs, dismissively. "All right. We'll meet your princess, then. Arrange a meeting if you like, and we'll be there."
    It takes actual, physical effort not to grin. How could it be that easy? Once they know where the castle is, in theory, robbing it shouldn't be too difficult, right? Surely there has to be something there worth stealing and hocking on the multiversal black market. Riches beyond the dreams of avarice, probably not... but the actual monetary value was never the motivating factor, for him.
    It's the challenge. The leading man can hardly afford to let himself to grow soft.

    And sure enough, Luigi does hunker down a bit at the debating what to do with him. "...I didn't-a mean to be a bother," he pipes up quietly. He looks around the ship again, as if looking for exits, just in case he needs to find them. Of course he's counting windows too -- if he can dent the hull of such a ship, he's pretty sure he can punch out a window and jump if he needs to. Is it SMART? Probably not. But he'd probably survive.

    Of course... he has another weapon at his disposal too... but he really doesn't want to use that; it's just... much too dangerous. And he might actually hurt somebody, which is the last thing he wants to do. Not even someone who might be intending harm to him.

    He does offer an explanation though. "Nabbit is a guy who runs around stealing stuff in the Mushroom Kingdom. He robs the Toads sometimes, and either Mario or I have to go chase him down. He's too fast for just about anybody else there." It really isn't a brag. He sounds more disappointed with Nabbit than bragging about his own talents.

    Luigi nods, though, at the mention of meeting Princess Peach. "I'll ask her, and see what she thinks. Though I'll warn in advance, if she says no, I can't change her mind. I can let you know either way -- do you have a place you want to meet at? Or will you come and find me?" He doesn't seem to doubt they can.

    "You're less a bother and more a liability," Balthier points out calmly, in the midst of his negotiations with his partner. "Why on earth would I keep someone around with clear ties to royal authority when my chosen vocation is, shall we say, less than acceptable by the definition of most social mores?" He lifts a brow to punctuate his question.
    Unfortinately for Luigi, there are no portholes or viewports. He might survive the fall, but would he survive the sky pirates' wrath?
    "I suppose a little creativity in a name is simply too much to ask," Balthier sighs, in response to the explanation of what a Nabbit is.
    He doesn't comment on the issue of Luigi's transparent disappointment. If he doesn't like Nabbit's harmless shenanigans, he's not going to like a pair of cutthroat, consummate professional sky pirates. At all. Balthier's armed warning in the tomb could have become more than a bluff.
    And if Luigi has problems catching Nabbit, than Fran and Balthier would be... a challenge.
    Balthier swills the last of the wine in his glass.
    "Most excellent," he comments crisply on the issue of meeting Peach. "That's fair enough, and it can hardly do any harm to ask the question. We'll be in touch, if you like. I think I can track you down, if the need should arise. I would be a poor sort of leading man who couldn't find his quarry."
    "When?" Fran's pointed question dispenses with any formalities, and her red-brown eyes settle on him, dispassionate, as though she were regarding a mildly interesting insect.
    "We're terribly busy people." Balthier drains his glass and sets it aside, voice light and airy. "It's not easy being this popular, you know."

    Luigi considers this. "You've got a point there," he admits. "Still, I'm sorry about the trouble. And I'm not planning to point you out to anybody. I mean... you guys have to make a living too, right?" He seems to at least understand, even if he doesn't agree. He's thinking this whole meeting hasn't gone very well, for some reason. But then that's probably expected. Pirates tend to be not very good people, and Luigi is about as innocent as a newborn baby. Almost.

    Though he brightens a little when Balthier agrees to the terms -- that if the Princess refuses, he can't make her change her mind. And he doesn't seem to be very upset about hearing he'll be tracked down! Instead he nods. Though when Fran asks when, Luigi assumes she's asking when he can ask the Princess. "Oh... that I don't know," he admits. "I might be a friend, but I can't just walk into her room and ask her a question. But I'll try to get to see her to ask as soon as I can," he promises.

    Now, Luigi can take hints as well as the next guy. He's not a complete moron. So when the note of being busy comes, Luigi nods and hops down from the chair. "I understand! I won't keep you from your business any longer." Meekly, he adds, "Sorry again for the dent."

    Slowly, the sky pirate's brows rise. He watches the green-clad plumber, folding his arms over his chest and considering silently. On the one hand, it's pretty fair of a man not to judge another by his vocation. On the other, that's an awfully naive opinion to take.
    Another look flickers between the two sky pirates.
    "Of course not." Fran watches the green-clad plumber dispassionately, although stark white brows rise and red-brown eyes hood. The viera woman shakes her head, ears flicking back momentarily. "In haste we need not seek. We will arrive in due time."
    "In other words, we aren't in a hurry, and we know where to find you. With attire like that, I wouldn't wonder if a marlboro could sight you."
    "A marlboro needs not its eyes to find its quarry," Fran replies, hawk-gaze sliding over to Luigi. "But a point you make, sky pirate."
    "Fran, please. I always do. The leading man always has a ready witticism appropriate to the situation, doesn't he?"
    She only shakes her head, both ears swiveling outward and back. She glances back to Luigi. "No," she states, rising fluidly from her chair. "You will not wander, on the Strahl. I will take you. Come."
    Balthier lifts a hand and wiggles his fingers in a dismissive wave. He must have really been taken off his guard. His rings and bracelets are absent. "I suppose we'll be seeing you." He affects a tone of mock aristocracy. "Goodbye, fare thee well, Master Luigi."
    Fran takes several long, slinky steps away from the cabin. She pauses, turning to look at Luigi, ears flicking back briefly. "Well?"

    Yeah, by now Luigi is aware of the non-verbal communication passing between Balthier and Fran. He's a little nervous now, wondering silently what they're saying, but knowing better than to point it out or ask. The mention of his attire gets him picking at his overalls. "Well, I'm a tradesman. I need to look the part," he explains, hooking a thumb under one of the straps of his overalls. He actually seems more proud of being a tradesman than of his abilities, weirdly enough.

    He also looks confused at the mention of a 'marlboro'. "...I thought that was a kind of cigarette," he notes. Though he also shakes his head. "Particularly smelly brand, too." But yes. Balthier is bidding him farewell, and he offers in return a merry, "Bye-bye!" And then yes, he'll follow Fran. Or walk in front of Fran, whichever she prefers.