(Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XI and its NPCs belong to Square Enix, not me. The only thing I own is my computer... Hell, who am I kidding, I don't even own that.)

A young Tarutaru walked through the city gates, slightly leaning on a knobby wooden staff she was carrying. She looked up at the red and golden flags waving gently through the wind, standing out against the dull grey walls that protected and formed the city. The Tarutaru walked over to some nearby steps, sitting down to rest her feet on the grassy terrace. Looking around once again, she sighed.

"The great Kingdom of San d'Oria..." The girl smiled. "I've finally made it." The girl leaned back, listening to the clamor of the city folks and auctioneers. Straining her ears, she could even hear Chocobo squawking in the distance. Everything was just as she had always pictured it... except for the heavy Galka that had just taken a seat on the miniscule Tarutaru. "HE--mmph--nnf--GET OFF OF ME!!"

"Wha? Holy shit, I killed it!" The Galka jumped up and poked at the disheveled Tarutaru with the handle of his axe. "Are you okay, Tiny One? I was just lookin' for a place to rest my legs, I traveled here all the way from Bastok you see, and I guess I just didn't see you there, and--hey, Tiny One? You okay?" He picked up the Tarutaru and set her on her feet. "What's your name, anyway?" The Tarutaru shook her head, trying to balance on her unsteady feet. After straightening out her short dark hair and dusting off her tunic, she looked up--really high up--and crossed her arms.

"The name's Estefania. Who're you, Mr. Killataru?" The Galka roared in laughter, reaching down to pat Estefania on her head. She grimaced as he did so, staring at the Galka with increasing dislike.

"I'm Dashing Bullet, from Bastok. Please t'meet you, Tiny On--I mean, Estefania." Dashing Bullet smiled. Estefania had met plenty of Bastokan Galka before, but this one seemed a bit odd. The Galka of Bastok could be friendly when they wanted to, but when it came to outsiders and strangers, the Galka mostly just ignored them. Estefania watched Dashing Bullet as he rambled on--"really long walk, you know, really makes me wish I knew how to ride Chocobo, but you know what they say, life isn't fair"--and after a moment of his chatter, Estefania came to a conclusion: Dashing Bullet was either drunk or just a very strange Galka. "By the way, you can call me Dash, Este. Mind if I call you Este?"

"Uh... I suppose it's fine. Well," Estefania rubbed her head, looking for an escape from this conversation. "Well, I need to go get checked in to a Mog House. I've been traveling a long way too, you see." Dash laughed, patting Estefania's head once again. She scowled at him, though he didn't notice.

"Okay, I suppose I've kept us both long enough. Hey, you're an adventurer, right?" Estefania nodded warily. "Hey, me too! Maybe we'll meet up again and go kill some Orcs together sometime!"

"Yeah... I'd be delighted." Estefania watched Dash plod away, an uneasy feeling mounting inside of her. Something told her that this wasn't the last she would see of Dashing Bullet.