Disclaimer: I do not Own FF:CC...I just love the game
It was a cool, moist morning in the small Village of Tipa, the sun was beginning to show over the trees and the birds began to chirp. And by now, the Caravan would have arrived to restore the crystal to its full power that would protect the small village from the miasma, but sadly they had not come yet.
"They're late..." Roland sighed heavily though his large nose as he glanced past the Bridge, waiting to greet his long awaited Caravan that had been out for a year. He glanced down the path again, another gruff of a sigh let out while reaching into his pocket and pulling out their last letter. "They said they would be here first thing in the mourning."
Suddenly, a small familiar shadow peeked through the bridge. It was the Caravan. Roland smiled and folded the letter once again, placing it into his pocket while walking up to the group.
"You had me worried for a second, Randolphu." A tall Yuke with a long beak like helmet climbed out from the wagon and bowed to Roland. His name was Randolphu, and was currently leader of the Caravan. Roland smiled and gave the Yuke a quick pat on the shoulder, looking over the group an giving each of its members a quick nod.
"Please, forgive us, we had a bit of a set back while passing through Tida." He said, pulling back the curtain to the wagon and reviling a small, almost bald, baby wrapped in Clavat clothing, sleeping curled up in the arms of Opa Fuu, the Caravan's Owl Headed Selkie companion. She placed her slender finger to her lip and let out a 'shush'. Roland stood in shock at the sight of the small baby and leaned over to get a better look. She seemed no older than a couple weeks old with nothing on the top of her head but a small droplet or brown hair. Opa smiled greatly and stood up.
"We found her in an abandoned house in Tida," The Selkie began, stroking the head of the young child, "its a good thing we found her when we did. The poor thing was almost killed by the Miasma."
"Yes," Roland replied, stroking his graying beard, "I did hear that Tida was unfortunately over taken by the miasma." Just recently the village of Tida had refused to leave their homes to flee to safety to avoid utter death, but sadly none of them budged, leaving the village totally destroyed and all killed. Roland took a deep breath and pushed the horrible thoughts out of his head, focusing on the situation at hand.
"Now, will you be taking care of the young Clavat, Opa Fuu?" The old Clavat asked, smiling a tad bit. Opa's gaze fell and a frown appeared across her pale face.
"I wish I could, but sadly I already Nani Mo and Kal Ban to take care off." The Selkie said, looking down at the Clavat child's face. "If it wasn't for the fact that Nani Mo is six and Kal Ban is three, I wouldn't be able to leave at all." It was hard for a young mother like her self having to be apart of the Caravan.
"I see. Well, this is a bit of a problem." Roland placed a hand to his chin, which he did when he pondered. "Other than you, Opa, there are no other woman old enough to take care of a child or they are too old, such as my wife."
The pondering went on for a hours and during this time many of the caravan had gone through town, asking many of the woman if they would be willing enough to take a child in, but none agreed. Mean while, Randolphu the Yuke was left with the baby in his arms, standing next to the papoamus in confusion. He himself was only 21 and only just recently married to his Yuke wife Luba, and was very sure he, nor his wife, were ready for such a thing as children. He looked down through his helmet at the sleep babe and swallowed hard. She was so light and tiny to the point he felt that if he moved ever so slightly he might break her like a baby bird. He jumped in fear as the child yawned.
"What are we going to do with you, little one." He whispered, flipping her little brown tough of hair in his giant wing like hands. He chuckled a bit as she squirmed in discomfort, scrunching her nose and flailing her arms to push away her Yuke assailant. She was in deed quite the fighter, but as energetic as she was, not once did she cry on the journey from Tida. "We can't even think up a name yet, so how the heck are we going to find you a family?"
The Yuke looked around Tipa again, then back at the baby. Her head was extremely distracting now that the light was shining on it. It had a little shine of its own, much like a polished glass ball. The small flicker of an idea came into his head.
"Calveah, thats what we will call you, Calveah the Clavat! Its perfect!"
"Yet cliché, no?" Opa giggled from behind, smiling. "Doesn't Calveah mean 'bald'?"
"So?" Randolphu mumbled, ignoring his companion. "It fits her doesn't it? ...So any luck on her foster family?" Opa glanced down much like she did when ever she had bad news.
"No, I'm sorry. We've tried every body, including myself but I just can not afford to raise another child." Opa Fuu looked over the child's face, forcing out the guilt in her heart. Randolphu knew that this meant that they might have to another Village, maybe Port Tipa. "You know what they say, Ran Ran, if you name it you'll get attached to it."
Opa Fuu giggled and grabbed her bag from the wagon, making her way to her husband's house to be greeted by her daughter and son. The Yuke swallowed hard again and sighed, it was clear now what he had to do.
"Fine, Calveah, it seems you'll be staying with me and Luba for a few days."
Those few days turned into a few years since Calveah joined the Yuke family in Tipa, her foster mother and father since then cared for her much like they did their new born child Aroha, now Calveah's younger sister. Even though the Clavat was now six, it never accoured to her that she was different from her family, she thought of herself as a Yuke with pride.
It was midday in Tipa and Calveah was out and about Tipa like usual, humming a random tune or so as she skipped about looking for dropped gil or seeds she liked to give to her 'father' Randolphu on his trips in the Caravan. In fact, he was supposed to return soon to regenerate the crystal that protected the village. The little girl's blue eyes lightened up as she reached for a couple gil that were in the dirt road, brushing her short dark hair behind her ear.
"Wow, Daddy will like this!" She sang, smiling back at her small house. Luba was sitting outside with Aroha, basking in the sun. The Clavat's smile grew larger across her face, knowing that she now had some one to look after since Aroha was born. A shadow cast over the Calveah, blocking the sun from the child's face.
"What are you doing?" Said Nani Mo, Opa Fuu's eldest daughter, fallowed by her brother Kal Ban. Nani Mo was twelve at this time, and her brother Kal Ban, nine. The Clavat wasn't too fond of the Selkies, but she tried her best at still being kind since it was the Yuke way.
"I'm searching for lost gil so that my Daddy will have money." The Clavat said, covering her eyes to block out the sun. Nani Mo giggled and pushed her blue hair out of her face, bending to her knees. Now, it wasn't like Nani Mo was mean, she just lacked social skills.
"Really?" She began, a smirk forming on her lips, "Have you ever noticed that you and your family don't look alike?" Nani chuckled, glancing back at her brother in support. Kal Ban just stood there, not wanting to get involved in his sisters antics. Unlike Nani Mo, Kal Ban was very hot headed and rash, but he also knew who his fight were with, and this little Clavat sparked no interest to the boy.
"Sis, leave her alone. Dad's waiting for us to go help in the shop." He said, grabbing his sister by the hand, "We need your sewing skills."
"No no, just a second!" Nani Mo exclaimed, pushing her brother aside, " I want to hear her answer."
Calveah stared at Nani Mo with a most confused look. Never once did she even think about her appearance, nor did she even wonder why her parents, and even her little sister, wore helmets and she didn't. Was it because something was wrong with her?
"N-No I haven't. How come I look different from Mommy and Daddy?" Calveah pleaded, now questioning her self. Nani's Smile grew larger, but Kal pulled harder.
"Leave her alone Nani Mo! She's just a kid!" Kal yelled, his anger beginning to rise. Is sister just ignored him and scoffed
"Its because your not a Yuke."
Calveah was shocked at this. All her life she was told she was a Yuke, even Randolphu said so. He always said she was just a little different, but now, it made perfect sense. Nani Mo let out a small giggle, but was stopped by a punch thrown by her little brother. He hit her in the arm and knocked her down. Calveah just sat there, thinking.
"Go home Nani." Kal said through his teeth, not taking his eyes off of Calveah. Nani Mo scoffed and ran home at top speed, holding in the tears. Kal sighed and tightened his bandanna, sitting down next to the Clavat. "Sorry."
"I-Its okay," Calveah mumbled, looking at her bare hands, "It makes a lot of sense though."
"Just ignore Nani Mo. She's got nothing to do since Mom's gone, so she likes to pick on people." Kal Ban said, laying back in the dirt and staring at the sky. Kal looked allot like his mother, blue hair, tall, and full of ambition. Usually he'd be off playing with the Selkie and Clavat boys, but today was a bit different since the Caravan should be home soon. Plus his family was going through a bit of a debt crisis that was threating his father's tailor business. "Nani Mo is such a bitch."
"Gasp! Don't say dirty words Kal Ban!" Calveah whispered, covering her ears and glancing over to see if her mother had heard. Luckily, she hadn't.
"So what? All the big kids say them! And I'm nine so I'm a big kid." He chuckled, his crooked smirk formed on his face. "any way, I should be leaving. Dad's going to be pretty pissed that I'm not home."
Calveah covered her ears again, shushing the Selkie. "Stop saying dirty words!"
"Dirty Shmirty!" He laughed, puling Calveah's bandanna off her head. She gasped and grabbed it back. "Well, I'll see you later!" Kal Ban gave one more glance back at the Clavat before catching up to his sister. Calveah frowned and gave a small wave, relieved that those two were gone, but still, it was nice to have some one to talk to.
"Now to give these gil to Mommy."
"The Caravan's been attacked!"
"No way!"
The Streets of Tipa were filled with chatter and worry when the news of the Caravan's attack flew in through the mail moogle. Roland stood by the crystal, trying to hush and calm down the village to prevent any sudden break out of panic.
"Now, Now! Calm down every one! Our Caravan is strong and very experienced! They can out do any monster thrown their way." Roland exclaimed, clearing his throat, "We must have faith in our Caravan!"
"But what if they don't return in time for the crystal!" One Clavat woman called out through chatter. More whispers and gasps among the people where heard from this comment. Calveah swallowed hard, gripping Luba's hand for comfort at the thought of Randolphu not coming home this time. Even Aroha seemed scared.
"They will come!" Roland stated harshly, the towns people shut their mouths to listen. "Even if most of our Caravan tragically pass away, at least one of them will make it back."
"Mail moogle!" A Selkie man said, pointing to the colorful ball of puff flying in. For the first time ever, it was dead silent. Roland gave the moogle a small nod and opened the letter. Calveah glanced around the town and spotted Nani Mo and Kal Ban eagerly awaiting their mother's fate. Kal's eyes locked with Calveah's, he gave her a small smirk which lightened her spirits, but she knew that the outcome will be grim.
"...It seems that most of our Caravan did in fact pass away." Roland said quietly, placing a hand to his fore head. "All but poor Randolphu is left alive...the others passed away from their wounds."
"A small cry was heard from one of the Clavat woman whose husband had passed away. Other woman and children along with some men began to cry for their loved ones. Nani Mo broke down into sobs and her father let out a few tears, but Kal Ban just stood their in shock. Opa Fuu was dead, along with the other caravan members. Calveah wanted so badly to hug Nani Mo and Kal Ban, but she knew that they probably wanted to be left alone. Luba's grip on Calveah's tiny hand loosened.
"Does this mean Daddy will come back soon?" Calveah whispered to her mother. Luba glanced down through her mask at the Clavat and nodded.
"Yes, Daddy will be home soon."
This night would be forever remembered in the village of Tipa for years to come.
To Be continued...