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Leonardo scoured as he strode, deeper and deeper into the brimming tavern’s interior, his gaze as wary as his steps – he was being watched.

“CUT!”

Leonardo nearly tripped trying to stop, and began blinking like a dear in –

“Chester!” yelled some voice coming from nowhere. “Could you stop staring at Leonardo, you’re not in this scene!”

From somewhere, someone spit and sputtered. “Then why did you put me in here for?!”

“Blend in! That’s your role! Stop gawking at him like he’s your long-lost Dad marching in! Ready? ACTION!”

.....

Yes, indeed... Leonardo was being watched.

Patrons filling every seat, and the buzz of chatter rife, no one seemed to be paying him any heed, but he could feel them, those assessing stares... in the brief pauses of conversation, in the clatter of plates, every clink of glass... they were there, and they were watching.

He ignored them, it was natural – strangers would always be oddities – and there was no denying that he indeed was currently an odd one in the midst of this newfound environment.

In a stroke of luck, Leonardo had stumbled upon a vacant table and promptly took a seat, unraveling his red cape and tossing it to an empty chair right beside him.

Assessments turned to judgments, those unseen gazes observing his every move, even the way he blinked, he breathed – to avoid them, Leonardo dropped his gaze to the table before him, slowly running his hand along its surface, feeling every groove, every nick, every blemish gliding across his palm. He couldn’t recognize the feeling.

Like the people, like the air, like everything else... even the lumber here felt different.

“Where am I?” He muttered, his thoughts finally manifesting in a moment of confusion.

“Freeloadin’ in my fine establishments is wher’ yer are!”

A stray pale yellow leaf landed beside his hand, and Leonardo turned to the side, finding himself bearing witness to another bizarre new sight – a woman in green, garbed in leaves, and an almost otherworldly beauty radiating from her rosy smile.

“And can’t have me any freeloader ’round here, no sir! You wanna stay, you’s gotta pay!” She said, then with a flourish, pulled out both parchment and quill. “So, what’s it be then, sir, er...”

“Leonardo,” He answered, feeling the tension ebb free from his body. “My name is Leonardo.”

At the very least, they both share the same language it seems, if nothing else.

The woman curtsied, more leaves falling onto the table. “Tressa’s the name, don’t cha forget it!” Then springing back up, she jotted her quill at him. “So what’s yer appetite? Our specialty’s Globber, ya like Globber?”

“CUT! Chester don’t you laugh! Globber’s a delicacy, you get it?!”

Chester continued to snicker. “You gobble Globber?”

“Just respect it, alright! Okay – ACTION!”

But Leonardo wasn’t listening, her words failing to meet his ears, as his eyes began to flood and be swarmed with a vague yet overpowering sense of familiarity.

In this strange unfamiliar land, finally, something, someone... felt familiar.

She felt familiar.

Leonardo took in a sharp breath, parting wide open his lips, “Are you – ?”

“CUT!”

In a single instance, Leonardo collapsed back into his seat, his bravado and intensity deflated in a single exhaled breath, meanwhile, Tressa let her arms fall, blowing raspberries... and every single patron in the tavern collectively let out a weary groan.

I’m groaning too.

“Chester!” yelled a disembodied voice that clearly did not belong in the scene, magnified into echoes by some funnel thing, I think. “Do me a favor, the camera in front of you – yeah, can you not stare at it? Please? Play your role for God’s sake?”

Somewhere among the many occupants on chairs and stools, a single scraping noise could be heard, and Chester spoke back, “Alright, okay – I’m trying, okay?”

“We just want your reactions, not you staring at the audience.”

“My eyes are my reactions! You’re getting it!” The man called Chester said again. “What do you want me to do?”

“Act!” demanded the incorporeal voice. “Okay, we’re still rolling! From the top and – ACTION!”

Leonardo cleared his throat, widening his eyes once more, “Are you – ?”

“CUT!”

Immediately from the same direction of somewhere, Chester shouted. “Hey, Hey! I’m not staring, I wasn’t staring! Look! See, I wasn’t – well I am staring now, but I wasn’t staring then!”

“No, no, not you... just” the voice grew soft, stiff. “Tressa, could you stop staring at Chester now? You’re in the scene! The camera’s on you and you’re glancing off acting like you’re in love or something, stop it!”

Tressa instantly snapped out of a daze.

“Oh, right, sorry, I didn’t mean to...” She stopped, eyes bulging wide. “I-I mean – real sorry ’bout that, Mr. Ghostly Voice Sir! Did me a little whoopsie there! Ain’t gonna happen again!”

Ghostly voice grumbled grumpily.

“Alright, this is a failure. We’re shooting another take! Leonardo back outside, everyone to their places! Ready? Take Twenty... and Action!”

Now if you seriously think I’m gonna re-narrate everything back again, you got another thing coming.

I’m gonna move on now.

God, this voice is totally breaking this chapter apart...

Leonardo rapped his fingertips against the unfamiliar wood.

Impatience, bolstered further by feelings of certainty, he threw his eyes across the tavern, rifling through the sea of chatter and laughter, searching for her.

He knew he couldn’t be mistaken. Her face – he has seen it before. In unison together, in the presence of six others. The Divine, Frederika. She had to be her.

His mind was certain.

“S’cuse me! Sorray! Comin’ through! Hot plate in hand, outta my way, thanks!”

He spotted her again across the room om the form of a raging flurry splitting the sea with a hurried, merry stride. She skidded to a stop at his table, a bundle of leaves flying scattered in her wake, and with a polite smile, she set a plate and drink down before him.

“There ya go, Leonardo sir! Fried Blobber to yer satisfactionary, hmm? Kay’ Enjoy yaself! Call if ya need anythin’ more, a’ight?”

“One thing, yes,” He said, then before she could disappear again in a rushing blur of leaves, Leonardo reached out, clamping a firm grip around her slender wrist. “Why are you lying to me?”

Tressa slowly whirled around at him again, her friendly smile almost frozen upon her face. “Big balls layin’ yer hands on me, hm?”

He pressed her harder. “Frederika. Undoubtedly, I’m sure the Divines’ names still bear some weight in these uncharted parts, and surely you must know, surely you are involved, otherwise you would not have scurried when I – ”

Suddenly, much to his own surprise, Leonardo fumbled his grip, his strength completely failing in opposition to hers, as she effortlessly pulled away from him in one swift move, while still retaining her cheery demeanor.

“Big balls indeed, Leonardo sir,” She chuckled, delving back into the sea crowds. “Enjoy yer meal, ‘kay?”

Not a moment after, as Leonardo stirred and prod at his meal, downcast, a creak and squeak chair could be heard. His eyes veered upwards once more, blinking back mild bemusement, as a man partway through donning his red cape, sat closely adjacent to him now.

Patience wearing thin, Leonardo lowly growled at him. “Can I help you?”

That caught the man’s attention, releasing the cape from inspecting fingertips and letting it furl to the ground. Then he snorted, raising gloved hands out, before proclaiming with a sigh, “Women, right?”

Leonardo didn’t blink, didn’t speak, and sensing a stagnant silence between them, the man extended his hand, once more proclaiming with a cordial tone, “Chester Krester, a sincere pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Krester...” Leonardo raised a brow.

“My father, ahh, divines bless him,” Chester fondly shook his head. “The man loves his little rhymes. A true bard at heart, and I daresay, a rather good one at that. Regretfully, it seems I’ve not inherited his latent talents. No, just a humble merchant is what I am... and you are...?”

Reluctantly, Leonardo decided to indulge him. “An adventurer of sorts... I’m known as Leonardo.”

Briefly, Leonardo met Chester’s directly, and to his dismay, there was nary a hint of recognition to be found.

“Leonardo, I see...” Chester muttered, stroking his chin with a gloved hand. “Y’know I believe there’s – ”

“CUT!”

Once again, a choir of groans could be heard all around, a wailing or two as well.

But not Chester. No, Chester, tired of all the bullshit thrown his way, shot up from his seat, gobsmacked.

“Cut? What do you mean cut?!” He demanded, speaking to no one in particular. “I was doing good! I didn’t look at the camera! I didn’t trip like last time either! I’m improvising too! Worked hard for these lines. What did I do wrong?”

“Y’know!” the voice spoke back.

Confused, Chester cocked his head like a canary, “No, I don’t know, I told you already! So why don’t you just – ”

“No, not – I mean ‘y’know’! You know?! Chester doesn’t speak like that!”

“Doesn’t speak like what?”

“Like Tressa! Don’t follow Tressa! ” The voice barked. “You don’t say ‘y’know’ you say ‘you know’, alright? Proper!”

“That’s how I’ve been saying it! Proper!” shouted Chester, still fighting with some random invisible spirit for all the other patrons knew.

“No, you weren’t!” shouted the voice back.

“Pretty sure I was!”

.....

“Then say it! Say it again! Say your line again!”

Undaunted, Chester puffed out his chest, “Leonardo, I see...” and with strength surging, enunciated his most concise perfect words yet. “Y’know, I believe there’s – ”

“Oh my God, okay, listen,” The voice took in some air. “Repeat after me – ‘you’.”

Chester furrowed his brow, but complied anyway. “You...”

“Know.”

“Know.”

“You know!” said the voice, springy and free.

“Y’know!” repeated Chester, just as perfectly.

“Oh for – !” The voice hissed in a loud gulp “Okay y’know what? You know what? YOU’RE FIRED!”

At once, Tressa suddenly popped up into the scene from out of nowhere, bearing a glare that was frighteningly out of character.

And for the first time, the voice stuttered.

“F-Fine, you’re unfired!” The voice said, and with a smile, Tressa quickly slunk back out of the scene again. “Just... ugh... everybody take five. I need a break.”

So do I...