“Buckle up.” Ellie modded to his seatbelt as she put hers on, backing out of the driveway a second later.
There was no way in hell she was going to let him die in a car crash before they figured this shit out.
Should I Report You..or..? // One on One // Closed
“Oh. Right.”
Florin put his seatbelt on. Honestly, it had been a while since he used one of them. No wonder he didn’t remember at first.
He glances out the window.
Since Ellie lived pretty deep in the woods, most of the outside scenery was untouched woodland. All bright green from the trees and bushes, deep rich brown soil. It was clear why someone would want to live out here, it was very beautiful.
Florin observed the surroundings. Without looking away from the window, he spoke. “Nice place out here. Almost reminds me of Sedori, when I visited.”
"Sedori… Can you tell me about it?" She asked, glancing sideways at him for a moment before focusing her attention back on the road.
“The island, or the country?” Florin questions. He could easily do both.
"Both, both is good." Ellie replied, nodding slightly.
“Right..where do I start.” Florin sighed.
“Sedori is an old country. I’m pretty sure they’re like 5000 years old or something. Pretty sure that’s old for a country to have existed for so long.” He started. “In those thousands of years of history, Sedori has never lost a war, nor has it surrendered. Its people hold true to its cause of ‘never surrender’, so much that everyone who fights for them carries a cyanide pill just in case.”
“Besides that, not much is known about them. They do trade with their allies, but everything else is covered up. No one really knows what their leader looks like, either. They’ve got a pretty strong military as well. And they’re a healthy country from what I’ve heard.”
Florin closed his eyes, still facing the window. “I’ve been to the island, once. During the war. You don’t have to worry about wildlife, you have to worry about Sedorian forces.” Florin moves his left hand towards the covered scar by his ribs. His voice lowered as he went on. “The air is clean there. Not a lot of smog or anything like that. Surrounding the island, there’s a lot of small islands. Not really islands, though. More like big rocks, jutting from the ocean. Hazardous.”
He opened his eyes again, almost seeming like he was meaning to say something, but bit back on it.
Ellie listened, intrigued and wanting to know more about the history, the people, the culture, everything, "And, what about where you're from, can you tell me about there?"
Florin crossed his arms. “I was,” he started, “originally born in Switzerland. I didn’t spend much time there though. I mostly stayed in Europe the entire time.”
“I don’t exactly remember a lot of my childhood, and that does include my surroundings. There were plenty of people. I remember the weather, and it being generally nice.” It’s clear Florin is scraping the bottom of the barrel here, trying to think of things to say. “I was an only child, so I never had any siblings for the time I was with my family.”
"I went to Switzerland once. It was on a school trip when I was younger. I grew up in England before having to move to the States so it was an easy trip. Still don't know how I managed to go," She sighed, shrugging a shoulder, "Be glad you don't have any siblings, they're a pain in the backside."
Florin finally looked forwards again. “I’ve never been to the states,” he admitted, “up until now at least. Never been to England either, though.”
“See, a lot of people say that, but I think if I had siblings I could’ve gotten along alright. I guess my fellow Operatives were like my brothers and sisters, and I got along well with them. Though there’s not really much of a choice when it comes to that.” He pauses.
“You have siblings?”
"I have an older brother, Colby," Ellie smiled softly, though it was gone in a moment, "He's been like a rock in my shitty life, I wouldn't even be alive without him but… he's a singer, so I don't get to see him that often because he's always on tour or something."
Florin stayed silent for a moment or two.
“It’s always hard when you don’t get to see family that often,” he begins, “or friends.” He adds. He’s debating on saying something else, but he can’t quite think of anything.
“When was the last time you saw him, if you don’t mind me asking?”
"Uh…" She chewed on her bottom lip, taking the time to think. She honestly didn't really know, "Not sure, I think is was about a year or more ago? It sounds bad that I can't remember but we're both so busy so he can't visit and vice versa. It sucks."
“That must be very hard..” He started. Florin fell silent for another few seconds. “I think the last time I saw my mum and dad was around 11 or so years ago. Maybe 10. I don’t really remember, just like you.”
He puts his hands in the pocket of his jacket, uncrossing his arms.
"I haven't seen my birth parents since I was ten. So that was eleven years ago now." She didn't like to think about the assholes who were her birth parents, preferring to not think about the emotional and physical abuse that went with them.
“So that’s something in common,” Florin closed his eyes again. “I don’t even remember what my parents look like, honestly. It’s really only faint memories; I know they exist, and yet I can’t remember either of them.” His tone was relatively unconcerned, he didn’t seem upset or happy with the whole thing. Just..blank.
“Of course, there’s also a reason for why I don’t remember them..” Florin mumbled, trailing off.
Ellie just caught the last comment Florin made, but made the choice to not mention it, "I remember mine, even though I'd do anything to get rid of those memories. I'd rather pretend they don't exist."
Florin could tell that parents were probably not a pleasant subject at this time. “How much more time?” He asked, looking back out to the window.
"About fifteen to ten minutes." She replied, turning up the radio. It was just the news, talking about the world affairs going on.
Florin nodded, glancing at the radio. It was weird to not hear anything of the Sedorians or the Sedori Front on the radio. Kind of refreshing, actually.
A question pops into mind. Maybe something to start up a new conversation.
“Have you ever been on a plane before?”
Ellie chuckled lightly, "I had to get over to America somehow. And Switzerland. And well… quite a few other places actually, most of them work related, sadly," She looked over for to Florin for a moment, "What about you?"
Florin would be visibly smiling right now if it weren’t for the fact the bottom half of his face was covered.
“I’ve flown one before. I used to be a pilot around 2 years ago.”
She raised an eyebrow, the side of her lips curling into a smile, "Seriously? That's so cool. Did you enjoy it? What was it like to be able to fly?"
“Interesting. It was a different experience overall. I suppose I enjoyed it, it was a job I was trained to do, so I did it.” Florin leaned back. “I almost knocked myself out a few times, though. I think once I actually did for at least a total of five seconds before I woke back up. Scary, but quite cool. Although, it’s not for everyone.”
"Wow… that's crazy. I could never do that, I get too motion sick and I'd just throw up over the controls. Not the best look if you want to be a pilot. I don't even think they'd let me near a plane if that happened."
“Well, it does take quite a bit of training. It’s a lot harder if you’re learning two separate fields in my case.” Florin looks out to the road ahead. “I never really got motion sickness on planes or anything like that. Now, when it comes to boats..”
“Boats are the worst,” Ellie replied, pulling into an old looking car park in front of a… well, it wasn’t an old building, but it was far from new, “I hate them, can’t do cruises because of it.”
“I can stand going on one for a little bit, but otherwise I don’t like boats that much.” Florin sat up slightly, eyeing the building. “We here?”