The sun had started to slip beneath the horizon looking over Orchidia, her gentle beams of light slowly fading beyond the perceivable scope of any mortal yet on the ground. The boisterous day had begun to give way to the far more elegant night as individuals from all over the town dawned new facades and garnered new interests while the clock ticked ever later. This was the night life of Orchidia, nowhere near as raucous and elegant as the nights in certain, larger towns in Fiore, but Ariana had learned to take such things in stride from either angle. No matter the atmosphere of her environment she graciously slipped away from it all to pursue her own interests. These interests, of course, were hardly ever as loud as the parties and pubs that littered the streets in every town, and that was the way Ariana preferred it. The dealings of one such as herself often required a far more delicate touch than other might seek to give, but Ariana was not as inflexible as such individuals. Even so, she did not like this time of sunset. Contrary to what the common man might be led to believe, the evening is a rather horrible time to perform such business as Ariana seeks. For at the time when the sun dips low over the horizon so to do the streets become crowded and various groups and individuals far more suspicious than they might normally be. Ariana much preferred to wait out this time in favor of the sunrise when bellies were full of mead and eyes were shut as tight as stone. Tonight, however, she was not afforded the luxury of choosing the specific time of business.

A call had been placed which asked for any individual willing to help a so called private investigator look for an entity he had been unwilling to describe in his advertisement. Personally, Ariana had no ties to this particular man and felt no real need to help him. He had been described by passers by as the village lunatic, and she had heard that the local inhabitants only tolerated his actions out of pity for the accident that had placed him in his unfortunate state. This pity did not reach Ariana for she felt no reason to spare such a feeling on a man who seemed perfectly content with his own life. While she did not feel any reason to take the offer of employment specifically for this individual named Dex she did find herself curious as to the nature of this alleged entity. Information on such a creature, if indeed that was the entities nature, could prove rather valuable to one such as herself. Thus, Ariana had decided to enter Dex's employ if only to truly ascertain this mysterious entity. With Lucina in her arms she had traveled the width of the town to meet with Dex at the edge of the river that nestled itself within the heart of Orchidia.

The man seemed rather nervous as Ariana drew near, and her presence only seemed to provide the necessary shock to draw him out of a curious daze. However, once had awoken from his trance he almost seemed pleased to see that Ariana had joined him on the bank. He was clearly out of the same sorts that most others found themselves in, but Ariana found herself respecting his desire to begin the business right from the start. "I appreciate your joining me, citizen. I've been working on this case for a while now, and I've just stumbled on a big lead which could bust the case wide open." Dex ended his short introduction by striking what could only be described as a pose ripped from the cover of a crime novel.

Ariana was a bit taken aback by the manner of this man's speech, but quickly reeled in her own concerns in favor of pursuing her own interests. She offered a nod in response to Dex's words, and it seemed enough for him to continue. He explained that they would need to wait for a a while longer for the darkness of night to come before they could investigate. Apparently this entity only appeared in the dead of night. At this mention Ariana had to decide whether this man might truly be lost within his own fantasy, but she resolved to remain simply out of curiosity. As the shadows continued to consume Orchidia, Ariana remained by Dex's side with Lucina asleep in her arms. She maintained a practice silence while Dex continued to fidget in obvious fear of what might come. Ariana felt no such emotion.

As the sky reached its darkest shade, Ariana could feel her curiosity slipping away. Nothing had shown itself to the group, and at that point she was not convinced anything would. Yet, as luck may yet have it, as soon as she looked away Dex pointed to the river bank. "There it is!" He shouted. Ariana turned around, and to her surprise there was indeed an entity present that had not made itself known before. A shining, blue orb now floated mere steps away on the embankment. This ball of light beckoned to Ariana in a way far deeper than the pull of curiosity, and almost without knowing she found herself moving closer to the orb. Its light grew ever more intense until, as she stood directly beside it, it seemed like a new star had fallen from the sky. Dex had huddled behind her, only just peaking out to see what might happen. Cradling Lucina in one arm, though she had awoken from her slumber by that point, Ariana reached out with her right hand towards the orb. At the moment that her fingers brushed against the light her mind flared with images she did not fully understand. She saw an image of the village she had long since left behind. Her parents stood there, an image she had hoped to leave behind all those years ago. A sense of foreboding crept over Ariana, and it caused her to lurch back without a thought. As soon as she moved an explosive force through her back with Lucina flying from her grip. Dex was also pushed back, and he collapsed in a heap. After a moment, Ariana was able to stand. Her body was bruised, and some of her dress had been cut by the stones on the ground, but she felt no worse for wear. Lucina hazily stumbled over to Ariana, and her lady nestled her into her arms quickly. She too had escaped major injury which was a great weight off of Ariana's shoulders. The orb had been significantly more dangerous than Ariana had predicted. This was a cause for concern, and a reminder that wariness was far more reliable than blind instruction. With a frown, Ariana searched for Dex before finding him passed out and bleeding from a wound to his skull. Ariana turned him over and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, she would have questions for him. Dragging him to the nearest hospital, she managed to get him into the care he required with the aid of the ever well known Dacol Lubex. Ariana had heard of him before, but reserved her questions and concerns for a later time. Realizing that time had passed rather quickly since the start of this particular task, Ariana opted to wait out the end by the bedside of Dex as he rested. He managed to awaken from his slumber the next morning and expressed his thanks to Ariana for her help. He promised a resolution to this mystery later, but for now he would need to "compile his evidence". Ariana only nodded before accepting the payment that he weakly offered. Taking her leave of the hospital, Ariana knew that she would return to Dex's side soon, and the mysteries of this orb would be in her possession one way or another.

[Exit]

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