Authors Note - This is my first fanfic so bear with me! I'm not sure where this is going at the moment but i'm hoping to make something of it. Read and reveiw, and Enjoy!
Disclaimer - I don't own anything apart from my own character, Riva. Square Enix owns everything else.
Dreams of the Skies
The Muthru Bazaar was always the perfect place for some thieving. Smoky, bustling and loud it was quite simple to distract a merchant, grab whatever you could and disappear into the throng. However, Riva hadn't become quite as skilled as she had hoped when setting out on her new profession and in turn, it wasn't as lucrative as she had imagined.
Growing up in Rabanastre, an orphan of war as so many were, she had turned to travelling and lived as a cutpurse for quite some time. For many years she explored Ivalice, making her way at first as a dancer in wayside pubs. She had been quite a sensation in the Whitecap, the local watering hole in the town of Balfonheim. It was here that she found a new lease of life.
"Oi!"
Riva knew that tone only too well.
"Oh! My apologies!" She gushed, holding out the intricate necklace to the merchant "How silly of me. My mind was elsewhere!"
The merchant eyed her suspiciously, snatching the jewellery from her hand "Don't think I know your tricks. Now get going before I get the guards. And don't show your face around here again!"
Riva sighed and swore under her breath. She really was completely hopeless at this. "Some pirate" She thought dejectedly. She walked slowly down the stone steps, weaving around peddlers and Rabanastans, wondering where in Ivalice she would end up sleeping that night. It was true she had no home to call her own. Lowtown was her main haunt and she would sometimes find an abandoned and decrepit dwelling to break into and rest. Apart from this, Old Dalan lived there. How she loved his stories. She was nearing twenty one now but she would often sit inside his cosy house with poor beggar children and listen to his tales of adventure and magic. He knew a lot of things, Old Dalan, including the whereabouts of treasures, not that she managed to follow any of his leads. She didn't have an airship and often wondered how she could call herself a pirate at all. She made her way to the huge circular stone gate and it rolled open at her touch, beckoning her into the damp labyrinth which was Lowtown.
"Riva! You haven't been caught again have you?"
A small child tittered, racing up to her, noting her surly expression. If anywhere, Riva was popular down here. At least with the children. She found them irritating often, but they warmed her heart with their naivety and carefree attitudes. And they cared for her. At least this is what she liked to think.
"No. Almost!" She said, fixing her face into a grin and curling her arm around the child's shoulders. "I'm getting better" She lied. "Where are your friends?"
"In the Waterway" The child replied "They're killing rats and said I couldn't go. So I waited here for you. Shall we go to Dalan's? That's where I'm going now oh please come Riva! He might have a new story today!"
"I have naught better to do" She thought glumly and followed her small friend to the old mans house. There were already a dozen youngsters inside, from as young as five. The eldest couldn't have been older than fourteen.
"And the knight was brave, noble and faithful to his King and so with…." Dalan stopped his story and looked up towards Riva as she entered, her boots clicking on the flagstone floor.
"Good afternoon pirate" He said "How does this day fare you?"
Many of the children squealed with delight at Riva's presence and she winced at their admiration.
"The same as every other day in this city" She replied, taking her seat on a nearby threadbare cushion.
"Dalan, the story!" A child whined
"The tale will conclude tomorrow, now home to your parents lest they worry. Off with you now" The children protested but filed out of the house nevertheless, their minds full of Dalan's latest tale.
"You seem weary Riva" Dalan said, stroking the rabbit on his lap fondly "Voice your troubles, hmm?"
Riva looked at the old man for a moment. She shouldn't have to lay her troubles upon him.
"Come now, I have a good ear for angst" He chuckled, urging her on.
"It seems my dreams of the sky are to be lost forever" She said reluctantly, feeling shameful at admitting it "I feel I am no pirate"
"May I ask what an adventurous young woman such as yourself is doing in this stuffy city when you could be continuing your exploration of the world? Dreams are hard to follow, Riva but often we must strive to do so."
"Well what would you suggest? My path always ends back in Rabanastre when my money runs short. How am I to save for an airship when I live my life this way?"
"Pirates frequent Balfonheim. Perhaps you should return"
Riva considered this for a moment. Dalan had always been so wise. His advice had never failed yet.
"Perhaps I should. I may find work there. I am still able to dance. I have tried; I have tried to find work in the city. I even approached Clan Centurio but the moogle requested I complete hunts before I can gain membership. I am no hunter"
"Then away to Balfonheim" Dalan nodded "You may find the Gil you need to purchase that airship of yours"
"I am afraid that endeavour is far into my future. But I have heeded your words. I am to act now if I wish to follow my dreams, no?"
Riva stood up, full of determination. It was a spontaneous decision, yet as a pirate, spontaneity is what she should be aiming for. Free to go where she pleases, answering to nobody but herself.
"Until we meet again, Dalan"
"Travel safely Riva"
And she walked from the house, her first step. Her thieving skills may leave much to be desired, but if there was one thing she prided herself on, it was her tendency never to give up.