I believe large numbers of people have at least some talent as writers and storytellers, and that those talents can be strengthened and sharpened. -Stephen King, On Writing This is the writing blog of HIGHWINDY.
What happened to your main account? The highwindy one??
Hi there, Anon!
It’s been a while since I’ve used or otherwise updated this blog, huh. As far as my highwindy blog goes, I remade; recently, I remade again to shuffle what my main blog is (because I do a lot of FFXIV RP now and I wanted my FFXIV blog, not my personal, to be my main). I don’t use Tumblr a whole lot anymore even though I enjoy it a lot more than I do Twitter...
My writing these days is mostly just posted on Ao3 as ravenforged. I don’t think I’m ever going to mirror writing here or on FFN again because it’s a lot of trouble.
My current personal is @ravenforged and my main account is now @hellsbovnd, but it’s mostly FFXIV and not related to my writing endeavors! I’m going to make a Writeblr though for my original work (not to post, but probably to talk about it/shitpost/etc)
A/N: Merry Christmas! So, it's been a while since I touched this work, or even looked at it really. I honestly didn't think that it had been two years, but it was? Which. Is kind of a trip, and I doubt anyone's reading this anymore--or, that's what I would say, but also I still get notifications for kudos on this work from time to time.
Of Masks and Mirrors is a passion project of mine that i would love to see finished one day--hopefully by the end of 2019. I'm kind of ashamed that I let it fall to the wayside for so long, since at the time it was symbolic of what I could achieve; I'm an easily-distracted bean and got sucked into Final Fantasy XIV, though. A lot has happened in my life between the last word that I wrote in this story and now. A lot has changed with me and my writing process and the way I approach writing stories. In total, this story has over 150,000 words written down, many of which are obviously not published yet. And it only just started to enter its final act when I left off. In all, I have 37 chapters written. And I would be happy to share them with you all!
Despite the changes in my writing process, I do kind of want to finish Of Masks and Mirrors before the end of 2019. Yes, I did say 2019--despite the fact that we're still in 2018. Finishing something like this in a week when I have other things to worry about these days is a little ambitious, even though when this story came to me as easy as breathing did it might have been doable. I'm not going to go back and proof or edit any of the chapters I already have written simply because it would take forever, but I am going to go back and read what I already have written... Which, given the length of the work? Might take a while. But it's been so long that I don't remember where I was going, so I need to refresh my memory.
Chapters up to 37 will therefore be completely from the mind of the person I was when I first started writing this story.38 and onward will be from the mind of present me, so things may come across as a little bit odd once we get there. My writing style has changed a bit since I first wrote this, as has my conceptualization of stories such as these (both in the grand adventure aspect and the slowburn romance aspect). If you're still here: I hope that you continue to enjoy the ride! I'm going to be right there along with you.
24: [AO3] [FFN]
25: [AO3] [FFN]
Entire Work
XXIV. Same Sky
Three days. Three days in and she felt like a vast emptiness was gnawing at her heart. She wilted like a flower gone without water for a few days and much to Noel’s frustration she wouldn’t utter a word one way or another as to what she needed – not only that she didn’t need anything at all, which just seemed to confirm in his eyes that something was wrong and he needed to get to the bottom of it. But she knew he could do nothing for her, because what she needed, what she craved was simply not something that he could give her. She longed for Caius’s presence – and for his safety. The best Noel could give him was some reassurance, which was all well and good, but it was no replacement for her Guardian. And regardless of the immense amount of trust that Caius placed in him, Noel wasn’t her Guardian, either. Some other Yeul’s, a future incarnation’s perhaps.
But what was that saying? Good thing come to those who wait?
Something like that, anyway.
The afternoon was warm, almost unpleasantly so, but her clothes were light and the breeze coming off the water helped keep her from overheating even as she sat almost completely exposed on the sandy steps leading up to the NORA house. Life went on as usual inside, apart from, of course, the notable absence of Lebreau, Gadot, and Yuj. They’d left that morning with three young men and two young ladies carrying mean-looking guns that Maqui had tweaked a little just the previous day. They left Serah, Noel, and Snow to hold down the fort – and Maqui, of course, but he busied himself with domestic tasks away from the house and behind closed doors.
(Yeul had to wonder why he dressed in such heavy clothing during the summer on the beach…)
“Hey, Yeul. Had a feeling I’d find you out here.”
Yeul cast a glance over her shoulder at Noel – then let her gaze follow him as he took a seat on the steps beside her, about an arm’s length away. After a few moments, she turned her gaze first back out to the beach, where a few children who looked to be a bit older than her were at play, then to where the sea met the horizon. Not even the ghost of a smile graced her lips – and the dark-haired man frowned in response, prompting her once more:
“What’s up?”
Her lips parted for a moment, before she pressed them together and shook her head. “It’s nothing.”
She knew full well that it would take more than that to convince Noel – but nonetheless she settled on that for her final answer. ‘It’s nothing.’ It was never nothing. The seeress liked to think she understood why some things just needed to be done, liked to act like she was fine with things just being. She couldn’t intervene, not ever – at least, that’s how Caius had taught her, but that was before Etro’s intervention. The Caius that had taught her all of that was several centuries younger than the one Lightning left with just a few days ago, and somewhere along the way he’d seen it fit to act even where he was not allowed to. Otherwise, he would not have battled Lightning, as in her earliest visions; he would not have been sent back with the image of Etro’s Gate etched onto the back of his neck, as she knew him now. And sure enough, as she predicted, Noel didn’t buy it; instead, he arched an eyebrow and pressed further: “You sure?”
The corners of her lips twitched into the beginnings of a smile and she forced herself to nod. “At the least – nothing serious.”
Noel sighed a bit. “Well, alright – if you insist.” Pause. “Serah’s working on getting lunch ready. Anything you want in particular?”
Yeul shook her head in response. She couldn’t actually say she was all that hungry, actually… “You’re not waiting for Lebreau to return?” She couldn’t mask the sadness that crept into her voice – as wonderful as she was sure that Serah’s cooking was, Lebreau’s was just so—
“If we waited for Lebreau it’d be more like dinner. She and Gadot aren’t due back from their rounds until around four-thirty.”
“Oh. No, I don’t want anything in particular, then.” Yeul fell silent for a moment, lips parted but no sound escaping. “Noel?”
“Yeah?”
“What are they doing?” She pointed momentarily at the children on the beach, whom seemed preoccupied with keeping a ball up in the air and hitting it across a line in the sand – though actually, upon closer observation, the line seemed to be mostly ignored. Only a few of the children seemed to have a problem with it and the ones that didn’t laughed when they made a fuss before the game resumed in all its vigor.
“Having fun, looks like. Other than that, you got me.” He gave a noncommittal shrug and Yeul had to remind herself that Caius had met this boy centuries in the future, after the world had turned to ash. So he probably wasn’t the best person to ask, but he was… Caius’s stand-in, she supposed. And if Caius trusted him enough to leave her in his hands, then he must know something about something. That was just how it was. “You could go join them for a little bit if you want.”
Her heart very nearly skipped a beat and she looked at Noel as if he’d sprouted a pair of wings before regaining her composure. She rose slowly, then, brushing the sand off of her clothes – god, how did everything get so sandy? She wasn’t sure she liked beaches. She liked it when Caius took her to the mountains more, quite frankly. “No… That’s fine,” she replied. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep up with them anyway – well, she could keep up with her Guardian in all her travels just fine, but that was different. There wasn’t any hitting or running involved – and one of the kids slipped and fell in the sand just then and that only sealed the deal more than it already had. “I think – I’d rather stay here.”
Were her wants even of any consequence in the end? She supposed not as she ascended the steps and made her way back inside. The cat, sunning on the deck, acknowledged that she passd by with a quiet ‘mrrp’ and although she never turned, she could feel Noel’s gaze following her until she was out of sight. Serah greeted her warmly from the kitchen and resumed busying herself slicing up a cucumber; at the sound of her voice, Snow looked up and greeted Yeul as well, lowering his book into his lap. An afternoon nap sent his hair askew, although considering that he didn’t seem to do much with it except brush it out in the morning, that wasn’t saying a whole lot. She quickly learned that Snow’s hair was always a mess, although his bangs were partially clipped out of his face by way of some rather colorful hair pins (none of which matched anything else; the vibrant and various hues mostly just clashed against each other and against the navy button-down shirt and khaki shorts that he’d thrown on apparently simply within the interests of not lounging around in pajamas) at the moment. She offered him as genuine of a smile as she could manage in reply and took a seat across from him.
“It’s a scorcher out there, huh?” he prompted.
“Not as much as it could be,” she admitted, her indifference creeping into her voice. “It’s nice with the breeze. Some children are out there playing.”
“Really? Instead of doing the summer reading I assigned them?” Serah called from the kitchen, although she didn’t actually sound all that offended at the prospect. Kids would be kids, after all, and it was only extra credit insofar as she’d revealed from her rare chats with the others about her job. “You should join them, Yeul. All the kids in New Bodhum are really nice; I think you’d like them.”
“No, that’s fine. My leg’s been giving me trouble lately anyway.” As if to punctuate her point, she patted her knee – although it didn’t actually hurt at all and she had little, if any, trouble walking on it for the moment. “I’m not sure I’d be able to keep up.”
“Really? You always seemed to keep up with Caius just fine.”
“Walking with Caius does not involve as much running or jumping as they are doing…” She shrugged.
“Oh. Well, yeah, that’s true. Nevermind then.” She sighed a bit and set down her knife. “Is there anything we can do for you? Anything at all? Oh – and do you like ham?”
Yeul paused to process the questions for a moment before answering, “I’m fine for the moment. But thank you. I’ll let you know if anything changes.” She smiled. “And that’s the pink meat, isn’t it? I like the white meat better.”
“Turkey? Alright, then, turkey it is.”
The day passed slowly, lazily. Eventually the children playing on the beach went home, and eventually Lebreau and the rest all returned and Yeul slipped into Noel’s room for some peace and quiet. It was messy, and despite being easily the smallest room of the house and connected to the main room only by a narrow hallway it had little lack of natural light – perhaps for the fact that half the wall facing out to the beach was window. However, it was still rather shady while the blinds were drawn as they usually were, and Yeul opened them after some struggle so that she wasn’t holed up in the dark. The first night, Noel had offered to give up his bed for her and she hastily declined, instead opting to sleep on the couch.
The room, despite the relatively short amount of time he’d been living there, spoke distinctly of him; it was disorganized and spare clothes were strewn across the floor. All of them clean, of course, so it was perfectly fine. His swords were tucked away in a corner near his bed, on the side where there was no room to fit the night stand – and the furniture was carved entirely out of dark wood, even including the simple bookshelves that didn’t seem to match anything else in terms of aesthetic, being basic towers of wood rather than anything elegant or beach-y. The carpet would have been soft under her feet had she the presence of mind to remove her shoes; the linens were off-white and the bed had been left unmade in the morning but they looked soft and alluring nonetheless. Prior to Noel’s arrival, it seemed to be both a guest room (presumably for whichever NORA members wound up staying the night, or something) and a storage room because untouched books lined the shelves, and they looked a bit dusty – and a locked trunk was situated underneath the window.
Even through the walls, the conversations in the main room could be heard as a faint buzz. She pulled herself up onto the trunk and just sat there for a while, letting her eyes slip closed and letting her back rest against the window. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but the minute hand of the clock above the nightstand had moved on to the next number in the sequence before Noel entered – and she was a bit disappointed that her alone time was interrupted but then she reminded herself that this was his room. “So this is where you got off to,” he said, waving at her before setting to rummaging through the nightstand drawers, apparently looking for something – before he pulled out a small writing tablet and a box of pens. Task accomplished, he rose and paused before turning to the seeress again and continuing, “Hey, Yeul, you know you can talk to me if you need – or want – to, right?”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Yes. That much is clear.”
He approached tentatively after setting the retrieved objects on the bed. When he got to be about a foot away, he knelt so that they were at more or less eye-level and he offered a warm smile, which she did not return. “I know there’s something bothering you, right? If you need to talk to me about it, then you can.”
Yeul paused, folding her hands in her lap. “I promised Caius that I wouldn’t speak of… Some things.”
“Like your visions, right?”
She sucked in a breath, covering her mouth.
“That’s what I thought,” Noel said with a sigh. “You can tell ‘em to me, y’know. I’ve already seen recordings of my share.”
She chewed on her lower lip for a moment. Could she really? … Well, what harm would it do? Noel and Caius – they seemed pretty close. Caius spoke positively of him for the most part, and they seemed to have some history. So she parted her lips and told him in a whisper of the vision that she’d had the night after she’d first met everyone at the NORA house and of the promise she’d gotten him to make the night that he’d assisted everyone in killing the ziz.
“Ah, so that’s it, huh… Guess I can see why you’d be worried,” he murmured in return, letting one of his hands rest over hers. “Caius is strong, though. And immortal. He can take anything this world’s got and then some. He’ll make it back in one piece, or my name’s not Noel Kreiss.”
“But – if he can’t, then…” She didn’t want to think about what would happen if he just… Never came back. If one day Lightning turned up, Focus completed and with Caius missing from her side. Yeul swallowed the knot forming in her throat, fought to bite back the tears that formed in her eyes.
“No buts. He’s comin’ back, come hell or high water.” He paused, blinking. “Sorry, pardon my language. But he’s got Lightning with him, y’know? When I first met her, she was holding him off in Valhalla all on her own. So even if something crazy happens and he’s physically incapable of making it back himself, she’ll drag him back. Alright?”
She nodded, although a bit reluctantly. “Yes – thank you, Noel.”
“It’s what I do. Hey, we’re gonna start a game of pictionary out there; do you want to join us?”
She considered this for a moment before nodding once more. “I will be with you in a few moments.”
XXV. Anomaly
How wonderful it must have been to have an eidolon whom was content to walk among mortals. Not in a profound sort of way, but Bahamut loathed to let his feet grace the earth, preferring to feel the wind beneath his wings – while Odin seemed to have no such complaints as he trotted alongside Caius with Lightning upon his back. It didn’t make their journey any easier for them not to ride their respective eidolons, but it was certainly easier to take in all of the scenery and appreciate the local wildlife if they went along at a more leisurely pace, he supposed. Plus, he was just about tired of carrying that backpack with him – the one Lightning insisted on giving him at the beginning of their journey, although he was certainly thankful now that they carried water with them – but not thankful enough to admit that he was, even despite Lightning poking fun at him when he took perhaps a longer sip than necessary from either one of their plastic water bottles (newly filled as of that morning in a near-by, meandering river and only just suitable for drinking thanks to those tablets she brought along) or his thermos.
The stubby shoots of grass underfoot was either naturally or had faded into a yellow-green color and crunched underneath his boots; the sky was impossibly blue and clear above them and the sun was damn hot. Not unpleasant, though, as long as they kept moving. Some larger creatures native to the badlands meandered about, although they didn’t seem to be too interested in the travelers; a few mild-mannered woodwraiths wandered on the horizon among the buttes and hoodoos that had started rising up – a sign that they were on the right track, to be sure. Although Caius had not walked this path enough times with the Yeuls of past and future to say properly how far they were from Taejin’s Tower in terms of distance, he figured that by sunset two days from then, they’d be at its gate. Dahaka already dealt with by Lightning during her time as a Pulse l’Cie, it would be smooth-sailing down to Oerba from there, and then across to the world beyond.
And then they could deal with their Focus. And then he would claim his reward, whatever it may be – but the closer they got, the more he thought to speculate, to mull over the possibilities of what Etro could offer. Yeul’s freedom? The final rest of his cursed soul? Something more; something less? She was a goddess, and she’d given special attentions to her very favorite of her ‘little things’ before (although to disastrous results thus far, and it seemed that as soon as she grew tired of their escapades she cast them aside like broken toys if his unanswered prayers during the first century or so of his nightmare was anything to go by). He hoped that this time, he’d get a choice in the matter, unlike when he’d been ‘rewarded’ for so valiantly defending Yeul and Paddra with Etro’s own heart being forced into his chest.
Broad-winged, dark-feathered birds circled overhead before being scooped up in the jaws of an amphisbaena.
Much of the morning’s journey was, of course, spent in relative silence, although they gradually got more talkative an hour or two the sun reached its apex at high noon. Lightning dismissed Odin around then, too, opting to walk alongside Caius, although the pace was in no way lessened and the weight returned to his back given that Lightning herself was far less generous about carrying things for him than her eidolon was. Which, he supposed, was fair enough. They finally broke the silence when they stopped to replenish their water at a mid-size pond that some xolotl lazed around; the contents of their water bottles as they were poured into their thermoses before they were refilled and Lightning dropped in two water purification tablets (to accommodate for how murky the water appeared initially, apparently – although close to the center, where she’d collected it, it ran clearer than crystal).
“They don’t seem interested in making us lunch,” Lightning muttered, and Caius acknowledged it with a grunt.
“I don’t know how it is on Cocoon, but the woodwraiths of Pulse are generally content to leave others alone. And are generally herbivorous.”
“All the ones I’ve heard of have been pretty nasty. Jabberwockies and bandersnatches – the ones I fought, anyway – were aggressive, and about every year there was some horror story about a supposedly-good-natured researcher getting gored by an enki or enlil,” she replied, and it was obvious that she meant ‘good-natured’ in the absolute loosest sense of the term.
“I didn’t mean to imply that xolotl wouldn’t gore you if you pushed them far enough.”
“Reassuring.”
“I do my best. They are generally docile, though; I promise.”
“I hope so. They’re almost half the size of Bahamut.”
He shrugged; honestly, he’d pin them at around a third of the size of Bahamut each, but whatever Lightning wanted to believe. “We’ll keep our distance from any we run into if it’ll put your mind at ease.”
This suggestion was taken quietly – and Caius couldn’t be any more thankful for it. They set out on their way then, leaving the pond and the woodwraiths behind and resuming their trek over the badlands. A far more open expanse than what could generally be found around New Bodhum, the monsters (and animals) had more room to wander and grow – and that went for woodwraiths and other denizens alike. Packs of mánagarmr roamed where normally the stouter gorgonopsids would find purchase on less arid lands, headed by the larger, more strongly-built, more aggressive, and more colorful amam; often these packs thought it wise to mess with Lightning or with Caius and found their sides sliced open in return. Those that were left ran off when their leaders were struck down, and they were more annoying than an actual threat – which, he supposed, was fortunate given Gran Pulse’s ever-so-great capacity to have its inhabitants killed.
“This way,” Lightning urged when not one but two behemoths, colored deep olive, raced toward a group of grazing xolotl several yards ahead, leaving their mánagarmr assailants confused and in the dust. To punctuate her statement, she jerked her head to the side, and Caius laughed a bit in response, pausing for a moment.
“Kaiser behemoths are nothing, Lightning.”
“I’d rather not get involved with them. Not when it’s just the two of us.” And there were two of them. Her jaw set and a determined spark flashed in her eyes – but after a moment that faded. “We’ve got ground to cover. Best not to waste our time standing around or fighting when we don’t need to.”
He let out an amused hum, lips quirking into a smirk before he obliged her and started walking to the side, giving the battle before them a wide berth. Lightning followed in his wake, Blazefire Saber drawn, and Caius tugged the Organyx free of his sling with a bit more effort. He longed for his greatsword, honestly; the blade could cleave through stone and bone like a hit knife might cut butter and even after Lightning’s little lessons he had a feeling it would still feel more natural in his hands than the small gunblade he’d been provided with. The Guardian spared short glances over his shoulder at the rose-haired woman, but she didn’t return them – her blue eyes were fixed on the behemoths and xolotl, and every curve and lane in her body was coiled like a spring, set on edge, ready to act in the blink of an eye.
Admirable how prepared she always was – but unnecessary in the end, between the two of them and the heart beating in both of their chests. A plume of flame, visible even in the daylight, ignited the ground at a behemoth’s feet upon an xolotl’s command and as it spread it drew a line in the dry grass, but progressed no farther than three yards in either direction. The xolotl used the flames as their opening to flee and, far faster than one would likely expect for such a stocky creature. Sprinting around the fire, the behemoths attempted to catch their prey once more, but to no avail – it seemed that the woodwraiths won that round and the behemoths roared, perhaps out of frustration, perhaps out of anger, but who could truly know for sure? They paced around each other for several moments, as perhaps Caius and Lightning had in Valhalla a few times, before angry golden eyes fixed on the travelers.
“We may have trouble,” Lightning said, and Caius just nodded – no sudden moves, no nothing. They paused in their path and shared a knowing glance just before the behemoths took off toward them. Faster than most – “I’ll take the one on the left.”
He nodded, raising his blade. Three seconds.
She spread her legs and lowered her stance, drawing one hand in to her chest and brandishing her blade with the other. Two seconds.
The behemoths bared their fangs and roared. One second.
Zero.
Lightning earned her name, skirting out of the way of one behemoth’s claws and giving herself a bit of space before firing several rounds into the beast’s shoulder. She let herself slip into battle mode, undaunted by the adversary before her and unconcerned for the moment about Caius’s antics with his foe. She kept her distance, casting magic – the most powerful stuff she could muster without helping the damn thing, so second-tier magic was about the best she could get with Thundaga out of the question – and, when she could, fired bullets at it. Each round sent her torso back a bit, and after the clip was finally empty she switched the Blazefire Saber back into its blade form with a flick of the wrist and charged, plunging the tip straight into the beasts neck as it began to stand – and its last hurrah was cut just short as warm, thick, bright crimson blood spurted out of its carotid and pooled below the briefly-twitching beast.
The right behemoth, on the other hand, caught Caius head-on, but that didn’t mean much trouble for him – he caught the behemoth’s crest sharp-edge first, cutting his own hand open in the process and being pushed back several feet, but it served as good leverage to slam the beast’s jaw into the ground, stunning it a moment and allowing him a chance to hop up on its back. The beast bucked once, twice, trying to throw the Guardian off – but he let out a wicked laugh, perhaps involuntarily, before digging the Organyx into the behemoth’s right hind leg, the blade carving through thick hide and tough muscle with some difficulty before he pulled the blade out. Caius readied himself to repeat the procedure before he was sent flying as the beast threw him off and stood up, resting little weight on its injured leg but no less of a threat for it. The beast ripped its crest off of its head and out of its back as power surged through every part of its body, partially knitting together its wound and forging a wicked-looking saw blade out of the excess.
A curse slipped past his lips as the beast roared at him, and instinctively he took a half-step back, then moved to put as much space between him and the beast as possible while still being in the fray of battle. His gunblade, bloodied, was returned to its rightful place; then, he drew in one hand to his chest before letting off a number of graviton spells – which collided with the behemoth with sickening cracks and low thuds, as if the spheres of lavender light were solid objects at all. Blackened runes danced in the air around his hands as Lightning joined the fray against his prey, the other beast apparently felled. And he shouted at her to get back when he let the ancient magic loose – and it took a fair amount of willpower to keep the words of the spell as he had first learned them in his head and away from his lips as the behemoth was assailed by winds strong enough to kick up dust and debris, more than any aero spell at any level could carry. His eyes briefly glowed a wicked crimson and Lightning huddled on the ground, covering her head with her hands as the razor-sharp winds bit and slashed at anything they could reach, though the beast seemed more damaged by the debris and being slammed into the ground by the winds than the winds themselves.
When the spell broke it was like coming down off a high – the glow behind his eyes dissipated and he felt all the air rush out of him as if he’d just taken a blow straight to the chest, regardless of his armor. His head spun and his mind swam and out of the corner of his eye he saw Lightning rise and pass some healing light in his direction – and the cool tendrils wove themselves into his body briefly before fading away after finding that there were no physical wounds to heal. Caius took a moment, and only a moment to gather himself and pull himself to his feet, off of his knees – he stood just in time to duck out of the way of a slash of the behemoth’s blade, though he swore it stole a few hairs from his head as it travelled in its arc.
Lightning was not as lucky, if the sharp screech she let out was anything to go by – though it quickly fell away and was replaced by silence as she hit the ground with a dull thud and steeled Caius’s determination to finish this. He summoned his black runes again – different ones this time, ones that let Bahamut whisper at the back of his mind, ones that the eidolon himself often briefly employed in his ultimate attack. Confined within his human body, Caius couldn’t summon such vast amounts of energy, but he could come close: he could let the runes burn and lick at his skin while leaving no marks, let the heat rise in his throat.
And he could let any man or beast that stood in his way burn.
Flames engulfed the behemoth and it roared, flailing and slashing at Caius as the fire ate away at its form – and the scent of burning skin and flesh filled his nostrils, almost rancid. The flames did not die away until the beast was left dead on the ground, skin charred and blood bubbling to the surface as it came to a boil. His gaze lingered on the beast for a few moments before he staggered over to Lightning’s corpse, resting several yards away with its chest flayed open just below the bottom rib and the Blazefire Saber still clutched tight enough in its hand to turn its knuckles white. Bright, sticky blood stained that once dazzling-white vest of hers crimson and just within the gash the damage was clearly visible – and perhaps were he a few centuries younger he would have had to avert his eyes, or if he’d lost all his years entirely perhaps he would have turned away and retched in response to the sight and the scent. Any wider and her body would probably have had trouble keeping all of her organs inside. She reeked of death and her eyes were glazed over and half-lidded with it, but her half of the heart started to glow faintly in her chest when he drew near – and then even brighter when he did her the courtesy of closing her eyes for her.
Caius scooped Etro’s champion up in his arms, unfettered by the blood even as droplets of it fell and landed on his boots – a few staining the pristine fur lining them. Noticeably heavier than any Yeul he’d had to carry to a final resting place, but still light as a feather to the Guardian, Lightning’s form was easy enough to mold – and it conformed to his sharp angles like a puzzle piece meeting its mate. And toward the horizon he started – and after a while he found himself wishing that she would awaken already—
But for as long as he walked, her eyes never flickered open.
“I can’t… Stop now…”
She returned to the world through a cold, black haze slowly. Her heart almost beat out of her chest when nothing in particular came into view before she caught sight of a light, off in the distance – and as her eyes slowly adjusted she came to realize that Caius had carried her someplace. He wasn’t immediately in view, but she could feel him close by.
Not in any deep spiritual way or anything. If she could, she would be a bit worried. Roughened fingertips traced her jawline and she shifted into the touch with a groan. Her head seemed to be propped up in his lap, which she honestly had somewhat of a problem with, but she couldn’t think clearly enough to care. She allowed the gentle touches to continue as she slowly came to and assessed her physical condition – her wound had knitted itself together and nothing seemed to be out of place when she shifted onto her side, letting her head rest over Caius’s hand. All five senses seemed to be functioning just fine; she was a little stiff and a lot nauseous but no worse for the wear. Her gunblade and backpack at the fringes of her vision, far out of reach, and it seemed that Caius had taken the liberty of setting up camp despite the lasting daylight outside.
“You were dead for two and a half hours.”
She choked out a laugh, though it sounded rough enough from her throat that she initially wasn’t sure it was hers. “What, no ‘I’m glad you’re alright’?”
A suppressed laugh bubbled from his lips as a hum, deep and quiet. “You weren’t dead that long the first time,” he replied, “and I always woke up in a matter of minutes.” She could barely, just barely, detect a hint of concern in his voice, and absently he let his other hand brush her bangs away from her face.
She rolled out of his lap and immediately her body started aching and the world started spinning. She clutched her head in response with a low groan. “Probably nothin’ t’ worry about.” Pause, and she squeezed her eyes shut. “Ugh, god. I think I’m gonna be sick.”
“Don’t do that here.”
“Guh.”
She rolled onto her stomach and laid there for several moments before skulking toward the entrance of the small cave Caius tucked them away into, and when she almost tripped in a small put dug by something or other she bent over it, clutching her belly as if it would make the nausea go away. It didn’t, of course, but nothing came up, either, even after several moments of dry heaving and gagging and misery. Tears welled up at the corners of her eyes as it continued and somewhere at the back of her mind she must have registered the sound of Caius approaching because she didn’t flinch when he brushed her hair over her shoulders so that it was out of the way just in case anything did happen to come up. A firm hand patted her between her shoulder blades a few times and he hushed her when she made some sort of noise – not quite of protest, not quite of sorrow, more an emotion she couldn’t pinpoint precisely but was certainly foreign to her and certainly served to tie her stomach into awful knots.
“You’re going to be alright,” he said, distinctly as if the woman he were talking to weren’t Lightning. As if he were soothing a child – as if he were talking to Yeul.
She didn’t have it in her to be offended. “Is this normal?” she forced out while she made an attempt to catch her breath.
“Not in my experience,” he replied before offering her a familiar herb. “Eat this.”
Lightning hesitated before she took the leaf and forced herself to pop it into her mouth. It didn’t taste any better than it had the first time, but giving her mouth something to do seemed to keep her from retching and the taste took her mind off the nausea – although it would probably be several minutes before the mint worked in any capacity.
“We’ll rest here until you’ve recovered.”
And at that, she did make a noise of actual protest. “We need to get to Oerba.” The words came out sounding weaker than she’d hoped they would have, and Caius smiled at her – a smile borne of pity and little else that she could surmise, a smile that would have infuriated her if only she were feeling more up to argue with him. But as strong-willed as he was, she knew that in her current state, arguing would likely get her nowhere, especially since she couldn’t very well physically drag him along like she probably could otherwise. Once it was clear that she wasn’t going to retch anymore, she let herself be lead away by the Guardian, until he urged her to lay down on one of the yakshini robes that he’d laid out. His hand didn’t leave her back until she was all settled in.
“I’m going to find us some food and water. I’ll return shortly.”
“I’m not a child. Also not hungry.”
“You’re going to eat something whether you want to or not.”
“Mmn. No meat.”
He could have laughed at her, but instead he nodded. “No meat,” he repeated. The Guardian lingered for a few moments longer before it became clear that she had no more requests to make and he rose from his place beside her.
Lightning’s gaze followed him for several moments as he scooped up the bag and made his way to the entrance before Bahamut, little more than a black blue, whisked him away at the cave’s entrance. And then she was alone.
It felt like an eternity before she had the heart to swallow the mint leaf; her eyelids felt heavy but not heavy enough to prompt her to sleep. As far as she could tell, there was still plenty of daylight left. Which was a shame; she really would have liked to cover more ground, but if Caius had anything to say about it then what she would have liked didn’t matter. She wiggled out of her ruined vest, the blood not even dry for how much had soaked into the fabric and the AMP technology woven into the fabric yet to mend the very prominent tear. Maybe it’d been ruined when she died, two and a half hours ago. Maybe it just needed to recharge in the sun for a while. Maybe the poor thing finally went kaput for how much abuse it had taken both as her time as a Pulse l’Cie and recently. No matter the case, she chucked it to the opposite wall.
Two and a half hours. That was a long time – far too long. When Caius killed her, she’d awoken about twenty minutes later no worse for the wear. All the times she’d killed Caius in Valhalla, he was up and about in even less than that, maybe five, maybe ten. But then, it was probably easier for the Heart to fix a shattered spine and a broken skull than it was to mend muscle and guts and then regenerate all the blood that was lost. She dragged two fingers across where the wound once was – although the wide, ugly gash had been replaced with smooth skin before she’d woken up. Tender to the touch; if she applied pressure then a dull wave of pain started to eat at her nerves. Even a weak Cure spell didn’t do much to help it – or at least, not for long. The cool tendrils of the spell wound through her body just fine, and lingered where the damage had once been but as soon as they left it was back to being stiff and a little bit tingly, although the heat was gone until she found herself unable to resist lightly pressing a finger or two to that spot, as if anything would have changed.
Her gunblade was collapsed and piled with the rest of their supplies to her left but even in light of the comfort it would have brought her to have it in her hands and just feel its familiar weight, she couldn’t bring herself to reach for it. Part of her wished Caius would return, comfort her like he might comfort an ill Yeul. She’d gotten a taste of it briefly but didn’t realize that she’d appreciated it until he was long gone and it dawned on her that she’d probably shot any chance that he would continue treating her so nicely with her harsh words and insistences that she was absolutely fine. Like hell she’d request it; she was Lightning. Ex-soldier, former Pulse l’Cie, defier of fate, champion of Etro. Lightning didn’t request special treatment.
She just took whatever hand life happened to deal her and made the best she could out of it.
That was just the way things were.
Caius returned sometime later and roused her out of a dreamless, shallow sleep. Lightning was certain that he’d said something about needing to drink something, but honestly her head wasn’t clear enough to be absolutely certain until she pulled herself into an upright sitting position and, promptly, Caius thrust a refilled water bottle into her hands and urged her to drink. She complied with some hesitation; the taste of the purification tablets lingered in the water but she was fairly confident that Caius wouldn’t have urged her to drink from the bottle if the water were unsafe. Nonetheless, despite the taste, it was rather refreshing and several small sips later she was glad she complied.
Their lunch (what a rare occurrence, that they would actually sit down and have lunch instead of eat on the road!) was comprised mostly of mildly sour, deep violet berries that insofar as appearance went, reminded her of the blackberries that had been common in grocery stores (and, well, wherever they grew naturally, she supposed) inside Cocoon – but given where they were traveling, were assuredly not actually blackberries. Along with those, not much else; she had specifically requested no meat but she didn’t think that Caius would extend that command to himself, everything given. Perhaps he intended to hunt for himself later. She didn’t really care to ask. But figs – she was surprised that he’d managed to get some figs for them, and honestly she wondered exactly how far he’d carried her in the wake of her death. Far enough for figs. She was never a huge fan of them, if only for their texture, but their sweetness was much appreciated and she devoured four plump ones, leaving the six scrawny ones remaining for Caius to enjoy (which he did heartily and quietly, skin and all).
“I’m feeling better,” she attempted, and Caius only smirked and shook his head in response.
“Rest. We are not pressed for time.”
Of course. “Don’t you want to go back to Yeul?”
“I do. But it is a simple matter to cover lost ground; you’ll be more of a hindrance than anything else if you can’t keep up.”
She pressed her lips together, eyebrows lowering ever-so-slightly. “There’s still daylight. What do you honestly expect to do in the meantime?”
Really, what? It wasn’t like they were back at the house or anything; they were out in the wilds of Gran Pulse. And neither had really thought to bring any form of entertainment with them, for that matter. But the smirk on Caius’s lips did not fade, did not even waver. “I’m sure making sure you recover will take up some time.”
‘Do you think this is a game?’ she wanted to ask. “I’m fine,” she said instead.
“You were out for two and a half hours. You were ill when you woke up. Honestly, Lightning, you expect me to believe you’ve already made a full recovery?”
“If I say I’m fine, then I’m—”
“Are you in pain?” The smirk faded.
Lightning froze, dropping one hand to her healed-over wound without thinking. “No.”
Amethyst eyes flashed; Caius tilted his chin up almost imperceptibly while his lips set into a frown. No use trying to deceive him, she supposed; Yeul was only ever a child, she reminded herself, and he probably knew all the tricks in the book – even better than she knew any of Serah’s probably, given that she distinctly remembered falling for a few way-back-when. But he didn’t call her on it, much to her surprise; instead, he simply said: “If nothing else, give me the luxury of overcaution, just for today. We will leave before the sun rises tomorrow morning.”
She chewed on her lower lip for a moment before she conceded with a curt nod of the head. She laid back on the robe and traced a pattern with her fingers over the soft, crimson material, tearing her eyes away from the man across from her for several moments. “You didn’t answer my initial question,” she muttered, and Caius let out an amused noise. “You really expect me to just – lay down and sleep for the rest of the day and night?”
“No,” he admitted with a noncommittal shrug after retrieving a bone-carved comb from a small pouch that until then, she didn’t even realize was there (hidden beneath the decorative leather piece attached to his armor just below the small of his back) and pulling out the bone-carved comb. He looked it over for several moments before undoing his headband and starting to remove his feathers – but notably, not his beads; the golden piece that held the long, violet strip of fabric together in place of a knot clattered to the stone floor of their little grotto, followed by his headband itself (which he had no problem letting fall into a heap in the dust) and the feathers, once their clear beads were freed from their strands of hair. “If you are truly feeling up for it then we can go hiking. The stars will come out later—” he paused, the ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips and he ran the comb through his hair several times—“if you would care to indulge yourself in my ramblings again. All I ask is that you take it easy until morning and give your body time to recover.”
She grumbled, something like “Yeah, sure, whatever,” before rising to her feet. Caius’s eyes followed her and, after a moment, he set his comb down and slipped his headband back on – although the feathers remained out of his hair for the moment. Lightning was too busy trying to keep the world from spinning on account of the fact that perhaps she had risen a bit too fast to notice – but after her head stopped pounding, she retrieved her gunblade and returned it to its rightful place in its sling. After a moment’s consideration, she picked up and slung the backpack over her shoulder as well. And she cast a fleeting glance toward her white vest, still lying in a heap, before picking that up too – but she didn’t put it on, instead looking over the damage. The tear in the material seemed a fraction smaller than before, and the blood had cooled and turned from a bright red to a much more faded shade – but it was still sticky to the touch. She made a face at it before casting her gaze to Caius.
As she wished he would, he replied, “There’s a spring you can wash it in nearby.”
word count: 2102
fandom: final fantasy xiii-2
relationship?: CaiRai duh! ... Kind of? It’s 5am, let me live.
a/n: I’m not dead just sleeping and distracted. I... need to figure out how to get from point A to point B in order to finish off Of Masks and Mirrors before publishing the rest, but in the meantime here’s this!
To fall in the star is to be nothingness
To escape is to be empty.
Fall into the star and then we won't exist
Or escape into the nothing
This battle was simultaneously their first, and their last. The next one would be just the same, but Caius probably wouldn’t have minded if this battle stood as the permanent record. Under the timeless gray skies of Valhalla, where a mockery of daylight only shone through the cloud cover to provide light in the gloom and the dust of battle, the city crumbled beneath them. Caius found himself briefly winded – an impressive feat in and of itself – after being thrown straight downward and out of the sky, crashing through several thick slabs of concrete that comprised seven stories of one of the skyscrapers in the inner-city of Valhalla, if it had any denizens to give any regions proper meanings. The dust drifted down as a shaft of light shone through the hole he’d left, several times bigger than he himself was.
Violet eyes blinked past the haze, and he reached for his sword. Things were quiet, for the moment – as they often were after he’d been incapacitated. Though tireless in his quest, the same could not be said to his rival; something always stopped her. Something inside her refused to deal a decisive blow, and it came up a few times during their bouts as a subject to taunt her with – which, if they were close enough, usually ended with her spitting in his face (gross!). He could shrug such crudeness off with ease, of course; it was but a feeble act of defiance, one more effort to delay the inevitable. Their war was just as much psychological, waged with words just as much as it was with swords.
The dust had scarcely even started to settle before he was reaching for his sword to pull himself up. After a brief fit of coughing when some of the concrete dust found its way into his lungs, he was on his feet again, supporting his weight with a blade that looked far too sinister to be used as a cane.
“Wings of blackest night…”
The words on his lips were barely more than a mumble – and for what it was that he meant to do, they were hardly necessary. The beginning of an incantation he’d learned back in his days as a Paddraean l’Cie, when he’d succeeded his predecessor as Yeul’s guardian. When the various priests and clergy, lesser followers of Etro and those who helped the young Seeress with more worldly duties, tore his eidolith from his brand and forced him to faced his demons – horribly insignificant to the troubles that plagued his mind and heart now, over fourteen hundred years later.
But it provided him familiar comfort as Bahamut’s wings tore from his body and the Guardian and eidolon both became melded as one under a veil of thick black smoke, stirred by gale-force winds that shook the building’s foundations and carried away the sound he made when the dark dragon tore his flesh and turn his body inside-out. But he wouldn’t die, not from this – if it were that easy, if he’d had his way, then this would have been his end hundreds of years ago.
He made his swift ascent, and took the smoke with him, the veil only dispelled when he was clear of the roof. Lightning awaited him, immediately on guard and ready to block his crushing claws with Odin’s blades. She shook with the effort of keeping him at bay, and a sound halfway between the laughter of a man and the bestial roar of a dragon echoed across the cityscape. He pulled his claws back and took a backhanded swipe at her with his off-hand, tossing her like a ragdoll to a roof two buildings over. She landed with a dull thud, the breath knocked out of her. Now it was his turn to wait – wait for her retribution.
Of course, it was hardly retribution, as he welcomed it and he knew as well as she that she had chosen to engage in a war of attrition that she could not win. No amount of begging; no amount of praying; no amount of good intentions or good-old-fashioned blood, sweat, or tears would change the fact that he had the upper hand. He would not be denied victory forever.
He glided over to her on silent wings, now-crimson eyes glowing brighter in lieu of being able to smile upon seeing that she’d left a red streak behind on the roof when she’d landed and skidded. She laid on her stomach now, her gunblade laying several feet away from her outstretched hand. As his shadow loomed over her, she shifted – and maybe it was her joints that cracked, audibly. Maybe it was her armor. Either way, she let out her breath in a hiss ass instead of getting up, she continued to lay prone, her body having given out beneath her.
“Serah…” The name escaped her lips as little more than a rasp, and if she knew that he was there (which she certainly did; his shadow loomed over her and it was fairly impossible to miss the form of Chaos Bahamut digging its claws into the stone as it found a perch).
After a few moments of clinging to the side of the building with his claws, he stood beside her not as a monstrosity but as a man (well, as much of a man as he was these days; even before the world had died a slow, agonizing death, he’d earned the right to be called a monster by those who knew of him and his myriad deeds and his unwavering and singular dedication to the Seeress of long-fallen Paddra), his form coalescing beside her in wisps of black smoke and the crimson glow behind his eyes and in his chest subsiding. He stuck the blade of his sword in the concrete only a foot away from her face, and she sucked her breath in more on reflex than out of any real fear.
(Perish the thought.)
She kept her gaze fixed on his towering frame as she crawled into reach of her gunblade before she pulled her way to her feet, the daylight filtering down from the clouds and striking her armor in such a way that it seemed to glow, possessed now of a will of its own. A shock of red ran through rose-colored bangs and down the side of her face, over her eye where she’d impacted the building – and a similar shade of red marred her exposed shoulder. She was unsteady on her feet but hid it well enough by spreading her feet apart and bending her knees… Though she couldn’t hide the sloppy grip she kept on the Overture. A tired haze fell over her features, though the determined spark in her eyes told a much different story.
“Have you had enough?” The words came to Caius’s lips easily, flowing over his tongue smooth as honey as he took the first agonizingly slow step toward her. Then another, and he lifted his sword from the stone.
She took a moment to spit on the ground – saliva and blood. “Hardly.”
Her response made a low chuckle rise in his throat, and it was only a moment more before he was close enough to reach out for her—
But before he could fist his hand in her hair and force her head backwards to expose her throat, he found his own weight turned on him. In one swift motion, she cast him off of the roof, and by the time he realized what had happened, his back was arching mid-air as a scream tore from his throat, though the noise was drowned out by the peal of thunder that followed a bolt of electricity that she’d cast forth from her fingertips. The bolt arched downward, flowing through his body and scorching his flesh, his hair, and the leather armor he adorned himself in, then grounded itself by way of an exposed steel support beam. The current suspended him mid-air for a moment, and the world went black for a few moments. He was certain that he’d stopped breathing for a moment, but when he came to he was still falling – and not only that, Lightning had gotten the wise idea to bring down a building over him for good measure. But such things, she had to know, would serve as temporary solutions at best.
He held out his hands in front of him, and a clear sphere formed in his palms before it too-quickly and too-slowly expanded outward, catching the falling rubble in a sort of stasis while he continued to fall downward. A snap of his fingers, though, and he started falling upwards. He landed on the underside of a large chunk of concrete with a few rusted support rods jutting out of it in a crouch, his eyes slipping momentarily closed as a smirk crept to his lips. In the absence of gravity, his violet locks floated around his head and framed his face somewhat oddly, though it settled down (up?) into a logical sort of order, down over his shoulder with his bangs obscuring one eye after a moment.
Even in the absence of a usual war cry, he caught Lightning’s blade in his hand easily when she leapt at him off of a lower chunk of rubble. Caius met her gaze levelly, faint wrinkles forming in his sun-kissed skin as a devious sort of grin parted his lips and reached his eyes. The impact seemed to ripple through the air for a moment.
“Too slow.”
“We’ll see!” Using his grip for leverage, she twisted and flung herself upward, twisting the blade out of his grasp as she did so. In response, he reached for his sword only to find that it had fallen somewhere out of reach in the interim, and he cursed himself and propelled himself down from his perch to retrieve it just in the nick of time, as an explosive round from Lightning’s gunblade blew apart the platform he was standing on previously.
Making his way through the gravity-less dome he’d created was a little bit like swimming in air, though the speed at which he moved wasn’t reduced in the slightest; no, the similarity came in the way he maneuvered his body through the air as he made his way down to his sword. Lightning let off four more rounds, three of which he managed to avoid simply by twisting out of the way or stop the bullets midair entirely using the very same magic that created this space to begin with – but the last of which buried itself into his shoulder and made red-hot blood well up through the wound. His breath hissed through his teeth as white-hot pain momentarily blinded him, but the adrenaline rush that typically came with the heat of battle allowed him to push through.
Caius landed only long enough to use his own weight as leverage to pull his sword out of the stone in which it was once more embedded, but then he was flying up through the air again at where she was currently suspended. He brought his sword over his head with the intention of perhaps slicing her in two – which he knew wasn’t likely to succeed given that he knew she saw him coming, he was working with an injured shoulder, and there was only so much force he could put behind his swings when he had nothing to brace his weight on or use as leverage.
But what he didn’t see coming was the swift kick to his face when he got close. The heel of her armored boot came down on the bridge of his nose with a gut-churning crunch, and if the bullet wound wasn’t painful then oh, God, that sure was. The heat of his blood rushed forth, spurting over the lower half of his face as the fires of pain licked over the upper half, and he could feel his eyes starting to roll back in his head. He was fairly certain he blacked out for a few moments, because no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall dispelling the magic, and the next thing he could recall with any sort of clarity was laying flat on his back over a pile of rubble, with his nose bleeding profusely and almost certainly deformed, but his primary concern was that he could not feel his legs. Moving anything hurt immensely, and his breath came as a rasp; the world closed in around him horribly, agonizingly slowly, but before he finally stopped clinging to consciousness, he managed:
Hello! I stumbled upon your fic "Of Masks and Mirrors" and I was speechless. Probably the best Caius I've seen! You write him really well (and the other characters too, of course). I like to think his canon interpretation is the same as yours, because wow! So anyway, just wanted to say you are a pretty great writer.
Hi there! I’m glad you like it (and I’m sorry it hasn’t had much updating for a few months OTL I hit one of my horrible blocks and since I have the attention span of a sneeze it’s been so long that I actually have to reread the entirety of my own fic...) and I will definitely say I’m proud of how Caius is turning out in the story :’D Nice to know someone else feels the same!
Thanks so much for your kind words! Aaah I’m going to publish this publicly so that i can hang onto it forever if that’s ok!
CaiRai Week Prompt 1.
Word Count: 1073
Fandom: FFXIII trilogy obviously. Between XIII-2 and LR.
Author Notes: The crystal sheds its light silently...
She was a constant reminder of his victory.
It had been nice for the first few decades. Every so ofted, he paid a visit to the late goddess’s throne to gaze upon her crystallized form, which stood as a lone sentinel at the top of the world he had created: a world without time, without death. And he’d gloat – with silence, of course, because there wasn’t anything he could say that he hadn’t told her before, and he felt his victory was best savored without spoken words. A smirk would creep to his lips. This world was one where all the Yeuls could live forever, simultaneously, and he could remain continually by their collective side.
This was as he intended, he told himself.
He was happy, he had little success deluding himself into believing.
Only fifty years in (if years could indeed be called years in a world where for people, time ceased to flow), it became clear that nothing of this world was any more than a shadow.
Even when all the conditions for his victory had been met, even with his end goal achieved… It still felt wrong. Empty somehow. Some of the Yeuls thanked him for and applauded his efforts; others condemned them and resented him for what he’d done. At least one out of the hundreds of them regarded him as a disgrace to each and every one of the titles he had earned in life. And then there was a portion of the Yeuls who knew of his deeds only through the collective, or through visions they had had in life; those Yeuls predated even him by several lifetimes. Those were the most crushing of all; rejection or adoration, he could handle, but indifference was something completely different altogether. But even given their different outlooks on him and their collective predicament, they all held the quality of being little more than shadows: formless wills and voices in the chaos that only manifested themselves physically when it was convenient.
(As for Caius himself, he was too used to having a body; simply melting into the ambient chaos that consumed the air of the temple remained strange and foreign to him until a few centuries into his captivity.)
As timelessness wound on, he found that what remained of the throne room was the only place that wasn’t completely claustrophobic. The air still reeked of chaos, but said chaos couldn’t seem to choke out the light that enveloped Lightning’s crystalline form (though not for lack of trying). He came to her first in the shadow of pride, then in mourning: in penance and forgiveness; to beg for mercy and to beg to end. But the crystal only shed its light silently, and the woman whom he once called “warrior goddess” with only the slightest bit of irony did not stir from her eternal slumber.
Kneeling before her, he sometimes came to wonder: who had been the true victor of their war? He, who sought the end of time and death in the name of freeing Yeul from her curse – or she, who opposed him at every turn in the name of atoning for her sins (as they were regarded as, by a wicked goddess) and now slept peacefully on the crystal throne?
“I’m... tired.”
The soft words slipped past his lips without him realizing for several moments – and he wouldn’t have realized had it not been for the voice of one Yeul behind him. The Yeul who witnessed his ascension to the position of Guardian, to be precise.
“Of what?” she said, and had Caius been predisposed to surprise, it probably would have given him a start. He responded only with silence and perhaps a slight shake of his head, indicating that he wished to have his words disregarded. What a senseless thing to let slip! Tired? Of what? Was this not what he wished for? If it were not, what could Lightning possibly do about it as a crystal sculpture? How could he grow tired of the girl he pledged his life to – vowed to protect and serve at any cost?
“If you wish me to,” Yeul began once more, her cold, green gaze unwavering on his back. “I can carve her out.”
“No.” His answer was immediate, and too quick, and she wasn’t sure what Yeul meant or why he was so opposed to it but he rose to his feet from his knees and half-turned to face her. Caius forced a smile. “I’m fine, Yeul. There’s no need to worry about me.”
She dispersed into the chaos and no Yeuls bothered him during his visits to his warrior goddess after that. And, of course, he learned to be more careful with his words – and instead of letting them slip through his lips, he buried them deep in the depths of his heart. They fit in nicely among centuries of pain and grief.
The years turned to decades and decades to centuries. Pride turned to despair which, in due time, faded and was replaced with simple resignation. “You brought this on yourself,” he could imagine her saying – and other similar admonishments, although he knew that she could never forgive him for what he’d done. He killed himself for his goals. This act, in turn, killed her sister – although Caius couldn’t say that he did not pity Serah.
I’m tired, he’d think to himself. And with those words, he’d realize he, too, was little more than a shadow in the light of her crystal, bound to the darkness now-forever, with no chance for rest. Ah, yes, this was his punishment. And he figured it made sense. After all, what was a shadow without light? Two sides of the same coin and, if they were to be lovers (he didn’t love her, he didn’t love her, he didn’t love her; this was the easiest of the lies he told to himself, as in a sea of rage, grief, and maybe a little hatred, and despite his admiration toward her beauty and skill in combat, he wasn’t quite sure he remembered what romantic love felt like), they would surely be star-crossed, as light and shadow were surely doomed never to touch or overlap.
Her crystal was his punishment. And his punishment was her reward. If she would be a goddess, he would be a demon. If he was to be darkness, then just as surely she was light.
Words: 5718
Author Notes: I live! I die! I live again!
Sorry for the break, people. I have been... absorbed in FFXIV. But here we are. I definitely need to get back to this fic; I forgot I even WROTE this chapter... But maybe that's because I started publishing this fic one year ago today! Awesome to realize that I've stuck with this project (...kinda...) for so long. If you have been through my #CaiRai Tag... You may have some insight as to why I now remember this is one of my favorite chapters ever. ahahahai'masap
Entire Work · AO3 · FFN
XXIII. Plains of Eternity
The second day came and went and by its end they had made it out of the woods and out of the mountains; by the third morning they had made it out to some open plains which Caius helpfully informed Lightning would subside into badlands as they approached the roost of the late fal’Cie Dahaka. But for the moment they were perched safely at the edge of the plains, where water fell from a high cliff into a pool lined with rocks and gravel before flowing toward Cocoon on its crystal throne. The previous evening, they took it upon themselves to bathe there, watching as the dirt and grime from their travels thus far peeled off of them – and Lightning wished she’d brought some shampoo at the time because it made her feel gross. They had bathed back-to-back, careful to keep their eyes fixed away from each other, and she knew deep down how… awkward it was, if awkward was the word. She finished up first and dried off with her half of the yakshini’s robe; Caius took a bit longer and she felt a pang of shame at how she couldn’t help but sneak a curious glance at his tall, muscular frame and yes – power oozed from each and every line of his body, even without that dark armor of his to make him even more intimidating than he already naturally was. His violet hair stuck to the back of his shoulders in a thick sheet, accenting through its utter absence the gradient that his hair seemed to have when it was dry – lighter, almost lavender at the ends, and deep violet at his roots. She supposed the layers must have something to do with it.
When he started to turn, every part of his body apparently satisfactorily scrubbed clean, she whipped her gaze away so fast she swore it could have made an audible sound and continued getting dressed. He only put on his underclothes after he, too, was dry (or, well, his body was dry; by the time he was clothed once more his hair was still damp even after he’d wrung the moisture out and he tied it back with the long strip of fabric he usually kept tied around his forehead), apparently content to leave the task of putting his armor back on for the morning. After they bathed they went about getting food – more river fish – and cooking it over the fire; they were both apparently content to leave this evening to the silence that grew between them, either for exhaustion or simply having nothing to say. Lightning had taken advantage of the chance, speculating on the future when this was done with and she would be free from Etro’s brand – of the stories she’d tell Serah and exactly what kind of congratulations she’d give to her and Snow at their wedding. She had, self-indulgently and a bit shamefully, fantasized about having her life back.
Finally, after so long.
It took them a while to get going in the morning, though, with Caius taking the time to slip back into his armor one piece at a time, and the process fascinated her for a bit before she grew antsy. She examined the glyphs etched onto either side of the decorative piece that, after she was done examining, he fastened with little difficulty just below the small of his back – she couldn’t read what they said but the message was the same on both sides. As they packed everything up, she inquired about it and he stiffened before simply shaking his head, and Lightning knew better than to press the matter further. She let it go, and it seemed like it was easily forgotten that it had ever come up at all. Once they were done packing up, they were back on their way – down the hill they’d camped the night on and on to the plains beyond. Three days in and she felt like they’d made pretty significant progress – even in light of the hostile terrain, what with rocky crags lined with dense foliage. It honestly felt outright liberating to be out on the open plains, and with nothing but gently rolling hills and grass for as far as the eye could see, she soon found herself falling out of her militaristic walk and into a steady jog, enjoying the way the wind toyed with her hair all the while.
Nothing like a morning run to get the blood pumping, really; her heart pounded in her chest and her lungs ached a little bit but not in the way that was painful, so she kept going. Caius kept pace easily enough for a while until he eventually decided to overtake her – and his legs could take him farther faster than hers could, given his stamina and his long strides. It was her turn to speed up to keep up with him, and he noted the gesture with a smirk. Where she was in a much brisker jog – the sort that she employed when she sought exercise rather than simply making haste to a destination, he was pretty relaxed about the whole thing. Her breath came in wonderful pants and after a while he shouted over to her from where he jogged a yard or two to her left – “Keeping up?”
Almost breathlessly, she replied, “This is nothing!” If it were lie, it would only have been on technical terms; it took some effort, sure, but it felt good. To run in open spaces after so long confined to the cramped, dead cityscape of Valhalla – after so long catching up with everyone and growing accustomed to the relatively stagnant life that that entailed (at least for as long as they’d been back in this era, until their ultimate departure) – after days navigating a maze of crags and trees and tangled roots. “I could probably – probably outpace you if I wanted!”
“If that’s a challenge, Lightning, it is an ill-conceived one.” He couldn’t keep the amusement out of his voice – and it was strange, hearing him actually almost… playful.
“Yeah? C’mon, let’s go – right now!” And with that she broke into a run, living up to her name and leaving Caius in the dust behind her for a few moments while he processed that it really was a challenge, and a serious one at that. She grinned, sucking in air through her teeth and releasing her breath through her nose, her arms pumping at her sides and her feet propelling her ever farther, hitting the soft grass and hard soil beneath her feet with audible thuds. Her heart pounded in her chest, her ears, her head; her lungs strained. It wasn’t long until she heard Caius’s footsteps hard on the ground beside her – and before she knew it, he’d passed her, having broken into a full-tilt sprint, teeth bared in a grin and violet locks and white-and-red feathers whipping behind him all the while. His beads seemed to be displaced from their usual place across his shoulders thanks to the motion, even – but the tails of his headband remained in position except where they were allowed to move, held just so by the armor at his collar.
She increased her pace further, until she just barely didn’t catch him and her lungs and heart started to protest, but with his eyes trained ahead, she drew the crystal rose out of her chest and drew her gunblade from her sling before pausing and pitching it forward, taking aim, and shattering it with a round that forced Caius to falter in his step as the rose-tinged summoning glyphs of her eidolon appeared mid-air and her trusty steed emerged from the ether. She paused and hopped on and Odin surpassed him easily – and he looked absolutely incredulous for a few long moments as he gazed at the sight beside him. Lightning smirked and hummed contentedly at him from her perch before they started to pull ahead of the Guardian.
“Foul!” he called after them, and she laughed in response. And after a moment, he called after them once more, panting, “Fine, if that’s how you want to be—!”
She didn’t even look back, but she knew he’d drawn his eidolith out of his neck and flung it into the heavens because a black cloud of smoke appeared in the sky above them and a black dragon materialized, and dipped behind them to pick up his master. When she saw Caius next, it was on the dragon’s back several yards away – enough to allow for Bahamut’s wingspan. The Guardian was bold enough not to sit but merely to crouch (not even a full kneel!) – and seeing both Caius and Bahamut together really put into perspective how absolutely massive the eidolon was. Fang’s Bahamut had been maybe two thirds the size of Caius’s, and even given that Caius was more or less a giant, Bahamut was still several times bigger than he was, whereas Odin was only about twice times Lightning’s height in his humanoid form.
This race was no longer really about the humans on the backs of their eidolons, though – not anymore, and after several moments Caius grew bold enough to stand upright on his eidolon’s back, briefly raising his hands to the heavens, apparently seeing fit to let the exhilaration flow freely through his veins. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him so passionate about something outside of battle, but it didn’t make her afraid, or uncomfortable, and he dropped back down into a crouch before Bahamut beneath him gave a mighty flap of his wings and ascended several feet into the air.
And they raced on and on toward eternity.
They took a break around high noon, their eidolons dismissed and their packs cast aside as they sprawled out on the grass, pants subsiding into deep, slow breaths. Lightning’s left hand was close enough to his right that they could touch fingertips if they really wanted to, but neither of them showed much interest in doing that, and for a long few moments he just laid there, eyes closed and feeling and smelling the grass beneath him and feeling the gentle breeze move over what little exposed skin he had. He stirred when she spoke – “Caius?”
He acknowledged her with a hum, opening his eyes and casting his gaze toward her. Her blue eyes were bright, clear – just like the sky above them, just like the sky that for a while he and Bahamut had soared high enough to touch while Lightning and Odin remained bound to the lands of Gran Pulse below. “Yes, Lightning?” When he spoke her name, it was different than before – and not without good reason, perhaps. He felt lighter – or perhaps just a little delirious from pushing his lungs to the point where they protested. He prided himself on his stamina, sure, but running great distances wasn’t something he made a habit of before Valhalla. If only because before, very few Yeuls were ever in a great hurry to get somewhere (which was likely part of the reason most of them did not like to see him become Chaos Bahamut, the other part being that they all held knowledge of the pain it caused him to do so, even though he didn’t necessarily mind…), so usually, walking would suffice.
“I hope you know that I won.”
“I beg to differ.”
“Differ all you want, won’t change a thing. But – we should do that again. Not now, but sometime. Maybe on our way back.”
“Absolutely.”
After a few more moments, they both pulled themselves into upright positions – and they heeded the low rumbles of warning that their stomachs gave them and Lightning pulled out one of her granola bars and split it between the two of them. Caius was initially hesitant to take it but one bite and he decided that the processed, packaged food that Cocoonites (well, Lightning) seemed to favor did something right, at least. It wasn’t overpoweringly sweet and really it tasted more like its apparent components than he expected at first – good for a snack, certainly. After that, they were up and on their way, their respective eidolons summoned once more to make crossing the rest of the plains in a timely manner easier. Around sundown, they reached the badlands in all of its glory and some rock formations started cropping up out of the earth as the grass thinned out until only the hardiest of varieties covered the earth, with other plants popping out of the ground occasionally in small tufts. Withered wildflowers and dry grasses dominated; monsters stalked in the shadows and animals roamed free.
Lightning suggested stopping once but he shook his head and willed them to press on. Had Taejin’s Tower still been standing, he was certain that the very tip of its impossibly tall spire would have been just visible on the horizon from where he was, several yards above Lightning. The rose-haired woman followed in the long shadow cast by Bahamut as the sun touched the horizon and he lead them toward some cliffs; had he been within earshot he was certain that he would have heard Lightning groan, or complain – but this was only shelter for the night.
As they approached, Bahamut dipped low and vanished into the ether. Caius hit the ground running, falling in stride alongside Lightning and Odin slowed to keep pace with him rather than pull ahead. He cast his gaze toward Lightning and it was clear that it was beginning to dawn on her exactly why he directed them toward these cliffs.
Rows upon rows of small dwellings were carved into the faces of the cliffs to either side, with the ceilings of the dwellings being the same as the paths leading to the ones on the next level up. It was deathly quiet and there were no signs of life; the wooden doors, however, had long since rotted away, leaving only rusted metal frames in some of the doorways. The window frames were empty as well, either for never having glass panes inside of them in the first place or for the glass having shattered at some point in time. The dust of the badlands outside subsided into hard stone, set into the ground. The sun setting down the corridor they followed cast the entire scene in a fiery light, turning the dust and rock a pale orange and obscuring completely the insides of the dwellings in shadow.
Surely, if you were to look up ‘ghost town’ in the dictionary, then there would be a picture of this forsaken place would be pictured next to it.
“Pick one,” he prompted her as she came to a halt beside him and dismissed Odin, dropping down to the ground. She let her eyes roam the scene for a moment, lips parted just a bit – and for a moment he wondered if she’d even registered that he’d spoken.
But, eventually, they found somewhere to set up camp: a small stone room carved into the cliff on the third level, one from the top. Just outside the doorway, they built a fire with what little they could find – dried grass and leaves mostly, and in the absence of proper fuel they kept the fire going with their magic. Caius left her for a bit to hunt while she tended to the fire, recasting the spell when the flames started to die. She occupied herself in the time between the need to cast by rummaging through the dwelling at her back formally setting up camp, laying out the yakshini robes that by now they found were pretty comfortable to sleep on just inside the dwelling. Eventually, Caius returned with the fruits of his labors: proper firewood and two small, lean rabbits that proved to be hell to clean, even when she lent him her survival knife to do so. Not much meat on those bones, they found, and it was a little difficult to avoid taking the meat off along with the skin and fur.
But she had previously found a stainless steel pot locked away inside the dwelling, which was caked in dust but showed no sign of any real corrosion. She cast a water spell to fill it up, dumped it out a ways away to get rid of the dust, repeated once, then refilled it one last time and they set it at the fire’s edge and let the water boil off. By the time the meat was stripped of skin and fur and cut into satisfactory pieces, the pot was dry and ready for the rabbit. Perhaps if they cared more about appearances they would have left it on the bone – and seared the meat first – but on the road and hungry they could care less as long as it was cooked and so shredded the meat and put it, with about an eighth of the remaining contents of Lightning’s thermos (just enough to half-submerge the meat), into the pot. After washing and treating a suitably-sized lid with heat in a similar manner to the treatment they gave the pot, they covered it.
“Gotta admit that I’ve never had braised rabbit before.”
“There is a first time for everything. It should be ready in an hour.”
“I’ll give it an hour and ten minutes then,” Lightning replied, summoning an orb of water in her hands and rolling it around for a bit until the blood from the rabbit came off (as did Caius), then she dried her hands on her vest and rose to her feet. “I’ll look for some plates.”
“The people who called this place home were known for fine ceramics.”
“Good.” Pause. “What happened to them?”
“War and fal’Cie happened, Lightning.”
She let her breath escape her in a sigh – of course fal’Cie had to be involved – before slipping into the dwelling. She hadn’t paid much mind to search for plates her first time through and much to her disappointment they weren’t even located where she’d expect for them to be anyway; instead of in a cabinet above the countertops, she found them stowed away below what used to be a sink. The plates seemed to be in relatively good condition – even considering the massive amount of time that they’d gone untended-to for. The finish was pristine save for a few scratches from where they’d been used by their late owners, although it was nothing fancy to begin with; just clear varnish that showed off its natural terracotta color. She picked out two – and briefly considered picking out some silverware but all that was available had tarnished long ago – and set them on a stone block hat looked like I may have once been a mailbox outside of the doorway.
Caius’s gaze followed her quietly for a moment before he turned his eyes back to the fire. She took a seat a respectful distance away from him and he handed her survival knife back to her – blade clean and shiny as if it had never been used at all. “How much farther to the tower?” she asked, not looking at him – and he hummed thoughtfully for a moment in response.
“A few days out, still, even if we use our eidolons.” Pause. “Things will get easier from there.”
“Yeah. Oerba’s practically right up next to it, and from the top we won’t even have to walk.”
“Precisely.” The ghost of a smirk crept to his lips. “Centuries ago, during the War, the tower falling was seen as the end of times. Ironic how its fallen spire has become a blessing.”
Lightning raised her eyebrows at that. She figured that whatever could snap a structure like that had to be borderline cataclysmic, but the end of times? The Guardian seemed to sense her surprise though, and continued: “The Tower was ordered to be constructed by the fal’Cie Taejin in exchange for protecting the tribes that settled in the valleys below from rival fal’Cie that sought the same land for their tasks. The Farseers were not one of these tribes… However by the time I was born, Taejin’s Tower had become a symbol of the divine might of the fal’Cie all over the mainland of Gran Pulse and people had become more willing to turn to them for protection and guidance – as in Oerba with Anima, or Paddra with Belias and Shemhazai. And when it fell at the end of the War of Transgression, people figured that it signaled an end of times and – well, the result… wasn’t pleasant.”
She paused, lips parted just a bit with words hanging off of them for a few moments before she finally managed to force herself to speak, prompting him to continue with, “War and fal’Cie?”
“War and fal’Cie. The fal’Cie of Gran Pulse were just as much a hand in the extermination of many of our tribes and cultures as the combatants from Cocoon were. The people turned on the fal’Cie – some of the fal’Cie even fought amongst themselves, for resources or in an attempt to prune diseased branches off the family tree… If you will. Anima was spirited away by your fal’Cie; Dahaka descended on the people in the valleys once they had killed their fal’Cie, whom had done little in the way of contributing to the War. Paddra had already fallen a few decades before the War’s beginning, but – Belias fell dormant in the aftermath of… our civil war. And it’s said that only the god Pulse knows what became of Shemhazai.” His jaw tightened; he sucked in air through clenched teeth. Violet eyes remained focused on the fire for a few moments before turning to Lightning. “Perhaps it was a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
“Like all the others, right?”
He fell silent, looking away again – and suddenly those clear violet eyes of his seemed far away. Unfocused, or focused on something far out of sight. And after a few moments, Caius blinked, gave a stiff nod, and rose to his feet – but not before he forced himself to unclench the fists he didn’t seem to consciously realize that his hands had balled into over the course of his little history lesson. “I’m going for a walk.”
In a rare twist of fate – his tone made it painfully transparent that he was merely searching for a way out of their previous conversation. And at that realization, Lightning couldn’t help but feel a little guilty; perhaps she overstepped some unspoken boundary of his. She nodded, casting her gaze briefly away, and, as he started away, rose with him – but then figured that he’d prefer to be alone (even if she didn’t particularly like the idea of letting him go off on his own) and sat back down. Besides, someone had to tend to the fire, and the camp; if any monsters thought it a good idea to sniff around then if she wasn’t there she wouldn’t be able to stop them from taking whatever they had and making off with it. And she’d rather like to keep what few possessions she and Caius brought along – along with their dinner. So she sat back down, drawing her knees in to her chest.
Caius stayed gone for about half an hour. When he returned, he checked the rabbit before adding some rosemary (several leaves of mint also found their way into his emptied (the contents having been consumed over the course of the day and then finished when he returned from his little walk) canteen for later) and tending to the fire. He regarded her with calm silence, and she did the same – even when it came time to eat their meal. They both knew better than to complain, though the meat was still stringy even after an hour of braising. It was edible, at least, and it would keep their energy high enough to keep moving forward. In fact, apart from Lightning letting Caius know when she was going to go to sleep, they spent the rest of their evening in silence.
Perhaps it was rude, but to be fair she supposed they weren’t exactly friends, at least insofar as she was concerned – and if he wasn’t in a talkative mood then she supposed that she couldn’t fault him for it. Actually, she preferred his silence to him talking just for the sake of hearing the sound of his own voice.
Lightning smoothed out the imperfections on the surface of the yakshini robe she claimed as her bed, if only out of respect for the people who had formerly lived there. When the former inhabitants departed, the beds were left unmade, at least insofar as she could tell from the deteriorating metal bed frames tucked away in a back room of the house, invisible from the outside, or from the moth-eaten and decayed rags that might have been sheets at some point, but now were mere fragments of fabric. With those tended to she curled up on it and spent quite a while just lying there in the shadowed inside of the stone dwelling while outside the firelight flickered and Caius stood sentinel. The air was dry but still a fair bit warm – comfortable for a while, but after a bit of tossing and turning and time, she had to strip off her somewhat restrictive vest in order to get any semblance of real rest, revealing the cropped sleeveless turtleneck underneath. But then the air felt a bit too cool on her skin (and she felt a bit unnecessarily exposed, although a solid stone wall separated her from Caius and the Guardian didn’t seem like the type to regard anyone in that way in the first place) and she opted to pull it back on but leave it open – offering protection and what little warmth she needed without being too tight.
After that, she drifted between dreams (of the future, of the past, of Serah, of Valhalla) and wakefulness (tentative, hazy; she found herself waking and with her heart pounding and wondering where the hell she was several times before the moon passed its highest point in the sky before she finally recalled). The fire never faded, at least not completely – and Caius never came in to wake her even when it ought to have been far past time for him to rest and her to take over guard duty. She stretched and yawned and laid there for a few moments before pulling herself up and stepping outside into the firelight – not entirely refreshed, but enough to carry her through until sunrise when the world was quiet and sleepy enough for both her and Caius to rest at the same time. To her surprise, he didn’t seem tired at all despite their long day of traveling and his violet eyes were trained on the black skies above – clearer than they’d been previously, completely unobscured by trees or cliffs and just open.
She lingered there for a few moments, not sure whether it would be wise to disturb him, but it was him that spoke first, and she stiffened at the words, although his rich voice took on a more… thoughtful tone. Wistful. “Cover all in shadow, wings of blackest night…” Last time he’d uttered those words, in Valhalla, he’d been about to introduce her anew to a world of hurt. But this time, no Chaos Bahamut followed, no beastly roar – merely a dry, but not entirely humorless laugh. Perhaps the ghost of a smile, too, if the firelight wasn’t playing tricks on her. “Perhaps I ought to rethink that one.”
Lightning turned her gaze to the sky – enough stars dotted it out here that some regions didn’t even look black, but rather a deep blue that was almost black, and would have been black if her eyes hadn’t adjusted fully to the relative darkness. The moon hovered just past its apex as a sliver of silver that, with each passing night, would peek further and further out of the shadows before hiding away again. “Maybe,” she replied, and that was all she could bring herself to say in response, taking the moment instead to scan the sky in all of its silent glory, lips parted a bit.
And then Caius chuckled again – and distinctly, it lacked the mocking tone it usually carried when it was directed toward her. Instead it sounded warm – friendly, even, and definitely entirely foreign. The Guardian patted the ground beside him and invited her there with three words: “Sit with me.”
It could have easily been ‘come here,’ just two words – or in just one, ‘sit.’ But no. ‘Sit with me.’ It stunned her for a moment, putting her at a loss and she had no choice but to accept his invitation. They sat closer than they ever really had before (well, apart from maybe once or twice, but those times had always been with a purpose); their shoulders could touch if they leaned ever so slightly together. She could feel Caius’s warmth even through his armor. It – it wasn’t unpleasant, she had to admit, even when she reminded herself how awful Caius could be. He’d killed her once. He had it out for her for the longest time in Valhalla; she had simply been an obstacle to be dealt with. And guiltily she admitted to herself that she regarded him in much the same way: the only thing keeping her from returning home to her friends and family. From having a normal life after the nightmare that had been being a Pulse l’Cie on a fearful Cocoon, regarded as an enemy of the world and ultimately becoming responsible for the planet’s fall – leaving Fang and Vanille to carry it on their shoulders after erecting the crystal pillar. The key to her redemption in the goddess’s eyes.
They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Lightning finally found the courage to scrape up more words – “Cocoon’s nights were never like this.”
He hummed, perhaps in amusement. “Not easy to get a view of this sky from the inside of the shell, I suppose.”
“Yeah. I – the cities above us were about as close as we got. The fal’Cie filled in some dark spots with light, but it was all artificial in the end.”
“What a shame.”
“We get to see the sky now, though.”
“In that regard, the Day of Ragnarok was a blessing.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” She smiled a bit, tilting her head to the side a bit. “Feel sorry for the ones that didn’t make it, though.”
He glanced at her somewhat curiously.
“The Purge,” she said simply, and a spark of understanding flickered in his eyes before he turned his gaze back up to the sky. The Purge claimed many – and that was to say nothing of those who died in the chaos of Eden that day. And of course, those whose times passed before the planet’s fall would be doomed to never see this sky as well, which was a shame – but that was just how it was, and there was no bringing back the dead.
They lapsed into silence once more, but it wasn’t long until Caius broke it: “Tell me, Lightning. Did your people weave stories into your ‘stars’?”
She blinked. “Uh, well, there was this one cluster of stars that people called the big dipper, that the fal’Cie projected. Mostly our constellations were named for the places that made them or the major fal’Cie living there, so on the other side of Bodhum people’d have a Bodhum or a Siren constellation or whatever.”
He seemed disappointed, but not for long – and he seemed to have found a purpose when scanning the sky for several moments. Lightning was about to tell him to get some rest and usher him away before one strong hand fell upon her shoulder and she stiffened for a moment, unused to the touch. After a moment he seemed to get the hint and let his hand fall away, but he’d succeeded in getting her attention in any case and he pointed at a seemingly-arbitrarily chosen spot in the sky and declared, “There. That is our big dipper.”
The stars in question were bright enough that Lightning could pick them out easily, and she smiled a bit. “Huh, guess we borrowed that one from Pulse, then.”
“There’s no shame in that. Ours, however, is part of the larger—” he paused and gestured to a broader group of stars – which included the big dipper—“Ugallu constellation. Well, we called it the ugallu. Other nations had their own interpretations; tribes of the plains often identified it as a megistotherian, and its smaller counterpart there as a gorgonopsid.” He gestured toward a smaller dipper-shaped constellation at that. “But we thought of that one either as an uridimmu or a small ladle, depending on who you asked.”
“What if I asked you?”
“I am partial to the ladle. We have enough beasts in the sky.”
She somewhat successfully managed to bite back a laugh. “I can see that.” Pause. “Any more?”
“Of course.” His eyes seemed to light up, just a little, and he smiled as he pointed out a new constellation in another region of the sky, near the southern horizon. “There’s Bahamut.”
“You named clusters of stars for eidolons?”
“Yes; many – you didn’t?”
She paused. “No. We put them on parade instead. Remember when I told you about Nautilus?”
“I would rather not.”
Lightning laughed a bit. “That’s where we kept our eidolons.”
“A shame. Eidolons were very important to us – we named our star signs for them where other nations named them for… Far more mundane things. Sheep. Urns of water. Pairs of fish. Their loss.” He shrugged and grunted, turning his gaze away from the night sky and letting his violet eyes fall upon Lightning. “You came out for something?”
He met his eyes levelly, the ghost of a smile toying with the corners of her lips. “Uh – yeah. You can rest if you need to; I’ll take it from here.”
He flashed her a grateful smile and rose to his feet slowly. “Then I’ll bore you with my ramblings no longer. The night is quiet – so you shouldn’t have any trouble.”
“Sleep well, Caius.”
“I will. Thank you, Lightning.” And he disappeared into the stone dwelling.
Word Count: 2180
Author Notes: It’s patch day in FFXIV... And that means I actually remember to update for once LOL! I reread my entire fic up until this point and I still love it so that’s a thing at least. I hope to write more often so i can keep my buffer chapters somewhat up to snuff with what’s already written and all, truth be told; I’m still completely in love with this story and this ship and gahhhh I just have so much grinding to do... Glamour is the true endgame in XIV, after all.
If only they had Caius’s armor.
Entire Work · AO3 · FFN
XXII. Enjoy the Silence
The sort of peace that fell over Caius while he slept was eerie, wrong. Such a driven, powerful, angry warrior shouldn’t look so content, in Lightning’s opinion – but it sort of suited him in an ironic sort of way. Around the time their stack of wood had officially been a quarter depleted, he rolled onto his back; his breathing remained deep and even, and one hand rested against his stomach while the other remained stretched toward the cliff. His lips were parted a little, and his hair along with the beads and feathers that decorated it were spilled across the ground around his head.
She couldn’t help but smile a little. At least he was comfortable – and at least he didn’t snore. Shadows danced among the trees at the top of the cliffs, and she held her gunblade tight in her hands, finger on the trigger if whatever was up there started to get any ideas. But even by the time the moon rose high in the sky and her eyelids started to feel heavy, nothing broke the silence, nothing broke the peace. Even when the demons were close enough for the firelight to glint gold off of their crimson masks and she took aim between their eyes, they did not engage, instead gracefully melting back into the shadows. She huffed a bit, frowning and glaring up at them – if they intended to make mischief then they should get it over with already. Their standoff had gone on long enough for her tastes and…
You know what, it was Caius’s problem to deal with now. She’d stayed up long enough.
Returning her gunblade to its sling, she knelt beside Caius and patted his cheek softly a few times. He stirred and mumbled something – not even words, just incomprehensible noises – in his sleep but did not wake, and he patted him a few times more, more firmly, though didn’t even earn a response that time.
She sighed.
Moving away from the Guardian, she brought her hand to her chest and concentrated until a large droplet of water began to form floating above her palm. Her other hand joined it and the droplet doubled, tripled, quadrupled in size, until it was well larger than the size of her head – then, she pitched it at Caius. His response was immediate, then – he bolted awake and rolled onto his side momentarily, coughing and disoriented and with beads of water clinging to his hair but failing to really do anything to wet it down (although the feathers that decorated it weren’t so lucky). Lightning smirked then, satisfied as she approached him, and he scrambled back once his gaze fell on her, obviously not processing very much of anything just yet. He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes before his breath left him and Lightning knew his brain finally turned on.
“Must you wake me by attempting to drown me!?”
“I could have kicked you. Or dragged you around for a bit, but I’d rather save my strength by not lugging around a ton of bricks until he wakes up. Also, that wasn’t enough water to drown you, Caius.”
He ran a hand over his hair, pausing at the feathers before he pulled them out by whatever held them in place – beads, it turned out. Why was she not surprised… “Kick me next time, if you must… It would still be better,” he grumbled, removing his headband as well and wringing out what little moisture it held before folding it up several times and setting it near the fire to dry.
“Alright, I’ll kick you next time.” She shrugged, walking around to the other side of the fire before laying down. “There are some demons up top. They haven’t engaged yet, and they probably won’t, but just thought you should know. I’m going to sleep.”
He pressed his lips together and reached for the Organyx. “Alright.”
Caius swore that she was out the instant she closed her eyes.
He fed the fire with more wood in an effort to keep it alive – something Lightning had apparently neglected to take care of in his stead before she decided it was time for him to keep watch. The remainder of the flames took to the wood slowly, tentatively, but before long one piece of the wood had gone up and he slowly added three more, bringing the crackling flames back from the brink of death. The night was quiet – almost too quiet, really, but knowing that there were monsters just out of sight set him on high alert. The Organyx rested in his lap, its bronzed blade glinting in the firelight and he listened for the demons’ telltale cries of battle: twisted birdsong, low trills and caws. But it didn’t come, and he drew out the crystal eye and held it to the flames of the fire until it caught and refracted the light just right, so that the warmth of its color could properly be appreciated and Caius’s face was cast in pale red-violet.
A contented hum built at the back of his throat, and he returned his eidolith to his brand before letting one hand rest on the grip of his gunblade – and he let the fingertips of his other brush across the smooth metal of the blade, teasing at the sharp edge.
Time barely seemed to pass; funny how that went. The day had passed so quickly, it was practically the blink of an eye – but one second felt like five minutes now. The moon seemed content to hang high in the sky rather than continue to follow its path and eventually usher in the beginnings of dawn. The demons continually lurked in the shadows, perpetually waiting for the right time to strike. Lightning slept forever – he watched over her forever. The fire never faded or died. This, like he, had become eternal, frozen in time… And he likely wouldn’t be complaining if it had, but the fact that it was merely an illusion just made it frustrating and worthy of complaint. He would die – he would kill – for it to be over. He longed for progress, longed for Yeul – and was it perhaps a bit ironic that in his efforts to save her he sought to dam the flow of time, but now all he wished was for it to progress so that he and Lightning could move forward and he could return to her side? In either case, it earned no humor from him.
The passage of time loved to taunt him – he was sure that was the reason it seemed so content to stay still when he wished for its passage, and flew by far too quickly when he sought to freeze it.
He lifted his weapon and adjusted the angle at which it caught the light until the reflected light created a spot on the opposite cliff face. Then he adjusted the position and the reflection moved with it, a dancing spot of light on the stone and gnarled roots. One false move and it ended up catching the light of one of the demons’ golden headdresses and the tripronged objects fastened to its back – a yakshini, from the looks of things. It was a wonder they hadn’t attacked yet – while far from the most aggressive demons on Gran Pulse, it was one known for mischief and attacks on travelers passing through its pack’s territory. He clicked his tongue a few times, rising – and its gaze fixed on his gunblade. He brandished it and it trilled softly before disappearing out of sight, apparently and disappointingly disinterested in their little travel party of two.
What a shame; yakshini and the often-accompanying yaksha were pretty useful once killed. The meat was edible, though there was the question of why would you eat it in the first place, given how tough and stringy it tended to be (although like the meat of many demons, it did have properties that made it a much sought-after delicacy of Paddra’s many l’Cie way back when); the bones were excellent for a multitude of things including weapon crafting and carving. The robes (and masks and headdresses for that matter), once the fastenings that dug into the demons’ skin were destroyed or undone, were all pretty comfortable. And so on and so forth – Caius was fairly sure that there wasn’t a single use in the world for the remains of demons such as yakshini and yaksha (or their cousins, skata’ne or stikini) that he wasn’t aware of.
He shifted the blade again until he caught sight of a yaksha; it opened his mouth and let out a hiss – and with a smirk he raised it and the light that glinted off of it struck the beast in the eyes. It let out an angry cry before approaching the edge of the cliff, although it seemed hesitant in leaping down and engaging him, even after he provoked it once more. Grumbling, he let the Organyx rest in his lap before drawing one hand in to his chest before flinging a ball of fire at it – but that didn’t do much besides scare it off.
He’d have his way yet.
The sun was already high in the sky by the time she woke, and the sky a bright, clear blue with pale clouds streaked across it in intervals. The fire had long since been allowed to die, the last embers toward the center flickering and fading, but unable to take to anything that remained in the fire pit she’d constructed. Lightning blinked the sleep from her eyes several times – then stretched and yawned. Her back hurt a bit, and only after rolling her shoulders back a few times did the ache that permeated them finally leave, but overall she was no worse for the wear.
“Good morning, Lightning.” Caius didn’t look up from his work rending apart the body of a yakshini in an effort to separate its robe from its shoulders. The three shuriken-like objects had already been removed from its back and had been set aside; the clasps and buckles that dug into the leathery skin of the demon were, one by one, being pulled out. Lightning wasn’t sure she wanted to watch when the Guardian gave one hard tug and, with a horrible ripping sound, half of its robe came away, leaving the corpse’s left shoulder and stubby, featherless wings exposed.
She winced a little. “Mornin’…” Caius could surely forgive her for not putting her heart into it. “Demons decided to get aggressive last night?”
“No. I went after them. The yaksha were smart enough to run.” He shrugged before starting to work on wresting the other half of the robe off. Shame that the yaksha fled, really; their robes were stitched together in one piece as opposed to the halves being separate. But the yakshini had to keep the blades on their backs somehow. Getting the right half off of the corpse, though, was much easier than the left – and it came away after a few moments, leaving the lifeless demon’s torso bare. Then, he rose, casting the corpse aside. “I’ll fetch us some water and mint, then we can move on.”
“What about—” she yawned—“’scuse me—what about breakfast?”
“Just eat one of those snacks you insisted upon bringing with you.” He shook out the robes before laying them down.
“Mmm. Take some of the water purification tablets with you.”
He took a moment to find them before taking two and plunking one into their empty water bottles before he rose and departed to complete the tasks he’d given himself. The clearing, then, was quiet, and after a moment of letting herself wake up, Lightning rose and walked over to the yakshini corpse before prodding it with her foot. How long had it been dead – hours? It didn’t look any different than it would have while alive, and its leathery skin didn’t give at all even when she pressed down on its abdomen with all her weight. Its mouth hung open and its neck had a large gash in it that leaked no blood – and didn’t appear to ever have leaked any blood, for that matter. The wounds left in the creature’s back after Caius ripped its robes off didn’t bleed, either. She hummed a bit before deciding to leave it alone, instead turning her attention to the robe that Caius had apparently been working on salvaging from the corpse for quite a while – both halves were thin, but had a strange, almost supernatural silky softness to them on one side while the other side (the side with the decorative markings and vibrant colors) felt almost like leather.
Well, she supposed that they would be useful. She folded one of the halves and slipped it into the bag, leaving the other for Caius to deal with as he pleased when he returned. Which didn’t take long, surprisingly, and after everything (including the other half of the robe) was packed away, they stamped out the straggling embers and started on their way.
Word Count: 4755
Author Notes: Wow this is late. I don't know why this is so late; I think I miscounted my buffer chapters or wanted to edit this chapter at some point or something but it looks fine to me right now at 2:30AM. I apologize for any incosistencies anyway; I made really major, rippling edits to a chapter before this like twice once to change it and again to change it back so I don't recall if I caught everything or not.
Merry Christmas! And here is the fan appreciation post too, in case anyone missed it.
Entire Work · AO3 · FFN
The grass under their feet was wet with morning dew that glistened in the pale morning light. The world existed in a precarious still silence – one that neither of them wanted to ruin with their words. The last insects of the deep night mingled with the first ones awake for the morning; flowers slowly unfurled, some of which glowed with faint blue-green light. Their footsteps were measured and silent on the grass, on the stone, on the sand as they entered town – over the stretched wire, into the town square. None of the residents were awake yet, of course – or, if they were, they were enjoying the sunrise from their homes. They made short work of the path from their house before descending to the Winding Way, discarding the shade of trees. The sandy stone from there was just lined with grasses that struggled to survive, struggled to find a foothold in an environment wholly unsuitable for them. But this was Gran Pulse, and nothing on its surface was exactly known for just giving up.
Yeul’s breath was soft, slow, and even – even in his arms; Caius made sure that his footing was sure and that he didn’t handle her too roughly so that she didn’t stir. He’d walked this path with her so many times recently – it had almost become second nature. His heart ached when he thought of this time as the last time.
The sun had only started to peek over the water by the time Etro’s l’Cie ascended the steps into the NORA house. Snow could be heard snoring in the master bedroom but Serah was up and about, still in her nightgown, and she acknowledged them with a nod. Noel greeted them with a smile before bringing a mug of coffee to his lips and attempting to blink the sleep from his eyes. Lightning returned the gesture, and Caius – Caius tried to. It wasn’t a very successful effort, and he knew that everyone could tell, and so instead his gaze fell to the seeress in his arms, curled into his chest, fast asleep, and almost unbearably warm. She looked so damn peaceful, a soft smile upon her lips, and… Caius swallowed hard before taking her over to the couch and gently laying her down. It would have been simple – she would remain asleep and they would leave and get this done and… His heart leaped a bit when she stirred, opening her eyes a bit and reaching for his hand.
“You’re leaving?” she asked softly as Caius enclosed one of her hands in one his. He hushed her softly, goading her to close her eyes once more before brushing some stray strands of hair away from her face with his free hand – his fingertips just barely grazed her cheek, and when his touch fell away completely she squeezed his hand as best she could in a silent, though far from decisive, plea to stay. But he knew that she knew he couldn’t do that, not if the integrity of the future were to be preserved. If he faltered, if he changed his mind – she would be forced to see the new future. Her life would be shortened even further. And Caius… Wasn’t sure which part of him would win out – the part that desired to protect Yeul at all costs and free her from her ultimate fate, or the part that couldn’t stand to see her unhappy or alone.
He drew in close and whispered, “I’ll be back soon.” She seemed to relax a bit, loosening her grip on his hand as he pressed his lips ever-so-softly to her forehead. “I promise.” He hesitated, lingering a bit longer before drawing back and away, letting his hand slip away from hers.
“We’ll take good care of her,” Serah said with a smile once he turned away from his seeress. “Promise.”
He forced himself to meet her gaze. “I know.”
Lightning offered him a reassuring smile, crossing her arms over her chest. Her good-byes to Serah already made, the two sisters seemed to be at least… at peace. He wished he could say the same for himself, but he knew that his resolve would shatter in an instant if he turned and allowed Yeul a chance to beg him to stay. “Ready?” she prompted, voice so uncharacteristically gentle that it actually caught Caius off-guard for a moment.
He cast his gaze to the ground. ‘No.’ That was definitely the answer. His lips parted briefly, but knowing that his voice would betray him, he nodded in confirmation instead. He adjusted the way the backpack sat, hanging off his shoulder, before stealing a glance to Noel and following Lightning after she bowed her head in a solemn good-bye before descending the steps. And the Guardian followed suit, squaring his shoulders and setting his jaw. Their footsteps stirred the sand as they departed.
For whatever reason, the path away from the town was far more difficult than the path to it. His feet felt unbearably heavy, and despite all efforts to quiet his mind and focus on the road ahead, his thoughts kept wandering to Yeul behind them, how happy she’d be if he returned and scooped her up in his arms and just… Carried her away, Focus forsaken and whatever future she’d seen that had brought her to tears forgotten. Held her close and pressed soft, soothing kisses to her forehead as a parent might – stroked soft circles on the smooth skin of the back of her hand with his thumb as he told her all of her favorite stories in a hushed voice. He focused his gaze ahead, to some undetermined point beyond the rose-haired warrior whom led the way. She practically marched ahead, and he made sure to follow her example – well, he didn’t march exactly seeing as keeping up with her was a fairly easy feat, but he focused on keeping pace, maintaining a steady distance.
As they reached the horizon just barely beyond the crater, neither of them looked back once.
By late morning, New Bodhum had disappeared from even the furthest horizons, and Lightning’s legs were beginning to ache, but she was more than capable of dealing with it and continuing onward. Her brand burned between her breasts – and she brought one hand up to cover it as they hiked. The cover of trees had long been left behind, leaving only rocky, elevated pathways and grassy plains below. Some shrubs jutted out of the gravel – some of them bore fuchsia berries. After looking to Caius for any sign of approval (which eventually came as a nod, once she managed to get his attention), she plucked some of the best-looking, cleanest ones – then bubbled them in a Water spell before she popped them into her mouth and ate them as a snack. They were juicy but a bit tart – although after chewing slowly, they started to show their natural sweetness. Not too bad, really.
They traveled in silence for the most part, which suited her just fine. There wasn’t really a lot to say, was there? Few battles they had to get through (most monsters seemed content to leave them alone, although Lightning’s hand lingered by her gunblade and Caius’s hand rested on the grip of his within the sling at his hip that attached handily to where the belts at his waist already attached. She caught herself casting a glance over her shoulder to make sure Caius was still along for the ride, and he followed a few feet behind her, keeping pace easily with long, smooth, quiet strides even when there were gaps to jump or rocks to climb. The growing heat of the day didn’t seem to bother him for the most part, although given the fact that he dressed in black leather – not exactly the most suitable summer attire – she suspected that that wouldn’t be the case forever. She donned her Guardian Corps uniform for this trip; it proved to be absurdly comfortable to travel in during her time as a Pulse l’Cie.
By the time the sun reached its apex of its path across the sky, they reached the height of their climb; Lightning paused to look out over the vast, plain below; the way the wind stirred the tall grass just about made it look like there was nothing but green water below. Darker green trees poked above the horizon through gaps in the cliffs and faults that lead to rolling hills beyond. Her lips parted and her breath escaped her with a sigh; before she’d even noticed it, Caius had taken a few steps past her and paused, staring her down and patiently waiting for her to continue. In due time, she did, and the vast expanse was left behind in favor of a rocky path reminiscent of a wider, more spacious Vallis Media with walls that didn’t make it feel anywhere near as claustrophobic on the inside. Cave systems opened up at some points – but despite gnawing curiosity, she continued on track.
“In the past, this route was one favored by various nomads making their way to Oerba.”
“Perfect for us, then.”
“If only. The useful tunnels caved in centuries ago after heavy rains made it impossible for them to support themselves. They’re all closed off now – by the earth itself and no doubt the support beams that buckled under the weight of mountains.”
“… Guess nothing’s easy.”
“Unfortunately. But if you’d like, we could delay our journey further and clear the way. It should not be hard for two l’Cie and their eidolons.”
Lightning snorted. “That’d probably take too long – and if it caved in once, it could cave in again.”
“You don’t want to find out what it feels like to be crushed to death?” He actually laughed a bit to punctuate the statement; Lightning didn’t think it was very funny, quite frankly. “Or to suffocate? Or be buried alive?”
“Hardly. You can just tell me all those riveting stories over a camp fire.”
Pause. “I’ve been crushed – thanks to you – but never buried alive and I’ve never suffocated, either.” He cast his gaze downward. “I’m not keen on finding out what they feel like.”
A chill ran down Lightning’s spine. “That killed you?”
“Were you not expecting it to?”
“No, I just – I kept track of your deaths for a while. Checked your pulse and everything.” Admittedly it was easy to jump to conclusions; she hadn’t seen any blood then and after a while he reappeared no worse for the wear and ready to leap into battle once more. So she assumed he’d just been stunned. Apparently not.
“You would draw so close to an immortal enemy?” Tsk, tsk. “How reckless.” A smile teased at his lips, and he pushed his headband up a little.
“Call it morbid curiosity—” she cleared a tree’s roots and the tall stack of rocks that they were embedded in in a few bounds, then took a breath before continuing—“I… Wasn’t convinced that the Heart actually brought you back.”
“My body can only take so much. Even if my limits are… Far beyond normal.” Pause, in both speech and step. “Let’s stop talking about this.”
She hummed in response. “Sure.”
They continued on, and eventually trees sprouted at the top of the cliffs, providing them with some much-appreciated shade. They passed by heaps and piles of rock and gnarled roots and each obstacle was passed clearly, but around mid-afternoon they saw fit to rest. They must have traveled around fifteen miles, give or take, and Lightning’s legs thanked her immediately when she took a seat against the back of the cliff in the shade. Caius let the backpack drop; she fished through it until she pulled out a still-ice-cold thermos and popped it open before taking a nice, long sip of water. Some mostly-melted ice cubes bumped against her lips momentarily before she closed the thermos and returned it to the bag.
Caius took a seat beside her after a few moments, and she gave his shoulder a pat. He grunted and looked at her, but she only offered a smirk in response. After a moment, his breath left him in a sigh and he looked away, folding his hands in his lap.
And they just sat like that, quietly. The air around them wasn’t as hot as she’d expect given that it was a clear summer day – but perhaps the elevation and the shade helped to keep them cool. That didn’t stop Caius’s armor from radiating heat – and she was fairly sure that if she touched his ornate chestpiece she would probably burn herself. She almost felt sorry for him, but she supposed that the armor held up to the test of time well enough that anything else would just be a waste of time. He took deep, measured breaths and let his eyes slip closed after a while; while the idea of a nap was appealing to her as well, she took it upon herself to keep him from dozing off with a decidedly less gentle pat on the shoulder.
He grunted and she rose. “Let’s stop here for today,” she said, and he nodded. “I’ll collect kindling and wood – and scout the area for danger. You take a moment to cool off then look for food and water.”
He gave a somewhat stiff nod before pulling pulling a thermos back out of the backpack, searching Lightning’s eyes for permission – approval? – and taking a few small, though drawn out, sips of water. She took this as an agreement and after a moment, she set off farther down the main path.
The few monsters she encountered were fairly easily dealt with, and other than them, everything was quiet, calm. The branches of trees stretched above her, apparently intent to compete for sunlight, and before she progressed too far from the area they’d chosen as a stopping point, the foliage blotted out most of the light above and where once the grass had been bright green underfoot, dead foliage gathered. The walls of the cliffs to either side only got steeper, until it was clear that where they had been walking along a mountain path before, they would be headed into a ravine even if they followed one of the side paths. In the distance, she could hear flowing water – good, they didn’t have to search too hard for water and didn’t have to worry too hard about saving it for the moment. She shifted her Blazefire Saber into its gun form and cocked it, pausing and scanning the shadows of the clearing around her. Rocks jutted up sporadically, providing cover to any potentially hostile creatures, and bioluminescent lichens called them home; gnarled roots blocked off a pathway and the maw of the obviously-caved-in tunnel that she and Caius had discussed earlier in the day was clearly visibly off to her right. Large, heavy rocks plugged the entrance enough as it was – but then, soft earth had gotten into the cracks over the centuries and acted as the mortar to the stone’s bricks. There was no way they were going to clear it easily, so it was a damn good thing a detour.
Once she was satisfied that the coast was clear, she returned the weapon to its sling and approached the slowly-rotting remains of a fallen tree. Lightning let her hand trail over it for a moment before she started snapping twigs off of it – just the ones large enough to be used as kindling, until she held a thick bundle of twigs and slightly-fatter sticks in her hand, plucked from what formerly comprised the upper echelons of the tree. She snapped off some fatter sticks as well and slipped the bundle into the red pouch at her thigh before stretching and testing a few branches. A few of the smaller, shorter ones would be simple to snap off, and in short order they were separated from the trunk – but there wasn’t many of them, and Lightning soon had to get creative.
She tried her namesake first, and the reaction when the bolt of electricity struck the tree was instantaneously – the wood splintered and cracked and exploded, sending fragments of wood flying everywhere. She yelped, and kicked herself for having not expected it – but at least the tree was split open. She tried Blizzara next, letting the large ice crystal form in the air above her before she drove it into the crack down the middle of the trunk, splitting it further and almost separating the long tendrils of fragmented wood from the rest of the mass. Satisfied that this would work well enough, she released the spell and the ice melted instantaneously – then she drew in a deep breath, cleared her mind, and conjured a new spike of ice.
It took a bit, but before long she had a nice stack of wood to carry back; she couldn’t carry it all and had to make two trips, unfortunately, but what she had gathered would probably last them the night. She returned to their clearing and shoved the wood aside before takign a moment to catch her breath and gather herself. She was a warrior, yes – but she just wasn’t built for heavy lifting. She would have had Caius gather the wood but surely he was better for more than just lugging heavy things about; he’d lived off of what the wilds of Pulse had to offer him for centuries, and even before she took a shining to the NORA gang for whatever reason, she seemed pretty well put-together. Even fresh out of the Dying World, when she and Caius first met in Valhalla, he seemed pretty well taken care of.
She cast her gaze to the sky – the sun wasn’t anywhere near setting, but it had already disappeared from sight behind the trees. She was already hungry again – but she could wait for the time being. Caius was nowhere to be seen, but she assumed he’d slipped down a branching pathway from their little clearing.
There were only three ways in or out of the area if one didn’t want to climb the cliffs – the way she’d come and that path’s continuation, then the path formed from a partially-blocked fissure that tree roots attacked with glee. The clearing itself was roughly circular and the soil was dark and harbored bright green grass, although a fair bit of the ground was exposed. Rocks gathered toward the bottom of the cliffs – some big, some small, and among the rocks was the backpack, apparently left there by the Guardian even as he struck out in search of food for the evening ahead. And in the center of the clearing, Lightning started pulling up grass and exposing the dirt underneath in an effort to construct a small, makeshift fire pit – just enough for light and warmth during the night, although the warmth they could likely do without if they really wanted to. But they would, at least, need a way to boil water if they were going to collect more before the day was out – and cook, if meat happened to be on the menu.
She hummed a tune as she worked.
It was fairly late when Caius returned (the sky’s bright blue had begun to mellow out), but when he did so it was with a canteen full of small fruits – barely bigger than the typical strawberry and encased in what appeared to be a thin, bright orange skin reminiscent of a grapefruit’s rind – and a few damp leaves tucked into the side of the container. But he didn’t linger long before he set off again – after removing the decorations from his headband and setting them aside and telling her to get the fire started. After he was gone, Lightning took a moment to curse him – though not seriously. But where did he get the nerve, ordering her around? She took a moment to put the small string of beads and the feathers from his headband into a somewhat safer place atop the backpack before rummaging through the canteen. She bit into one of the fruits in a fit of curiosity after failing to peel back the deceptively thin skin – and they were so sickly sweet that she was tempted to toss them and scold Caius for even thinking about bringing them back. She told him to get food, not fruit which seemed to provide a mouthful of saccharine in lieu of actual nutrition.
Then she turned her attention to the fire she was supposed to be building and, after digging some fire starter out of the bag, she started putting it together. The kindling found its purpose and caught nicely, but much of the main fuel did not until she dried it out a bit with a brief Fire spell – but by the time she’d gotten the larger chunks of wood dried out, much of the kindling and tinder had turned to ashes and the embers were beginning to fade away, so she had to start over with another small chunk of fire starter and a bit more of the kindling she collected.
But by the time the fire was started properly, Caius returned with three large, black fish with shiny, thick, bony scales that made them resemble reptiles a bit more than fish. Her mouth watered a little at the sight – though they were raw and cleaned somewhat sloppily and skewered through the eye with the long, long stick on which they were carried and would likely be cooked.
At least for tonight, they were going to eat pretty well – between the fish and well, if Caius wanted the fruit he could very well have it.
He turned over one of the fragrant, green leaves he’d collected earlier in the day several times in his hand. The sun’s light had already mostly faded away and night was warm, so he kept his distance from the fire – he’d done enough sweating for the day. Lightning cast testing gazes over to him a few times as she picked apart her fish, eating the meat off of the bones. He’d already downed the other two and several of the fruit – and he wished he’d listened to Lightning when she turned down his offer and complained that they were way too sweet, but he didn’t and he ended up tossing the rest away. What a shame.
“Thanks for dinner.” Lightning’s voice pierced the silence suddenly when she had picked the last of the meat from her fish and cast what little was left into the fire to turn to ash with the other two cleaned skeletons.
“You’re welcome.” He forced a smile before slipping the leaf in his mouth – the taste wasn’t too pleasant, but it cooled his palate and after a few moments he got used to it. Lightning cast him a questioning look, to which he readily replied, “Mint.”
“Ah.” Pause. “Could I have some?”
“If you’re willing to come get it.”
The blue-eyed woman snorted and stayed precisely where she was for a moment before rising and walking around the fire to join Caius on the other side; he slipped one of the remaining leaves into her hand and she wrinkled her nose at the taste but kept chewing. “Blech. Nothing like actual breath mints.”
An amused hum. “Artificial flavors are often misleading.”
“Mm. I know.” Pause. “You’ve been awfully quiet today.”
He let out a quiet sigh. “There is… a lot on my mind.”
“Yeah? Don’t start getting any ideas.”
“You needn’t worry, Lightning. We just need to keep moving...”
He could feel her eyes on him, scrutinizing every last detail of his visage – and he shifted a bit uncomfortably before donning a mask of grim neutrality. How easy it was to let his guard down after a long day on the road – after he’d grown accustomed to the comforts of the peaceful lives of Cocoonites. But it was too late, he knew; she’d already discerned far more than he would have liked. Caius cast his gaze away, into the fire, as the woman beside him spoke – “You’re hung up on something. Spill it.”
“I’d prefer not to.”
“And I’d prefer not to push it, but I’m not going all the way to Oerba with you all melancholy.” Long road ahead of them, with the direct route blocked off; they’d have to detour out to Taejin’s Tower unless they wanted to blaze a path of their own through the mountains, which would likely take longer than strictly necessary. He’d given Yeul his word that he would return as soon as possible – and that word he intended to keep; in his mind, then, their route was set. And it would be a while… Still, Caius kept his eyes focused on the flickering flames, chewing the mint slowly with his arms crossed over his chest and his back against the cliff. Lightning was silent for a long moment, apparently waiting to see if he would speak, before she pressed him once more: “You’ll feel better if you do, you know.”
A thoughtful pause, and he swallowed his mint. “It’s not about me,” he mumbled, just barely loud enough for Lightning to hear, and in the corner of his eye he could see her contented smirk, as if she considered those four words to be some sort of victory on her part.
“It never is, is it?”
“… No.” He frowned a bit. And they were both silent for a long few moments – but he knew that Lightning would just press him to go on, so in an effort to save her the trouble, he continued, hesitantly: “I miss her.”
“She’s in good hands.”
“I know. Noel – and the rest – are all more than capable. Still, I… Her various incarnations have been by my side for centuries.” He met her eyes then, briefly, and Lightning let her hand rest on his shoulder with a smile. Rather than a verbal reply, his words were instead met with silent understanding – and after a moment, he brushed Lightning’s hand away, though not without a grateful smile. “Dwelling on it won’t bring her to me, I suppose.”
“At least you realize that much.” Pause. “I’m in the same boat as you, y’know.”
He gave a curt nod. “Your sister.”
“Yes. And Snow – as hardheaded as he is. And the rest of them.” She swallowed and turned her gaze to the sky – clouds obscured some of the stars overhead, though the sky wasn’t near as wide and open as it would have been had they been out in an open field instead. But this… This was still nice. “I’ve missed them all for a long time, actually,” she continued quietly, and perhaps if she hadn’t been within an arm’s length of Caius, he wouldn’t have heard her at all. “It feels like we only got to spend a few moments together before parting ways again.”
He offered a slight smile, though it didn’t seem that she noticed. “You have quite a few people to welcome you home.”
“They’re not opposed to welcoming you back, either. And Yeul’s waiting with them.”
“Depending on how this works out, Yeul and I won’t be able to stay for long. But… It’ll be nice, to be welcomed somewhere, just once, I suppose.” Pause, then a low chuckle. “Look at us. The first night, and we’re already looking forward to returning.”
Lightning laughed softly along with him for a moment. “It’s natural, I guess. We got so used to seeing them every day that now that we’ve left…”
“It feels empty.”
“Yeah.”
The flames flickered before them, turning all that was within it to ash. After several moments of comfortable silence, Caius rose and fed the fire with four more pieces of splintered wood – whatever Lightning had done to it, it had certainly been effective enough… The fire welcomed the gift, licking at the wood readily until it, too, was up in flames. “Do you want to rest?”
“Huh?” She cast her gaze over to him after a moment of surprise – apparently, she’d been either captivated by the night sky or lost in her thoughts. “I’m not actually all that tired. You can sleep if you want.”
He nodded. “Keep feeding the fire then; the light will keep most of the monsters at bay.” And it was a bit difficult to keep watch effectively in the dark when in a space as closed off as this, wasn’t it?
I’m sure it’s come to everyone’s attention that my update schedule has kind of slipped a little.
... Alright, maybe more than a little. A lot!
But I swear I’m still working on this fanfiction! I’ve been enthusiastic about it since the first word went down on the word document and that enthusiasm’s carried over to now (146969 words later!) as well! The same goes for CaiRai as a ship in general.
However, I’ve been busy -- with school, mostly, but I also started RP blogs @dragoonspride and @rigeliia (that’s totally not a shameless plug; if you have an RP blog on tumblr and wanna come write with me, though, I won’t object... ;D //shot) and got into Final Fantasy XIV, which is also really absurdly awesome. But mainly, school saps my energy to write things at length, so I’ve just been sticking to my video games. This will probably remain true for the next week or so, because I have finals next week and then the week after is Christmas and I haven’t done any shopping yet.
But I felt that I ought to give the people who’ve been waiting the acknowledgement they deserve, because I really appreciate all the support that people’ve been giving me as of late! I promise I’ve been reading all of it (no, really; I have email notifications for asks on here, comments on AO3, and reviews on FFN!), and it’s just -- wow! I had no idea people liked Of Masks and Mirrors so much! Rest assured that even if all of you hated my guts for daring to write it, though, I’d still be writing, haha -- it’s a fun story that has a fun ending in the works. Or maybe not-so-fun, depending on how you want to look at things.
Anyway, without further adieu...
guest said, on September 20, 2015 || FFN
The story is very well thought out. From the character interactions to keeping the characters in character. I am in absolute suspense to see what Lightning's and Caius' Focus is together. What more will they encounter in their adventure ahead? They are stuck with each other until then which I personally couldn't be more happier.
So begs the question why there are not enough reviews for this story!
I’m glad you like it, and I hope you’re still up to stick around for chapter 21! I’ve tried my hardest to keep everyone in-character (which given the sheer number of characters up to this point, is pretty difficult since their voices are all fairly unique!) and I’m glad that in you eyes I’ve succeeded! It’s a massive undertaking, to be certain, haha.
I’m in absolute suspense to tell you (general you) what their Focus is! Even being so many chapters ahead (I’m in the mid-30′s in terms of writing; I like to have a bit of padding, which is why I haven’t updated yet), I haven’t reached that point yet, but rest assured that question will be answered before the end!
chiquita-gurlie said, on September 22, 2015 || FFN
I am absolutely immersed in your story! The lack of reviews is shocking... there should be more! So finally, Lighting and Caius move forward to try and complete the Focus. I always like a slow burn kind of fiction that makes sense. I love some of the tension, the discomfort, and dislike in previous chapters. Our duo has found some kind of common ground to work together and get going on their forced Focus. Oh goddess, I like your the way you forced it onto them... together.
Look forward another update.
Yup, twenty chapters after they got it... Haha. And I love slowburn fics as well; while it’s oh-so-tempting while writing to just have them kiss already (wait, is the fact that I haven’t had them kiss yet spoilers...?), I do feel that it’ll ultimately be more rewarding in the end~ :) I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the tension so far! Rest assured there’ll be more in the rest of the fic... Though of course I remember that it’s a CaiRai fic, so it’s the shippy sort of tension... Naturally.
Glad to have you around!
Ellis Bane said on November 13(!), 2015 || FFN
It's been awhile since I've looked for an FFXIII-2 fic and I wish that I looked sooner so I could find this story. It's interesting to see the progression between Lightning and Caius' from the beginning to now. So I can't wait to see what else is in store.
Well, you’re here now, and that’s what counts -- yes? Good to know you’re eagerly awaiting the thrilling (alright, maybe not thrilling... The pace of this fic is overall pretty relaxed compared to many of my other works due to its sheer length) continuation!
Anonymous said on Debember 8, 2015 || Tumblr
I need you to continue writing that Cairai fanfic because the feels are killing me. Please update soon! <3
I’ll be sure to hook you up with a fix soon! :) Actually, in fact, I hope you’re fully braced for chapter 21...
S.I said on December 9, 2015 || FFN
Amazing as always! Keep up the awsome writing and please update soon!
Thank you! I’ll definitely try to! :)
nina said on December 9, 2015 || AO3
Omg omg omg!!! I need more!!! It's getting so good. Thank you for crearing this story that has me hooked!!!
No, thank you for enjoying my story and thank you for taking the time to drop me a comment! It means a lot, really!
Now that that’s taken care of (thank you all for your kind words and continued support) I guess I’ll point out my goals for an update schedule going forward! I’m not going to consider this binding, because I’m pretty shit at getting to things on schedule, but going forward I’m goign to try to update once ot twice a month if I can. There’s bound to be things that come up during my next semester of school, though, and I’m going to be preparing to go to college next autumn! (Gah, I wish I wasn’t... I want to take a year off, but alas.) So don’t hold me too stringently to that because it all depends on how much time I can find to write between school and everything else.
Chapter 21 will definitely be published by Christmas. Happy Holidays, everyone~! It’ll be my gift from me to you!
Word Count: 9543
Author Notes: Buckle your seatbelts.
Entire Work · AO3 · FFN
XX. The Best of Times
Hope arrived late on Wednesday afternoon. He was welcomed warmly by all present – that was to say, all save Maqui, whom was working diligently in his workshop. Lightning left him to it after bringing him the Organyx – but couldn’t help but note the obscene number of energy drinks lined up waiting to be opened off to the side. Maybe he should have thought harder before doing shots with Yuj. That day, after the fact, was uneventful; they spent some time catching up, although neither Lightning nor Caius were willing to tell him how the two of them had met. It was a really long story – and one that, with any luck, would be of no concern to anyone involved after this was all over. They would, potentially, part ways forever – and Caius would no longer be her problem. He slept on the couch that night, and they started across the bay late the next morning.
The way to the town across the bay was surprisingly peaceful – the water was clear enough that Lightning could practically see all the way to the bottom of she tried, although the way the boat disturbed the water in its motion turned it white and opaque. The roar of the boat’s motor as they jetted across the water was near-deafening, although that didn’t stop them from carrying on conversations. Serah, Snow, Yuj, and Lebreau seemed very engaged in a debate over something-or-other that Lightning didn’t really care about but sounded like involved the discography of some artist that all of them were for some reason really interested in.
(To Lightning, music was music, more or less.)
Her and Hope on the other hand, kept quiet for the most part, exchanging words when words were necessary, casting gazes into the water. The wind toyed pleasantly with their hair, and Lightning had to fix hers several times with how it tended to want to fly into her mouth or some such; Hope had a similar problem keeping it out of his eyes and at one point he muttered something about it being time for a haircut.
Some buildings suspended over the water marked the halfway point; the foundation, of course, was far wider than the peanut-shaped structure itself (almost reminiscent of Lightning’s old house, actually, and her eyes followed it as they sped past the structure and into the distance), allowing for aircraft to be parked just outside. Several boats were tied down to it, too; not plain white like theirs was, but rather gray and various shades of various colors. Guardian Corps insignias were branded on the side of a few of them.
“Never understood why they put a base out on the water,” Lightning admitted; the structure had drawn her curiosity even when she was bound to the beach and not zooming past it on a boat.
“Well, they’ve gotta service both New Bodhum and Cerith, so the halfway point’s about as good as any to set up,” Hope replied. “Surprisingly isn’t that deep here.”
“Really?”
“Nah; just sixty feet.”
“Wow.”
“And if I remember correctly, the water around Bodhum, back on Cocoon, before getting out onto real open water, was around two hundred feet deep; deeper in crevices, shallower toward shores and sandbanks.”
That gave her a moment’s pause – considering how massive Pulse was compared to Cocoon, it was pretty remarkable that the sea in the immediate vicinity of Bodhum was deeper than the bay in its center on Pulse. But then, given that Bodhum was situated on an island, that only really counted if you considered the entire jurisdiction of the Bodhum Security Regiment, rather than the actual boundaries of the town. “Yeah, sounds about right,” Lightning said. “Fair enough. So, been out here before? To Cerith, I mean.”
“Once, but not often. This is the first real break I’ve had; since I officially graduate this year, I figured I should let myself have a little bit of fun. But I had to pass through there to get to the site of my Pulse Studies externship, and me and some friends stayed at the inn a few days going out and a few coming back. It was pretty nice.”
A fleeting smile crept to Lightning’s lips. Hope was really growing up, wasn’t he? It was strange; the last time she’d seen him in person, he’d been fourteen. Now he was seventeen, and she hadn’t even aged a day; in that lost time, he’d shot up a solid foot and now stood over her (which was weird enough as it was), but to think the boy whom she still sort of caught herself thinking of as a kid was graduating. “I thought externships were just for college students?”
“They are; I earned a dual-enrollment, though, so some of my classes, like Pulse Studies, I can take at the college level, and the school I go to is actually on Mysidia University’s campus. I’m hoping to get a degree by the time I turn twenty and then work with the Academy full-time.” Hope laughed a bit. “Admittedly, I guess my dad’s status has something to do with my eligibility for the program, but it’s a means to an end, y’know? I just…” He trailed off, meeting Lightning’s gaze. “After everything we did, Light, I’ve gotta repay the people of Cocoon somehow.”
Their eyes remained locked for a long few moments, but Lightning couldn’t muster enough will to reply before she tore her eyes away, casting her gaze into the water rushing past once more. “Yeah. I get it.” 'Better than you could possibly know.'
It was only fifteen minutes more or so before they reached their destination.
The town of Cerith wasn’t actually much bigger than New Bodhum was – although it was certainly busier. Only around three fourths of the buildings were residential, but those that weren’t served as shops and little food stands in some cases. Both civilians and off-duty peacekeepers meandered around the main plaza – which, as in New Bodhum, was on the beach, but the citizens of Cerith saw it fit to lay down some stones to make it official. A palm tree served as the centerpiece for the town, which overall was a bit more practical in design than New Bodhum, but then people from all walks of life settled here, carving their homes into the cliffs (which were far less steep than the ones that backed New Bodhum) rather than deal with construction over water, no matter how calm. The result was a somewhat multilayered community – sort of charming, really. The scents of home filled her nose – someone had put a bit of chicken over the fire, as well as – oh, were those peppers? Regardless, Lightning wasn’t here to eat, and no one else really seemed hungry yet, so may as well shop around. See what the town had to offer.
Lightning patted the red pouch strapped to her leg – part of her Guardian Corps uniform but more or less the closest to a purse she could get – lightly as she and the others set off toward the little shopping center-type area that the people had set up. For better or for worse, they didn’t stay a group for very long – as different items piqued different people’s interests, people peeled away until it was just her. Snow and Serah’s attention had been grabbed by an artist selling beaded necklaces (like Snow needed anything else around his neck…), Lebreau’s fancy taken by a tanned woman selling fresh, Pulse-grown herbs for use in cooking briefly before she found the merchant herself more interesting than her products and they got lost in a conversation about something or other. Yuj flitted around all of the different shops, apparently unable to decide which was the most interesting and more or less just looking without really buying anything; Hope sat before a woman sitting on a quilt laid on the sand and weighted down by what she was selling: books. Lots and lots of books, most of which were yellowed with age.
Lightning herself? She made a beeline for a pair of soldiers who’d set up shop in a small hut that was probably brought down from Cocoon for aesthetics’ sake rather than built from the materials found on Pulse for practical reasons, given the fact that the structure was held up on the inside by thin metal rods.
“’Ey, how can we help ya?” one dark-haired uniformed man greeted, standing from his fold-out chair. Lightning saluted him briefly, and he returned the gesture. “We’ve got a little of everything.”
“I see.” Her eyes briefly roamed the selection – they certainly did have everything, but in very small quantities. Probably just what little surplus there was in the wake of more and more people moving down to Pulse, or parts of old shipments that were never claimed for one reason or another. “I have some pretty specific things in mind.”
“Try us; if we got it, you can buy it,” the other – one who cared a bit less about the state of his uniform in the heat, apparently, and one who held his long, dirty blond hair back in a low ponytail – quipped, patting a cardboard box next to him.
Lightning’s eyes scanned the wares more closely, before pointing to a pair of reasonably-size backpacks made of some sort of thin-looking cloth – nothing retail-quality and certainly nothing like she’d drug to school during her teen years or anything, but they looked durable enough and light enough to be useful. They didn’t match, but that was fine – she wasn’t picky about color and she was sure Caius wasn’t, either (especially given he didn’t even want to bring anything along in the first place). “I want the small one,” she prompted, and the soldier whom greeted her immediately pulled it down from where they were hanging toward the back of the hut on a wire grid. “And a compass. Two canteens. Some firelighter tablets. Keeping up?” Pause. “Water purification tablets. A watertight container, preferably small, four books of matches, and one of those small notepads there.”
“Yeah, havin’ entertainment out there helps, don’t it?”
The men had set to work gathering what she’d specified. At one point, the blond one asked if a thermos was acceptable substitute for one of the canteens and after a moment’s consideration and seeing that the thermos in question was pretty large and could hold a fair amount of liquid, she decided it would do and she’d just have to see if she could find the singular canteen she’d come into possession of during her time in the military. She requested a second one as well – just in case. The items were laid before her on the front table – which otherwise was empty. Lightning took a moment to examine everything, making sure everything was in good working order.
“Whatcha need all this for?” the blond soldier asked.
Lightning quirked an eyebrow. “Just wanna brave the wilderness alone for a few weeks. Get away from it all, see what I can find.”
How easy it was to lie.
“Yeah? Make sure you’re armed, then. Monsters get damn nasty.”
A slight smirk crept to her lips. “Yeah, I know. Thanks for the warning,” she replied before fishing her wallet out of her red pouch and handing them a semi-transparent plastic card which they readily swiped in a device connected to a phone. The device beeped and a flight flashed green to let them know that the transaction had been approved before they handed her card back and they started filling the backpack with the miscellaneous items that she’d bought in lieu of offering her a proper bag. It held it all with so much room to spare that it almost seemed like a shame… Well, it was certainly environmentally friendly…
She readily accepted the bag when it was handed to her, slinging it over her shoulder. She could probably jog a few miles with it. Caius had better not complain… Actually, just by wishing it, she probably just jinxed it. Nevermind. He could gripe all he wanted, honestly, but if he wanted release from his imposed servitude – even if all evidence pointed to their brands not actually advancing and thus no real time limit to complete their task, there was always something at the back of a l’Cie’s mind that dreaded the alternative to completing their Focus. That, and whether he liked it or not (which he certainly didn’t, actually), the goddess had some sway over him.
She thanked the soldiers and stepped away from the hut and took to window-shopping, one hand resting over her brand. It wasn’t a conscious thing, not really – and it wasn’t even visible underneath her white denim vest, or even the black cropped t-shirt underneath for that matter, so there was no need to cover it. But it brought a bit of comfort as she moved through what was, frankly, the only sizable crowd she’d been a part of since arriving back in 3AF. Finding no further items of interest, it wasn’t long until she rejoined the nearest of her companions – well, besides Snow and Serah given that they seemed content to walk and chat alone, so really the second-nearest: Hope. By the time she joined him, he had a sizable stack of books tucked into a plastic grocery bag and just about the giddiest look on his face she’d ever seen.
“Buy some new toys?”
“Huh?” He just about jumped out of his skin. “Oh, well, uh – yeah, I guess you could say that! You get everything you needed, Light?”
“Yep. Just the essentials. Caius is probably going to bitch about it, but he’ll thank me later.”
The silver-haired boy – no, he was a young man now, Lightning reminded herself; she couldn’t keep thinking of him as a child – laughed a bit at that. “He doesn’t seem like the sort to complain much, but I guess you’d know.” He paused for a moment, thoughtfully, and they began walking along the path side by side. The scent of grilled food grew thicker as they approached the section of the marketplace specifically designed to make one’s mouth start watering. “… Hey, Light, can you tell me a little about him? I mean, he’s just—”
“Quiet? Unnerving? A shadow?” Lightning offered. “Yeah, I guess it wouldn’t hurt to fill you in on some details. In short, Caius is an – well, actually, you know how I disappeared after Cocoon fell?” A sort of melancholy crept into her voice, although Hope didn’t seem to notice it. Or, if he did, he didn’t let on that he did. But he nodded nonetheless. “Well, uh, long story short I was sucked into a realm beyond time. Valhalla, actually. I met Caius there – but he’s not from there, he, uh—” Etro, how could she ever explain this? “He’s an immortal warrior from the ancient city of Paddra. You know, those ruins in Yaschas Massif that we visited when we first got to Pulse?”
Hope arched an eyebrow.
“It sounds crazy, but it’s true. Besides being an ancient warrior, though, he’s—” actually, no, Hope didn’t need to know the sort of threat he posed toward, well, just all of existence as they knew it— “a total ass. Pretty quiet, not too confrontational for the most part, but he’ll find a way to get on your nerves if he wants to, without a doubt. We were given the same Focus…” Whoops, too much. “Don’t worry, not Pulse l’Cie. Or Cocoon l’Cie. We’re, uh… Valhalla l’Cie, I guess. Branded by Etro. You know, she was mentioned in some of the stories and records we found while running around Pulse. I don’t think we’re going to become Cie’th, though; our brands haven’t changed since we got ‘em.”
His look of concern left his face, but did not leave his eyes. “Wow. Seems like the story’s a lot more complicated than I thought,” Hope replied, laughing a bit. “I figured you just didn’t wanna talk about it with him around or something. Looks like I was wrong.”
Lightning snorted. “That’s part of the reason, I guess. Ain’t got a lot of good to say about Caius; I’m not sure he takes an issue with that but I don’t need any potential interruptions from him.”
“No? He seems nice enough. Quiet.”
“It’s just because Yeul’s around; trust me. If she weren’t, he’d be the worst bastard you ever dealt with,” she replied with a shrug, recalling their banter in Valhalla. He was always so… Condescending, especially in the way he tended to veil his disdain in compliments – his nickname for her immediately sprung to mind – or mock-worry. Little had changed since they were branded save for the fact he dropped the nickname for whatever reason – likely because they were no longer in battle, or perhaps simply because she no longer wore the armor that made her look the part – and instead resorted to quiet defiance and passive aggressiveness. And his worry for her seemed a bit more genuine, although they both knew it was unwarranted given that Etro had split the Heart of Chaos between them for the time being, just to keep Caius from getting any ideas and to give both Her and Lightning some leverage over him. The Guardian was no less infuriating for it, honestly. She pinched the bridge of her nose and continued, “Ugh. And I have to deal with him alone while we’re away. Shoot me.”
“I believe in you.”
“Thanks, Hope.”
They continued walking in silence, side by side – until they came to a stop in front of one of the small, simple food stands that appeared to be selling food cooked on a charcoal grill – grilled peppers (both from Cocoon and from Pulse, from the looks of things), sausages, hamburgers. The longer they lingered, the more the smell made Lightning’s mouth water, and it wasn’t long after they had decided to loiter at one of the small tables that had been set up (the least precarious looking one, in fact; while all four of them stood upright only on their own merits in the soft sand, all of them were held steady by a base apparently filled with concrete and the table they picked, off to the left side, decidedly wasn’t leaning over as much as the others). And they sat there, looking out over to the rocks to the south and how the land subsided to sea – and they exchanged few words after that, mostly light-hearted and joking in nature.
Gradually, they were joined by the other members of the group – Lebreau first, and her presence added a bit of energy to the conversation when she brought with her a small box with four or so glass jars containing herbs that could only be found on Gran Pulse in them; Serah and Snow joined them shortly after, with their new possessions concealed completely within old plastic grocery bags for the most part, save for the new necklace hanging around Snow’s neck – a simple metallic chain. Lightning rolled her eyes at him. Serah had apparently bought a new bracelet, too. After a bit longer, Yuj joined them as well and proved to be the only one among them that had enough willpower not to buy anything, which earned only jeers from the others; Lebreau and Serah both tried to goad him into buying them all some food before Snow spoke up and offered to pay.
This, no one had a problem with.
They spent their final day together.
The NORA house was absolutely deserted – both for the fact that most of its usual inhabitants were away and the fact that Noel, Caius, and Yeul opted to spend the day up on the cliffs. Caius wasn’t sure of Noel’s opinion of this decision, but without a doubt in the Guardian’s expert opinion, it felt good to spend time up on the cliffs again, surrounded not by walls but by trees, and letting the sky act as their ceiling. It was about as warm as one might expect from a summer day, and the monsters were especially feeling the heat, apparently, with the few that dared stray from their cover beneath brush and trees getting especially irritable. Caius carried Yeul on his shoulders, far out of reach of any monsters, while Noel dispatched the ones that had mind to challenge them easily, usually with naught but a swift slash with his greatsword or a carefully placed stab with his smaller sword. Their path home was thus marked with the corpses of some sort of triffid-like monster (though rather than disguise themselves as flowers low to the ground, they had a preference for disguising themselves as flowering fruit high in the trees) and the empty shells of pulsework soldiers so decrepit that it was a rather simple matter to destroy the exposed circuitry, leaving them as little more than twitching piles of junk.
Caius let Yeul down when they were out of the literal and metaphorical woods, letting her take a seat on a stout stone. Bushes full of ripening summer berries grew behind them, and the water lapped at the rocks below the cliff. Noel lingered beside Yeul while Caius approached the edge and peered down into the dark depths of the water below, ever so briefly – well, no, that wasn’t quite accurate; the water itself wasn’t deep enough, with all its various rock formations to be dark. He could see straight through to the bottom for a few yards out in other places, until of course the land fell away into the abyss, but the water below them here was just dark.
He let out a bemused hum before stepping away from the edge of the cliff and joining Noel and Yeul. They chose a spot far enough back that the shade of the trees could be cast on them, protecting them from the added heat of the sun’s rays; Yeul’s hands briefly toyed with her headpiece before she straightened the hem of her shirt, a slight smile gracing her lips. Noel sat in the grass just a bit to the left and Caius filled the space to her right.
The air around them stirred in only brief zephyrs, toying only slightly with their hair; the words between them were few, but between Caius and Yeul they needed few verbal cues and while Noel was far worse at reading Caius than Yeul was, he could get a general sense of his mood. The Guardian fidgeted slightly for a few moments after Yeul turned his hand away, but only until her headpiece gave her trouble; after a moment of lamenting her defeat, she rested one hand on Caius’s shoulder and he got up on his knees and shuffled behind her to fix her hair so that the headpiece held it in place. The translucent veil, however, was a feature she omitted, for some reason or another, and she smiled at Caius in quiet, although her eyes remained a bit downcast.
Her Guardian dared not ask what was wrong, not in front of Noel – but in matters of Yeul it was difficult to hide behind walls and barriers. He couldn’t keep the concern from his features: a slight frown, the slight knitting together of his brow.
Yeul pretended not to notice. Noel probably didn’t pick up on it at all.
Perhaps the best thing about both Yeul and Noel was that they were both pretty easily pleased. They were content to sit and talk – while Caius laid back in the impossibly soft grass and let his eyes slip closed, the winds flowing over him. He was careful not to doze – or, he tried to be; their conversation seemed to skip around several times and at one point when he opened his eyes they’d moved entirely, with Yeul seated to his left, stroking his hair, and Noel to his right on the grass. He stirred at that for a moment, turning his head into Yeul’s touch. She responded by giggling softly and patting his head gently before pulling away.
“Sweet dreams?” Noel asked, smiling a bit.
Caius’s lips parted and he was about to protest – ‘I was not sleeping,’ he could have said – but instead held his tongue, merely letting out a huff. “I don’t dream.”
Noel raised his eyebrows but decided not to pursue that topic any further, apparently, because next he commented: “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you doze off before now.”
The Guardian blinked before pulling himself into an upright position. “You were just too busy to notice. I left you and Yanny to your own devices for a reason.” A fleeting smirk crept to his lips then, and he found himself turning his gaze to the horizon when Noel looked away almost guiltily. Caius slept a lot, those days; the remaining people of the village did their best to keep her safe in his stead. The only real danger she’d fallen under had been that time the children had strayed too far and had been attacked by a strigoi. Other than that, he visited when he needed to and simply tried to fade into the background.
He promised to let that Yeul – the last Yeul – live a normal life. A ‘normal’ life wasn’t exactly one that he was a prominent part of, although as the villagers’ numbers waned, he visited her more and more – in an effort to keep her company and to keep her safe and perhaps simply because his instincts as a Guardian were so set-in-stone that he couldn’t deny them for long.
Caius let his hand brush against Yeul’s for a moment, and then she rested her palm in his.
‘While I’m gone, Noel, please make sure she stays safe.’ He wished he could force those words to his lips, but it was not to be. The grim realization had dawned on him long ago that he would have to let go – soon – if he was to see this finished. And he knew already that Noel would be a fine Guardian – the only thing he’d yet to do was take the title from Caius, which he had no real intention of doing. He was more than capable of taking care of Yeul. He need not ask him to do so; it was already decided that he would. And it wasn’t like the immortal didn’t trust him to do just that (quite the opposite, in fact), but it was just…
He let out a sigh, bringing his free hand up to push up his headband. “Noel.”
“Hm?” The younger man regarded him with wide blue eyes and raised eyebrows.
“I’m sorry.”
A beat of silence, then Noel’s expression softened a bit, the ghost of a smile even teasing at the corners of his lips. Caius was tempted to add a footnote to that apology – he still very much sought Yeul’s freedom from her curse, but as for everything he’d done to Noel and his friends, well… In reply, Noel offered only silence, but Caius got the feeling that the apology did not go unappreciated. The dark-haired man rose then, slowly pulling himself to his feet and stepping into the sunlight. His hands settled on his hips and for a long few moments he simply looked out to the horizon before he turned to face the Guardian (and Yeul, beside him) once more. “Try not to worry about it too much. That’s behind us now, alright?”
Somehow, though, he was not sure it was fully accepted, but that was fine. He didn’t expect it right away. And before the time came to leave, he figured he could make himself content with that. Yeul leaned against Caius, letting her eyes slip closed briefly, and he pulled her into a loose embrace. “Alright.”
The day wound on, and for the most part they were all simply content to enjoy each other’s quiet company. Monsters seldom bothered them, and for lunch they had some fruit – long and slender, and once the yellow-orange skin was peeled back, pale orange flesh was revealed. The fruit was a lot sweeter than the tangy fruit that Caius had for breakfast in the weeks following his initial arrival, but neither Noel nor Yeul seemed bothered and finished off theirs with little issue. When Caius couldn’t force himself to continue, he let Yeul have the remaining fourth of his portion.
“Forgot you weren’t big on sweet stuff,” Noel commented – definitely teasing. His tone earned a brief frown from Caius – but then the Guardian couldn’t force himself to keep up the façade.
“I like sweets. Just. Not as much as you two seem to. Maybe it’s because you two are children.”
“Hey – I’m eighteen,” Noel huffed. Yeul, on the other hand, had no protests.
“I watched you grow up, Noel.” He smirked then, resting his hands on his knees. “And I’m no less than eighty times older than you.”
That gave his former apprentice some pause. “Point taken.”
And Yeul – Yeul thought the first statement somewhat curious, and she tilted her head to the side, emerald eyes fixed on Caius. He tried to ignore it, but ultimately failed, briefly explaining: “I first met Noel after I’d come to his village for one of your future incarnations – or, rather, to let her mother know I intended to let her remain in the village rather than take her away.” Pause, a slight laugh. “He burst into the room and yelled at me before she cleared up the apparent misunderstanding.”
Yeul’s eyes flashed with something – perhaps a bit of hurt, perhaps something else, but it was gone as soon as it appeared and Caius didn’t seem to catch it.
And Noel laughed a bit – “Yeah. I think it was like – I thought you’d done something to hurt her or something? I don’t even remember, exactly. Surprised I can recall that much.”
“That’s right. Heh, you were too young to understand the concept of happy tears back then.”
“I was… … … Three?”
“You sure were.”
All of them converged at sunset, both parties and the absentees coming to the NORA house at the end of the day. Unfortunately, Hope had to leave shortly after they’d gotten back to shore and didn’t get to say good-bye to Yeul or Noel or Caius in person, but Lightning carried the message for him anyway. Lebreau immediately set to work cooking dinner, enlisting the help of the younger Farron sister, and soon the house was bathed in the scent of good food cooking – vegetables, meat seasoned with both new and familiar spices. Lightning’s eyes flitted over the crowd gathered at the couch from where she loitered just off to the side; they managed to goad Yuj into buying some playing cards and the majority of the group present (that was to say: Yuj, Maqui, Noel, and Yeul) was preoccupied playing Aces. Simple game, fun game – but not one Lightning was particularly interested in; Caius was likely only paying attention because Yeul was playing, although he didn’t appear to exactly understand the purpose of the game. Lightning was tempted to approach if only to remind Maqui of the gunblades – but it could wait.
Why ruin the moment, after all? Everyone seemed content for the time being, with their Aces and their cooking; Gadot and Snow chatted out on the deck and whatever they were talking about must have been hilarious because she could hear their snickers all the way from out there. She turned her gaze into the kitchen where Lebreau and Serah worked – dinner tonight would be less simple fare than usual, she could tell; they were using the chicken tenders that needed to be cooked, which were cut into thin strips and seasoned and baked in the oven. It smelled incredible from where she was standing, but what really intrigued her was the sauce – Lebreau had been working on that the longest, starting with canned chicken stock and a roux and adjusting seasoning and letting it reduce. But now she was back on it, adding heavy cream and a bit of lemon juice and adjusting the heat and paying it more mind to make sure that it didn’t scald.
Unfortunately, Lightning knew that Lebreau’s reply if she were to ask what type of sauce it was – or ask for a taste – would be simply a smile and perhaps a light reprimand. Everyone knew better than to ask to taste her stuff before it was done; ruined the surprise, she always said, and some things were simply meant to be enjoyed as a finished product.
After a few moments, she joined the group, sitting down on the floor next to the coffee table across from Caius. Yuj greeted her with a smile while Maqui chose one of the cards from his hand. The mechanic didn’t notice her for a few moments, instead pressing his lips together when he examined the card he’d chosen. Yeul beside him laughed and Caius’s lips quirked in a slight smile. It was a few moments before Yuj broke down into a fit of uncontrollable giggles and, in response, Noel laid his hand down on the table and leaned back in his seat. Certainly, the NORA boys seemed to have trouble taking anything seriously for more than five minutes… Not that it was unwelcome. Not everything had to be all about business, as Lightning realized soon after being plunked back into her home era.
Maqui paused a beat before slamming the card down on the table, revealing an ace of spades. He clenched his teeth, apparently to avoid cursing because honestly he really looked like he wanted to. “You’ve got this deck rigged, Yuj; there’s no way I lost three times in a row fair and square!”
“It’s a new deck! I didn’t even have time to rig it. You can look through it yourself.”
All of the cards were gathered and flipped through in short order; all fifty-two were perfectly fine and free of any rigging, much to Maqui’s chagrin. “Fine, maybe I just suck. But at least I’ll win against you in checkers every time.”
Yuj huffed. “Yeah, and then Serah’ll kick your ass for me.” Pause, before shouting into the kitchen: “Right?”
“Yeah!”
“See?” Yuj crossed his arms and tilted his chin up a bit, a smile gracing his lips.
“Some of us don’t need Serah to back ‘em up, though, so in the end I still win.” Maqui grinned.
Lightning met Caius’s gaze from across the table and he rolled his eyes, mouthing to her: “Children.”
She nodded. If there was anything they could agree on then it was that Maqui and Yuj were both a bit lacking in the sportsmanship department…
While they bickered, Yeul retrieved the checkers board from where it was stored and set it up on the table. The pieces clacked around when the box impacted the table, and everyone just stopped dead. “Settle this,” she said, and Yuj and Maqui looked between them. Yuj shrugged and opened the box, starting to set it up before Maqui backed down.
And with a smirk, Yuj said: “Yeah, that’s what I thought!”
“Are you sure you want to do that, Lightning?” She looked up from the board, meeting his eyes as she slowly began to retract her previous move, returning her bishop to its original position. Across from her, Caius smirked a bit, tapping a rhythm on the coffee table for a moment. He let out a soft, self-satisfied hum when Lightning returned to examining the board and looking over all her possible moves – their game of chess was nearing a close and, infuriatingly enough, it seemed to be a game that the Guardian was familiar with. Lightning never counted herself particularly good at it – she wasn’t winning any championships; that was for sure – but it was still absolutely infuriating, at least in the regard that Caius knew exactly how to sow the seeds of doubt about her every move. And she knew he knew she knew – and he enjoyed every second of it.
Her hand moved several times between her bishop and her knight – was there really anything to be worried about…? She huffed before moving her bishop where she’d originally intended, capturing one of his rooks and putting his king in check. He responded in kind by capturing the offending piece with his queen (which – along with around half of his pawns, his other rook, one knight, and his king – was one of the pieces he had remaining on the board; Lightning fared just about as well, with her king and queen but no knights or bishops anymore, slightly less than half of her pawns, and both her rooks). She kicked herself for a moment, pressing her lips together and turning her gaze to the ceiling.
And then their cycle was back at its beginning, and Lightning was about to make her next move and Caius’s taunts were poised and ready on the tip of his tongue when Serah shouted at them to pick up the board. Everyone was perhaps a bit visibly disappointed (even outside of the only two participants in the game proper; Noel and Maqui had taken a keen interest in their game for some reason or another) – but Caius and Lightning complied and soon enough the board was stowed away under the table where it belonged. Yuj rose and helped the women get everyone served, including Snow and Gadot whom made their appearances inside shortly after their food was brought to them. And soon, everyone was sitting in the same general area – not necessarily next to each other or in a circle, really, but close enough. The NORA gang laughed among themselves – Serah and Lightning chatted softly while pushing bits of chicken or squash around on their plate and through the sauce with either their forks or a bit of bread.
The eldest Farron was, of course, more content to listen to Serah and provide commentary when asked; for the most part she just wore an encouraging smile. Her sister spoke of her relationship with Snow, mostly, perfectly aware that the man in question was well within earshot but not pressed enough to care given that she had little but good things to say about him (save for some sly digs at some of those sorts of habits, that even though you love a person despite, annoy the ever-loving shit out of you). And then she said something about not being able to wait until Lightning returned, and that earned a soft, almost sad smile from her. “You don’t have to wait for me, you know.”
“But it won’t be the same unless you’re there,” Serah replied. “I’m sure we can wait just a little longer – so that we can do it properly. Right, Snow?”
And that’s how she managed to pull her fiancé, ever-so-briefly, out of his conversation across the table with Noel. “Huh—yeah! I mean, what’s the point of waiting for you in the first place if we just go ahead and get married while you’re gone anyway? Everyone’s gotta be there.”
So dedicated. “Mm. You could always get the paperwork out of the way though, right?”
Serah hummed, taking a small slice of her chicken into her mouth. And she chewed it over thoughtfully before swallowing and giving a noncommittal shrug. “I guess.”
Lightning could tell her heart wasn’t in it and so she let the suggestion drop, nudging her sister gently in an (apparently-successful) effort to cheer her up before returning to her food. It hopefully wouldn’t take excessively long before this whole ordeal was over with anyway. She snuck a glance to the silent Guardian across from her, whom was just about done with his plate of food and was busy clearing the last traces of sauce and food with bits of bread, apparently determined to make his plate clean before anything else. While everyone sang praises of Lebreau’s cooking, Caius preferred to regard it with a sort of silent appreciation, which… honestly Lightning couldn’t complain about. He wasn’t the most welcome guest and most of the time when he opened his mouth whatever words came out ended up sounding condescending. But under that appreciation, something weighed him down, and normally-squared shoulders sagged just a little, normally cold and hard eyes softened a bit. His confidence from their earlier chess match had apparently disappeared and he smiled now only when Yeul spoke to him; his lips parted to speak softly to only her (although to be fair everyone else was carrying on a conversation of some sort with everyone else, more or less leaving Caius to his own devices). The seeress didn’t seem too much better off and she had paused in her meal entirely until Caius goaded her into finishing the food she’d been given and the two of them, more or less side-by-side, lapsed into silence.
Lightning decided not to bother herself with it too much; whatever issues they had were not her problem and knowing Caius he likely didn’t wish to bother her with them.
The meal came, and the meal went – as sad as it was for those absolutely fucking magical combinations of different flavors and textures to disappear as the moment passed, it was one moment closer to the inevitable conclusion of their journey. That was how Caius had taken to looking at it, anyway, in an attempt to cast this whole situation in a more positive light. If it was Yeul he wanted to accompany them then he could simply take her along (although that involved disregarding her personal wishes, which he was… Not crazy about). If he wished, then he might even be able to simply disregard their Focus entirely and continue drifting through the centuries as he had been before this whole mess. But that… No, that would change the future again and cut Yeul’s life even shorter. In Valhalla, he had been prepared to twist time even if it meant doing just that, but here? Things hit far closer to home when there was one of Yeul’s many incarnations sitting right beside him, when he heard her voice and saw her smiles and heard her laughs, when she was there and alive and warm beside him rather than a cold, limp corpse in his arms.
The meal passed and Lebreau and Snow helped clean up; most of the NORA gang went out on the deck to chat and get some fresh air, leaving only Noel, Lightning, Serah, Yeul, and, of course, himself. Maqui also made himself scarce but only to retrieve their gunblades from his workshop, which which he soon returned; the Organyx found its way into Caius’s hands once more and it felt good to have a weapon again and Lightning was already toying with her Blazefire Saber. The barrel looked to be reinforced – a feature not present on Caius’s gunblade – and the blade proper was polished and looked even sharper than it had before, if that were possible. It shifted between all its forms easily, the slight lag between disappeared with the fixing of joints worn from age. On the Organyx (which had a sling, he found – similar to Lightning’s and certainly useful enough to be put to use immediately), everything was reinforced, especially the joints, and Caius knew that somewhere within the inner workings of the weapons rested mobius coils, although how useful they’d be on their journey had yet to be determined. And they thanked the mechanic, really and truly, before taking their leave. Lightning and the rest shared a drawn-out (and almost teary on Serah’s part) good-bye, full of half-hugs and shoulder nudges and Serah gave her something that Caius couldn’t discern the exact identity of – maybe a full-on hug, maybe a sisterly cheek-kiss in farewell. The only ones whom really acknowledged that Caius would be leaving come morning out of the rest of the group were Noel and Serah; he didn’t expect a warm good-bye as they had given the eldest Farron. He didn’t expect a good-bye at all.
So he was a little taken aback when Noel and Serah both approached him. Noel smiled at him and Serah regarded him almost neutrally before she actually became the first one to speak—“So, uh. You’re leaving.”
He cast his gaze away and nodded.
“… You know, I don’t think I can say that it was nice having you and mean it, but… You’re welcome back after this is all over.” She forced a smile at that and crossed her arms – well, no, that wasn’t quite accurate. She hugged her arms close to her body, hands on her elbows, and shrunk back a little as if she loathed to be too close to him.
He didn’t blame her.
Yeul smiled up at her and Caius acknowledged the offer with a nod. “Thank you, Serah.” And then he, too, let a slight smile slip through in an effort to ease Serah’s nerves… although it didn’t work as well as he’d hoped. “I’ll certainly be at least returning—” naturally—“but perhaps I’ll allow Yeul and I’s stay to be extended just a bit longer afterward.” Beside him, Yeul took his hand and squeezed a little.
“Good,” Noel replied. “I’ll make sure to take good care of Yeul while you’re gone.” Then to Yeul, he whispered, although it was that sort of loud whisper that Caius was certain that he, too was meant to hear: “We’ll have lots of fun while he’s gone.”
Caius smirked at the words, biting back a dry chuckle, bowing his head. And Serah continued: “Hey, can I ask you something, Caius?”
“You just did.” A quirk of the Guardian’s lips which was not returned by anyone.
“Very funny,” Serah replied, an edge creeping into her voice. “No, but really… What made you so… Agreeable? When you and Lightning got here, from what she told us you were pretty bitter still.”
“I have my reasons. Yeul is one.” He smiled down at the seeress by his side. “Admittedly, my eidolon is another.”
“Bahamut?” It was meant as a clarification but Noel’s tone made it sound more like a question.
“Yes.” His greatest ally – and a part of him. To disregard his word would be unthinkable, even if he is technically aligned with the goddess when considered as an entity separate from the Guardian.
“I see…” Serah murmured, casting her gaze away thoughtfully. Then, satisfied, she smiled a little at him. “You two stay safe out there, alright? I know neither of you really need it – but I’ll be here cheering you on.” Or at the very least, she’d be there cheering Lightning on – and praying for her sister’s safe return.
Caius let his expression soften a little, and he nodded a bit in thanks.
“I fail to see how these are necessary.”
For once, all of the empty floor space in the house came in handy. They let themselves be a bit messy as they took itinerary of their supplies for a change – everything from water purification tablets to the matches (in the small watertight box she’d purchased) to small spare water bottles and, for Lightning, a change of undergarments. The recovered metal military-issue canteen and a second she wasn’t aware she had when she’d started searching when she got home that afternoon and the thermoses she’d bought for them. Everything Lightning had bought in Cerith and a little more, to make sure they were completely and totally prepared to brave the wilderness… Although Caius didn’t really see why they needed to be doing any of this when he was coming along as a matter of necessity. None of what they were carrying with them save the gunblades were needed, in his eyes. At all. He set the bright green box on the ground in front of him and Lightning snatched them away, emptying the wrapped bars on the floor before her before setting them aside.
“What, you want to stop every time we’re hungry? They’re nice in a pinch.”
“We will not be in any pinches.”
“Better to be overprepared than under.”
“The Yeuls and I have survived off what Gran Pulse has to offer for centuries!” Caius crossed his arms, scowling – but then a smirk crept to his lips as he continued, “Perhaps you’re simply unwilling to leave your modern comforts behind?”
“Don’t push your luck.”
“Ah, that’s it. It’s so different in Valhalla, where you never want for anything – but now that you’ve returned, you can’t let go.”
“Do you get off on being difficult?” the woman across from him snipped as she started lining the bars up in the most space-conserving way she could think of and packing them into the backpack’s front pouch. He just kind of… gave her a look in response, one with so many components – bemusement and disgust, most prominently – that it would have been impossible to pinpoint it exactly. The Guardian cast his gaze to the dark sky on the other side of the window, letting his hands fall into his lap. Lightning just scowled at him.
Silence grew between them, heavy and somewhat unwelcome but neither of them were really willing to break it, as they set to stowing away the rest of their things for their departure in the morning. So, this was it. Who knew when they’d be back. Caius voiced none of his further objections, although he didn’t seem to be happy that they were packing, in previous words, ‘so much’. It wasn’t long until everything was stowed away save for the thermoses, which Lightning set in the refrigerator. She’d fill them up in the morning before they set off. Her footsteps on the floor were slow, deliberate, and almost unbearably loud, and she cast a glance to Caius in the alcove before she spoke. “Hey.”
He looked up at her, but did not speak.
“Something on your mind?”
“Nothing important.” And he looked away then, before Lightning joined him in the alcove. He shifted to allow her ample space to sit down, drawing one leg up and resting an elbow on his knee. “… Let’s just get this over with.”
“Yeah. North to Oerba. Will we fly there?”
“If you request it.”
She considered this for a moment before shaking her head. “Not if you’re not offering.”
“Then we travel on foot. It won’t take much longer; if I were to fly fast enough to get there in a reasonable amount of time then you’d be flung off.”
Fair enough. All the better for getting Serah’s promised pictures, really. “Try to keep up.”
“It won’t be an issue,” he replied, smiling a bit. “Try not to let all your luggage weigh you down.”
“Oh, for—it’s practically featherweight.”
“But not no weight.”
“Is minimalism some sort of Gran Pulse thing?”
“Shhhh.” Lightning hadn’t realized she’d raised her voice until Caius hushed her, quite frankly. “Perhaps it is. Did Lindzei’s fal’Cie never teach Cocoonites to simply live off what they’re provided with?”
“The fal’Cie just gave us whatever we needed or wanted, really. No need to worry about anything.” Of course, in exchange, the fal’Cie treated them as pets. As tools. As sacrifices. Their façade of benevolence was so convincing that no one realized it until it was too late – Lightning included. By the time she realized it, the dominoes leading up to Cocoon resting atop its throne of crystal had already begun falling.
He grunted. “Worse than I thought. The peoples of Gran Pulse had to learn by trial and error – until some fell into the good graces of the fal’Cie.” Anima to Oerba, Titan and the late Hashmal to Haerii. Various working in tandem to lay the foundation for and protect Paddra.
“Yeah, then Cocoon tried to wipe you out.”
“Cocoon was very successful,” Caius replied, scowling and pressing his lips together. “Haerii did not survive the War. Oerba’s survivors were forced to flee after Anima vanished; many clans died out. The nomadic tribes of the steppe had to seek out new lands after much of the eastern side, past Haerii and the Faultwarrens, was scorched by war machines on both sides.”
“And Paddra?”
A moment of silence long enough for Lightning to consider retracting her question – but then Caius worked up the nerve to answer. “Paddra was already gone. It fell a century before the War began. Most of the Farseers survived; a few ended up l’Cie…”
He cast his gaze downward, and she followed suit, chewing at her lower lip. “Sorry. Shouldn’t have asked.”
“Don’t worry. That much, I’m happy to share.”
She arched an eyebrow at that, but didn’t question it, instead responding with a nod and shifting the subject away… From fallen civilizations, from war and bloodshed. Lightning’s seen enough of that with her own eyes; she had no desire to hear of Caius’s experiences. “You know, if you saw Nautilus in its prime, I think you would have had a heart attack.”
“Oh?”
“Given your obsession with minimalism, I mean.” Caius rolled his eyes at the statement. “Nautilus was built around a theme park – it was even more touristy than Bodhum. It existed more or less solely to provide entertainment to the masses.”
Caius’s expression then could only be described as one of confused disgust. “My chest already hurts,” he commented, meeting and holding her gaze. “You never worried of war?”
“The Sanctum always played up the threat of another war with Pulse, but no. Cocoon was united under one government, so there was no one to war against.”
“Sounds nice.”
“It was, in a way.” Lightning shrugged. “It’s in the past now, though. There just came a point, I guess, when it was time to say good-bye to the peace we always knew.”
He offered a slight reassuring smile. “It’s not completely lost.” Not yet.
“Most of what there was before is.”
“Then let you and your people treat this as a chance to start over. Gran Pulse has more to offer than you may think.”
She paused, considering this – considering her memories of roaming across the Archylte Steppe, of exploring the Mah’habara Subterra, of climbing Taejin’s Tower, of examining the ruins of Haerii and Paddra… And there were still things yet to be seen by any Cocoonite’s eyes. “Things will never be the same, but—” Pause, then grudgingly: “You’re right. It’s… This world is kind of beautiful when you think about it.”
“It is. Admittedly… Some of my favorite views are on the way to Oerba.”
“You don’t seem like the type to appreciate that sort of thing.”
“I did once; rarely anymore. But once is enough when you remember everything as clearly as I do.” He gave a noncommittal shrug and his smile faded. Silence grew between them – but it wasn’t charged, or awkward – it just was, although it bordered on comfortable before Caius rose. “We ought to rest if we’re to get an early start tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” She followed suit, bracing her back against the wall and simply forcing herself up it with her legs instead of standing properly – not for any particular reason, just because she could. Caius watched her for a moment, his eyes glinting a bit in amusement. “Make sure Yeul’s up bright and early, too, so we can drop her off with Serah and Noel.”
“Of course.” He frowned a little, looking away. He started toward his room and Lightning started toward the light switch near the entryway, before he paused, turned, and spoke once more: “Lightning.”
She cast a glance to him and quirked and eyebrow, one hand on the switch. “Hm?”
“Good night.”
“Night, Caius.”
And the room was bathed in darkness.
Caius didn’t fall asleep as easily as he would have liked, but thankfully Yeul was willing to share the blanket. After he’d stripped his armor off so that nothing but the clothing beneath remained, he slipped underneath it beside her, letting her back rest against his. It was a warmth he would miss, and knowing that this would be the last time that they would sleep together like this before their Focus was complete tugged at his heart. She slept soundly beside him, her breathing deep and even; she didn’t even stir when he’d joined her.
He was her Guardian, but in order to protect her – if only at this point to keep the future from changing once more – he had to leave her side, leave her in someone else’s hands. As trustworthy as Noel was, he…
Caius swallowed the lump that started to form in his throat, forced himself to take long, deep breaths, and made an honest effort to quiet his mind. It worked a little, but the most base of his anxieties continued to eat away at the back of his mind. In lieu of attempting to silence even those – an effort that he knew for a fact would be in vain – he focused on the soft sound of Yeul’s breathing. She would wait for him, and he would return to her once this was over. That much was certain.
To her he would always return. She needn’t have even asked those nights ago; over and over without end, across all of her lifetimes, he would always return.
Word Count: 5220
Author Notes: Typing up loose ends now! This chapter takes place on a Wednesday for those of us keeping track at home. Also, if you're enjoying this fic, then you might like Untold Fate by FantasyWriting on FFN! I know I'm enjoying it so far, and it needs more love imo. c:
Entire Work · AO3 · FFN
XIX. A Scant Remainder
They didn’t part ways until the moon had reached its highest point in the sky, but all good things had to come to an end eventually. Alcoholic drinks quickly gave way to glasses of water and the board games were stowed away and words gradually became softer and more subdued than they had earlier in the night – until Snow and Serah finally retired to the master bedroom for the night. Gadot and Maqui lingered just a bit longer, and before too long Yuj took his leave as well. Noel turned in not long after, leaving only Lightning, Lebreau, Caius, and Yeul – the last of which was dozing off in her Guardian’s lap.
A tell-tale sign that they ought to be getting back to their house for the night – though the seeress didn’t seem willing to move.
Lightning conversed softly with Lebreau, helping her tidy the kitchen and get clean glasses and dishes back to where they ought to be in the cabinets. Neither woman looked up when Caius gathered Yeul in his arms and stood, but Lightning acknowledged the soft sound of his footsteps against the wood with a grunt and Lebreau looked up when he passed by. “Leaving?”
His gaze briefly drifted to the girl in his arms. “Yes.”
“Well, be careful then. The path up the cliffs has a bunch of monsters this time of night.”
“There’s no need to worry about me.” He bowed his head. “Thank you, though.”
“Hey, no problem. You did us some good today. Provisional government dudes said if we couldn’t deal with it on our own then we’d have to get some troops stationed here to defend the town.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Would that have been a problem?”
“On Cocoon, NORA was a vigilante group,” Lightning put in, holding a glass up to the light to make sure there were no spots left on it before drying it with a rag and turning to the cupboard to put it away. “Didn’t much like the military steppin’ on their toes.”
“Military didn’t like us stepping on their toes, either. But you know—” she turned to Lightning—“Lieutenant Amodar was pretty lenient, so it didn’t make much difference.”
“I see…” That could be a problem depending on your ultimate perspective, he figured. But Caius wasn’t honestly interested enough to have any real input. He paused a moment before speaking once more, snatching the women’s attention away from whatever brief tangent they’d gone off on. “I’m glad I could be of assistance.”
“Thanks for offering in the first place. I mean, it was probably gonna go down today anyway seeing as we’ve been chippin’ at it for the past few days, but you certainly made it a bunch easier.”
A smile teased at the corners of his lips briefly, but disappeared almost as quickly as it had surfaced. It had not been a personal favor – and the look in Lebreau’s eyes as he parted his lips to reply told him that she knew that already. “You’re welcome,” he replied with a stiff nod before starting away once more, although when Lebreau called his name, he paused and cast a glance over his shoulder.
“Tomorrow’s the day we get stuff sent to us from Cocoon, if you’re interested in lending a hand.”
“I will see what I can offer.”
Despite Lebreau’s warning, the path home was relatively quiet. It seemed that all the world had decided to turn in for the night, save for the distant crickets. The path back to the house was relatively simple to feel out even with only the light of the moon and stars to guide him, and most of the ground toward the cliffs being dyed black with shadows. Yeul only stirred in his arms once – when he had to adjust her position so that he could open the front door – before settling back into her slumber. Inside, the house was pitch dark, and it was only by virtue of knowing the layout like the back of his hand by now that he made it to his room across the void without bumping anything on the way; he laid Yeul down on the mat and pulled the blanket over her, making sure she was comfortable before stripping off his armor until only the layer of light clothing underneath remained, snagging the change of clothes folded neatly on top of the box he still used as a table, and slipping out of the room.
He returned only after he’d taken care of his usual evening business – namely, a nice, long shower. His hair was still a little damp when he stepped back into the room – but he couldn’t say he minded. Yeul was thankfully fast asleep, though she’d shifted onto her side and pulled the blanket tighter around her. Caius cast his old clothes into the corner of the room where his armor rested before laying down beside Yeul, just off the side of the mat and forced to use his own arm as a pillow. As late as it was, it was easy to drift off – or, it should have been, but quiet doubts plagued the fringes of his consciousness and he remained awake for a long few moments. He kept his eyes closed and did his best to keep his breathing deep and even – to imitate sleep, at least – and tried to get himself to focus on the soft sound of Yeul’s breathing, on the feeling of her back against his (nice and warm and reminding him how absolutely tiny she was compared to him, as well as continually assuring him that she was there and she was safe…).
This effort, of course, brought limited success.
If anything, it made it worse.
His and Lightning’s departure was mere days away. Caius trusted Noel with Yeul, but the others… No, he knew that they bore no ill will toward Yeul and didn’t seek to use her to their own ends – and for that matter, Yeul knew better than to speak of her visions around them. The seeress had also expressed her desire to stay – though whether it had anything to do with what weighed on her mind, he could not discern. Part of him wanted to take her along whether she wanted to come or not; he was her Guardian, after all, and had protected her for centuries and centuries from all manner of men and monsters, though granted he had never intentionally taken her anywhere of particular danger…
In the end, Yeul’s wishes won out, no matter how much it hurt his heart to let her go. He would just have to deal with the matter of his Focus quickly so that he could claim whatever reward that infernal goddess had planned for him and return to her side as soon as possible. That was the only way to win in this scenario, and…
He let out a soft sigh, letting his eyes flicker open for a moment, although the room was so dark that it made no difference in the end.
Caius turned over and adjusted Yeul’s position so that there was some pillow to share, although he let her keep the entire blanket. A smile graced his lips when she didn’t even stir, and he took a moment to brush her hair away from her face before settling in beside her. He pulled the seeress close until her back was against his chest and simply held her for a while – though it felt like only a few moments, but it must have been longer since he heard the front door open to signal Lightning’s return. He let his eyes slip closed and let one of his hands cover both of hers before finally settling down to sleep.
The sleepy town of New Bodhum was wide awake by the time Caius and Yeul stepped into the area that was kind of universally agreed to be the ‘town square’ late Wednesday morning. A small speed boat was parked at the dock and many of the people of the town were gathered around – and Caius figured it must have had something to do with the shipment, but it still struck him as curious. Was the water there truly deep enough to accommodate a boat? Well, apparently so. Even cats pawed around in the crowd, including the one that hung out at the NORA house begging everyone (but especially Serah and Yuj) for fuss, despite the fact that the people’s attention was largely fixed on retrieving small packages from the men in white armor and helmets on the dock and in the boat.
He ushered Yeul in the exact opposite direction of the water’s edge toward the NORA house, despite what resistance she gave him. One hand found its way to her shoulder, although when they reached the steps it quickly fell away. Inside, Maqui and Yuj were busy taking up the entirety of the couch, and they tried to manage a cheerful greeting toward at least Yeul, but it sort of fell flat. Oh well, it was the thought that counted. Caius acknowledged them with a nod, and Yeul smiled at the boys before starting into the kitchen to examine the contents of the fridge, although out of all of the things inside she selected nothing – perhaps because she was not certain she was welcome to it, perhaps because some of it was unidentifiable. Caius, on the other hand, lingered by the archway, watching the crowd for a moment before turning his gaze to Yeul, whom simply nodded at him.
He bowed his head before descending the steps and crossing the beach to join the crowd. He was immediately greeted by Lebreau and Snow, and Lightning was on the boat with the armored men, conversing softly with one of them as they handed off some light packages to the blond man and the dark-haired woman, whom in turn brought them to people gathered in the crowd. Some children shouted in celebration and darted past Caius upon receiving their package, and after a moment’s hesitation and with a bit of encouragement from Snow, Caius stepped to the front of the crowd.
“Slept in?” Lebreau teased, sparing Caius a glance as she weighed a parcel that was wider than her torso, though apparently the weight was insubstantial. Her eyes darted back to the label on it before Caius had a chance to open his mouth.
“I’m sorry,” he replied.
“Don’t worry about it. You and Yeul stayed up pretty damn late, didn’t you? Relatively? Lightning and I joked about it after you left; said you usually retire early.”
Caius’s eyes widened a bit. “Out of habit more than necessity,” he admitted.
Lebreau set down the box on top of another where the wood of the dock met the beach. “Well, in any case, you mind running those over to Maqui for me? He’s too hungover to come down and get his own stuff, or so he claims.”
The Guardian bent to pick up the two boxes – the one on top was considerably heavier than the one on the bottom, despite their relative size, and he hummed at that, taking a moment to take them both into consideration. The labels on them were chock full of the strange symbols that made up Cocoon’s alphabet, naturally, though other than that they were just plain brown boxes. “Of course. Though, frankly, I’m surprised no one drug him out anyway.”
“Believe me, I was tempted.”
He smirked at that. “Should I put a word in for you?”
“Yeah – tell him that he’s lucky I didn’t just chuck his stuff into the ocean. He’s not the only one who was drinkin’ last night, dammit.”
“Will do.”
And with that, he turned away and made his way back across the sand to the NORA house. Yeul lingered on the deck and followed him inside, one tiny hand wrapping around one of the many belts around his waist. He set the boxes on the coffee table and pushed them toward Maqui, whom looked up at him. And Caius nodded and he shot up like a bullet – a bullet that was in very intense pain just then, granted, but a bullet nonetheless. The mechanic proceeded to tear into the boxes in short order, and Yuj covered his head to little avail with one of the tiny pillows that were meant to decorate the couch but instead most of the time decorated the floor (on account of the fact that most of the time the couch was one hundred and ten percent occupied), groaning at the noise. Out of the light, large box, he produced… several packing peanuts, mostly, then another, smaller, clear plastic box that contained three very high-tech and very fragile-looking coils. He presented them to the Guardian and the seeress as if he’d just won a prize and wanted to show everyone, his eyes alight. “Man, do you know how long I’ve waited for more of these?”
“…No.” Caius leaned away a bit.
“Forever, that’s how long. Ever since Cocoon fell, it’s been a headache to get my hands on them.” He ran his hands through his hair in an effort to soothe a very different type of headache.
“What are they?” Yeul asked, reaching out to touch the box before Caius gave her a tap and she lowered her hand. In that same moment, Maqui pulled the box away, letting it rest on his lap.
“Mobius coils; pretty important for anything that functions on AMP tech. You know, stuff the military uses, like manadrives or Gravcon uni—oh, wait, that’s right, nevermind.” Maqui’s face flushed bright red when he recalled that neither Caius nor Yeul were really in the know about Cocoonite technology. “… It’s awesome, bottom line. But mobius coils don’t gotta be used for AMP; Lightning actually wanted me to fit y’all’s gunblades with mobius coils before you left.” He set the clear box down on the table at that before opening the heavier box, revealing far less fragile-looking mechanical parts and other, far less complex supplies that required no real explanation as to their function. “Actually, she just wanted me to give ‘em an overall tune-up, but don’t tell her that I’m plannin’ on giving them something extra.”
Caius looked to Yeul. “Our lips are sealed.”
“You’re lifesavers.” Maqui picked through the contents of the heavier box for a moment before returning everything to its rightful place and setting the boxes under the coffee table before lying back down with a groan. He also muttered something more that neither of the Farseers could quite discern.
The Guardian turned to leave, but then—“By the way, Maqui.”
“Huh?”
“Lebreau told me to tell you that you’re lucky she didn’t just toss that stuff into the ocean.”
“Ooph. Yeah, I sure am—but she doesn’t gotta be a hardass about it,” he complained, earning a soft laugh from Caius before he finally left.
After that, he returned to Lebreau, but there was nothing else that needed to be done; Snow could handle the last big package on his own and it wasn’t long before he and some other person from the crowd were starting off toward the steps leading up to the walkway to the houses over the water. Before she disembarked from the boat, Lightning took a parcel from the armored man, tucking it under her left arm before giving a salute (which was readily returned) before joining the rest of the group.
Lightning’s eyes fell immediately to the black-clad man, and she hesitated a bit before offering a slight smile in greeting. He didn’t return the gesture, instead opting to nod – and his gaze fell to the package she carried but she offered no answers, instead prompting him as the remainder of the crowd dispersed, returning to their homes: “Day after tomorrow, we depart; and tomorrow morning I’m going out pretty early with the others to the town across the way. Need anything?”
“In the way of supplies? Nothing in particular. I just ask that you don’t take anything you’re not willing to carry yourself.”
She frowned at that. “You’ll pull your weight.”
He huffed. “I don’t need anything. Lightning, I’m perfectly capable of surviving off the land – unlike you, apparently, since you insist upon this silliness.”
“It’s not ‘silliness’ – it’s saving us some damn trouble.”
“If you insist.”
It was her turn to huff, then. “Well then, c’mon.” She jerked her head toward the NORA house, and started away; Caius followed after a moment, catching up to her with ease even in spite of her head start and brisk pace. Barely halfway across the beach, she sped up until she was jogging, pulling ahead of Caius once more, and with a smirk Caius upped his pace as well.
The Guardian was, eventually, the first to make it to the steps, and Lightning shot a glare at him for it, though the slight curve to her lips took any punch it could have had away from it. At the top of the steps, Yeul took hold of Caius’s arm and followed them the rest of the way inside; Lightning shouted at Yuj and Maqui to move so there was room for at least one other person to sit down; both of them groaned and Lebreau told them from the kitchen to suck it up and take a painkiller or two. Eventually the boys complied, vacating enough space for them to sit down, and Lightning took the chance with all the poise that one might expect from Etro’s chosen (which was to say, she practically just plunked herself down onto the couch – if Caius had attempted a stunt like that he probably would have launched a pillow or two onto the floor); Yeul followed suit and Caius was about to opt for the floor before the look that the seeress gave him forced him to reconsider and sit down next to her.
His eyes followed Maqui as he strayed into the bathroom, apparently to search the medicine cabinet; Yuj took a far more direct approach and simply asked Lebreau where he could find some ibuprofen; she responded in kind by pausing what she was doing to turn and retrieve a small, white pill bottle from the highest shelf in the spice cabinet (!). She handed the bottle to Yuj and it wasn’t long until the blue-haired man downed two pills dry and Maqui emerged from the bathroom apparently unsuccessful in his search, although he quickly perked up when he saw that oh, apparently Yuj had found what he was looking for. Yuj tossed the bottle to Maqui and the shorter boy fumbled for a moment before the pill bottle clattered to the floor, and it was only by virtue of the fucking impossible to remove lid that the pills didn’t go spilling out everywhere. The noise made both of them visibly cringe, and Caius couldn’t help but feel a little bad for them although he was probably the only one in the room that spared any sympathy for them in regards to their current situation (which obviously, they had brought upon themselves). But before long, Maqui had his dose and he, too, was on the road to recovery; both the boys stepped outside onto the deck, shielding their eyes from the light reflecting off of the sand.
Lebreau returned to cooking, whisking a bit more before setting the bowl aside. A few clattering noises later and she set a pan on top of the stove, and—“You’ll love Lebreau’s food.” Yeul tugged at his arm, bouncing up and down a bit. He smiled at her and patted her shoulder.
“I’m sure,” he replied with a slight laugh, patting her shoulder a little more firmly to get Yeul to sit still. It worked for a moment before the seeress smiled at him and, instead, rose to her feet – and paused before wandering over to the kitchen to watch Lebreau work. And thus, it was just him and Lightning in their own little bubble, though she seemed occupied by a small silver device which projected a hologram for her to manipulate in the air and so it was really more like just him. Well, at least – until she flipped pressed a button and the image disappeared and she slipped it into the pocket of her denim shorts and turning her gaze to him.
It was around that moment that, now horribly aware of the fact he may as well been staring her down, he chose to look away. More precisely, his head snapped away so quickly that his beads audibly clacked together, and Lightning let out an amused hum in response before uncrossing and recrossing her legs.
“Maybe you shouldn’t stare if you don’t wanna get caught.”
He swallowed. “It was not intentional.”
“Still – solid advice if I do say so myself.”
Caius hesitated, then nodded. He could feel Lightning’s unwavering gaze burning through him, and he shifted before turning his attention once more to the kitchen. Lebreau had ladled three small circles into the greased pan and was patiently waiting, watching them like a hawk with a spatula in her right hand. Yeul lingered by the entrance, leaning against the door of the fridge a bit and tugging at the hem of her skirt, a smile upon her lips. Her enthusiasm readily rubbed off on him – and Caius had to admit that whatever she had cooking smelled really, stupidly good. “Lightning.”
“Hm?”
“Is Lebreau’s cooking as good as Yeul says?”
“I don’t know what she says, but I guarantee you it’s ten times better,” she answered. “Actually, I’m not sure you could call it just cooking and do it justice. It’s more of an experience.” Pause, then Lightning shouted to the dark-haired woman in question: “Hey, Lebreau, there’s still more of that berry syrup, right?”
The dark-haired woman flipped what was in the pan, humming for a few moments before quickly checking the fridge. “Yeah, plenty!” She took out a bottle filled with a blue-violet, vicious liquid. “You want it instead of plain maple? I can heat it up real quick.”
Lightning gave a nod and Caius was left in the dust but really looking forward to seeing what Lebreau had in store for them. She continued her work in the kitchen before briefly unscrewing the cap from the condiment bottle that housed the syrup and pouring it into four impossibly tiny bowls which she arranged in a microwave before covering them and putting them on for around fifteen seconds as she continued cooking breakfast. There was no way they were hot already and she probably knew that, used it as a bid to buy time to finish with the pancakes. After all the batter was used, there were enough pancakes for everyone whom had made their appearance so far to have three – two if Noel or Serah decided to roll out of bed or one if either Snow or Gadot made an appearance. They were small, barely taking up half the plate, but that probably wouldn’t end up being a problem. Once that was done, the syrup was heated up the rest of the way and she set the tiny bowls on the table; Lightning snagged one.
Lebreau shouted and summoned Maqui and Yuj back into the room before she, with the help of Yeul (which earned a smile from Caius, honestly), set to work serving everyone. The boys first, then Lightning and Caius, and finally they joined the crowd – Lebreau plopped down beside Maqui at the edge of the couch, right across from Caius, and Yeul squeezed herself in between Caius and Lightning once more. Everyone set to work on their plates, and after a moment’s hesitation, Caius did as well – and he just stopped dead, the fork hanging from his lips.
After a moment, Yeul’s soft giggles and the smirk that graced Lightning’s lips made him grimly aware of his expression just then. He finished chewing, then swallowed, and quickly regained his lost composure, and his visage became one of grim neutrality once more. But composure lost or gained, it didn’t matter; the damage to his dignity had already been done.
“Told you it was an experience. Lebreau’s food gives epiphanies,” Lightning taunted before cramming another bite of pancake into her mouth. Some of that berry syrup was pooled around her pancakes, having dripped down the sides after being poured over top. After a moment’s consideration, Caius reached for the little bowl of syrup and poured some over his stack.
“I’d hardly call that an epiphany. But these are excellent pancakes; some of the best I’ve had,” he replied.
“These aren’t just pancakes – they’re a way of life!” Maqui put in, although he didn’t bother to swallow before speaking. Beside him, Lebreau went about eating her breakfast quietly, though a perhaps-slightly-conceited smile graced her lips. Caius had to wonder how much they all fed her ego – though he couldn’t say it was unwarranted. The Guardian gave a noncommittal shrug, if only because he couldn’t really disagree…
After breakfast, Lightning handed her gunblade over to Maqui and told him that she’d come by with the Organyx early the next morning. The mechanic flashed her a smile and immediately it was apparent that he was a bit nervous about something; she arched an eyebrow but did not question him. So long as their weapons were good to go when the time came to leave, she had no complaints to make. She helped Lebreau clean up the kitchen and hung out for a little while – just long enough for the sun to begin its final descent – before heading back to the house. Despite the fading daylight, the lingering heat still practically cooked her back – and that was around the moment when she vowed never to wear a halter top again, although her future self would likely disregard her past self’s advice (i.e. she would forget eventually, unfortunately). On the cliffs, the trees and other such foliage offered some protection, but the heat still rose off of her skin in waves.
She huffed and did not break pace, however. Following the same path she had back to the house since that second day – by then it was marked by downtrodden grass that probably gave up on standing up again long ago – it wasn’t long until she reached the doorstep. And perhaps it was an odd time to pause, she realized somewhere at the back of her mind, but before closing those final few feet between her and the front door, she looked it over: it was just as empty and unremarkable on the outside as it was on the inside, and looked practically the same as it had when they’d begun staying there. Made of white-painted slats of wood. One large window facing front, another at the back in the alcove, one in each bedroom. But it had sort of become home – except not really. Home was really kind of down in town, with Serah and Snow and the NORA gang and Noel; this was just a place to return to every night, a place where she could keep watch over Caius. A place that was sort of abandoned, in a way; it showed no signs of disrepair, granted, but whomever had commissioned it had long ago found a better place – a place with her family and likely her friends, a true ‘home’.
Lightning decided only a little bit ago that she wanted to keep the house. That much was certain. It was small – far smaller than her house had been on Cocoon, and not nearly as nifty – but if given the tender love and care that it needed, it could be cuter than a little dream.
But how could she really make it home? It was so far out of the way, up on the cliffs and secluded from town, that perhaps that much effort wasn’t really worth it…
A bug that met its end after buzzing too close to her neck snapped her out of her thoughts and she stepped inside. In short order, she tracked down the Organyx, buried under a pile of neatly-folded, clean clothes. It was heavy as ever, and she slipped it into the sling that came with it initially (although in interests of moderating Caius’s mobility with it, she’d withheld even knowledge of its existence from him) – which considering that it wasn’t made out of the lightest material in the universe, didn’t help matters very much. That was all she came up to the house for, really, and given that Maqui was only human and they were definitely leaving on Friday (well, maybe she’d push it back to Saturday if she really had to…), she really ought to hurry back. But still… She had time, and she’d told Maqui that she’d be by the next morning…
She found herself lingering in the alcove. Things were quiet with Caius down at the NORA house with Yeul – the house almost felt too empty without either of them there. It wasn’t so much because she wasn’t used to living alone (no – while it was certainly true that until a few weeks prior to the thirteen days before The Purge, Serah had lived with Lightning in her house, their daily schedules had often worked out in such a way that prohibited them from getting in a lot of time together, unfortunately) or because she enjoyed either of their presences (okay, Yeul was cute and sweet and all, but Caius was just… Perhaps he would be easier to cope with if he weren’t more or less just a phantom), but rather because perhaps, just perhaps… Even she, former Sergeant – one of the former l’Cie responsible for Cocoon’s fall – Etro’s champion Lightning Farron found the complete and utter emptiness… Unpalatable.
What a joke, right? She almost cracked a smile.
Before, she had been the first to claim that she was more than happy being on her own – and while she wasn’t dependent on others by any stretch of the imagination, her time as a l’Cie, on the run from the military and then traveling around Pulse had shown her the value of having others to lean on. They fought their fate, completed their Focus, and crystallized – then were freed by Etro. Lightning owed Her everything, considering Her initial and continued mercy, and…
This second chance would likely be her last chance. Final redemption – or final condemnation.
(Were she more inclined to blind pride, she would likely have been inclined to, at that very moment, say that the odds were skewed in her favor.)
Her hand came to rest over her brand and after a few moments her eidolith materialized in her hands, floating for a moment before the eerily warm crystal settled in her palm. A dim light settled in its core – nowhere near as intense as the light that found its home in Caius’s eidolith during battle, but enough to make the crystal glow a faint rosy color. It was, just a little bit, comforting to know that even though this was a journey she had to make alone (well, sans the Guardian, but did he really count?), she still had a valuable friend at her side.
Word Count: 416
Rating: G
Fandom: Final Fantasy XIII Trilogy (Undetermined AU Beyond XIII-2)
Characters: [Caius Ballad, Lightning Farron]
Author Notes: from otpprompts: “Imagine person A, the smaller one, sleeping on top of person B. Person B believes that Person A makes a very fine blanket.”
The sunlight filtered through the window and warmed his skin slowly – a familiar, welcome feeling, and one that always had a way of slowly waking him from slumber that no longer carried any pretense of dreams – but perhaps was nonetheless restful, at least.
Besides the sun, the first thing he consciously registered was the warm weight on top of him and were he less reasonable and more awake he surely would have jumped out of his skin. He glanced down with bleary eyes upon his companion – from his perspective now, little more than a mess of rose-toned waves that came to rest in a configuration perfectly fit for obscuring her face. Her arms held him there by way of being wrapped around his shoulders. He’d long ago learned not to question Lightning’s sleeping positions since according to her he was just as guilty, taking to slumber “on any vaguely horizontal surface that isn’t made entirely of hornets.”
She rose and fell with his breathing, but for a long few minutes didn’t stir, content to warm him with her body in lieu of any actual sheets, with them either having been kicked off during the night or never put on the bed in the first place for whatever reason. Caius let his head fall back on the bed and resolved to enjoy it – for however long would last, at least. The sun took care of warming his face and Lightning, his body; perhaps it was to be shameful (not that he felt that it was in the least bit, but at least in ancient Paddra it was generally seen as shameful to shirk one’s morning duties for five more minutes of warmth in bed…), but sleep slowly encroached on his senses again as he relaxed back into the bed, letting one hand rest on Lightning’s waist while the other cradled her head against his chest.
She woke him slowly with fleeting kisses: she shifted up and their lips just barely touched and even then only for a fleeting moment; when he did not stir at that, she found some success with his forehead after brushing violet tresses out of the way. He sighed and turned his head into her touch at that, a nearly imperceptible smile quirking the corners of his lips upward.
“You slept in.”
“You were so warm. How could I not?”
“Touché.” At that, she nuzzled into his shoulder while his arms came up to wrap her in the usual strong morning embrace.
Word Count: 855
Author Notes: That word count is not a typo; it's really that short. On purpose!
Entire Work · AO3 · FFN
XVIII. A Moment's Respite
The moon, in due time, rose high in the sky, and the stars peeked through the veil of darkness that the sun left in its wake when it disappeared over the horizon. They wove stories, pictures across the night sky – interrupted only by a fleeting silhouette, pitch-dark and lined in silver, if one cared enough to look. The town below was bathed in what little golden light filtered out of the houses and in silver moonlight from the sky above and the few who decided to come out onto the deck of the NORA house looked like ants from their perspective, little more than smudges of color against a mostly-dark background. They flew in lazy circles over the town of New Bodhum on the back of Bahamut, Caius’s back against the ridge on his eidolon’s back and Yeul held securely in his arms and against his chest. They were silent – and the seeress, at least, was content to absorb the view with wide emerald eyes, leaving Caius to silently command and carry on a conversation with his eidolon.
The dragon’s voice rang clear in his head, though to Yeul the dragon was silent and content to simply be the avenue through which, for once, she and Caius could get some privacy, some time away from the noise of the celebration at the NORA house or the tension that hung in the air at the house that for all intents and purposes save for the ones that actually mattered they supposed they could call a home.
Caius grunted softly and opened his eyes; Yeul looked up in response and he quickly hushed any growing fears by pulling her closer. But the curiosity in her eyes did not die away, and so he prompted with a low chuckle: “Do you know what it’s like to argue with yourself, Yeul?”
She laughed a bit – but it was joyless, dry; foreign-sounding coming from her lips and certainly foreign to his ears. “Maybe. Is Bahamut giving you trouble?”
“A bit.” One hand slipped from Yeul’s waist and was promptly balled into a fist and struck against metal; Bahamut did not flinch underneath them, but let out a low, almost amused growl in response. “I liked him better before he started talking back.”
“I was not talking back; I was offering a suggestion. Upon your request,” Bahamut’s voice echoed in the farthest reaches of Caius’s consciousness before he tuned the eidolon out altogether and at once it was just him and Yeul again.
She smiled a little. “Is it not an easily dealt-with issue?”
“It is.” Pause. “Yeul?”
“Yes?”
“Has something been bothering you?”
She fell silent before pressing herself back into Caius’s chest, letting her head rest against his shoulder. She knew she could – probably – trust Caius. She knew that he had her best interests at heart. She knew that he wouldn’t intentionally hurt her, knew that she could bend him to her will as easily as mold a lump of soft, colorless clay from a riverbed with her hands. So why was it so difficult to trust him with this – why did she kill the words on her lips every time the subject came up?
Well, she supposed, they were alone now, and there was no use in lying to him.
“Yes. But I cannot tell you what it is. I’m sorry.”
He hummed, accepting her answer. “I understand. I will be here whenever you are ready. I must receive an answer to this now, however… Will you accompany Lightning and I when we depart?”
She regarded this with more silence, taking the words into consideration – for real this time. As it begun to appear that she’d decided to ignore him again, she finally responded: “No. I will stay.” That was, after all, the way things ought to be…
“That’s fine. I will leave you under Noel’s care.” He was, after all, Caius’s former apprentice, and the strongest candidate to succeed him as Guardian should that time ever come (though if it did, it was certainly not any time soon, given his stubborn adherence to his damned values…).
“But in exchange, there’s… One thing.”
“I am here to listen to your every request, Yeul. Go on.”
She swallowed. Was she perhaps, just being a bit selfish? Had any of the Yeuls before or after her requested something like this of him? Surely they had. There were hundreds upon hundreds, many of which Caius never even spoke of. The Guardian pulled her into a loose embrace, encouraging her to speak, and she figured she ought to, but took a moment to allow herself the comfort of Caius’s warmth before she let any words slip past her lips. “I want you to promise me something.”
“Hm?”
“Please come back. You have to. No matter what.”
Her words were hard, absolute, and in response Caius’s expression became very, deadly serious. “It is done.”
Pause, before Yeul covered one of his hands with both of hers. “I want you to say it.”
“I promise you, Yeul, that I will do everything in my power to return to you after this is all over.”
Word Count: 1317
Fandom: Final Fantasy IV
Characters: Kain, Cecil, implied Rosa
Ship(s): Implied KainCecilRosa
Warning(s): None
Author Notes: It's 12:19am and I can't even justify this. Sometimes I just get an itch for some OT3 fluff and I just gotta scratch it. But you know in effect this is just like CaiRai. Height difference, super cute, potentially super angsty (but not in this ficlet), Liam O'Brien is there...
The night was painted in silver and gold outside of the window – silver and gold against a backdrop of navy so dark as to be pitch black. The silver was farther reaching, having the capacity to filter in through the window from its source – the now (and hopefully forevermore) singular moon hanging in the sky among a blanket of stars. The room, too, found itself coveted by those same hues – silver and gold, and like the world outside, the silver reached farther – far enough to paint his two companions for the night in a ghostly light. It tried to claim him, too, but the gold light from a lone candle held it off for the moment as he worked, scribbling away in his sweeping, slanted hand and signing off with an equally sweeping and slanted signature.
Jokingly, both his king and queen at some point or another mentioned how the slightly-smeared ink may as well be a signature in of itself, and that his name wasn’t strictly necessary given the rarity of people – at least within the borders of Baron – that wrote with their left hand.
Still, he signed with his name and not ink smudges and set his quill back in the ink pot while he folded the parchment neatly and slipped it into an envelope he and a kind, old castle servant had spent some time folding earlier that day. It was sealed with a crimson blot of wax which he impressed a design into with a hastily-discarded ring (if he’d kept it on his finger while he wrote there was no doubt that the letter would have likely failed to come into existence in the first place). After addressing it, the letter was set among the rest of his correspondence – ranging from formal recommendations to kind regards to strongly-worded letters and even beyond. The signet ring was set aside and a new sheet of parchment retrieved, along with his quill, and the cycle started over there in that patch of gold.
Around halfway through the letter, warm, strong hands came to rest on his shoulders. Kain knew without looking that it was Cecil – simply because it was always Cecil. When Rosa woke in the night, it was rarely to pay him much attention (“You looked so wrapped up in what you were doing,” she once claimed, “That I thought it would be better to let you be than to call you to bed.”) but when Cecil caught him up in the late hours of the night (winding on, perhaps, toward morning), he would always pull him out of his work, no matter how important the dragoon insisted that it was.
“You look tired,” his king said – and he knew that it was merely a ploy to get him to lay his quill to rest since he certainly didn’t feel tired.
Kain finished the sentence he was writing before casting a glance over his shoulder at Cecil. “It’s the light, Your Majesty,” he replied, keeping his voice as low as he could manage. “I’ll join you yet. This one needs to be sent off by daybreak.”
“I’m not your king here, my friend,” Cecil corrected, and even in doing so he sounded like royalty. Kain recalled how shocked he’d been when he’d first heard Cecil use that tone with him – and he always used it to correct him on such matters in private, rarely ever in public, and it served as a reminder of all he’s witnessed (and missed) over the years, from growing and training as a soldier alongside Cecil from the time they were old enough to be trusted with real swords to their eventual rivalry and close (at least, perhaps from an outsider’s point of view…) friendship once they’d grown into their respective ranks (Cecil, Commander of the Red Wings; Kain, Commander of the Dragoons) to, after a seventeen-year leave of absence, returning to find that Cecil had grown into his position as king and mastered in seventeen years that which wasn’t unusual to take a lifetime for a specifically-groomed prince to master (after all, the ins and outs of politics were ugly enough that, even with their arrangement, Kain would not touch them with a twenty-seven-and-a-half-foot pole if he could help it).
Cecil fell silent and Kain, hesitantly, returned to his work. Whether Cecil was too wrapped-up in the haze of sleep to read over his shoulder, he couldn’t discern, but nonetheless after it received the dragoon’s signature and seal. “You look out of place, you know,” Kain said, turning so as to sit sideways in his chair and get a better look at Cecil – bed-frazzled but no less elegant-looking, and even without the lipstick he had a ghostly hue about his entire visage. In the darkness his skin almost held the same hue as his moonlight-spun hair. “Amongst my paraphernalia.”
“Strange. Perhaps it’s your paraphernalia that’s the problem; you ought to do some cleaning.”
“Clean? Never. I’ll keep my possessions in top condition, but even if you were to order it, I wouldn’t get rid of anything.”
“I’m sure you don’t need thirteen different maps of Baron, ten of which aren’t even modern.” At that, a teasing laugh bubbled from Cecil’s lips, bright enough to rival the champagne they’d had with dinner.
“They’re timeless.”
“They’re not even hung up. They’re rolled up in that trunk over there – the one underneath that shield that always sends the sun right in my eyes in the morning when we sleep here.”
“The sun would ruin them, and maybe you and Rosa ought to sleep in your own quarters, then. I’m sure the bed is orders of magnitudes nicer than my own, anyway.”
“Or, you could move the shield.”
“Out of the question. But you might be able to negotiate the bookshelf there; I’ve been meaning to reorganize and there are a few duplicates. Perhaps the library could use a new copy of The Prince or The Art of War…”
“If only you had a copy of Magicam in Praxi; the mage corps would thank you.”
“… Baron lacks a copy of Magicam?”
“A Black Mage recruit accidentally set fire to it. Before that, a White Mage recruit was practicing Mini and it misfired, so the other copy is currently unreadable. Rosa’s been working on it.”
Kain let out a sigh. “I changed my mind. All of my books are staying with me – duplicate or not.”
“Oh, I don’t know. It’s not so bad. I’m sure Porom would be willing to find someone to make us a copy. Those had been falling apart since we were kids anyway.”
“I’d rather not have my books destroyed – particularly those I’d need to go out of my way to obtain a new copy or translation of…” The blond reached for another sheet of parchment, but his king’s hand moved to catch his wrist. A wry smile crept to Kain’s lips in response.
“Really, Kain?”
“… Maybe not.”
“Good. Time for bed.” The paladin’s voice was soft, but no less firm – and Kain couldn’t help but be pulled to his feet by the very sound if it. Cecil extinguished the candle, allowing the silver to spread to encompass the dragoon as well, and led Kain toward his own bed in the darkness. They shared a chaste goodnight kiss in the darkness before Kain climbed in bed and Cecil got in on the other side, so that Rosa’s sleeping form was between them in the bed, and the bed was so warm with his companions that it was almost a shame that they were caught in the midst of a cool summer night (although it looked to be subsiding into autumn soon enough). Cecil seemed to be asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow; Rosa’s breathing remained deep and even for as long as Kain cared to notice before his eyelids, too, grew heavy with the darkness.
Word Count: 5968
Author Notes: Last "filler" chapter although none of my "filler" is really "filler". Honest! Anyway the chapter immediately after this one is intentionally very short so I might hold off on posting it for a tiny bit while I catch up on buffer. Hm! Decisions, decisions.
Entire Work · AO3 · FFN
XVII. As the Dust Settles
Yeul had been left alone with her thoughts for the majority of the afternoon while the others fought the beast – and she breathed a sigh of relief when they all returned with very few open wounds (although some bore visible bruises that apparently Cure had not been enough to heal). She sat back on the couch with a bottle of water in her hands and let her feet swing back and forth as they all filed in – Lebreau and Lightning went immediately to the kitchen while Serah stole the bathroom for a few moments before she and Snow slipped into the master bedroom, with Snow shedding his coat and nudging the door closed as he went. The other three NORA members filled the empty space on the couch, with Gadot the furthest from Yeul and Yuj practically right next to her; the seeress smiled up at him in greeting. Noel and Caius lingered a bit outside, just out of view and just out of earshot, although they were certainly talking about something. But whatever that was could wait, she supposed.
“Hope you didn’t miss us too much, Yeul,” Yuj said.
Yeul shrugged. “I took a nap.” She hoped Noel didn’t mind her borrowing his bed, but she’d made it again as best she could after she woke up. “So I was fine.”
Maqui leaned back in his seat. “Nice! Man, you know, after that battle – I could kind of go for a nap.”
The seeress smiled a little. “You could take one.”
“Yeah – I could, but then I’d miss celebrating finally being done with that damn thing; right, Lebreau? We are gonna have some fun, right?”
The final words, he shouted into the kitchen, and the dark-haired woman paused in her conversation with Lightning and responded with: “Yeah?” The question in her voice was only just barely there and apparently went disregarded by the blond, who just put his hands up and cheered, earning an elbow to the side from Yuj. Yeul smiled a little in response, though it slowly faded when Noel and Caius joined them, their conversation apparently over and apparently having gone well if both of their apparent (relatively, in Caius’s case) good moods were anything to go by.
Yeul greeted them both with a nod, which Caius returned as Noel took a seat by Gadot, leaving Caius to fill in the space next to Yeul – though apparently sensing her reluctance to speak with him, he remained a respectful distance away. If Lightning and Lebreau weren’t otherwise occupied in the kitchen, one of them could have probably squeezed into the space between them, although it meant being literally shoulder to shoulder with both of them. As an experiment, he extended a hand toward his charge, which she stared blankly at for a moment but, much to his visible disappointment, did not take. Noel chewed his lip for a moment, apparently concerned by this development before deciding that there were better things to focus on than whatever was going on between the seeress and her Guardian. Yeul didn’t know if he knew. She hoped he didn’t, but considering that Noel was about the only person on truly friendly terms with Caius, she wouldn’t be surprised if he did.
She cast her gaze away from Caius almost guiltily, instead focusing on and conversing softly with Yuj. The other four were left to their own conversation – which tended to be about the just-passed battle although occasionally strayed into other subjects, at which point Caius generally fell silent and left them to it until he was pulled back in again. At some point, Maqui shouted once more into the kitchen—“Hey, Lebreau, can we get some drinks?”
“Yeah, if you’re gonna come get them,” Lightning answered for the woman in question before popping a small cube of white cheese into her mouth.
Maqui groaned. “But I’m trapped here—look!”
“Hop over the table for all I care.”
Lebreau laughed at that. “Cut ‘im a break,” she said to Lightning, then shouted to Maqui: “Yeah, I’ll give you drinks – but you’ll be workin’ for ‘em later!” All in good humor, of course.
She had already started pulling stuff out to make them all their drinks of choice when Maqui yelled back with a laugh: “Yes ma’am!”
“Hey, Caius—want anything before I start makin’ these?”
Caius paused before shrugging. “If you see fit to make something for me – alcoholic or non – I certainly won’t turn it down.”
And at that Noel shot a look to Lebreau and the dark-haired woman smiled before setting to work. Lightning came over to the main group when she started her work and set the tray of small cheese cubes on multicolored toothpicks – some white, like the ones she’d been eating, others white with flecks of other things in them, others bright orange. The white ones were about half-gone already; after a moment’s consideration, Caius selected the cheese with flecks in it and pulled it off its toothpick with his teeth. Not finding the taste objectionable – quite the opposite, actually – he went for another one shortly after. And then a third before he finally leaned back and caught Yuj staring at him. He hummed, egging him on until he finally spoke—“Isn’t that hot?”
It was Caius’s turn to look mildly befuddled, although the look on his face was replaced with one of complete and utter neutrality in short order. “No?” After a brief pause, he nicked one last cube of the cheese just to make sure. It had a little bit of a kick to it – but it wasn’t particularly intense, and after all was said and done it left a bit of a buttery taste in his mouth.
“But – it has peppers in it.”
Caius shrugged. Lots of things had peppers in them; he’d never had a problem with any supposedly spicy foods before, and he wasn’t really about to start now.
Maqui taunted Yuj a bit about it, eventually getting the blue-haired man to try a cube of the ‘spicy’ cheese – which he promptly found to be a little too hot for him. Maybe it was a Cocoonite thing; he resisted the urge to join in the taunting about it and just looked on with that familiar smirk creeping to his lips. It couldn’t be Yuj’s fault that he didn’t have the tolerance for it. Maqui kept teasing though, pressuring him into continuing to eat the cheese and, apparently never one to back down from such a challenge, the blue-haired man just kept going along with it. The drinks didn’t arrive until a few moments after Yuj started to become visibly uncomfortable; mercifully, Lebreau handed him his glass first, which had a slice of lime and salt crystals sticking to the rim and contained a lime green liquid. Then Maqui, whom indulged in a similar drink, and Gadot whose beverage was bright red. Those being all the glasses she could carry, she stepped back into the kitchen to retrieve the last three: a bright blue (!) cocktail (!!?) for Noel and a pink, half-frozen-looking one for Lightning, both of which were served in stemmed glasses with a slice of lime stuck on the rim for aesthetic. And for Caius, she brought a cocktail with the colors of a sunset; he quietly bowed his head in thanks and took the glass.
A moment later, Caius said: “You’re old enough to drink here?”
And in response, Noel shrugged. “Might be; this doesn’t have any alcohol in it, though.” That put to rest Caius’s true curiosity, and the Guardian nodded and took a sip of his drink; it tasted distinctly of pineapple but there was a note of tartness left in his mouth that he wasn’t quite sure how to feel about. If there was alcohol in it then he certainly couldn’t taste it – but if there was, he was sure that he’d feel it eventually.
“Noel’s got three years before he’s old enough to get the tequila in that drink,” Lebreau called from the kitchen as she worked on finally fixing up something for herself, and a moment later and she returned with her own bright yellow cocktail. And a box of apple juice for Yeul. Snow and Serah emerged then in swimming clothes – swim trunks and a loose-fitting shirt for Snow and a one-piece swimsuit for his fiancée covered only by a white garment that was held up only by the virtue of fresh elastic just under her arms and which fell to her knees.
The Farrons conversed, briefly, and Serah promised their swift return, while Snow readily revealed to the group that he and Serah were going to go for a swim while the sun was still up – and everyone nodded and allowed it, although the three Farseers shared glances that told each other that no, no one was precisely sure why, given Snow’s fresh-bandaged arm and the salinity of the water making it wholly unpleasant to get in one’s eyes or mouth (and they were fairly certain that they could rest assured that given how rough the waves were as they collided with the shoreline – a far cry from their usual tranquility – that they would absolutely be getting seawater in their mouth and maybe eyes). But no one objected; it was the remainder of their afternoon to do with as they wished. Gadot rose and followed them, apparently wishing to sit outside and away from the clamor or perhaps meaning to cross the strand to his abode (whichever one of the various small houses set up above the sands and water it happened to be) – he gave no indication one way or the other, really.
The conversations around him kicked up a bit as everyone helped themselves to what little was left of the cheese and their respective drinks and once again Caius was content to be an observer – and he figured that perhaps it had always been that way, given his icy demeanor – even centuries ago, when he’d first become Guardian, it was rare that someone would describe him as ‘personable’. But he preferred it that way, after all; it was easier to maintain a façade when no one wished to or could be bothered to get close enough to break it.
(Besides, he felt he had nothing to contribute; after all, his life was not a relaxed one and certainly not one with the slow-going kind of whimsy that this ragamuffin group had had for the past years – not one where he’d forged enough close bonds with anyone, save for the various Yeuls, to talk so openly about things such as “What about that one time I drank so much coffee that you thought I needed to see a doctor?” (courtesy of Maqui) or “Remember the first time we came across Snow – like, the cat?” (from the mouth of Yuj, and much to all present’s dismay, said cat did not make an appearance on cue).)
Yeul reached for his hand (and he allowed it, and at a point squeezed her hand slightly and earned a smile from the blue-haired girl) while Maqui and Yuj laughed like hyenas about some obscure happening in regards to the town’s formation. Lebreau rolled her eyes, and Lightning swapped places with Noel so that he sat on the floor rather than her. Etro’s champion was, similarly to the Guardian, content to be an observer – she sipped at her drink slowly and polished off the rest of the white cheese.
He slowly came to be fond of the taste of his drink – tartness and all, and despite the alcohol he was starting to feel he couldn’t pay much mind to it over the pineapple which, in his extremely unprofessional opinion, tasted like sunshine would if sunshine had a taste (perhaps it ought to hve struck him as ironic, seeing as he built himself up to be a creature of darkness). By the time everyone had whittled their drinks down to around a fourth of their glasses (and he, around half of his) he was definitely starting to feel its effects, apparently just as were the two youngest NORA members and Lebreau. Lightning seemed, judging solely from appearances, no worse for the wear. Caius hoped he managed just as well, but he knew it just wasn’t to be when Lightning looked up at him with a smirk; he huffed a bit in response and took another sip of his cocktail while Yeul laughed softly and leaned against him. He drew her close, one arm around her shoulders, and for a moment whatever had troubled her seemed forgotten.
Good. Yeul’s time was short – well, she had a good number of years ahead of her, but for an immortal such as he even that was too short – and she deserved to enjoy it; she deserved smiles and laughter, even if the fate of all the seeresses (all the Yeuls) seemed to be at odds with that wish.
Despite his wishes, Caius was not allowed to remain on the sidelines for long, although he hummed a bit when he didn’t quite catch Yuj’s words before asking him to repeat them. After a moment (and a sigh), he complied: “You’re a pretty quiet guy, aren’t you?”
Lightning snorted at the very idea – ‘Caius Ballad, quiet, yeah right’ was written all over her face; Caius shrugged and answered: “There is nothing to say.”
“There’s always something to say, man!” Maqui put in. “You’ve been listening to us all this time, huh, you know how it goes. I could be talkin’ about upgrades for our guns one moment and then the next, Gadot could be roasting me for something or another. And then maybe for good measure, Serah or Snow’ll start talkin’ big stuff with board games, and I’d be like ‘oh yeah prove it´ and then they’d prove it to me, alright…” Maqui let out a sigh then, sitting back in his seat. Either the blond’s drink had more alcohol in it than the others’ or Maqui was a major lightweight; probably the latter, given that besides Yeul he was easily the shortest one in the room (and Yeul was nine). “Anyway, point is – you don’t gotta wait for the topic to suit you; you can basically just say whatev—oops.” He went to gesture with the hand he was holding his drink in and the contents of the glass almost swished over the rim of the glass. He took care to set his drink down on a coaster before he continued on, just as animated as he was before he’d been forced to pause. “You should talk more! It’s creepy how you just watch!”
Caius just looked at him for a moment, one eyebrow arched. Where both of the boys failed, though, Lebreau succeeded in making an actual request: “Tell us about yourself, man! People like you don’t just have no stores to tell.”
He wasn’t sure whether to be offended or not. After a moment’s consideration, he set his glass down (and the boys looked at him with expectant stars in their eyes). “Stories – of course. I killed a man with this thumb once.” He held up his right thumb to illustrate his point before he continued, each word free of any inflection that would hint as to whether he was actually serious or not. “He was scum and I was working a literal graveyard shift before I became Guardian. The end; I hope your appetites have all been satiated now.”
“That’s all you’re giving us? C’mooooooon,” Maqui attempted to egg – although his words were only met with a shrug and the retrieval of a well-deserved drink from the Guardian.
“I wouldn’t want to damage your fragile sensibilities; at this point you’ve not even been half a decade out of that cage. I doubt you’re ready to hear about life in the Gran Pulse wilderness just yet.” He smirked then, and took a long sip from his glass before continuing, “Even Yeul’s steeled to it more than you lot – save for Noel and perhaps Lightning.”
“Hmph. ’Perhaps Lightning.’ Thanks for the confidence, Caius; remember that later,” the rose-haired woman in question snipped, staring him down.
“You’re welcome. I will.”
Over that brief exchange, though, Lebreau’s voice rang loud and clear: “Fragile? You saw us out there today, didn’t you? That’s just one of the things we’ve done with our so-called ‘fragile sensibilities’!” She huffed to punctuate her claim. “It’s not like taking on the military back on Cocoon was any walk in the park either, oooh no. While Snow, Lightning, and all the rest were out to play, we had to keep hundreds of the Purge survivors alive and out of sight of PSICOM! Life in the Gran Pulse wilderness my ass; insofar as I’m concerned it’s like a camping trip!”
For the first time in a long time, Caius was actually stunned to silence. Wide-eyed, he opened his mouth but no words would come out – and while his lips still retained the slight curve of a smile, the one sound he did manage was somewhere between a clipped laugh and a bemused “Uh????” that at the same time managed to somewhat make him sound like he was choking – and in that instant Caius was sure that he’d never made such a sound before and never would again for the sake of his dignity. The boys broke down into snickers, then giggles – and Yuj had to cover his mouth and attempt to take deep breaths to avoid outright cackling. Lightning made no effort to spare him her opinion of the moment that just passed and by the time he regained his composure she’d just barely recovered from a fit of giggles that forced her to set her drink down. Caius looked to Noel, who refused to make eye contact, but whose only-half-suppressed smile was unmistakable. The only one present that seemed to not take some cheap amusement from his momentary lapse in self-respect was Yeul, and he sure hoped that it wasn’t because it paled in comparison to some other unbecoming moment she recalled from one of her past lives that he simply didn’t immediately recall due to the sheer length of eternity.
“You practically asked for that one, Ballad,” Lightning managed after a moment.
All he had to say for himself was, “Maybe I did.”
Noel clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Set up for failure from the beginning, huh.”
“Don’t encourage them.”
“I don’t think making an observation is encouraging them, exactly… But you know.” The brunet shrugged. “Weren’t you gonna indulge their curiosities, though? Gotta admit that I’d like to hear one of your stories, Caius.”
“There is nothing to tell,” the Guardian insisted, taking another sip of his drink and briefly adjusting his headband.
“What about that time you felled a behemoth king when you took me to the ruins of Paddra for the first time?” Caius froze when Yeul spoke, pressing his lips together a bit. She continued, “And the sunrise we saw when we got there?” Pause. “Or about how you became Guardian – or how you got your name?”
“Those require… far too much context, Yeul.”
The seeress cast her emerald gaze away, crestfallen. “Oh…”
“I’m sorry, Yeul.”
She shook her head in response. “You should tell them something… You have lots of stories. I like them. They should, too.”
Caius huffed and set his glass down again, crossing his arms over his chest. For several moments it appeared that he’d opted to clam up, much to everyone’s visible disappointment – then he spoke again, and when he did he made no effort to dull the edge in his voice: “Fine. If you all insist, then I will share with you one of my shorter anecdotes.” He didn’t miss the way that Maqui and Yuj’s eyes lit up as Caius himself straightened and let his hands fall into his lap. “Prior to becoming Yeul’s Guardian,” he began, and it seemed that those with more alcohol in their system were captivated by those first words – while Lightning (with little) along with Yeul and Noel (with none) merely gave him their attention in the same manner as they would anyone who’d taken center stage. “I was a simple warrior – though, I suppose I must have been good at it if nothing else, given that I earned the nickname ‘Caius of the Ballads’…”
“Faking humility doesn’t work very well for you,” Lightning said, swirling her drink around in her glass.
He let out a noise that was caught somewhere between a chuckle and an amused hum. “Yes? And whosoever implied I was faking? As much as possible, I try to avoid, as we used to say, preening my own feathers.”
“Right. Anyway.”
“Anyway,” Caius repeated with a stiff nod, “My services, along with the services of a few other notorious warriors, were once called upon to deal with a rakshasa that had come down from the mountains and had begun attacking those foolhardy enough to walk the streets of Paddra in the early hours of the morning. I accepted only because I needed the money for my bread and board. The first night, no one saw or heard of anything. The second, we each patrolled a separate part of the city a warrior was attacked – and although he survived, he was hospitalized and the incident forced many of the inexperienced warriors to bow out.”
Which suited him just fine, frankly, although he was definitely skimping on a few of the details for Yeul’s sake – although he’d definitely seen the end result of the attack. It hadn’t been pretty and he couldn’t blame the warriors who bowed out for doing so; if he hadn’t required the money then he likely would have, too, after seeing the damage that the rakshasa could do.
“The third night, I was accosted by a visitor, though not my mark despite how similar the silhouette looked in the darkness. It struck me as a bit strange that a woman my height but built of wires would wander alone in the back alleys of the city with a rakshasa loose, but knowing what I know now, I can safely say that that night was the first time I truly encountered our primary patron fal’Cie. We wandered the city and conversed until dawn broke – and the rakshasa did not strike that night.
“On the fourth night, the rakshasa managed to not only run into each of the warriors stationed around the city in its search for prey, but got itself killed, when another warrior – Paddra Myst-Cuore – and I attacked it from behind. We divided the useful remains and the reward between us and went our separate ways.” He retrieved his glass from the table and took a sip. “That’s it.”
“That’s it? Talk about anticlimactic,” Maqui complained, and Caius shot him a glare so sharp that the blond’s gaze actually snapped away.
“I have more exciting stories, but they are not for your ears. That’s all I care to share – take it or leave it.”
“Fine, fine…”
The end of the day was marked by the quickly-darkening sky, but on account of the somewhat special circumstances, the group did not part ways at sunset. Sometime after Maqui conquered Caius in checkers (although, much to the boy’s chagrin, he returned the favor when they broke out the chess pieces), Serah and Snow made their reappearance, hair still damp from their dip in the water and smelling like the sea (in a way that, admittedly, wasn’t unpleasant at all). Sand clung to their bodies in some places, although they seemed to have made efforts to clean themselves off before entering – but on the beach, there really was no way to escape its grainy wrath. Serah lingered with the group, conversing with most present in what was probably a louder voice than was really necessary (although no one save Caius seemed to mind, and Caius wasn’t really one to talk given how resonant his own voice was…) while Snow slipped into the bathroom after retrieving a change of clothes. When he emerged, Serah took her turn, first slipping into their bedroom for clothes and then into the bathroom at the very back of the house, the doorway of which was concealed from view by most angles.
It was at that point that the Guardian saw it fit to excuse himself out to the deck (taking his yet-unfinished drink out in the process), away from all the imminent noise; Yeul rose to follow him but apparently decided to change her mind when Serah joined the group at last, hair pulled back in a messy bun and filling the space that Caius had left on the couch.
The setting sun took with it the heat of the day, leaving naught but the cool sea breeze to blow in off of crystal clear water. Some people had decided to come out and take a stroll along the water’s edge, some carrying buckets and flashlights for whatever reason but most simply enjoying the last few moments of the day. The houses supported by stilts above the water were alive with dim lights emanating from the inside and some candles and lanterns decorating the outside; it was really only then that Caius found himself realizing that this was an actual town. It was a far cry from Paddra in its prime or from what he had seen of Academia far in the future, but people besides those that hung out at the NORA house actually inhabited this place, called it home, contributed in some way to the community that had, over its thus-far-brief history, formed here.
It was too bad that his time here was somewhat limited. After he and Lightning (and perhaps Yeul, if she was willing to go; if not, he trusted Noel enough to look after her) left in a few undoubtedly short days, who knew when they’d be back. His stay would likely not be permanent.
“Enjoyin’ the view?” Caius cast a glance over his shoulder in time to see Snow approach, a glass half-filled with an off-gold liquid in one hand and a brown bottle with a label he couldn’t read in the other. When the blue-eyed man reached his side, he offered Caius the bottle – but the Guardian ultimately turned it down after deciding that it didn’t smell appealing or suitably nonalcoholic and he definitely didn’t need any more of that. There was still a measurable amount left in the glass; he didn’t feel particularly impaired, granted, but he’d seen over centuries what alcohol could do to a good man and he’d rather not see what it’d do to him. In response, Snow poured around a quarter of the bottle’s contents into his glass, replenishing it, before taking a long sip. “Admittedly, kinda wish we could see the sun set over the water, but hey, the stars are great, too. Nice change.”
Caius gave a noncommittal shrug. “There are hundreds of beaches like this one; some nicer.”
“Sure there are.” Snow didn’t seem to question it at all; actually, it sounded more like he accepted Caius’s statement as a fact. “But we picked this one, and there sure isn’t more than one New Bodhum around.” He gestured north into the distance, where Cocoon was visible perched atop its crystal pillar. “Plus, bet you’d be hard-pressed to find a view of Cocoon like this one.”
“That’s fair.” Caius didn’t think that Cocoonites loved to have that reminder of everything that had been lost looming on the horizon so much – but that was their thing. And it was easier to (reminder or otherwise) admire a sphere encased in intricate crystal that made itself a permanent fixture on the horizon for thousands of miles around than it was to admire the ruins of city tucked away in the mountains, he supposed. The former had some aesthetic value, at least. The armored man paused before continuing: “Did you need something?”
“Nah. Just wanted to keep you a little company,” Snow explained. Caius scoffed before the blond continued, “Yeah, I know you’re more of the solitary type, but since Yeul’s keepin’ us company, I just. You know. Figured.” He shrugged then.
“There’s no need to be concerned about me, but thank you anyway.”
“Then I won’t be concerned. I’ll just keep you company ‘cause I wanna. Dunno what you did but everyone else seems chill about you bein’ here.”
“That works too.” Caius managed a smile at that. “You all seem a lot more accepting of my presence with the addition of some alcohol.”
“Well, you seem a lot more relaxed with some in yours. Lebreau’s cocktails, huh; nothin’ beats ‘em.” He took a sip of the drink in his glass, which was definitely not a cocktail. “I mean, they’re a little fruity for me, so for times like these I just pop open a bottle or three of beer, but hey. You know how it goes, yeah?”
He really didn’t, but he nodded in affirmation anyway. “You drink often, then?”
“Well – occasionally; I wouldn’t say often. I’m guessing you don’t?”
“That cocktail was the first sip of alcohol I’ve had in centuries.”
“Seems to me like you needed it, frankly.”
He shrugged in response. “Maybe. I don’t intend to make it a habit.”
“Eh, fair enough.” Snow shrugged. “It ain’t for everyone, that’s for sure.”
They mutually agreed to let the silence grow between them for a moment; after a bit of time they could hear Noel, Yuj and Maqui cheering about something inside and Lightning shouting at them to settle down, or something to that effect. Caius looked over his shoulder at that to make sure everything was alright inside before Snow explained softly that everyone gets really pumped about board games. Caius knew that already, but he wasn’t sure he understood the reasoning behind that. But as long as they were all having fun inside, no harm no foul, really; they weren’t hurting anyone. The blond went on to mutter something about ‘or maybe they’re doing shots…’ but Caius didn’t dignify that with an answer, his expression briefly hardening if only on account of the fact that that sounded like a very bad idea.
After a while, Snow prompted: “So uh, got any hobbies?”
Caius hummed. “There’s no room for hobbies in my life.”
“None at all? Really?”
“Most of my time is dedicated to Yeul in some way.” He couldn’t even complain about it, instead flashing a smile at the other man.
“Oh, yeah… Lightning said something about that earlier, didn’t she. ‘Fore we left.” He cleared his throat before apparently making an honest attempt at an impression of the woman in question: “’Yeul’s your motive for everything.’ How’d I do?”
Caius chuckled a bit. “If you sounded more unimpressed, you would have nailed it. But her words ring true. I—it’s a bit of a natural consequence of being in my position.” He paused, searching his eyes for any hint that he knew what he was talking about – and was satisfied when Snow looked a little bit lost, but did not explain. Only after a bit of consideration, after Snow shrugged in acceptance of the fact that there were just some things that not even alcohol could pry out of Caius, did he continue quietly: “I suppose I owe you an apology.” Snow blinked, and Caius’s shift in tone was not lost on him – but he remained quiet, and the silence urged the Guardian beside him onward: “I attempted, on multiple occasions, to kill or injure Serah, Lightning, and Noel.” He wasn’t a hundred percent sure how Snow felt about Noel, but given that he seemed to be living with them, he figured that they were at least friends.
“Do you think a few words like that’ll make it better?”
“No. And I don’t expect it to. The words are more for my sake than for yours.” Caius bowed his head at that. Snow regarded him with silence for a few moments, pouring the remainder of the contents of the bottle into his glass and topping it off once more before taking a long, long sip – so long that when he lowered the glass again, it was back to its initial level.
“Uh-huh...” Pause. “Hey – I’m gonna be honest with you. I’m not sure I can honestly accept your apology. ‘Cause if you succeeded, I would have lost the love of my life forever. Serah could have lost her sister – the only family she’s got left – if you succeeded. But I’m gonna act like I do—” he set the bottle down on top of the wood barrier before giving Caius a firm pat on the shoulder—“for Yeul’s sake. She’s pretty bent on us likin’ you, and in light of today’s victory, I figure the least I could do is make an effort. Fake it ‘til you make it, right?”
Violet eyes were cast away and the Guardian nodded.
“Anyway, enough of that. Time’s short, right?”
“Yes. Lightning and I will be leaving at the end of this week – Friday or Saturday, depending on how things work out.”
“Sucks. But for people like you two, you may as well be back within the hour, yeah? Lightning doesn’t talk about the specifics of your Focus much but it doesn’t seem to involve a lot of resistance.”
“It doesn’t, no…” Hopefully. “The most difficult part will be getting there, I figure. If all goes well then Lightning will be back before you know it, and I will part ways with you all once and for all.”
“You’re that ready to be rid of us, huh?” A smirk crept to Snow’s lips then, and Caius rolled his eyes in response. “What? Seems like you’re in a hurry.”
“I don’t expect you to understand the cultural doctrines behind my will to leave – but I can certainly assure you that it’s not because I find you people or this place to be particularly unpleasant.” Caius cast his gaze into the remainder of his drink – watered down by melted ice and honestly unappealing but, figuring it rude not to finish, he downed the rest of the glass’s contents in one go.
Snow hummed a bit. “Don’t be so quick to shortchange us, now. I’m nicer than Lebreau is even accounting for alcohol, but we try to be a pretty understanding bunch.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Don’t sound so surprised. But eh – can’t say I don’t blame you, I guess; according to Lightning you’re pretty old, so...”
“Is it safe to assume she means it in the most unflattering way possible?”
“From an observer’s perspective, yeah, I guess.”
Caius laughed a bit at that. “Well, she is not wrong.”
“Can I get a number on that, then?”
“Fourteen centuries, six decades, and seven years.”
Snow let out a low whistle and brought his glass to his lips briefly before lowering it again. “Rough.”
“More than you know.” The Guardian shook his head slowly and then continued on with a dismissive hand gesture. “That’s what you get for managing to get on a deity’s good side, although Etro has been far more merciful toward you and the other former l’Cie.”
Snow arched an eyebrow then, resting his weight and his glass on the partial wall that divided the raised deck from the ground below. “Etro?” He took a moment to process the name, one finger coming up to scratch the side of his face as he let the gears spin.
“The goddess. Lightning served Her in Valhalla as my adversary.”
“Oh – gotcha.” Pause. “Wait… H—”
“I’d rather not you asked.”
“Sounds like you need another cocktail in you.”
Caius rolled his eyes and couldn’t hide the wry smile that crept to his lips. “Maybe later.”
Word Count: 3788
Author Notes: Holy cow I didn't mean to go so long without an update even if I did know that I was definitely going to be running late with this chapter because I wanted to revise it and catch up on my buffer a little since I ran into a block for a while and played some games to get through it. Currently, in fact, toward the end of my third XIII playthrough.
As usual, I appreciate any and all feedback and I definitely am looking forward to things to come in this fic. For reasons. But from here on things are going to be moving fast, even if it doesn't seem like it! After taking it so easy, our protagonists will start getting their asses in gear.
Entire Work · AO3 · FFN
XVI. Pest Control
The weekend came – and passed. Lightning remained occupied in the mornings and caught up with the others on the zirnitra situation when she arrived back at the house with the Guardian in tow. Insofar as their little training sessions went, they generally spoke to each other only when corrections could not be made with a gentle touch or gesture. Words only really, truly, passed between them when they sought to speak of their Focus – and between those short chats and the more drawn-out conversations each evening in the alcove of the house, they formed a rough plan of action.
They would leave Friday or Saturday and head northwest to Oerba, cross the bay, and continue out to the horizon beyond. There was some unresolved debate over whether or not to allow Yeul to travel with them, but in the end they decided to leave it up to the seeress herself – the discrepancies between their visions suggested that while a Yeul was definitely involved, they decided that maybe it wasn’t necessarily the Yeul of this era. The one they’d seein in their visions looked several years too old to be this one, though even given that, they had no idea what it was supposed to mean. Given her largely immaterial nature in the visions and images that formed Lightning’s version of their Focus (disjointed, fuzzy; it was only through some sorcery that they could recall the images in any detail at all)… She may have just been present to spur him into action. Either way, the journey would be long, and while both were confident that the seeress could handle it, the awareness that perhaps staying here where she was under the protection of Serah, Noel, and the others might be smarter still ate at the backs of their minds… Even if it pained Caius to admit it.
When Caius told Yeul of their impending departure, she had cast her gaze away with a frown and was reluctant to speak with him for a few hours, instead preferring the company of the group down in New Bodhum. Part of him was happy that she’d gotten a chance to live somewhat normally – a chance she would likely never get again in her future incarnations (even given the final Yeul – but how normal was normal when you were born into a world drawing its dying breaths?) – but something about that rejection just stung. She always fell silent, of course, when the subject of his and Lightning’s Focus came up, at least ever since her vision in the middle of the night – but never had she outright ignored him, eyes looking through him as if he weren’t even there and never gesturing for him or addressing him.
He hoped that she would be there to send him off, should she choose to stay behind. At the same time – he wished for her to come with them; Yeul had for so long been his travel companion that he wasn’t quite sure that he’d be able to get used to her not being there, either close behind him or at his side or with her hand clasped in his or dozing off on his back.
Lightning brought it up to Serah as soon as the sketch of their plan had been finalized – and she smiled and requested pictures. Jokingly, the elder Farron sister had agreed – even though it was clear that she had no real intention of taking up photography – before inquiring about what sort of town they would be visiting, and though Serah admitted to not having a lot of details, it was apparent that she could perhaps pick up some of the essentials. From what Serah had heard (and told Lightning), the landscape there lent itself better to a settlement than the strand of beach that New Bodhum was situated on, so there were more people, and by proxy an overall larger town. How much larger than New Bodhum, though, was left to be seen. Worst comes to worst, Lightning could always see what sort of supplies she could borrow from the gang.
(While she was capable of traveling with little more than the clothes on her back, as her time as a Pulse l’Cie had proven, it was far more pleasant and lent her some peace of mind to be prepared in advance with a few light necessities.)
And with that, their plans were more or less set in stone.
Snow opted to take Lightning up on her offer to help kill it when she made her appearance Monday morning, and although everyone returned home safe (albeit a tad beaten and bloody), they couldn’t say the effort was successful. As always, Caius remained an observer, though this time perhaps a more helpful one when he started offering what healing he could – all of which was taken with silent thanks. The rest of the afternoon was spent trying to figure out how to deal with the zirnitra and while Caius kept his mouth shut he couldn’t help but think how they were having trouble with what surely should be a simple task seeing as at the very least Lightning and Snow had faced many of the beasts in battle before. At the very least, they knew how to avoid getting themselves killed, but…
Much of the next morning was also spent discussing and theorizing how to deal with the problem. They passed around a map of the greater New Bodhum area (on which the location of the zirnitra was marked with a red star sticker that had likely been provided by Serah, given it looked like something a school teacher might give out to their students who did well on tests or some such) as they discussed the plan, marking down things that were definitely going to happen in what appeared to be permanent marker.
“What if we split here,” Noel began, pointing at the head of the most recent arrow drawn as Lightning tossed the marker down and let it land on the table with a sharp clack, “And one group attacks it from the front, and the other catches it off guard from behind?”
“Might work,” Lightning put in, “Snow could lead one group, and I could lead the other – Snow, you know some healing magic, right?”
The blond man in question gave a noncommittal shrug. “Bit rusty, but I’m sure I can manage if we need it in a pinch.”
“And I know you and Serah can heal, Noel.”
The two of them nodded.
Gadot put in, and of course he had to sound like somewhat of a smartass about it (Caius fought the urge to roll his eyes every time the man opened his mouth honestly), “I’m not sure I like the idea of splittin’ up so much. Seems like it’d just make us easier to pick off if you ask me – you know, divide and conquer? Smaller groups, and a delay between them – just less at a time to focus on.”
“Shouldn’t be an issue if we’re smart about it. Here’s what I was thinking—” Lightning took the map from Noel and flipped it over onto the blank side – the marker found its way back into her hand, although the cap remained in place for the time being. “Snow and I lead two teams – yet to be determined who’s under whose command, but the basic idea is – split up and catch it off guard. It hits hard, so if we’re going to see this get done we’re going to need a full-time medic in each group. We’ll—” she tapped the marker on the table a few times, considering her next words—“We’ll probably need to act independently. But the element of surprise will be on our side, so as long as we aren’t incapacitated, we ought to be set. And once we have it off guard, then it’ll be a simple matter to kill it – from either of the angles.”
Gadot hummed thoughtfully. “Well, I guess you’ve got more experience planning this stuff than I do, so if you really think it’ll work… So, after this thing’s dead – what do you suppose we do with the eggs? Smash ‘em?”
Lightning winced. “Given that if we let them hatch where they are, we’ll just be in this mess again later on – you know what, you and Yuj can figure it out.”
The blue-haired man piped up: “Wh—me? Why me?”
“You’re good with animals.”
“I’m good with cats, and eggs aren’t even animals yet.”
“Like I said, you can figure it out.”
Gadot and Yuj shared a look. Gadot shrugged and Yuj let out a sigh.
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Serah put in. “So, how’re we going to divide up?”
Lightning considered this for a moment, looking up at Snow. “I’ll take Noel, Lebreau, and Yuj; Snow, you take Serah, Gadot, and Maqui.” She scribbled something – apparently these their names – on the back of the map, then flipped it back onto the proper map side and filled in the information they just discussed in the way of their movements. “Before we set off, let’s make sure we have everything we’re going to need, especially ammo.” She shot a glare at Maqui, apparently having heard some sort of story at one point or another which would seem to imply that he’d done exactly that – forget, or neglect to pack enough, ammunition – but the short blond averted his gaze. “And we can assign roles then, too.”
Snow nodded. “So when? Around two, we head out?”
“That’s reasonable.”
“Sweet.”
And with that the meeting was adjourned, and while some went to ascertain that they were prepared, others stayed behind to have a good time – after all, it was barely past ten by the time everything was wrapped up.
The air was unreasonably hot while it was still – but thankfully the cool breeze coming off the sea helped alleviate some of the discomfort. Everyone was gathered just outside of the metal fence that marked the edge of the town of New Bodhum proper, the two groups more or less lumped together but no less clearly divided down the middle. They gathered just outside of the fence that marked the boundary of the town, weapons of choice in tow and talking amongst themselves – reviewing a plan of some sort something about a preemptive strike, which those in Lightning’s group were apparently in charge of. Which worked out perfectly given the specialties of the group’s members in general – Noel, a hunter, wasn’t about to go off and do anything stupid, Lebreau was just as skilled a fighter as she was a cook, and Yuj was, while not as skilled in battle as many others, light on his feet in any case.
Well, that was everything taken care of. Duties, the plan, presumably everything they needed to carry into battle was on them already. So, all that was left…
“Lightning.”
She looked up when she heard that voice – deep and smooth. And she frowned when her eyes met Caius’s, and soon everyone present had turned to face him. The Guardian held the Organyx loosely in one hand and seemed content to ignore the hard stares of the others, his focus solely on Lightning – and after a moment of looking him over, a look of absolute befuddlement creeping to her visage before she dispelled it and once again assumed a neutral expression as she replied: “What is it, Caius?”
“Please allow me to accompany you.”
She quirked an eyebrow.
“I simply wish to make certain that the zirnitra is dealt with; I have no wish to interfere with your plans.” Honestly it shouldn’t have taken them this long to deal with it, not with Serah and Noel and Lightning on their side. Lightning alone could hold her own against him in battle in Valhalla, where he was most powerful – so this ‘zirnitra’… To require a plan and the combined efforts of three former l’Cie and Noel (whom also possessed some prowess with magic, although considerably weaker than those whom were formerly branded), it must cause far more issue than any one they’d faced before.
And Caius? Caius could reasonably say he could fell almost any monster on the surface of Gran Pulse, zirnitra included. They were actually easier to deal with than behemoths in his book, even given their aerial advantage.
“Why the sudden interest?” A stupid question, and the way his eyebrows lowered ever so slightly and his eyes darted toward the NORA house told her everything she needed to know. “Nevermind, I get it. Stupid question anyway; Yeul’s your motive for everything, isn’t she.”
Caius shifted his gaze briefly downward before giving a curt nod in response.
“Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not the one you should ask,” Lightning finished before jerking her head toward Snow, whose gaze was, for once, very hard. He’d abandoned the bandanna for the day and clipped his hair out of his eyes with some somewhat comically bright-colored hair pins, which smoothed down the rough edges a bit, but certainly not completely. Caius himself admitted to himself that he’d probably want to regard the man as a joke less if he stuck to a more subdued color scheme – or simply kept the bandanna, despite the heat. Or maybe invested in a headband.
Caius’s eyes met Snow’s, and although the armored man remained quiet, the question was apparent. After a moment’s consideration, Snow shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck. “Eh – as long as you’re here to help, I guess there’s no harm in it. You’re with me.”
Well, could have gone worse. Caius nodded in understanding and joined Snow’s cluster (although he hung back a fair bit). With nothing left to address, Lightning’s group set off, shortly followed by Snow. The groups followed their leaders with bated breath down into the Tidal Shallows and past the time gate (passing over several steep drops in the process); Lightning’s group ahead of them was dead silent while Snow’s was a bit more talkative, with the engaged couple making small talk (and, notably, casting tentative glances over their shoulders at Caius) as they hiked. There was some difficulty getting out of the crater, but eventually they made it up to the cliffs area, so far north that Caius hadn’t paid it a visit since he’d first set out in search of Yeul (and even at that time he’d only looked down on it from the air). Once up the cliffs, Lightning’s group split off in another direction – and the group Snow led fell silent. Caius could hear Gadot and Maqui cock their guns, and Serah toyed with a bolt that she withdrew from a brown leather pouch strapped to her thigh before loading it into her crossbow. Snow stretched briefly before straightening his coat, which had several patches forming a single design sewn onto the back.
As they approached another, higher set of cliffs, the precise beast that created such a notable problem for the town – for NORA and all the rest – came into view, roosting in a nest constructed out of entire branches of trees and heavy stones and carved into the exposed stone. The zirnitra was unimpressive in most aspects, although it was certainly more brightly and warmly colored than most of the beasts of that fare that he’d ever fought.
Snow stopped them then, and turned to speak: “Alright, let’s do this. What’s our motto?”
And all present save for Caius answered, in unison: “Monsters are no match for NORA!”
(Well, they certainly got points for enthusiasm.)
Then they charged and the monster stirred from its nest and took flight. Caius expanded the Organyx with a flick of the wrist, although his eyes widened when he realized that these people were idiots to think that this was a zirnitra. It was too fast, too fierce, and its wingspan was several feet too broad—
Nonetheless, nothing that they couldn’t all handle, surely, even when the monster, from wingtip to wingtip, was noticeably larger than many of the small houses situated above the water. Maqui and Gadot started shooting at it, and the bolt that Serah loaded into her crossbow buried itself into the beast’s side flickering with flame. Caius charged, much in the same way Snow had, and he decided to take advantage of the fact that the beast was thrust into the ground by taking hold of its long tail and starting to cut off the stinger as a precautionary measure – but then the beast rose and suddenly Caius’s feet were off the ground. Still, he wasn’t a stranger to a little fall and so he let go to reassess his approach, catching the beast’s tail sharp-edge-of-the-stinger-first as he lunged forward. The stinger was sharp enough to cut through the middle joints of all his fingers and the pain was just about intense enough to bring tears to Caius’s eyes – but it was swiftly overtaken by numbness, and that itself was enough to confirm his suspicions.
Not a zirnitra.
A ziz.
He closed his hand into a fist and hacked the stinger off, and the beast let out a screech as its tail writhed in the new absence of an end. Caius cast a weak healing spell on the cut to seal it before leaping back into the fray.
“Good! Now give it some more!”
He thought it might have been Gadot cheering, but the thought of celebrating just yet was honestly idiotic in Caius’s eyes – so he didn’t bother verifying. When the beast was hovering above him about to riddle him with bite marks, he slashed and caught a wing, forcing it backwards but splattering Caius with blood that burned what little exposed skin he had nonetheless. He wasn’t sure who, exactly, it was that sent cool blue light to envelop his body and take his wounds away, but he offered his silence as thanks nonetheless.
The winged beast squawked in surprise when Lightning landed on it and dug her gunblade into its back, forcing it back down before it twisted and threw her off. Noel slid down the cliff and began his assault while Lebreau and Yuj opted to remain at the top of the cliff, punching holes in the beast’s wings with bullets. Noel put his swords to good use and Lightning proved just how agile she could be in battle, although it was largely an effort gone wasted when the beast dove and used its wings to briefly sweep everyone off of their feet, jaws opened so that it would be ready to catch any who were close enough with its razor-sharp teeth. It bit down on Snow’s arm but a swift Ruin spell forced it off, and Serah sealed the wounds with magic – although judging by the way he held his arm whenever he was catching his breath, did not heal them completely just yet.
When the ziz next dove at Caius, he forced the Organyx’s blade into its mouth and it recoiled in pain before ascending again. A wicked smile crept to his lips – although he didn’t quite realize it as he leapt for the beast before it was completely out of reach. When the gunfire paused, he was faintly aware of himself shouting at the others to keep shooting, then its continuation; Caius himself held fast to anything he could grab onto, and while his weight kept the beast from getting too far out of range of the guns, the effect was much less than he had anticipated. All the same – making sure he wasn’t about to lose his grip and fall, he lashed out and the blade of the Organyx bit into its right wing where it connected to the rest of its body.
Another swing and the gash deepened, widened, and he was sure he’d get scolded for it later given that despite the heavy blade the Organyx was just not built to handle such rough treatment, but that sure didn’t stop the violet-haired man from trying. Blood splattered onto his armor with each swing, although none got on his skin just yet – soon the ziz was grounded when he cut through the muscle powering the wing, and it landed with a thud but did not give up, flailing on the ground under Caius’s weight even as he thrust the blade into its underside and letting out the worst, most deafening screeching that he’d ever had the pleasure of hearing. Someone – he wasn’t sure who, exactly – put the poor thing out of its misery with a swift bullet through its eye, and once it was over everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The NORA members of Snow’s group took a seat on what patches of clean grass they could and Yuj and Lebreau slid down the cliff.
“Caius,” Lightning said, and the note of irritation in her voice did not go undetected on part of the Guardian. He did not meet her eyes, opting to lay on the ziz’s corpse for a few moments more.
“My apologies.”
She only huffed in response
Over from where he sat, Snow shouted his compliments to the Guardian, and it was then that Caius rose. “I wouldn’t celebrate yet.” He ran his hand through his hair, making sure everything was in order. His fingers came away bloody – and while if the blood stung or burned he couldn’t feel it past the numb tingling, he was fairly certain that the blood was the ziz’s.
“Why? It’s dea—” an abrupt holler of celebration, then a sigh from Maqui before he resumed—“It’s dead! Finally!”
“… … … Right.” He cast a sweeping glance to the rest of the group, a golden glow enveloping his free hand as he flexed his fingers and waited for feeling to return to them. “The blood of a ziz – which we just killed – will leave burns if not washed off.” Lightning, Snow, and Noel exchanged looks. “Healing magic isn’t enough to nullify its effects. It’ll continue to damage tissues for as long as it’s in contact.”
“Let’s get washed off, then,” Lightning called, crossing her arms. “Yuj, deal with the eggs.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ve got it.” The blue-haired man approached the nest before taking one of the eggs in his arms, bug enough around that he had to cradle it in both of his arms to avoid dropping it at his feet.
And as he started away, Caius called after him: “Be careful with it. The egg whites are corrosive.”
With a huff, Yuj replied, “Great; guess we won’t be making omelets, then.”
Gadot came up behind him and gave him a firm pat on the shoulder. “Let’s just get this done and get goin’. This is the easy part.”
Word Count: 5452
Author Notes: Insert FFXV joke here. Unfortunately I title my chapters just after writing them (or in some cases before writing them; most cases actually) so I didn't actually have the foresight to use an FFXV joke for the title. (I think this chapter may have been written before I went back and added III, so to be fair may have originally been XIV.) BUT HEY. Give me points for effort, right?
Entire Work · AO3 · FFN
XV. Supplementary Lessons
Lightning was not kidding around when she told Caius to be up before dawn, although how long before dawn had not been specified and somewhat to his dismay, it was still mostly dark outside (although the rosy fingertips of dawn had begun to spread their reach across the horizon) when she invited herself into his room and pressed ice cubes to his exposed skin until he woke with a start and almost at her throat through all the frazzled grogginess and irritation. Lightning squeezed his hand hard enough to let him know that his threat was considered duly noted and not helping his case, but what was she expecting, honestly?
Yeul apparently had no issues getting up after a few minutes of prodding her awake, though, and she was probably more energetic than Caius was. Ready to face the day and whatever that entailed, as always; rarely did Yeul (well, at the very least, this Yeul) ever raise complaint about being woken early, in part because if Caius woke her then it was usually for good reason. Presumably, the other part was because new days brought new destinations – at least insofar as their previous lifestyle was concerned.
They got ready for the day in silence, with nothing but the (admittedly faint) noises of their daily rituals to hint that the house was even inhabited.
Breakfast was simple, and although Caius couldn’t say he was hungry he forced some of that tasteless goop that Lightning called ‘oatmeal’ down his throat anyway once he’d gotten dressed in his armor; much to his dismay he was not given enough time to situate most of his feathers in his hair properly after every necessary piece of his armor was slipped into place and she shoved the Organyx into his hands.
And after a brief stint down in New Bodhum proper to drop Yeul off with a still-waking-up Serah and a brief chat between sisters to explain the situation, she and Caius were off. The hike woke him up at least, and got his blood flowing.
They didn’t stray far from the house, having settled on a clearing only a little bit out. The trees and other plants around them afforded them a sort of veil of privacy, although they were both dimly aware of the fact that to their west, there was literally nothing beyond the trees except for a steep drop and a pit; it wasn’t a fall that would kill either of them, of course, not with the Heart of Chaos beating in their chests. But it would hurt, he was sure, and he wasn’t exactly prepared to fling himself off the edge no matter how much of an incentive Lightning wanted to give him. With a flick of the wrist, Lightning had drawn her gunblade, and Caius did the same; he was tempted to raise it at her, but she gave no indication that she intended to fight him.
“If there’s one thing that I’m thankful for, it’s that hopefully I don’t have to reteach you the basics. Nice to know that you’ve already come to terms with the fact that you can’t wield the Organyx like you did that sword of yours.” Her voice was clipped, cold – and he had a feeling that this was going to be a long morning. Lightning never struck him as the teaching type, honestly – and Caius hadn’t properly been a student for centuries, with most of his sword-wielding style stemming from necessity, drifting semi-hopelessly between mentors for several years in his youth, and adaptations to all the various weapons he’d tried (with the greatsword just happening to be the one that stuck; he was faintly certain that people around Paddra had commented that he looked rather handsome with a spear as he passed them on the streets, though). Lightning assumed her typical battle stance: shoulders back, feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent slightly, weapon clutched in her right hand with the blade tilted downward. She turned slightly to the right and while she let her left arm hang at her side, he knew all too-well how quickly she could change that – firing off powerful spells or, in Valhalla, blocking his blows with her shield if she couldn’t bring her blade up to catch on his in time. “Unfortunately – if you understood the differences between regular swords and gunblades, we wouldn’t be here right now.”
“Of course,” he huffed, making subtle adjustments to his stance – just enough to differentiate between him just standing there and being – theoretically speaking – battle-ready. Feet apart (just shoulder width), facing Lightning at an angle and leading with his dominant (right) hand. Practically a replica of her stance for most intents and purposes, although he was approximately a hundred-and-ten percent certain that he didn’t pull it off half as well as she did, if only because with a weapon of this nature and this size, Lightning was his only point of reference for how to wield it ‘properly’. And even then, certain things – such as the force of his swings, for one, or any other element of his fighting style that he’d become entrenched in over the centuries, for another; on the flip side, his and Lightning’s builds were worlds apart – simply didn’t translate well. Back straight, shoulders relaxed – and he stared her down and willed her to continue.
Her lips twitched. “Let’s learn by doing, then.”
The air between them briefly became charged and they quirked their blades. After a moment, he lunged for her – but his rival swiveled on her heel and brought her gunblade up to catch on his; she’d moved fast enough to earn her namesake, it seemed. His momentum was enough to force her sliding back in the grass quite a bit, but perhaps only because the grass under her feet was slick with morning dew and not because he’d actually done that much to force her backwards. Their eyes locked from between the blades and he let up just a fraction before digging his feet in and forcing himself forward – or, that was the plan of action he was going with, but the instant he let up, her blade slipped from his and she’d brought it around to his side, although she didn’t let it bite into his armor.
“Where do I begin,” she said, and her voice hinted at more exasperation than he figured was actually there. Lightning paced in front of him a bit before she returned the Blazefire Saber to its sling and stepped over to him. “First – you cannot rely on sheer strength with these things, Caius. You are going to break it. Again.”
He grunted in acknowledgement; no new news there.
“Second…” She took a moment to pause before amending, “Actually, you know what – here.”
Caius jumped a little when her hand wrapped around his wrist – and he was tempted to rip it out of her grasp, but refrained. He was a little surprised, in honesty, that she managed to wrap her hand around his wrist completely – he was already massive in all dimensions, especially compared to her (while very clearly made out of little more but muscle, Lightning still had an ethereal softness to her frame and features that would have made him question her background in the military had he not seen what she was capable of both first-hand), and with the addition of his armor and the padding around his dominant wrist it didn’t look like she could, until she did. Her other hand came to rest on his opposite shoulder and after humming for a moment in consideration, she seemed to have a clear picture of what she was going for and thus started her work.
He let her manipulate his body as if he were made out of clay, not putting up any particular fuss. Her touches were, for the most part fleeting and utilitarian, unless he hesitated or she had to take a moment to take some new factor that crossed her mind into consideration – and none of it went past him first, of course. He didn’t expect it to, didn’t need it to, didn’t particularly care for it to; she was the authority with gunblades, which were apparently different enough from swords that she needed to teach him how to use one without breaking it, and any advice she could give him apparently couldn’t just be limited to ‘don’t swing so hard’. She nudged his feet a fraction farther apart and gently encouraged him to bend his knees a bit – and several times encouraged him to clutch the gunblade somewhere higher on its hilt , closer to the first joint, and several more times encouraged him to let the weapon just hang there with its tip pointing toward the ground. After a few moments she stepped away, paced around him, and admired her work.
And after a few moments, she nodded. “And that scowl of yours can stay.”
He didn’t even dignify that with a proper response, instead rolling his eyes and letting his characteristic scowl deepen.
“More to the point,” she began, “I hope I don’t have to explain my improvements.”
He shook his head and shifted his weight back a bit. “Lower center of gravity…”
“And more mobility. Look—” with a flick of her wrist her gunblade was out again, and briefly he wondered if he’d ever get to do it with such finesse. “—the trick to wielding gunblades effectively is leaving your options open. They were designed for both short and long-range combat; from where you were, you had a fair amount of range, sure – but not nearly enough.” She mimicked his position prior to her improvements, and moved with her words as she continued, “That gunblade’s not even half the size of your greatsword. It’s not going to shield you and you’re not going to be able to keep your enemies in front of you every single time. So instead of working off the assumption that you can get a solid strike going forwards no matter what—” she jabbed the air at that—“be prepared to duck to the side and feint, or to back off and—” with a flick of her wrist, the Blazefire Saber became a gun “—attack from a distance.”
“Among other possibilities,” he filled in, weighing the gunblade in his hand as if this were the first time he held it.
“Yeah. If you relax then all you gotta do if, say, something comes up beside you is lash out in that direction, but if the tip of your blade is fixed on something in particular, then not only are your movements less fluid, but chances are pretty good your attention is focused on that spot, and your reaction time suffers ‘cause of it.”
He hummed thoughtfully. He couldn’t say that all that wasn’t something he hadn’t considered before, but it was certainly nothing he’d put into practice while his weapon of choice was that greatsword, which for all intents and purposes was now lost to the shadows of Valhalla. “Then shall we put it to the test?”
Lightning nodded then stepped away – several yards away, in fact – before reassuming her battle stance. Their eyes locked and, for a moment, everything froze – then Lightning lunged, and Caius mirrored her move from earlier, catching her blade on his. He was tempted just to knock her back, to do as he had done when he’d wielded that wicked greatsword and pull her upward, but refrained, instead forcing her blade to the side before turning and slashing, stopping himself short as his blade collided with her side, just as she had.
She smiled. “Fast learner, huh.” He scarcely had time to grunt in acknowledgement of the compliment before she was on him again; Lightning turned and slashed upwards this time, and Caius brought his blade up to block before she launched herself backwards, and he did the same, and then they both had the thankfully not loaded barrels of their gunblades to each other’s chests.
“Very nice.” She lowered the Blazefire Saber away from his chest slowly. He followed suit, taking a full step back. “Surprised I don’t have to show you trigger discipline.”
“I’ve no plans to fire.”
“Oh? What a waste.”
“I can assure you it would be more of a waste if you were to share perfectly good ammunition with me. The last thing I aimed with was a bow and arrow centuries ago; that endeavor did not last long.”
“Well, we’re already here – I could teach you if you really wanted.” Judging by her tone he was fairly certain that she was going to force him to learn at some point. “But fair enough. Let’s go again, see what other issues we can excise.”
The corners of his lips twitched a bit. That was precisely what she was doing, wasn’t it, at the core of everything? It was an awfully good thing that, for the foreseeable future, they were on the same side. Lightning backed away a bit, rolling her shoulder back once and reassuming her default battle stance – and he fell into the stance that she’d chosen for him. This time, neither seemed prepared to strike first, and instead they simply circled each other, eyes locked – and for the moment it was almost like Valhalla all over again, except instead of two forces clashing in the name of Etro it was this time far more benign, far more... Was friendly the word? Caius supposed it would be, given that neither was actually trying to hurt the other, although Lightning’s eyes certainly carried a challenge.
A challenge that he responded to with his own – a quirk of an eyebrow, a tilt of the head, the ghost of a smirk teasing at his lips.
This continued for longer than was probably absolutely necessary – but in a battle of wills such as this one, a victor would emerge eventually. Caius feigned action once, taking a sudden step forward before backing down again, just to see how Lightning would react – as it turned out, just as quickly, and when he backed down, she let her arms fall back to the side. Then, impatient, the Guardian lashed out for real – and Lightning easily blocked the blow, and in response let his blade slide off of hers. She moved to put some space between them before he brought his weapon up and slashed down – and when she dodged he followed the action through before, in one fluid continuation, he swept across and caught her arm with the tip of his blade as she brought her arm up to lash out at him. A little too close, a thin line of blood followed in its wake before he pulled away.
He let himself smile – but deep down, knew that he ought not let himself get too confident. She was holding back, he could tell, in the interests of teaching him how to handle her toys. And in the interests of quashing his ego, she said through quirked lips as the blue light of a healing spell whisked the thin line of blood away:
“I wouldn’t get cocky just yet, Ballad. We’re just getting started.”
For the first half of the morning, Yeul curled up on the couch and napped. She rose once more long after the sun rose and the house was starting to bustle. Serah just sat and read for most of the morning, enjoying a cup or two of coffee with so much cream that it didn’t look very much like coffee anymore, while Snow slept away in the master bedroom. She looked up when Yeul started to stir and, after the seeress pulled herself into an upright position, flashed a smile in her direction. “Good morning, Yeul. Pleasant dreams?”
“Yes. Thank you, Serah.” Yeul returned the smile after she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, then scanned the room to see Lebreau in the kitchen grumbling about ‘why can’t men clean up after themselves’ and not really anyone else. Snow the cat was pawing around the house and Lebreau had to scoot her off of the counter several times before she got the message to stay away and eventually plunked herself down beside Yeul. The other NORA members had apparently either decided not to make their appearances yet or had come and gone while she was still lost to dreams, which was a tad disappointing but not surprising considering… Something about a zirnitra?
The seeress’s gaze fell upon the hardcover book in Serah’s hands and she scooted over closer to her so that she could see the contents of the pages – which, as it turned out, were just more of those foreign symbols that apparently made up the Cocoonite alphabet. Whatever Serah was reading, though, it was certainly interesting enough for it to hold her attention. A long few moments passed and she went through several pages before she realized that Yeul’s gaze was fixed on the pages. In response, she lowered the book a bit for Yeul to see better, although once that was done the seeress just looked up at her. “Do you like to read, Yeul?”
Lips pressed together and emerald eyes cast away, Yeul replied: “I cannot read.”
“Caius never taught you?”
“I never requested it.” When living as vagabonds, there’s generally no practical reason to transport books or any such things anyway. They traveled light and with only what they could carry by their own merits if they really had to have something – and if Yeul really wanted to hear a story, Caius had countless memorized.
“Oh.” Serah paused. “Would you like to learn?”
The seeress shrugged. “I will think about it. What are you reading?”
“The memoir of a PSICOM officer.” She frowned and continued, “It’s… pretty controversial from what I hear, and I guess I can see why some people wouldn’t like it, but...”
Yeul let her legs swing back and forth a bit, her eyes flickering a bit in curiosity. “What is a memoir?”
“Well—It’s—” Serah hummed. “Think of it like, a life story, but only in relation to certain parts of someone’s life, like their job or their travels or, well, anything, really.”
“Oh, I see. Why would a memoir be cont—cont…” Yeul spent a moment sounding out the word ‘controversial’ to make sure that she would say it correctly. “Controversial then?”
Serah marked her page with part of the cover sleeve on the book before closing it altogether and setting it on the coffee table. She took several moments to think before she started, “Well, it’s a long story, but if you want to hear it…” Yeul’s eyes widened a bit and a smile teased at the corners of her lips. Story time—! “Alright, then. So, in Cocoon, there were two main branches of the military: the Guardian Corps, which my sister joined, and the Public Security and Intelligence Command, or PSICOM. PSICOM was the one that orchestrated all sorts of… horrible things, like The Purge, which I don’t think Caius would be very happy with me telling you much about. PSICOM’s job was to protect Cocoon from any sort of threat from Pulse… Although we all know now that the people on Pulse feared Cocoon just as much as we Cocoonites feared anything and everything related to Pulse, and there wasn’t really any immediate threat. Funny how things work out like that, I guess.
“Anyway, people hate PSICOM because of The Purge, mainly, but the thing is that they were just trying to protect Cocoon in the only way they were trained to – eliminating ‘threats’ from Pulse, like the Vestige found in Bodhum and the fal’Cie inside, or… Or Pulse l’Cie like me, my sister, Snow, Hope, and Sazh and Vanille and Fang all were.” Serah looked away. “Or innocent civilians who just happened to be caught in the crossfire, like the people of Bodhum. But what people like to forget about is that it wasn’t necessarily PSICOM who are the bad guys. Sure, they were the ones that were actually doing all those things, but no one knew any better back then. The public supported The Purge at the time; the people hated Pulse l’Cie. And even further than that, the people of Cocoon were just – controlled and lied to by the fal’Cie. And at the end of everything, PSICOM helped people relocate to Pulse after Cocoon fell, so… I don’t know, it doesn’t sit right with me that they’re all so… hated.
“The vast majority of the soldiers were chased out by everyone else, forced to leave all their friends and family behind and face the Pulsian wilderness alone, and their families continue to suffer just because they were associated with PSICOM personnel. And the soldiers that decided to stay, like Andrew Gray, the author of this book… Well, life’s tough; I’ll put it that way. The people wanted justice, but they never stopped to think about what justice actually was.”
Silence grew between them for a moment, and neither met each other’s eyes, but after a moment, Serah spoke once more: “Sorry, Yeul. I think – maybe I got a little too preachy there, huh.”
“It’s fine. I think I understand,” the seeress replied. “Sometimes, people do things that they wouldn’t normally, because they’re told to, or because they don’t know any better. I don’t think that those people should be blamed, either.”
Serah smiled at that. “Yeah, pretty much. I’m glad we agree on that.”
Serah picked up her book again after Yeul got up and wandered around the house for a bit with the cat in tow. She peered into the kitchen where Lebreau was preparing breakfast – something with fancy-looking bread cut in slices, eggs, milk, a red-brown powder, and some sort of brownish liquid contained in a noticeably smaller bottle than anything else she’d seen before from the looks of things, although all that stuff was set to the side with the eggs and milk mingling in the same bowl; what she seemed to be preoccupied with at the moment was cutting up some fuzzy-looking fruit that had probably been brought down from Cocoon because Yeul had certainly never seen it before – two varieties, in fact, one that was golden and another which looked to be a light pink. She lingered until she was shooed away and even then Lebreau couldn’t keep Yeul away for long, and eventually the dark-haired woman seemed to submit herself to her fate.
Snow emerged from the master bedroom after a while dressed in a simple t-shirt and shorts, and plunked himself down next to Serah. They shared a good morning kiss before the cat got between them and Snow proceeded to give her enough fuss and love to temporarily usurp the absent Yuj’s place in her heart.
Once all of the fruit was sliced up, Lebreau put it in a waiting large sauté pan, poured a bit of the brown liquid over it, added a bit of sugar, and, after a moment of hunting, pulled out a bottle with some clearish liquid in it and added that to the mix as well before stirring everything around briefly. The house promptly started filling with a sweet, fruity aroma that Yeul couldn’t describe precisely – but it made her mouth water nonetheless.
She watched for a while before she lost interest, wandering back over to the couch and leaving Lebreau to her work. A pang of disappointment struck her when she realized that there was no room to squeeze in next to Serah, with her seated on the end of the couch and Snow occupying the space to her other side, but she sucked it up and plunked down beside the tall blond man instead. He greeted her with a ‘hey’ and a smile, both of which the blue-haired girl returned.
“So, Lightning and Caius left you with us for the day, huh?”
“Yes. I think she’s teaching him how to properly use that weapon…” She trailed off, tilting her head to the side a bit, directing her gaze to the wall opposite them. “I wonder what happened to his sword,” she muttered; it was a scary-looking thing but Yeul had gotten used to seeing him with it over the years…
“Hah, figures. Those gunblades of hers are like her pets.”
“I wouldn’t go that far, Snow,” Serah put in. And with a note of bitterness that Yeul only just barely didn’t miss completely, she added: “But I guess it means she trusts him, given… Everything.”
“I guess, also,” Yeul began with a breath, “It’s kind of nice not… having him around.” It hurt her to admit that. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Caius – he was practically her father, after all, and he rarely questioned or pressed her for reasoning when she wanted to go somewhere (or, at least, he used to; centuries seemed to have changed Caius from the man that she first met and traveled with) and he was always happy to teach her things and answer her questions whenever she asked them. She felt safe with him; he cared for her when she was upset or ill. But it was refreshing, in a way – almost liberating – to know that he wasn’t there. Likely not too far, granted, but still not within the immediate vicinity, not anywhere he could hear them speak.
“You said it first,” Snow replied with a laugh. “Kinda scary.”
Serah and Snow shared a knowing glance; Yeul straightened before standing and speaking: “He’s not so bad.”
“Yeul, you... you do know what he tried to do, right?” the teacher prompted.
“Yes.” She frowned. “But—that doesn’t mean—”
“Caius tried to kill Serah and Noel,” Snow put in, wrapping one arm around his fiancée.
“But he didn’t.”
“That doesn’t change anything.”
Yeul’s heart dropped, and she looked between Serah and Snow with a frown. “But—he was just—he’s so old… And—and all he can do is watch me, and all the others—” So what she was trying to say was…
Snow’s hand came to rest on her shoulder and it took much of Yeul’s willpower not to jerk away. She let out a sigh and sat back down. The blond pulled her into a loose half-embrace, and she let her head rest against him. “I think it would be easier of you didn’t try to excuse what he’s done.”
“But—”
“Shhh, Yeul. Hear me out here,” Snow said, the edge gone from his voice. “I know you like Caius, since uh, he’s your Guardian and all or whatever. But if you just pretend like he’s perfect then no one wins. If he had succeeded – then he could do all the apologizing in the world for the rest of eternity and it wouldn’t matter. The damage’d be done.” Pause. “But like you said, he didn’t. He didn’t kill Serah. He didn’t kill Noel. He did kill Lightning from what I hear, but for the moment she’s kind of immortal apparently and obviously she trusts him enough to be around him alone for whatever reason. But he doesn’t need you to defend him, feel me?”
Yeul paused then nodded.
“To be fair, we don’t know much about Caius as a person—well, besides you and Noel, I mean, but the rest of us don’t know. So I’m sure it’s a matter of perspective, too,” Serah added with a smile. “Maybe if he were willing to open up a little, things would be… I don’t know, easier.”
The seeress blinked and nodded once more, the beginning of a smile teasing at the corners of her lips. Snow the cat crossed over the couple’s laps and butted her head against Yeuls hand and, after a moment, she gave her what she wanted. Yeul could hear her purring and couldn’t stop herself from grinning when the cat meowed at her. Thanks to the feline she was perfectly content to let the silence grow between the three of them – and to be honest she wasn’t sure she should have brought up the subject of her Guardian in the first place knowing that there was some ugly history between him and Serah (and, by proxy, Snow).
After a while, the cat left and padded out onto the deck before flopping down on her side to soak up some of that beach sun. It was around that same time, too, that the sound of dishes being taken out of cabinets caught Yeul’s attention, and she peered over into the kitchen, bouncing slightly in her seat when she saw that Lebreau seemed to be finished cooking, and she got up and scurried over to see the finished product. Bread, apparently dipped in the eggs and milk mixture if the fact that, where it had been quite apparently starting to go stale, it now appeared to be moist underneath the fact that it was nicely browned was any indication. Out of a cabinet, she pulled out a clear bottle half-filled with syrup and poured it over top the bread after spreading some butter on it and before spooning some of the fruit on top.
It looked amazing. It probably tasted even better.
“Wait, wait,” the dark-haired woman said before she turned to the fridge and pulled out a can of something and squirted the contents on top – white, fluffy, light enough that it seemed to have some trouble staying on the food and fruit. After that was done with, Lebreau handed the plate, along with a fork and knife, to Yeul with a smile, and she scurried back to the couch and set the plate on the table and was about to dig in before she realized that she should probably wait for Snow and Serah – not because that sort of consideration seemed to ever be given around these parts by anyone at all, but because this occasion was, without a doubt, something special. Well, it was casual to everyone else. But to her it was pretty special. It took far too long, in her mind, for Lebreau to finish two more plates and bring them over to the waiting Serah and Snow – but when she did, both pairs of eyes practically lit up.
Serah dug in almost immediately after casting a glance to Yeul, and Snow took a moment to cheer: “Alright, Lebreau!” before he followed suit.
Yeul followed in short order, doing her best to get a taste of everything in the first bite – the fruit practically melted in her mouth; it was sweet and very fruity, but in a different way than the tangy white fruit that she and Caius normally had for breakfast, and the bread had the perfect amount of crunch to it, but overall didn’t taste very much like anything in particular, although perhaps only because everything else covered it up. The slight saltiness of the butter served nicely to cut through the sweetness afforded by the fruit and the syrup, although the meal probably would have been just as good without it. The seeress only just barely didn’t notice that a soft contented whimper bubbled up in her throat upon tasting it – and Lebreau smiled in response, bowing, although neither Serah nor Snow seemed to notice, being too caught up in the dish themselves.
“I’m sorry, Snow – but I think I’m going to have to marry Lebreau for this,” Serah said, leaning against the man she’d addressed, letting her fork hang from her lips for a moment before pulling it away to take another bite. Snow himself was already half finished with his portion.
“I know I won’t be that guy that objects at the reception,” Snow joked in return.
“Please! You’re too kind,” Lebreau replied before making her way back into the kitchen to fix the final plate for herself before plunking herself down on the opposite end of the couch from the other three. She, too, seemed satisfied by the final product if the noise she made was any indication. “Now that’s what I call a job well-done.”
“Every job is a job well done with you.”
Lebreau waved her fork at Snow. “Exactly! I was one of the best cooks in the town before; I’m the best cook in town now.”
“But how do you differentiate between the levels of goodness? It’s like…” Serah gestured uselessly and let the sentence end there, finishing off the last of her portion and setting the plate on the table.
Yeul did the same with a smile, and laughed when Lebreau replied: “I have my ways – trust me.”
The seeress held out her empty plate to the dark-haired woman. “Well—is there any way that I could have some more?”
