As hard as Alam found it to take the “princess” seriously, no other explanation came to mind. He didn’t have the luxury to take a step back to examine the situation, but, as far as he could tell, this was either a dream or everything had really just happened. As he had never experienced such a vivid, and frankly random, dream before he couldn’t help but be inclined to feel it was the latter. So he did the only natural thing he could think of; bury his head into his hands and groan at what he had been caught up in. He’d wave off any strange looks from the two after he finally decided to look up and listen when the “princess” began to speak again.

By the time Solia had finished her explanation of the situation, Alam’s was quite lost in thought and his expression wasn’t exactly pleasant, but filled with suspicion and unease. He nearly had an outburst when war had been mentioned, but managed to contain himself. There was quite a bit of information he was missing here; the floating island the three of them were on sort of made that obvious… as did the princess’ tail. Taking several deep breaths to clear his head, Alam turned to face Solia with a neutral expression… or at least he tried to. It was hard to keep himself expressionless in front of such a earnest display, so with a sigh he gave up on trying.

[b]“Exactly what do you mean by war, because I think you have a very different idea compared to mine.”[/b] That was probably the biggest worry he had at the moment, but that Solia had declared war against a country that sounded superior in every regards gave him a sliver of hope that it wasn’t as bad as it sounded. There was of course the tiny portion of his mind that whispered she could just be a horrible ruler, but he squashed the thought; both out of a smidgen of respect for Solia and for his own hope.

[b]‘Ah, um, what I mean by war…?’[/b] The princess looked quite surprised at the question. However, taking into account that the heroes were from a different worlds, maybe there was purpose in explaining what exactly a war was. [b]‘W-well…’ Where to start…? ‘F-firstly, one nation’s ruler declares war on the other, and the other nation’s ruler will then either accept or decline. Then, assuming the one declared war on accepts, both nations attempt amassing armies, each soldier contributing with a small amount of money to the whole event’s budget. Th-then, battles are fought between the two nations, aired via magic for all the people to watch. Each taken out opponent earn the nation a certain amount of points. At the end of the battle, the one nation with the most points win, and they get to distribute 60% of the earnings among their soldiers while those who lose get 40%, and in the nations the soldiers that contributed the most to the nation’s victory gets more money… The soldiers enter in hopes of leaving with more than they entered with. Regardless, it is also an event of competition and might in arms, which would allow Graelian to prove that we’re, um, not falling apart...’ [/b]D-did I miss mentioning something, the princess couldn’t help but wonder…

He welcomed the growing sense of relief he felt as the princess’ explained this world’s “wars”. “So they’re basically this world’s competitions…” he murmured as scratched the back of his head, relieved that it was far from the worst case scenario he had imagined. In any case, with his largest concern out of the way and the war actually explained, Alam didn’t have to think hard to imagine what their roles as “Heroes” were; he had played enough games to get an inkling. Although considering how off his fears for the “war” were, it would probably be prudent to make sure his assumption wasn’t completely off. [b]“I take it then that Heroes would be particularly notable participants in wars?”[/b] 

[b]‘Y-yes!’[/b] Solia answered, both her tone and her stance shining up in excitement. [b]‘H-heroes are only to be summoned only in times of great need, and they are known to have turned the tide on many a crisis and been powerful contenders on the field of battle!’[/b] Quite the excitement ran through the young princess as her tail wagged and she didn’t at all consider the potential pressure she might put on the would-be heroes. [b]‘In fact, I am thrice honored to simply be able to stand in your presences! Thank you!’[/b] Shining energetic eyes, wagging tail, face of determined excited seriousness, all features which the princess currently shone with towards the two of them.

Yui jumped, Yui looked, Yui calculated... Yui did a lot of things that her partner-in-crime would surely deem as strange, but for her, these were all reality checks to make sure this was just a dream. However, all those "checks" came with the same conclusion of being negative. Was this really...no, no, she might be a dreamer and also have a liking to games, manga and anime but there was no way such otherworldly experiences could happen in reality!

She sighed and kept a few seconds silence to herself... . Alright, whatever the case was, there was no use of panicking, with her mind a bit more cleared she finally spoke up. "Alright, what if I don't want to bet my life for a si- a "game" like this, can you just send me home? Furthermore, war means we need to fight, right? I have no clue how to fight, my best skills are probably dancing and singing!" 

While the prospect of being a Hero and sweeping aside soldiers like this was Dynasty Warriors had a certain sense of appeal to it, namely that it was awesome, it also posed a problem for Alam. Mostly that he was probably going to be a center of attention in the war if he participated and it would be broadcasted through two nations from the sounds of it. The thought, amongst other reasons, was enough to make him seriously consider the choice he had to make, but before he could ponder for too long, a bit of motion to his side caught Alam’s attention. ‘Oh right...’ He had completely forgotten that he wasn’t the only Hero to have been called down, and she did ask a good question. Though he did point out that, [b]“I don’t think people actually die. Wouldn’t make sense to pay money to fight to the death.”[/b]

[b]‘Wh-what?’ [/b]The mention of death made the princess almost flinch back. [b]‘N-no, no! Of course people don’t die! All populated areas and roads are filled with Frala which will make sure casualties get transformed into harmless Creature Orbs! No deaths! Th-that would be just… horrible…’ [/b]Solia was suddenly reminded of the fact her parents had died recently, which… wasn’t a pleasant thing to recall. I-in any case! [b]‘Th-the only places where you can die by damage is in low-to-no Frala areas, and no sensible person would venture to those areas anyway…!’[/b] Th-that’s the answer to that, anyway… A-as for that other… the princess turned to Yui. ‘W-well, yes I can. There should be a ritual for sending the heroes back… Th-though I don’t know it right now. Um. Er.’ Solia hesitated to what to say, because she didn’t really… want to think of what she’d have to do if they refused to fight and demanded to be sent home. [b]‘P-please, at least come with me to the castle, I-I don’t have the means to send you back right now rega- NO WAIT! Er…’[/b] That didn’t sound good… [b]‘At least, come and watch for the time being! Y-you don’t need to decide right now…! P-please…?’ [/b]The princess was now shaking slightly in fear that they’d simply demand to be sent home, looking at them with hands clasped together and begging…

A war without people dying? Were they like, kind of immortal with that Frala? Whatever the case was that didn't change anything about the fact that Yui couldn't fight; sure, she was athletic and in her childhood had the dream of also becoming a magical girl but this was a entirely different situation. The change in emotion inside the princess took Yui nearly by surprise, she looked way too sad for a simple denial of participation, was this war really that important? With a bright smile Yui put her hand on Solia's shoulder, giving out in an encouraging tone. "Well, no use dwelling here for now, if I can be of assistance I'll help, so...guide the way?" After all there was still the fact left of being on a flying island... .

‘Oh boy...’ That was the only appropriate thought, in his opinion at the least, to Solia’s slight panic attack. He could only guess she wasn’t aware of a way to return the two of them back, or at best just seriously needed their assistance. While normally he might have stayed on the fence just to mess around with the princess, she already looked desperate enough that it would have just felt wrong. He followed up behind the other girl and coughed to get Solia’s attention. [b]“Well I’m interested at the least. You can call me Alam instead of Hero please.”[/b] Frankly the title, though no doubt prestigious and valued, just seemed wrong when used for him. 

The smile from the female hero and the hand on the princess’ shoulder was to a breath intake of infinite relief as both heroes seemed to at least agree to leave here on a positive note. One could probably see how all the panic she had momentarily experienced all washad away, and the open mouth of the breath of relief formed back into a happy smile towards the heroes. [b]‘The Hero Alam. Alam. Got it.’[/b] She’d then turn to the female hero and… [b]‘And… what’s your name?’[/b]
 
"Oh right." Yui turned a bit red about totally forgetting to introduce herself."My name is Yui Hasekura." Able to reassure the young princess Yui kept her hands by herself again before proceeding with a bright smile. "So...shall we go?" 

[b]‘Hero Yui. Got it!’[/b] Solia nods and then spins around on the spot and runs excitedly a first few steps on the marble road away from the structures before shortly spinning around again to smile at the heroes. [b]‘Alright! Let’s go, then! First, we’ll have to get down. A battle will commence shortly, I still have so much to tell! Let’s go, let’s go!’[/b] And then the suddenly energetic princess spun around to lead them down the many stairs leading up to the Summoning Altar.
								
"Down… right, why is it flying in the firs-" Yui stopped speaking as she got a good look of the princess’ back, while it was definitely there before Yui just simply had not paid much attention to the tail, the dog tail. But it was different from a real dog. Was it...real? Or maybe some kind of ceremonial dress, they had wars without casualties after all too. Without further thought Yui followed the princess, sure to keep a safe distance from the two real dogs, before grabbing her tail and gently pulling it!

Solia was aware of Yui following her, and didn’t mind it the slightest. That was what should be, after all. The heroes were to be following her down the stairs. She was feeling so happy. Everything was passing along… well enough. Now all they had to do was finally get down and-! … The princess stopped in her tracks. She just stopped for a moment, considering what she was feeling, a small blush arising on her cheeks. After a few moments of considering, she turned her head a bit and… [b]‘Um… Th-that’s my tail…?’[/b] She muttered nervously, the small blush still on her cheeks, unsure if the pulling of someone’s tail meant something specific for the heroes… except the heroes didn’t appear to have tails, which Solia had already known they wouldn’t, but…

“Huh…” While he would have never admitted it... probably, Alam had been fairly interested in pulling the princess’ tail. So thankfully, Yui decided to do it for him. He didn’t have any real expectations for the princess’ reaction, so when she just froze… well Alam felt a bit awkward as the seconds ticked by. Busying himself by looking off to the side, he was quickly reminded of exactly how far up in the air they were. Frowning at the dizzying height, he turned his attention back to the other two and coughed lightly.[b] “Can we get on the ground first before you molest her?”[/b]

"Huh? It...it's real! A real tail! And so fluffy..." Her face showed a mixed expression of surprise and delight. Ignoring the remarks of the other hero she still left Solia's tail to herself before proceeding. "Do you, like, waggle a lot with it when you are super excited?" The height of this place didn't really bother her, after all, she liked high places.

[b]‘Ah… Thank you…’ [/b]The princess said slightly nervously, seeing the fluffy comment as a compliment, and roughly exactly as Yui’s comment about the wagging tail Solia’s tail was about to begin a little wiggle and then she just kept quiet for a bit as her tail did her answering for her. [b]‘... Eh, yes~...’ [/b]She said a bit shyly, when suddenly the sound of fireworks went off in the distance. [b]‘Ah!’[/b] The princess cried out, looking off into the distance with a sudden expression of alarm. [b]‘The battle has started! C’mon! Let’s hurry!’[/b] And then the princess started dashing moderately fast down the pretty huge stairs down them towards the spot where she had come from, the two dogs running past her down the stairs. By the bottom of the stairs, a large yellow bird was standing as if waiting for them…

The sharp sounds and flashes caught Alam’s attention fairly easily, and as he stared off into the distance at them he quickly noticed what was on the ground in that direction. He could only assume those were the two armies, distinctively colored as they were, and if the pyrotechnics were any indication then they were about to clash, something Solia was nice enough to confirm for him. “We probably should,” he muttered as he began to hop down the stairs quickly after the princess. The sight of a giant C*****o did give him pause, but only for a moment and it wasn’t anything a facepalm couldn’t fix. “Really now…”

The yellow bird looked at them with a little happy cackle at the approaching individuals as she turned her side towards them, revealing the specific saddle prepared for two dogs and three passengers in a row, since they had known two heroes would be summoned. Solia happily turned around upon approaching the yellow thing, smiling at the heroes with the hands together. [b]‘This is my Cercle, Narlah. She’ll be taking us down.’[/b] From here, they would also have a pretty good view of the battlefield, although most individuals and happenings would be too small to identify properly. Except the Crest Cannons. Solia would make use of something to step up and get onto the Cercle’s back and look back at the heroes expecting them to do the same as she took ahold of the reigns of the winged bird.

Yui felt still very uncomfortable in the near of the dogs as she followed the princess, all she could do was to hope they would soon disappear. Her attention was kept just a short moment towards the starting battle. "I-Is that a Chocobo?!" She asked with a few sparkle in her eyes. Ignoring all remarks Solia made at the bird creature she took a closer look. "Wait, no...it's...a bit different, but...but do you have also have Moogles as pets?!" Not even being excited about the immediate flight that would soon follow after Yui got onto the bird, she started to fluff it.

[b]‘Choco-…? … What’s a…?’[/b] The princess started, feeling unsure of how to respond as Yui started remarking about creatures which Solia had never ever heard about. Letting the heroes climb aboard behind her the princess considered what would be the most appropriate answer to that. [b]‘N-no… I’m sorry, we don’t have… “Moo-gels”…’[/b] Wh-what is one, anyway!? Was this going to ruin a potential future or something? Ough… [b]‘W-well, we’ll go to the castle. W-we have some things prepared for you there…’[/b] She said, before momentarily charging the magic which would make her Narlah capable of flight. The bird gawked out, covered in a green magical light (because I choose green to be the princess’ magical color) before dashing ahead, off the cliff, and soaring through the skies a moment later. From there, they would be able to see as much as the green plains of southern Graelian could offer, along with the battle to the west of them and the capital ahead. Currently, they were heading for the castle in full speed ahead, could not let the battle wait, to touch down on a coordinated spot in front of the main gate. Hopefully, Lucrezia would be ready for them…