A/N: Ashe asks Balthier why he came with her. That brings Balthier to reminisce over a conversation with Penelo. The scene is inspired by Final Fantasy IX (Zidane and Daggers conversation in the black mage village). It was what led me to write "A place to call home" and "Solace", but for some reason I never posted it. But never mind, here it is now.

While this story will follow the outline plot of the game, it will be a slight AU. You have been warned.

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XII is the property of Square Enix.

WARSONGS AND ANGLESPELLS

Chapter one – Why did you come

"So, why did you come?"

Ashe's eyes glimmered in the light from the campfire between them. They were alone on their own little island of light. Out there, in the darkness somewhere, the others slept soundly in their tents. But for the two people by the fire, it was as if the world ended right outside their little haven of light. Only the waves of the Phon Coast and the stars above them reminded them that they were not alone in the world.

In her hands, Ashe twisted the sword of kings. It was too large, too heavy in her slight hands. She barely had the strength to lift it.

Balthier sat opposite of her, scrutinizing the flames, pondering today's events and his own confession.

"Why did you stay with me?"

That was the second time someone had asked him that question in so many days. He hadn't known what to answer the first time. Or rather, his answer had been met with doubt, which in turn had made him question his own reasoning. His memory pulled him back to that moment; a vivid image of entwining branches and falling leaves.

***

She had been standing unaccompanied on the sunny path. Around her towered the heavy canopies and dark, mossy trunks of the Salika forest. There was an opening in the tree-crown, allowing for some light to trickle through the leaves. It illuminated the trail and made the cloudless sky high above them visible for the first time in days.

They had split up not long before to find the missing moogle workers. He had naturally teamed up with Fran, but after a while they had split up as well, non of them really in need of assistance from the other against the fiends of this forest. He had been trotting absentmindedly, made less attentive by the tranquil green light, taking little heed of nether the plants crushed underneath his feet, nor the friendly fiends scurrying out of his way. As he had been striding through a hedgerow and onto a new path, he spotted her.

Penelo, obviously caught under the forest's lethargic spell, did not notice him. She stood quite still in the middle of the trail, her head tilted upwards. Her face bathed in the rare sun-rays, eyes closed. She looked so peaceful and calm that it felt like he was somehow intruding on a very private moment. Balthier was about to open his mouth and greet her, make her couscous of his presence. But after a moment he thought better of it. As it were, he'd never really taken any heed to others privacy before.

He had never truly taken the time to look at her, observe her properly. Her childish nature (that her friendship with Vaan could only enhance) made her seem so much younger than she was. But now, when she stood there, all calm and sense, without a hint of her usual smiles or curious eyes, Balthier could for the first time fully appreciate her as a girl of seventeen. Only five years younger than himself. Certainly a lot older than he had been when he first began to dabble in piracy.
He recalled Vaan telling him they had been orphans for quite some time. That they'd had to fend for them selves for years. She had lost her family, her home, most of her friends. Her life had been left in shambles by the war. And yet … She, who should have carried so much bitterness and sorrow, looked nether sad, nor vengeful. One could even go as far as saying that the war was responsible for one of her most commending traits. Her responsible, sensible childishness. He supposed it was because she'd been forced to grow up so quickly; a child one moment, an adult the next. Without going through the stages a normal girl would do. Her notions of romance or sexuality had been left unexplored. And that, in turn, left her remarkably innocent for a girl at seventeen.

The sun's bright, golden rays gave her pale skin a glowing appearance. Only her protruding cheekbones were cast in shadow by her long, lush eyelashes. An involuntary smile played about her lips, underlining that innocence that he had been contemplating. She looked truly happy, contented. As if nothing bad ever had or ever could touch her.

As he stood there, only a few paces away, observing the young girl, he also became docile and relaxed. They must have looked absolutely ridiculous. She, gawking at the sun, and him ogling her. Both deep in thought. So isolated and alone, even if mere paces separated them.

At last she turned her head and opened her eyes, blinking a little as if just waking up.

"Penelo." He immediately began walking towards her, appearing as though he'd only just got there. "I see you have separated from Vaan. A wise choice, though I can't say I approve of you standing here all alone."

She gave him a sweet smile. Her eyes glimmered playfully, and suddenly she was a child again.

"Oh, I'm stronger than I look."

"Sometimes strength isn't enough, my darling. You need cunning and experience. Not to mention to keep your guard up at all times. Standing with your eyes closed in the middle of the path simply won't do," Balthier coaxed.

She didn't even condescend to give his remark an answer, and they walked together in companionable silence.

Balthier noted Penelo's enthusiasm and curiosity. Her head turned this way and that as she observed the delicate flowers, the branch on which they walked, and the leaf -covered ground far below them. Her curiosity was never sated. She was an adventurer indeed. By that thought he was reminded that he had never gotten around to ask her the question he had posed to Vaan.

"So, Penelo. Please enlighten me; your generous nature would never allow you to do this for money. You don't have a kingdom to win back. You're not avenging anybody, nor have you sworn loyalty to any cause or country. So, what is it you want?"

"What I want?"

"Surely you have some reason for joining in on this foolish venture?"

Her eyes broke from the exotic plants she had been scrutinizing, and she looked up at him, her blue eyes wide with wonder.

Then, all of a suddenly she tensed. Her arm flew to her hip, searching for the weapon there. One practiced motion and then she drew out her gun. A heavy, impractical thing, not at all suited for someone of her slight built.
In one swift, elegant movement she had taken aim at something behind him and taken her shot. He spun on his heel to find a malboro sinking into a puddle on the ground, releasing it's dying fumes.

'So much for keeping ones guard up,' he though. Vaan would never let this go once Penelo told him. Oh, gods! And he who had thought that there were no earthly way for that boy to get any more annoying.

"Maybe I'm not the only one in need of aid? I don't think it's wise for you to wander alone ether, Balthier."

She tilted her head, mimicking his trait expression and grinned up at him.

"I think, my dear, we must get back to the others."

She only nodded. They turned on the path and began walking towards the outskirts of the forest.

"So, you never told me," he began, trying to ease the tension (his tension). "What are you doing here?"

"Oh … well. I don't know. I suppose I just don't want to be alone anymore."

"Alone …?" He haltered, quirking an eyebrow quizzically. "But surely you had lots of friends in Rabanastre. Vaan …-"

"Yes," she interrupted him. "Yes, I had many friends. And I lost many friends. Some in the war. Some in the aftermath. Ailments from living on the streets. Some were adopted, some ended in the Nabradia dungeon from resistance attempts- like Vaan. I've known him all my life. I can't loose him too."

She stared up at him, eyes fierce with resolve. "Nether of you. Travelling with my friends makes me happy. You're all the closest I've got to a family, and helping you makes me happy. Besides," she continued, regaining her previous ease, "Someone has to take care of Vaan."

Balthier was pondering her answer when she spoke again.

"But why are you here, Balthier? What is it that you want?"

"You already know that. I'm a pirate. This is my life."

"But if you really cared about money, you wouldn't have become a pirate in the first place. You would just stay with your father."

"Ah, yes. But you see I had no freedom there. And in any case, I couldn't bring myself to stay when I so fully disagreed with their politics."

"So, you're here to do the right thing. Righting your wrongs?"

"No, no." He threw his hands up in the air in an exasperated gesture. Why was she so eager to believe him a good man?

"No, I'm here because I'm paid to be here. Nothing more."

"If you say so," she said, but he could tell that she didn't believe him. This was the reason why he usually stayed clear of teenage girls. They had a tendency to make a hero of him. And a hero and a leading man were, despite popular misunderstanding, not in the least the same thing.

"So why do you think I'm here?"

"I suppose your searching for something. You, as the rest of them."

"Searching? For what?" he couldn't help the condescending quality that crept into his voice.

"Well, Ashe is searching for means to restore her kingdom. Basch, well, he's looking to prove his loyalty. Redeem his brother's crime. Fran search for answers; why she had to leave. And Vaan, he's searching for himself."

"And what am I searching for?"

"I don't know you all that well. If I had to guess I would say that you're looking for what you've never had. A place to call home."

"Home?" He had stopped on the path, staring down at her.

"I'm afraid you're entirely wrong. I have a home. This," he threw out his arms, indicating to the world around them. "This is my home. All of Ivalice."

"I mean a place were you belong. Perhaps that's with us. Perhaps that's why you stayed?"

They had reached the outskirts of the forest. He could glimpse the closed gate and the waiting party through the branches.

"Balthier. It doesn't matter what I say. I don't know you well enough. But don't be so set on being egocentric. And anyway, does it really matter?" she motioned to their waiting companions. "We're not alone anymore. None of us will truly be alone again."

***

Now he wasn't certain what he had come any more. The money, the freedom? The stone? The princess? Or was he indeed searching, like Penelo had said?

"I can't tell you what possessed me to come. Why I left the comforts of my own life behind. But," he continued, lifting his gaze to meet hers. "I stayed, only because I wanted to be with you."

Part of him only said it to wipe the grim expression of her face. To make things a little less hard. He was eager to keep the peace that had erupted between them that afternoon as he had made his confession.

But it was also true, in its way. He wasn't restless anymore. He had stopped searching. For the first time he was comfortable standing still. Or, in this case, sitting - opposite of the Princess of Dalmasca.