Post-Tower Lzrds

    Some time after the defeat of the floor boss, the patch of forest outside Garmelica where the ground is laid over by flowers, a familiar Red Salamander can be found once more. Much like Vertina had seen him tehre before, he is laid down in almost exactly the same spot, in the exact same posture. Laid down amidst the flowers, head rested on the arms wrapped together underneath it, eyes staring off up to the sky.

Vertina had taken longer to get down from the Tower, having stopped for various matters in Tolbana. But they didn't distract her long from the other thing on her mind.

"I thought I might find you here," the tall salamander remarks as she walks over and moves to sit next to where Atif laid. "That post-fight was a bit of a drag down..."

    "Mh?" At least this time Atif doesn't jump in surprise when he hears the other Salamander's voice. His head lifts up, just enough to peek towards her as she approaches, before resting back down.

    "Kinda, I guess," he rumbles. "Yuuki alright? I was worried but I figured I shouldn't try to push in there."

"Yeah. I think she was just... as beautiful as the purification was, not what she expected. Or remembered from past experiences. More proof the tower has changed from before." Or that's the best Vertina could make of it. She's not an analysist. Or going to poke into more personal matters needlessly.

She leaned forward to rest her arms on raised knees instead of laying down. "You slipped out kind of fast yourself."

    "Could be any number of reasons, I guess," murmurs Atif with a sigh. "I couldn't tell. I don't... know Yuuki that well."

    He lifts his upper body upright then, so he's sitting besides her. Keeping his own legs crossed. "Yeah, well..." His feet tap against each other once, twice. "I guess I had some things on my mind." Which would be why he's at the 'thinking spot', huh?

Vertina raises a ridged brow. Then after a moment uncrosses an arm from her knees to reach over and put it on Atif's shoulder. "Anything you feel like talking about?"

    "I mean..." Atif lets out a sigh, and briefly leans his head over to the side, momentarily brushing on top of the hand on his shoulder. "It's kind of stupid, you know?" He claims with a low chuckle of self-deprecation.

    "I guess I was just thinking about how little I've actually done to help with... any of these things," he eventually admits, head tilting back to guide his eyes up to the sky again. "...And contemplating the whole thing with the tower. And what waits beyond."

Vertina gives the shoulder a light squeeze. "Hey, don't sweat it. The Tower Raids aren't for everyone, despite how some members of my Alliance may try to push them as otherwise. You need not worry about that. Find the things you're good at and comfortable doing, and ways to help others will come from that."

    "It's not really just that," he rumbles, giving a brief sideward glance over to her at the squeeze to his shoulder. "I haven't... really been committing to anything. Especially with this whole question of wether to climb the tower at all. Maybe..."

    His knees lift up, and his legs reach out to wrap his arms along his legs. "Maybe I'm scared. Scared of being forced to leave here, when the top floor is cleared. But at the same time I can't... I cant wish for everyone who wants to leave to stay here either, can I?"

Vertina withdraws her hand, giving it a flick through her hair to keep bangs mostly out of her eyes. Then smiles. "You think along the same reasons I do, Atif."

She moves her arms to brace herself as she leans back a bit and looks up at the sky. "People that know my story ask why I would want to go back, to barely being able to walk properly again... but I never said *I* want to go back. The state of my legs aren't really a point, when I can do so many other things here that I'd never dream of otherwise." Pigtails sway a little as she shakes her head. "It's the people that want to go back. The ones like Amalthea and Goldenblade, that have close families waiting. People like Prophylaxis who have an important job to return to. People that would maybe be able to figure out what happened to us, and make it so logging in and out works again."

She peers up at the sky, and the 'old' world that lays somewhere beyond it. "Those are the people I'm fighting to get home, not myself."

    Atif turns his head to fully look to the female Salamander then. Considering her while she speaks. The smile that tugs at his lips is... surprisingly sad, for him.

    "Yeah," he breathes out in agreement, and his eyes drift up, in time with her own gaze, up to the sky. Or the skybox, whatever. However this thing is considered to work. "I don't... really think I have anything waiting for me, up there. On the other side. But others do. ... I do want those who want to stay here to be able to be happy too, mind you. To at least be allowed to come back. ... But there's really no way to find out if there even is an option that makes everyone happy without trying, right? ... I've been really withdrawn from... everything here, for a while. Including that. But by now, I should at least be trying. And just hope that I will be able to come back here, after."

    His hand squeezes down at his own knee. "And hope I'll be able to see you again."

Vertina smiles back. "We don't even know for sure if the Tower IS the answer, but we won't know until we make our way up their to find out. Or there may be other answers that people eventually find. The important part is that people keep trying, regardless of what way they think the answer lies down."

She scoots over a little closer, and leans against the other Salamander's side. "Me too... but that's a future problem we don't have to worry about right now, or we might miss out on the time we have together now!"

    When she leans in against him, Atif peeks down, and as she might expect, some red color flushes over his features. Not as much as before, though -- maybe he's getting more used to this now.

    "...You're right," he agrees, and straightens out his legs, arms unwrapped from them to let one of them reach over and coil about the other Salamander's body instead, gently squeezing her to himself. "I'm always trying to be cheerful and positive for everyone else. I don't know why I am stopping now."

Vertina puts an arm around his shoulders in return. "Because situations change, and sometimes it takes longer to adjust to them. Don't feel bad because you had to stop and cope with something new. Falling down isn't a failure, as long as you get back up and keep trying!" She pauses, then rubs the back of her head in a slight moment of embarassment of her own. "I mean, metaphorically speaking."

    Atif gives out a little soudn of akward laughter, his other hand turning up to scratch one red-scaled finger along his cheek. "I know what you mean, don't worry... I mean. I keep saying that to a lot of people even if... I didn't really follow that philosophy very well back on the other side."

    His eyes turn to look to her -- and if she faces his way, too, then his green gaze will inevitably meet hers. And in spite of the more somber words shared just seconds earlier, he offers a warmer smile to her. "I'm glad I met you, you know."

"I am to, and vice versa." Vertina smiles, but it's as much in her own emerald eyes. "It's nice to find people that will take me for who I am, and not because something bad happened to me."

    "Even if they're a part of you, the things that happen to you aren't who you are." Atif tips his head forward with those words, bringing the top of his forehead to touching hers, in an odd little display of affection. "You're who you make yourself."

"Damn right!" After the little forehead nuzzle Vertina turns to look back up. Even from out here the Tower was visible stretch towards unseen levels in the sky. "Though right now I also wish I could make myself a proper drink!.. Actually, my family ran a tavern and brewery back home. I'm thinking of setting up something similar in Tolbana. So the people that do work on the Tower don't have to go all the way down and out just to get some food and celebrating after events like last night."

    He pulls his head back away when she sends the look up, considering the vision of the tower for himself. Even if it might only appear as a silhouette of itself in the darker night hours. "I remember you telling me about that, yeah. So... somewhere right by the base, I'd guess?" A peek back to her. "I think a lot of people would appreciate that. Most of the adventurer-run places - and thus the places where you can get proper-tasting food and drink - are way outside of Tolbana, I'm pretty sure."

Vertina nods her head. "A lot of the refugees from Ezzo have settled in Tolbana as well. It'd give some of them a place to work and help out if they wish." She cups a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "And help in aquiring ingredients. It'll definitely be another step towards making a proper settlement out of it."

    "Well!" Atif flashes a wide grin, and excitedly taps his feet together. "You should absolutely do it! And I'll help you any way I can!" His arm around her gives a briefly-tighter squeeze, with all that excitement. "It'll be great. I just know it."

Vertina chuckles, and winks. "See, I told you you're great at supporting others! ... I'll have to see if one of the existing buildings can be used. I don't want to take too much away from the other rebuilding efforts."

    The praise - teasing as it might have been - brings out another little akward laugh from Atif, and he glances off away from her. "I don't know about that--" he insists with a shake of his head, and then purses his lips thoughtfully at her following words. "Hm... You know what that sounds like? It soudns like a call for some exploration in Tolbana."

Vertina laughs. "I guess that is as close as you can get to 'urban exploration' around here." She moves her arm so she can stretch without smacking him accidentally. "But I think I need a rest, first. Don't want to be too sleepy and miss any important details."

    "How about we go looking tomorrow?" Atif suggests, loosening his arm around the other Salamander now, but without pulling fully away yet. His smile turns a bit sheepish. "...Seems like our kind of date."