AN: Before I say anything else, this is just a teaser to test the water. As of the moment, this is as complete as this 'story' is going to get. With that being said, this is an AU story about human versions of the summons of Final Fantasy; more specifically, Griever and Shiva. Any other questions you might have you can ask me via review or PM. I know that I'm taking a bit of a risk with this kind of story, but that's why I'm letting you ask questions. I can explain everything if you just ask.
Disclaimer: I own nothing portrayed in this story. All names and characters belong to Square-Enix/Squaresoft.
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Pet
It wasn't exactly unusual for Griever to return from his "hunting" trips with strange things. After all, his intent was to bring back supplies for the magic refiners and the blacksmiths; we was supposed to return with strange things. Even with that fact aside, Griever had the uncanny yet unfortunate ability to attract trouble.
That being said, Griever had returned with a multitude of odd things with him. Things he didn't want, more often than not. In the past, he had returned Malboro toxins infecting his body, the effects so intense it had gotten to the point where he couldn't even see straight and he couldn't process a complete intelligible sentence. He had returned on top of a hornless Mesmerize, struggling to buck him off (apparently, the Mesmerize tried ramming him down after it's horn broke off, and he had somehow mounted it in an attempt to wear it down). He had even returned before with a Tonberry's knife sticking out of his left shoulder blade.
However, never before had Griever returned with an animal following him home.
"…Unfortunately, I don't think General Bahamut will let you keep it."
Griever shot Shiva an irritated look from the corner of his eye as he tried pushing the creature away from him. The adolescent Wild Saurian, however, didn't seem to get the message and continued nuzzling against the man.
"Very funny. Now, could you do me a favor and help me here?" Griever growled slowly, keeping a hand placed firmly on the lizard's snout in an attempt to keep his personal space. It wasn't working very well, seeing as the average adolescent Saurian had the strength of that of a full grown man. The blue-green dinosaur only pushed harder as it began snuffling inside Griever's pockets. Shiva raised a delicate eyebrow.
"…Help you what exactly?" she questioned. A stifled groan escaped Griever's mouth as he struggled with the monster in front of him.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he asked in exasperation. A look of amusement graced her features.
"A little bit." she replied, not trying to hide the smile on her face, although she was nice enough to hold back the laughter. The white haired man sighed.
"Glad to know I entertain you. Now please…" he said in a way that almost sounded like he was begging, but Shiva knew if she brought it up that he would say that he was a Knight and Knights did not beg. That would trigger an argument about a Knight's honor that the two had had many times before, and Shiva could tell that Griever was in no mood to have that discussion now.
"…I think it likes you." Shiva said after a moment of observation. It was true, the Saurian was sniffing at Griever's person like an eager puppy who just found its new master.
"You're stalling, Shiva." he ground out, clearly not amused.
"No, I'm serious. Just where did you find the thing anyway?" she asked.
"I told you before, I didn't find it; it found me. I was hunting a Hexadragon when the thing came charging at me. But instead of attacking, it chose to start nuzzling me. When I tried abandoning it, it followed." Griever replied, his patience wearing thin with the Saurian, which moved from sniffing at Griever's pockets to his face.
"Right…well, unless you happen to have been bathing in wolf sweat, I see no other reason for the thing to be chasing you other than the fact that it likes you." Shiva said. Griever let out a sound of annoyance, causing the Saurian to slink back slightly in fear.
"It's not supposed to like me; it's supposed to like chasing wolves through the hot desert sands!" he snarled. However, his anger quickly died out, and was replaced by exhaustion. "I don't even understand why the thing was out in the forest anyway…"
"It could have possibly been run out of its territory by older Saurians. The demand for wolf meat is scarce in the desert these days, and it only makes sense for the older lizards to get rid of the younger ones. After all, why pick on someone your own size when you can just as easily go for someone smaller and weaker?" Shiva hypothesized, glancing over at Griever. He no longer seemed annoyed now, only tired. The Saurian now had its head bowed slightly in fear, although it did not run.
"…Are you suggesting that I take it back to the desert myself?" he asked after a moment.
"Unless you want to keep it." Shiva said, and Griever gave her a bland look.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you want me to keep this thing." he said flatly. His calmer tone of voice must have soothed the Saurian slightly, because the beast now began slowly and cautiously raising its head towards Griever's hand, almost as if to see if he would snap again.
"I don't know, Griever…maybe a pet would be good for you." she said, amusement creeping into her voice again. Griever rolled his eyes.
"You said it yourself, no one would let me keep it. We're sending it back to the desert." he said in a 'no-questions-asked' tone. Shiva gave a sigh of mock disappointment.
"Suit yourself…but just think of all the big, bad Saurians that'll try running the poor little guy out again." she told him, though Griever wasn't falling for it. He merely shook his head before he began rubbing his temples.
"It'll take at least a week until I can get clearance from Lord Odin to take a team out to the desert…along with that, the desert is five days away from here on foot…" he muttered to himself, before glancing dryly at the Saurian which had now began rubbing its hard scaly head against Griever's hand.
"…Which means until then, I guess you're sticking with me." he said to the Saurian. However, immediately after, he shot a look to Shiva.
"Just until we can get him back to the desert."
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AN: Any feedback you might have at this point is very much appreciated. This is only a teaser to see if people like the idea or not. That being said, I need to know your opinions. If you want to see this continued, be sure to tell me so I know people like it. However, even if people do like this story, it probably won't be updated until the summer when I have less to do. At that point, I'll try setting up an update schedule.
Also, another thing I want to point out is that I am open for word or phrase prompts. Even though the story isn't going to be updated for a while, I'm always working on it and always looking for more inspiration. Any word or phrase prompts you give me will be added to my current list and I'll get around to them as soon a possible.
Now let me know how you feel about this story in a review. Thank you.
