Light a Match

[momo]

By the time Francis had arrived in Alabasta, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to be there. He had not exactly planned to come to the desert island, having only planned to come as far as the boat he'd hopped on to find Kite. However, now that he was here, it felt a bit like he had little choice but to do something with his time here before he turned around and left. The only problem was that he wasn't entirely sure as to what to do. Alabasta had long since become a relatively peaceful place over the years from what he understood. However, it wasn't exactly the sort of place that he would willingly choose to make a stop at. After all, it felt far too hot and he half expected to burn into a crisp.

Taking a quick glance at his clothing, he frowned. It was a touch obvious to the swordsman that he'd probably need to buy some clothing a bit more suitable to the weather. He probably did not want to get too much. After all, he had no plans to stay here long and he doubted that he would come back here anytime soon. There was also the fact that he should probably find a way to get off of here. He definitely would be unable to do so himself. Navigation was not something he knew how to do well and he admittedly only knew the basics of how to sail a ship. The notion of getting on a merchant or civilian ship crossed his mind. If he truly became desperate, he supposed he could try and find his way on a pirate ship.

Shaking his head, he began heading into town, glancing around curiously. Not particularly knowing the way, he merely headed in the direction where the most amount of people seemed to be coming from. That seemed like the best way to go. After all, the market would likely be where all the people were, right? Right.

[Kitsune Ursa Vision]

It was a normal day in Alabasta, The blazing sun beamed down onto the hot and fine dust of the sand as the small breeze that went through the arid desert kingdom picked up small top layers the dust. The weather would be blistering hot to most people but not for Mia she was use to the weather. Sure it was hot but she was use to the heat so it didn't affect her as much. She walked along the streets of Alabasta in her dull brown robe like outfit along with a veil/mask not wanting to be recognized. She had come to the town wanting to shop in the bazaar/marketplace.



The sound of people shopping made her excited, she was usually only allowed to come if she was escorted, which she did; but got away form them. Her father was paranoid that if she went alone she might be kidnapped and held for ransom, or something similar. What her father didn't know was that Mia knew how to take care of herself because of her secret sword training. She wandered around looking at at the sights and the various items the men and women were selling to these people. What seemed odd to her was the fact that some of these items seemed to be outside of Alabasta, perhaps they were some sellers coming from other islands of the grand line hoping to expand their business
.

[momo]

A grimace crossed Francis' face and he absently rubbed at his temples. Today was probably not the best day to go around wearing day colours considering the blazing heat. It didn't help that he hated hot weather, something which largely came from the fact that he had never dealt well within such climates. He burned easily, his pale skin seeming to turn red under the sun's rays. Just a moment more, he tried to mentally remind himself. Clothing and probably a quick stop at a restaurant or something similar. 

He paused for the briefest of moments, recalling that he should probably check how much beli he had. The list of things he needed to do was starting to increase and if he wasn't careful he'd likely be here a bit longer just because he'd be trying to scrounge up money. The notion of it was not pleasant.

Thankfully, following the herd had seemed to be a smart enough idea. While he couldn't see where he was going to some degree, what he could see did make it clear that he seemed to have made it to the market shop of whatever city in Alabasta this was. Looking around was mildly interesting, satisfying some vague amount of curiosity, but it wasn't entirely helpful since he didn't entirely recognize everything he was looking at. He would prefer to find something now not later.

Choosing a person at random, he tapped someone on their shoulder, trying to muster up a fair amount of politeness. Whether he was entirely successful was questionable considering how stiff his face felt. "Excuse me?"

[Kitsune Ursa Vision]

Mia continued searching the shops and stands the people in the bazaar had set up. She wasn't looking for anything in particular but wanted to see if they would have items that could help her on travel through sea. The stalls had various things such as food, trinkets, jewels and even some selling Alabastan weapons. She would walk around the streets quite a bit and stopped to see certain stalls. One person in charge of a stall would stop her show her various jewelry he had for sale hoping he Mia might be interested.

Mia casually denied the person's offer to sell her the jewelry and walked towards saw something, she found a man selling log pose. They were in various models some having intricate designs and others looking more plain and simple as she viewed the store. As she looked she would feel a tap on her shoulders and her instincts kicked in a bit as she turned around to see who tapped her grabbing one of the two swords on her hip, not pulling it out but still on it at the ready. She did a quick 180 turn to see the tall pale man who had tapped her shoulder.

She was a bit surprised by him as he was a bit surprised to see him but still had her hand on her sword as she was taught by her master to never be too careful around someone. "Is there something you need?" She asked looking at the tall brown hair male

[momo]

Francis was not entirely sure he liked Alabasta thus far. It was hot, too crowded for liking, and not some place he was sure he wanted to stay for too long. Unfortunately, he wasn't entirely sure how long he would have to stay here. Not only did he have a seemingly growing list of things he either needed or needed to do, he also was not sure when or how he was going to leave. The latter was probably the most worrying outside of a lack of certain provisions. After all, he was in the Grand Line, somewhere which required some sense of direction. Navigation skills aside, making his way through the Grand Line alone was not possible.

The brunette absently noticed that some of what he was looking for might be around. There seemed to be a fair amount of everything around. The smell of food wafted in the air, foreign enough to Francis that he could not point out what it was by scent alone. Gaze flickering about, everything else seemed to blur together, nothing jumping out as what he was looking for. 

He hadn't been looking for anyone in particular, just a stranger to ask a question. However, he hadn't expected a harsh reaction for just tapping someone on the shoulder. A frown took over his face as he noticed how her posture seemed to grow a touch hostile, hand going to one of the swords at her hip. It didn't seem to disappear as she spun around to actually face him, only a flicker of surprise being added into the mix. 

He wasn't entirely sure if he should be glad she hadn't actually drawn the sword, but dealing with someone who was already hostile when they hadn't even seen his face seemed like a pain. In fact, this conversation was turning into a quick annoyance. "I just wanted to ask a question," he said, unable to keep the clipped manner out of his voice. His gaze pointedly flickered to the sword she seemed to be keeping a hand on before focusing on her face. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Or is that not allowed?"

[Kitsune Ursa Vision]

She watched the man feeling a bit uncomfortable from her actions of taking hostility and put her hand away from her sword. She removed her hand from the handle of her blade and relaxed a bit "I apologize my master taught me never to be too careful and to always be ready to strike." She told him.



Mia could tell just by looking at this man he was not from around alabast. His paler complexion showed it but it was his clothes that was far more obvious, she looked at him. "I take it you are not from around here. Are you an adventurer?" She asked curiostiy getting to her. She asked as she wished to be an adventurer herself and explore the world, the only issue was her father would not allow her so she would need to sneak away and buy a ship when ever possible, which she was hoping to do at the bazaar

[momo]

The stranger struck Francis as a touch odd. As far as he was concerned, there was a difference between annoyed and high strung, and she seemed to fall into the latter category. It didn't seem to be a good sign that she was so quick to go for her blade when someone was just tapping her shoulder. After all, it wasn't as if he'd made any attempt to even attack her. Then again, it wasn't as if he knew her or even knew what Alabasta was like outside of what had been told to the public. Perhaps things like what had apparently happened with Crocodile had made the people here less willing to trust others.  

He rose an eyebrow at her quick excuse, clearly having caught his reaction. Right. "I guess that's true," he admitted. He had no clue who had taught her, but this person sounded a lot different from who had taught him. Perhaps a bit high strung as well. "There wouldn't happen to be a reason for that would there? Taking it a bit literally does not seem to be the best way to go about things, particularly when you seem to live in what appears to be a relatively peaceful place." 

He shrugged. "Not really," he admitted, "I'm a bit far from where I actually live. I grew up in the North Blue." It wasn't too far from the Grand Line as far as the Blues went in his book, but it had also not been somewhere he had been keen on staying. After all, nobody back home had viewed his family too well. It was his uncle's fault- probably. "Ah, no. Or, I suppose that's a matter of opinion." Adventurer wasn't really an occupation was it? It was just something you did after all. "I'm a bounty hunter." He paused for a brief moment, looking to soak in her reaction. After all, he knew that his occupation was not the sort that had a popular reputation. It was generally viewed positively or negatively. After all, it was the sort the Navy turned a blind eye to because of what the job involved, but could generally be considered selfish since it existed outside of the law and was usually done just for money. It would be a lie to say he wasn't doing it for money. "Why?"

After a moment, he continued. They were getting off track. He'd had a question. "Right. I had a question. I'm lost. Or, close to it. You can't really be lost when you don't know where to go, right?" Absently, he pulled at one of his gloves. "How well do you know this town? I need to go to several places, get things and make sure I eventually figure out a way to leave."

[Kitsune Ursa Vision]

Mia looked at the brown hair male who criticized her how she took her teacher's teaching. Mia knew that she should not be in a state of paranoia when it came to being prepared to fight but it was something that her master taught her, she looked up to him since he was the only person who taught her even if she was a female. "While it may be true Alabasta is peaceful, the country has had some recent bandit issues due to the civil war caused by Crocodile, some of the Baroque members are believed to still have been able to slip away from naval grasp and are causing some trouble" she said whispering the last part to him.



She looked at the male as he answered her question about him being an adventurer and was told he was a bit of a bounty hunter "A bounty hunter huh?" she said "Maybe that could be a good way to get out of here" she mumbled a bit to herself. She heard him ask her the reason she had asked "Oh I was just curious." She was not completely wrong as she never seen the man and wanted to know. She dreamed of leaving the nation due to her family picking how her life should go and her never having any choice. Mia did not enjoy the life she had been given and craved some kind of freedom, one mostly where she lived a life on the sea. She didn't plan on being a pirate as she more wanted to explore for the thrill without the fear of being hunted by marines.



Mia would then hear the man's questions and looked at him "Well, I know this town fairly well but i'm not sure how much help I could provide you since, I don't know the exact areas you want to go to." she said and stopped hearing a voice in the distance.



"MISS MIA?! WHERE ARE YOU?!" she said looking over to see a man who was searching around for her, he was the escort her father sent and she managed to lose.


"Shit!" she said under her breath not wanting to get the man's attention "Oh, yeah I can deflationary help you, please walk and tell me where you want to go and i'm sure we can find what ever you want~" she said smiling ans she started pushing Francis trying to get him to move so she could get away from the escort trying to search for her.

[momo]

Francis made a sound of understanding. He could personally only imagine what it was like to have lived in a kingdom that had suffered from a civil war. While his own homeland had suffered from its own faults, it had been a relatively peaceful kingdom. Moreover, what Crocodile had done to Alabasta had been, to his understanding, likely left the kingdom with some damage that would take time to clean up. It was only a guess built upon what he had read, so he could only visualize what the people here were going through.

"Bandit issues, hm?" That sounded like it could potentially be beneficial to himself, especially the money he had at the moment would only last so long. "How bad is it? I take it that it is just rabble making noise?" After all, if it was people with bounties who had managed to escape chances were that the Navy would be dealing with this seeing that Crocodile had been a Warlord. They wouldn't any of his men lurking about. No names, though? They probably didn't care too much. The Navy may or may not care depending on how much trouble they were causing, but chances were the kingdom cared a great deal more.

He rose an eyebrow, only catching part of what she had said. "Curious, huh?" An amused look crossed his face. Her expression looked more inquisitive than curious. If he had to make a guess, she was likely planning something, though who the hell knew what. "Curious people don't usually look like they are planning something, you know. If you really want to know about bounty hunters or what have you, you can just ask, not make up some poor excuse."

He rose an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure an help would be helpful," he bluntly stated, "Technically, you likely know more than me." Before he could expand on the details of where he wanted to go, the two seemed to be interrupted. A loud voice permeated through the crowd, one which, interestingly enough, seemed to have gathered this woman's attention. Frowning, he shifted his attention in direction that she seemed to be looking.

"What?" He blinked owlishly as she suddenly began pushing him along, clearly trying to move him away from where they were at the moment to...well, perhaps anywhere else. A brief annoyance crossed his face. "You know, this is probably the least subtle way to try and sneak off?" He pointed out, lowering his voice a few octaves so only she could only hear him. Not bothering to ask permission, he made to loop their arms together. He didn't bother with a fast pace. IT would attract too much attention after all. "This way."

[Kitsune Ursa Vision]

Mia try to be pushing Francis towards a random area but didn't seem to have the strength to move him. He would hear the voice of her escort getting a bit closer (SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!) she thought trying to get Francis to move. She would then notice Francis wrap his arm around hers and tell her to follow. She had no other choice, it was either this or be found by the escort and get in trouble. She would fallow Francis as they went towards a much denser crowd in the bazaar, this would provide extra cover for them but make it a bit harder for him to travel towards them. 

The escort would look around and see Mia, more her hair then anything, with a man who he had no idea "Sir stop right there!" he yelled going towards the two. "GUARDS HELP THERE'S BEEN A KIDNAPPING!" the escort said trying to get some assistance on her side.

If Francis was perceptive he would see a more narrow alleyway in the bazaar where people were crowding towards. 

[momo]

Francis didn't have much of an idea about where he should go. He didn't know Alabasta too well, having only been in the kingdom long enough to know where a few places were. What he did know was that it would probably be a good idea to try to blend in with the crowd if Mia, and by extension himself, were not caught by whomever she was trying to get away from. From his point of view, this was not a difficult thing to do. While he was not dressed as the average citizen, he hardly thought he looked suspicious. If anyone thought otherwise, the cover of people would likely help things as they would likely be harder to find.

Perhaps this might have been true for someone else, but it was not true for whoever was after Mia. The man clearly had a keen eye, spotting not only her but him as well. Worse, he seemed to have jumped to the worst of conclusions. Hearing guards and kidnapping be mentioned was far from good in his book. In many respects, he found himself between a rock and a hard place. The smart thing would have undoubtedly been to return whoever this young woman was. She clearly was a bit more important than he had originally presumed. Moreover, it wasn't like kidnappers tended to return the people they had snatched, not unless they had gotten whatever they had demanded.

On the other hand, Mia was clearly trying to get away from whoever this was. The idea of just handing her over, no matter how smart a move for himself it would be, didn't sit well with Francis. He could easily imagine that she'd be displeased with it, particularly since he was sure it wasn't just this man she wanted to get away from. While he had not caught all of what she'd said earlier, he was sure she was planning something. It had been clear from the look that had crossed her face at the talk of bounty hunters.

He did hope that he didn't regret this later. He imagined that he probably wouldn't so long as he didn't get caught. Maybe.

As a particularly perceptive person, it was not difficult for him to spot the narrow alleyway. Picking up his pace slightly, he deftly turned towards it, pushing past the crowd. He didn't pay much mind to Mia in the process, expecting her to more follow along than not. Turning into it, he briefly stopped. The sounds of the man who had searched for her were not hard to hear, as they were too loud to not make out among the crowd. However, it also appeared as though he had gained the attention of a few stray guards.

Lips thinning, a sigh escaped him. It was becoming clear that they couldn't stay here, not if Mia wanted to avoid the person who was after her. Lacking any plan as to where to go, he let go of her arm but began making his way down the alleyway. The alley held a different look to the rest of the bazaar. The buildings had little space between them. At first glance, it appeared as though this was where people lived.

He briefly shifted his gaze towards Mia. "I would recommend heading this way," he stated, his voice lowered slightly, "I don't know who you are trying to avoid; however, whoever was after you has dragged some guards into this. Getting some distance would be a good idea. The best way to do that would be to go through the back alleys, mostly because they are easier to travel through. The guards might aim to look through the crowds first since that was where we were first spotted." Honestly, it depended on how smart they were. Either way, he imagined that they might have some difficulty due to how crowded the bazaar was. Being ahead gave them a bit of an advantage.

His gaze narrowed slightly before he turned away. "While we are on the way," he said lightly, "Perhaps you can tell me exactly why we are suddenly being chased?" It would be nice to know why he was suddenly a kidnapper after all.

[Kitsune Ursa Vision]

As mia was going through the crowd of people and heard the escort call in some guard assistance. (Really he had to bring the guards into this?!) she thought (if he catches me father will never-) her thoughts were stopped as she heard Francis's suggestion of going into the alleyway. She nodded falling him in the narrow space. It was easy for someone with her slim body to easily squeeze through.

They were in a small alleyway that was pretty shaded and had buildings. They were builds made to house the less fortunate. She had an uneasy feeling being in this alleyway as there were some reports of former Baroque members being in allies just like this one but she tried to stay calm. She would look out to the side and see the guards and her escort looking at the crowds.

"LADY MIA WHERE ARE YOU?!" The escort yelled fortunately for her the sound of the crowd drowned out his voice so she couldn't make out what he was saying. Mia gave a sigh of relief thinking she was home free and looked at Francis as he asked why she was being chased.

"It's quite a long story, I don't really want to bore you with the details. Let's just say the man he is planning to bring me to has different interests for me then I would like." She said trying to be as secretive as possible. She knew if she were to tell this man she was trying to run from her father he would probably return her, especially if this man was a bounty hunter.

[momo]

The man's voice rung loudly. If he had anything else to say it was clearly drowned out by the crowd. As far as Francis was concerned, this seemed like a good sign. The only reason that they might not be heard was if they were actually being quiet. However, for whatever actions anyone who might be listening to the man was doing, the escort clearly was not a quiet sort. If he was near Francis did not doubt that they were more likely to hear him before they even saw them.

The brunette had never been a particularly patient individual. Unfortunately for Mia, this was not a trait that mixed well with how perceptive Francis could sometimes be. Secrets were unlikely to be something that he would accept with ease.

Crossing his arms, a distinctly unimpressed look crossed his face. "If that's your idea of avoiding a subject, I would hate to see your idea of lying," he said flatly, "Look, I don't need your life story. You can keep it to yourself, if you really want to." Exactly what telling him would solve he had no idea. He doubted it had anything to do with the matter at hand and he was the last person to use as a shoulder to cry on. "However, the way I see it I'm already stuck in this since apparently I have kidnapped you." He relaxed slightly. "So if you could maybe tell me something a bit more detailed than we have different interests would be quite nice."

He paused, seeming to belatedly notice something, a sigh escaping him. "Though, I suppose we could get out of here first." He glanced at her, frowning. "Well, where do you want to go? We obviously have to avoid the market. Well, and the docks." He could only presume that they expected him to throw her on a boat and leave. "But anything around the back alleys should work." Exactly how safe that was or what was around here he hardly knew. "Or would you prefer to test your luck and go on your own?"

[Kitsune Ursa Vision]

She looks at Francis and gives a huff as his comment "I rather not get into why I'm running away from that guy. Even if I tell you I doubt you could go to them with any problem. You are labeled as a thief/kidnapper, so weather you like it or not you're kinda stuck with me for now." She said to him holding her arms. She then looked to him and sighed as he mentioned the idea of sticking to the alleyway to look for a way out.


"I know someone who might possibly help, He's a bit shady but he could possibly supply us with a boat in some shape or form. I would just suggest you and I be careful around here. There's been some reports of former Baroque workers in these alleyways." She told him keeping her hands close to her swords "I see you have a sword so you must have some training, but we don't want to cause attention to ourselves." she said looking around and seeing some clothes on a line "Give me a second" she said using the holes of the walls to climb up the sand stone as she grabbed some robes one of them was much bigger and baggier then her and probably made for a large male while the other one was probably around her size "Put this on, not only will it disguise you but it will also protect that skin of yours from the harsh rays." she said putting on the outfit

[momo]

Francis could feel himself growing irritated at Mia's response. As far as he was concerned, he wasn't asking much. He didn't entirely care about the large picture. Small details like who or what she was seemed inconsequential, or they had. As she answered him, he found himself with a growing worry that his idea that they'd part ways soon enough might not be happening any time soon. Was it really so hard to just tell him why she has being chased? It struck him as suspicious that she refused to. After all, a short answer didn't seem that hard.

Unfortunately, he didn't tend to deal well with frustration.

"Right, he said flatly, "For someone who doubts that I'm going to tell anybody anything you sure aren't acting that way. If you really didn't think I was going to blab whatever the hell you are hiding, you seem to be incredibly secretive." He wasn't about to point out that it probably didn't matter if he was labeled as a thief. Bounty Hunters didn't tend to have good reputations as it was and so long as no one had seen his face he was fine. Even if someone had, chances were it wasn't the end of the world. Bounty Hunters did get some level of protection since they technically helped the World Government.

Though, really, it didn't matter much to him. This was mostly just an easy way to get money and could be replaced, albeit with something a little less legal. "Though, I don't really see why you think I'm stuck with you." His gaze narrowed. He had a feeling he didn't want to know why.

Almost immediately he found himself right. Us? Lord, how long was he going to be stuck with this woman? He'd helped her because she hadn't seemed to desire being caught and had seemed innocent enough, not because he desired company on the seas. Sighing, he shifted his attention to his pockets, seeming to search for something. "I don't really care if he's shady so long as we don't get arrested or end up dead. He can conduct business out of a pot for all I care."  

He scowled slightly. She was really proving to be good at getting on his nerves, something which he hoped was an entirely accidental. Hopefully, it wasn't a bad habit because he was pretty sure he'd end up losing his temper if he had to be stuck on a boat with her. 

He absently watched as she stole some clothes from a line, pausing only when she handed them over. He eyes it dubiously before accepting it with a sigh. "Thanks,"he said flatly. Slipping it on, he frowned slightly. The robe was clearly made for someone much larger than himself and was a bit baggy on him. Still, it suited its purpose. "You realize if you want to get off of this place we need a log pose? Unless your plan was to just hit the Grand Line and hope for the best?"