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[/img][/center][b][center][color=black] H O S H I[/color]
[color=fff79a]H O S H I[/color][/center]
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[i]Traverse Town[/i][/CENTER]

[indent]Tired as she was, Hoshi struggled to slip into a deep sleep. Even as she did drift to meaningful rest, she found herself shaken awake by an onslaught of nightmares. Most were the same as the one she had had the last night on the Island, with her falling into the sea through water and shadow. There had been others, but as she was startled awake the final time, the details faded to the back of her mind, forced down by her will to ignore them. It was easy enough to write the dreams off as the products of stress; they hadn't started until they had a way off the Islands, and when the worries of what would happen set in. 

What she couldn't ignore were the bouts of pain that crossed under her chest each time she awoke. They hit deep, more so than they had when they woke her in the apartment; her Heart pounding against . Were they part of her stress as well? Was she getting sick? It was possible, with having arrived, unprepared, on a new world; she had always been in good health otherwise. But then the thought of the hooded man came to her, rising from the nightmares like a phantasm into her waking mind. Could it have been him causing that pain? She wondered if she should have told Zac about it, maybe that was a power or magic that the group had, and why they gave him as much trouble as they did... that kind of pain in a person's Heart could leave them helpless if left unchecked. 

Between the dreams and her own ceaseless train of thought, Hoshi gave up on getting any more sleep. Quietly, she gathered up the black coat, draping it over her body and working her arms into the sleeves; its larger-than-her size made it ungainly for anything beyond a casual stroll. With care not to wake anyone else, she snuck out into the hallway and closed the door softly behind herself. Avoiding crossing paths with Daisy and stepping past Max, she walked out into the open plaza of the Second District. She looked both ways, pulled the coat more tightly over her chest, and set off for the First District. 

She recalled Leon mentioning the item shop in town, and decided to see if it was open.

As it happened, it was. 

Hoshi walked into the shop, a bell over the door ringing to announce a customer. As she descended the stairs onto the floor, a young Duckfolk (how many of them were there?) in a red shirt and cap popped up onto the counter next to the cash register. 

"Good day, Ma'am. How may I help you?" The duck asked as Hoshi neared the counter. 

[color=fff79a]"Just... just looking."[/color] 

Hoshi clutched the pouch of Munny she had been given, and perused the inventory. Potions for healing injuries and fatigue and Ethers, advertised to 'revitalize the spirit' were front and center behind the glass case in the counter. Hoshi picked out five potion vials, and shifted to an assortment of weapons on the wall behind the register. Most were staffs, or shields, all ill-suited for her preferences. But off to the side, in a corner furthest from her, a sword hung, gleaming softly in the shop's warm light. She wasn't sure why, but the blade spoke to her. It was as though it were an old friend she hadn't seen in a while... forgotten by memory, but familiar in her Heart. 

[color=fff79a]"That sword,"[/color] she said, pointing over to it. 

"The sword?" The shopkeeper looked at the weapon in disbelief, but retrieved it nonetheless, hauling it with much of his weight and setting it on the countertop. 

Hoshi clasped the hilt in her right hand and held it level to her head. She ran her eyes up and down the length of the pearlescent blade, nodding as she did. She backed away from the counter. She removed the coat, and gave the sword a few sweeping motions of slashes and blocks. She ended on a thrust that stopped inches from the duck shopkeeper's face. [color=fff79a]"Yeah. This feels better."[/color] She set the sword back down, ignoring the duck's shocked expression. [color=fff79a]"I'll take it. How much?"[/color]

"Oh." The duck recomposed himself. "We were looking for 1,000." 

Hoshi's face hung in disappointment. After the five potions she was short by 300 Munny. 

"But it's been sitting here for so long... I'll take 500 for it?" 

Hoshi jumped excitedly. [color=fff79a]"You would? Thank you!"[/color] She opened up the pouch and paid the 800 munny...[/indent]

[hr] 

[indent]Hoshi returned to the hotel as discretely as she had exited. The shopkeeper had managed to find a sheath for the sword, which she now had fixed to her hip and beneath the long, black coat. She had further strapped the sheath to her leg to keep it from sticking out from beneath the outerwear. She couldn’t figure out why, but she felt the need to hide the purchase from the others; perhaps simply to not be scolded for wasting Munny on a weapon she ‘already had one.’ 

She entered the hotel to be greeted by the scent of food wafting from the other end of the hallway; voices from the same direction confirmed to her that the others had started to wake up as well. She followed the smell of cooking down the corridor and rounded into a humble kitchen space where Lucian was already sitting to a home-cooked meal made by one of their new companions. Crossing the threshold, Hoshi’s stomach churned and growled; she had thought little about food since arriving in town, but now realized how hungry she was. 

[color=fff79a]“Thank you,”[/color] she said to Donald and Daisy as she helped herself to a plate. She sat down across from Lucian as it was explained that Alias had ventured on to another world: Olympus. [color=fff79a]“I know you said not to put it on myself,”[/color] she said, poking through a piece of scrambled egg with her fork. [color=fff79a]“But I really feel it should be me to go get Alias.”[/color] She paused, and took a bite of her eggs. [color=fff79a]“It’s… the only way I’ll clear my head about it.”[/color][/indent]