A Special Delivery

Back in the wilds; Gau hummed to himself as he searched around the pine trees. There were good things about towns and castles, like good shelter from bad weather and usually food. He also like being around people even though he found it hard to talk with them. But then again, there was a feeling out here that being around people couldn't match. The scent of the earth and pine, the challenge of hunting out food, the way that only a few things really mattered out here: this wasn't the Veldt, but if it wasn't for loneliness, he'd stay out here and drift back to what he had been.

Spotting some blue amid the green, Gau found some lupine stalks. Those would work! He searched through for some that would be good. He'd only take a few, the others needed a chance to spread back across the forest. Once he had some good ones, he took the other flowers he'd gathered and carefully tied them up with a white ribbon. White clovers, yellow daisies, blue lupines: that looked nice.

That was what he wanted to do this morning. He hurried back to the castle, avoiding the monsters that were still around. If he got into a fight, he could damage the flowers. Then he'd have to find them all again and he didn't want to take lot of time doing that.

Doma Castle was now safe to live in. The survivors were still putting the castle back together; their cheerful voices could be heard among their work. At this point, there were mostly decorative things to fix, like the statues and wall carvings. The gardens were just getting started, mostly for food. And what flowers were here, Gau didn't want to disturb them. There weren't enough of them yet to pick a few.

After searching around, Gau found Cyan up on the outer walls. He was looking off to the woods by the mountains, the place where all the ghosts were. Gau softened his steps, looking him over carefully. Like many times before, Cyan seemed lost to his thoughts and sad memories. Gau didn't like that; he wanted him to be happy.

He climbed up onto the raised part of the wall where he should be seen. Once he had a good grip, Gau said, "Cyan?"

His ponytail jerked as he got startled. "Oh, Sir Gau? Sorry, I was thinking of things."

"Sad things?" he asked, crossing his legs to sit there. "Oooo, not too much, please? You sad a lot."

"I don't mean to worry you," Cyan said, rubbing Gau's hair. He did smile a bit. "Are you the one who's been spreading rumors that I'm a sword master who can teach others to be great?"

Proud of that, Gau grinned. "Yes! Cyan great! Find..." that word was... "student, more are great!"

He seemed worried about that, his eyes drifting back to the forest. "I'm not sure I would be that great of a teacher. But between that and keeping Doma together, it's certainly going to keep me busy. And some of the students that are showing up, I don't know if they can adapt to our style. It's not easy. Some might be better off training with someone like Sir Sabin."

Gau grabbed his hand. "Awoo, you teach me! I do better! I write!" Not very well, but he was figuring out letters and numbers.

Thankfully, that started to cheer him up. "You are doing well. I've had some people comment that you should be more civilized if you're going to be around the castle. However, I believe you are best off as yourself, Gau. You just needed a few skills to do better in towns, and so others understand you better. Did you want to do some more writing exercises this morning?"

He shook his head. "No." Then he pointed off to the west. "I take trip, sorry. I come back soon, won't leave Cyan alone. But want to see Sabin."

"Of course, send him my greetings," Cyan said. "Do you have adequate funds for your trip?"

"Yes. Work in kitchen, make food. Chef friend!" He'd wanted to show the chef that he could cook meat over a fire well, but so far he'd mostly washed dishes. But the chef seemed happy with that help.

"I'd rather be sure that you can afford an inn if you need it, so here, this should pay for one night." He then offered some gold coins, which Gau accepted. If he didn't need it, he could give it back. "I hope your trip is safe."

"Oo, wait," Gau said, taking one of the two bouquets off the side of his bag and giving it to him. "Here, Cyan. Flowers happy, be happy."

For a moment, it seemed to have gone badly because he looked sad as he took the flowers. "Oh. I must have really had you worried."

Gau took a moment to try putting his words together better. "Hmm, yes. Bad things are bad, but you do great things. You great person, Cyan. I want you happy, you great dad."

Cyan hugged him for that. "Thank you, Gau, you're a great person too. You're nothing like Owain, but you are like another son to me now. I love you for that."

"Love you, dad," Gau said, grateful that it had worked out. The flowers should keep him cheered up while he was gone; that was one thing that kept stopping him from going to see Sabin, that he didn't want Cyan to be lonely. But he had students and the bouquet, so he should be okay. "Bye, see you!"

He didn't leave Doma Castle quite yet. Gau slept outside the castle often when it was comfortable; Cyan had given him a room here for when it wasn't. In his room, Gau kept a few things so they'd be safe, including the note he wanted to give Sabin. He retrieved that as well as a few general travel supplies like potions and gyshal greens. Then he headed back out of the castle.

Sabin could be tough to track down. He could be anywhere in the nation of Figaro, from the desert castle to the vast mountains. However, Gau had a few places he knew to search first. And if Sabin wasn't there, he could always ask Edgar for help. Gau liked Edgar, but Cyan and Sabin had been his first friends. Following them had taken him away from the Veldt for the first time, out to see the many wonders of the world.

To help him get across the continent faster, Gau went to a meadow where another friend should be. Gau didn't see anyone at first, but he might be among the few trees. "KWEH!" Gau called into the meadow.

"Kweh!" The chocobo popped his head up out of a cluster of deep grass. He was a distinctive one, having black plumage instead of yellow. Due to a reputation of being difficult to tame, the locals called him Ares. But Ares liked Gau. He came over happily and bumped Gau's head. "Kweh, kweh?"

"Kweh, kee kweh!" Gau pointed off to the east, then offered one of the greens. "Kweh?"

"Kweh!" Ares munched down the snack, then whistled eagerly. "Keh kee kweh kweh!"

Gau hopped onto the chocobo's back. "Kee kweh," he warned him. Ares loved to run fast, but this was a long trip. If he took off how he wanted, he'd wear himself out in an hour and they'd take even longer to reach Figaro.

Fortunately, Ares agreed to pace himself to prove his stamina as well. They headed off straight for Figaro. The black chocobo had no qualms in fording across rivers and running over rocky terrain. Because of that, it made the trip easier than trying to find a ship. They traveled for the rest of the day.

That wasn't enough to get where Gau wanted to be. As the sun went down, Ares got quieter in trying to keep going. Gau guided him to a town. "Kweh, kweh kweh."

There was an inn at the edge of town that had a chocobo stable. Most towns had such places for the benefit of travelers. Once on the paved road, Gau hopped off Ares and led him into the stable; he was used to the wild too, but he might appreciate some good care in a stable. Inside, it was clean, smelling of hay. One of the stablehands was washing down a chocobo.

"Hello..." another said, then turned wide-eyed at Ares. "Wow, that's quite the unusual chocobo you have. Where'd you find him?"

"Doma," Gau said. "Um, how much, for him to stay one night?"

"Are you staying at the inn?" When he nodded, the stablehand took a small piece of paper for a note. "Give this to the clerk, you'll pay for the stable along with a room and meals. We'll even wash him down for you."

"Careful, he fierce," he warned. Then he patted Ares. "Wark kweh kee."

"Wark," Ares said, not liking the idea of getting a bath. Gau spent a couple minutes talking the chocobo into accepting the stable and wash. Once that was taken care of, he went inside.

There were a few people inside, chatting merrily. There was a woman playing piano and a man at the desk. On the wall, there were several notes. Gau checked them; he didn't know many words, but he knew enough to find the inn fees. With the chocobo stable fees... it was good that Cyan had lent him some money. His earnings for kitchen work weren't enough when he might need another night on the way back. Before long, he had a room and hot meal.

After an early breakfast the next morning, Gau headed back to the stable. The clerk from last evening was there. "Oh, young sir?" he said, bowing. "I apologize, but one of the workers here tried to steal off with your chocobo last night."

"Awooo." That wasn't good; Ares was his own chocobo, they shouldn't try to steal him. "Got hurt?"

"Yes," the clerk admitted. "Said that he fought like a wildcat, but he's been quiet ever since. Don't worry, we won't let him blame you for this. But, are you sure you're safe with that chocobo? He seems half-wild."

"Ares is all wild," Gau said. "Great friend! It's fine." Gau didn't even scold Ares for fighting with a human, since he'd been defending himself. They took off for the mountains surrounding Figaro.

When the sun was highest in the sky, Ares was running around a rocky ridge when Gau spotted people. An old man who was a bit familiar, and Sabin! They were practice fighting on one of the large paths of the mountain. Wanting to have some fun, Gau brought Ares to a higher path and stopped him just out of sight. He left his bag with the chocobo since it'd be less likely to get things broken.

Then he sneaked over, keeping low to the ground. Careful... quiet... like a cat, silent in hunting. The grasses hid him well here. Below, Sabin and his mentor were focused on each other. They used techniques to try striking the other without physically hitting them; it was interesting to watch. But once Sabin was closer, his back to the path, Gau leaped down to grab his shoulders.

Sabin whirled around faster than Gau even saw and grabbed hold of him first. "You think you can sneak up on me, huh?" Then he rubbed Gau's hair.

Laughing, Gau hugged him. "Awwoooo! Sabin! Hello!"

"That was a pretty good sneak, but not enough to slip by us," the old man said, amused at the sight. "All well, want to break for lunch?"

They talked about a lot of things over lunch: their brand of ascetic living, chocobos, how things were going in Figaro and Doma. But to explain more about that, Gau brought out the note he'd written and the second bouquet he'd made. "I missed you, Sabin."

"I do miss you and the others from time to time," Sabin said, checking over the note. "You did this yourself, huh?"

Gau nodded. He'd made a drawing of himself, Sabin, and Cyan when he got bored of the writing exercises. When he'd written out their names, he tried to make the words to what he really wanted to say. Cyan was getting lost in his grief more often the past month. Gau thought that maybe the company of one friend wasn't enough. So, he'd come to ask Sabin to visit. Maybe even stay with them. They could be a family like that. Gau had even checked with a maid to make sure he spelled 'family' right without letting Cyan see it.

"Then you want me over in Doma to help out with Cyan," Sabin said, looking worried.

"Yes," Gau said, nodding.

It didn't take him long to decide. "Do you mind, Borgan? The guy is like a brother to me." Then he chuckled. "Though I don't worry much about my real brother, Edgar can handle things himself. But Cyan, I worry about the guy. He could stand to lighten up more often."

"It's no trouble at all," Borgan said. "Besides, it's about time you tried your hand at teaching our skills to others. Moving to a new place would help find you some students."

"You serious?" Sabin asked, surprised. Gau smiled at that. He'd be fun to learn from.

The old man nodded. "Of course, sometimes the best lessons are trying to get some stubborn hot-headed kids to learn patience and true strength."

"All right, then, looks like we're headed out to Doma Castle!" Sabin patted Gau's head. "Thanks for getting me, we can have some fun on our way over."

"Yes!" Gau said, delighted that his letter had worked.

It was evening when Sabin and Gau arrived at Doma Castle with their chocobos. Gau had been really excited, bouncing around and pointing out things that had been repaired or remade. But not long after dinner, he was fast asleep curled up on a couch. "If things are quiet, as tonight is, I'll leave him be where he falls asleep," Cyan said. "He'll go back to his room by morning."

"What, you haven't gotten him entirely civilized yet?" Sabin teased him.

Seeing that, Cyan smiled. "That may be a futile task."

"Good, Gau wouldn't be Gau without some wilderness to him. Did you see the note he made me?" He took it out of his bag and offered it to him.

"No, I don't think so," he said, taking it. "He has been dedicated to learning letters and..." he stopped on seeing the actual message.

"That is pretty good for how little time it's been since he settled in here with you," Sabin said, leaning back in the chair with his hands behind his head. "After seeing that, I couldn't say no."

"He has been calling me dad lately," Cyan said with mixed feelings. It reminded him of his own son, but made him happy to have another child accept him as family.

"He hasn't to me, but I only saw him again yesterday," Sabin said. "He is all fired up about having us as family."

Cyan nodded; that was crystal clear. "Yes. If it would make Gau happy, I don't mind it. You have been a good friend and I don't want to worry him any more than he is."

"He's sharp, but he has a good heart," Sabin said. "Then you don't mind me crashing here and seeing about training some others, brother?"

"Not at all, there's a few here I can direct to you," Cyan said. "Brother... I didn't have siblings growing up, but I would be happy to call you brother, as I am calling him my son."

"Great, then that's how it is!" he said, offering a hand so they could shake on it. "Though I don't think I'll try training Gau in my fighting style. He's got his own flair. Just last night, he was telling me that he'd learned to fight like a behemoth. A behemoth! How do you go and improve on that?"

"I don't believe anyone but Gau himself can," Cyan said with a laugh.

For the first time in a long while, Cyan felt like things were truly improving in his life.