Author's Note: After finishing the angst-fest that was What Cannot Be Found, I really felt like writing some humor/fluff. So naturally, Copeland's music has force-fed another little story into my head, and it is much happier. Reviews for this would be nice, but I'd much rather have some feedback on the latest chapter of Adept's Guide to Weyard. Shameless, I know.
Disclaimer: The author has no rights to either the Golden Sun franchise or the genius that is Copeland's music. They belong to Camelot and Aaron Marsh, respectively.
Warnings: Isaac/Jenna fluffiness, two counts of gambling, one count of cheesy nicknames, and some Felix/Sheba and Garet/Mia if you squint.
Good Morning, Fire Eater
Wake up your eyes, and darling, your smile.
The day is done and everyone's gone now.
You can taste every fire, and hold every song.
The world has moved, be quick enough to not miss it now.
So wake up your eyes, and darling, your smile.
-Copeland, "Good Morning, Fire Eater"
For the first time in Prox's memory, the snow had stopped. It still sparkled, blindingly white, on the buildings, dead trees, and paths, but the skies were clear. The sun seemed shy about its sudden visibility, just barely peaking over the horizon, intent on sinking back into the shadows as soon as possible. But just as the skies grew dark, little lights burst to life all around the chilly northern town, a celebration of long journeys ended and a memorial to lives lost. Someone had gathered a large pile of branches and brush, found who knows where, and the center of town quickly blazed with its light, drawing the townspeople out of their homes into the warmth. A few people struck drums, and slowly, music brought the formerly imperiled town to life. Laughter and eager chatter, almost unheard of in the previous months, now rivaled the attractions of the spontaneous festival.
By the time that it was truly nightfall, everyone had joined the festivities but the very people that had inspired it. The eight Adepts, Isaac, Jenna, and Felix's parents, and Kraden slept soundly, exhausted by the traumatic events of the day. Kraden, a light sleeper in his old age, was the first to wake, and soon discovered the festivities occurring outside. He eagerly alerted Felix, who'd fallen asleep next to his recovering parents. Felix stirred, sleepily, but quickly jerked awake, reaching for his sword,
"What's happened? Is something wrong, Kraden?" His eyes darted around the room, looking for the non-existent assailant.
"Nothing like that, my boy. I just thought perhaps you and the others should know that Prox is celebrating outside. I imagine Puelle and the others will expect you to show up at some point."
"What about my parents?" Felix asked, worried, and Kraden smiled,
"They're just sleeping, Felix. The worst is over." When Felix continued to look reluctant, Kraden added,
"I'll watch over them. Now, where did Isaac and Jenna go? I can't imagine they'd have left of their own free will…" Felix looked embarrassed,
"I sent them to rest with the others."
"More like forced…" Piers remarked dryly, startling the other two by his sudden appearance. "I heard the drums, and then you two talking. So, should we wake the others?" Felix nodded, and left Kraden with his sleeping parents and Kyle, who cheerfully waved at the two men.
Ivan and Garet were both sound asleep (Garet snoring rather loudly), while Isaac tossed and turned violently. Ivan got up easily, as alert as ever after a few yawns, while Garet bargained and fought for control of his pillow. When he finally did get up, he ended up bumping into the wardrobe while pulling on a boot, and Isaac jerked awake, falling off his bed in the process. By now, Piers and Felix were laughing themselves sick. Fortunately, their laughter also dispelled any potential concerns for Isaac, who asked blearily, but without any panic,
"What's going on?"
"Festival. Outside," managed Piers, who was still trying to catch his breath. Garet had finally stumbled to his feet, looking thoroughly irritated, while Ivan quietly laced up his boots.
"Who's going to wake up the girls?" Garet finally asked, trying not to sound creepy or over-eager.
"I assume Felix is," Ivan suggested, and when Felix paled, Piers chuckled. At the perplexed looks on Isaac and Garet's faces, Piers explained,
"The last time Felix tried to wake up Jenna and Sheba against their will…" Felix glared, and Piers quickly concluded, "Let's just say it was ugly."
At this, Garet, laughed, elbowing Isaac, "I bet it was Jenna. I can't count the number of times I've caught fire trying to get her up! You?"
Isaac shrugged, choosing not to mention that she'd only done the same to him once, after mistaking him for someone else. Ivan was laughing quietly, and in spite of Felix's sullen expression, Piers clarified,
"Actually, I believe Sheba was the one that made it difficult for him to sit down the rest of the day."
Felix only shook his head, while the others laughed at the image of Sheba beating up Felix. That might have settled the matter, but Garet was now motivated by the potential embarrassment of another of his friends,
"Okay, so Felix is out. Now who's going?"
Piers quickly refused, as did Ivan. Isaac, on the other hand, was struggling with his tangled yellow scarf, oblivious to the new debate. Grinning, Garet, clapped his best friend on the shoulder and told him,
"Well, it's all up to you. Make sure we're out in the hall first, so we can see you run away."
Isaac only rolled his eyes, trying not to act like it was a big deal. His attempt at bravado was foiled when he stumbled on the way out, tripping on that still-tangled scarf.
"I bet he cries," Ivan mumbled to Piers, conspiratorially, and Piers nodded, pulling out a few coins,
"More likely he'll walk out singed."
"I bet both," Garet chimed in, and Felix rolled his eyes.
"I can't believe you're betting on this."
"Hey, it's not as bad as the time we bet on Mia's fishing skills," Ivan replied, and Garet laughed, while Piers shook his head, adding sadly,
"Who knew that she'd catch that shark?"
Meanwhile, Isaac had softly opened the door to the girls' room. Bypassing Mia and Sheba altogether, he crept over to Jenna's bed, and perched on the edge of it. He leaned over, nudging her shoulder, and whispered,
"Time to get up, Fire Eater."
"That's such a stupid nickname. I thought we agreed to drop that," Jenna mumbled into her pillow, adding, more coherently, "I never even ate fire."
"Well, I'd never seen anyone spout fire before. We were only eight."
"Except Garet."
"Well, he mostly exploded. You made it look cool." By now, Jenna was sitting up, covers still pulled up to her chin. Isaac was briefly tempted to brush the frizzy hair from her face, but instead said,
"But if I drop your secret nickname you'll hurt me when I try to wake you up," and Jenna couldn't help but giggle at the childish expression on his face,
"I'm pretty sure I'd respond to 'Jenna.' And why are you waking me up anyway?"
"There's a festival going on outside. And the others were scared to come in here."
"Sheba?" Jenna smiled, and Isaac nodded.
"I can take care of it. Now get out of here! Unless you want to one of them to win their bet!"
"Bet?"
"You have to know they're betting on this," Jenna replied, laughing, as Isaac's face went from calm to disbelief to embarrassment in no time.
"Bye, Isaac!" She whispered cheerfully as he darted out of the room.
Although the three gambling Adepts were more than a little disappointed by Isaac's general well-being, they were quick to congratulate him on his success. Of course, there were more than a few suggestive nudges from Garet, and a few dirty looks from Felix (though mostly directed at Garet). Ivan asked if Isaac had actually woken anyone up at all, and Piers rolled his eyes and said 'of course he did, Isaac wasn't as conniving as Ivan.' Before any bickering could continue, the girls emerged, smiling and yawning. Had there been any bystanders present, they would probably have laughed at the abrupt change in manners amongst the boys. Before the awkward silence could stretch to unbearable lengths, Sheba cheerfully asked,
"So what's this about a festival?
If Felix and Piers were shocked by her cheerfulness (she was normally grumpy after waking up for at least an hour), they more or less masked it, and Felix quickly explained what little there was to catch the girls up on.
"So let's go, then!" Mia interrupted, and the three girls took off, leaving five bewildered Adepts in their wake. After a second's delay, they trudged after the others, curious about the festival, but mostly confused about the cheerful behavior.
"Geez, Isaac, what did you do?" Garet asked, shaking his head.
They had barely made it outside when Puelle caught wind of their arrival and hurried over.
"Felix, my boy! So nice that all of you could make it! We were a little concerned you might sleep through it, though how anyone could with all that noise—"
"Well, we're here now, sir," Felix interrupted as politely as he could, afraid that the man might never stop speaking.
"Yes, right, of course. Seeing as this is an informal thing, we don't really have anything planned for you…but please, feel free to enjoy the festivities!" It was entirely possible that amidst the noise of the party, eight adepts released a collective sigh of relief when Puelle left to attend to other matters.
"Look, they're roasting fresh fish!" Garet announced, running in the direction of the bonfire.
"Someone had better make sure he doesn't hurt himself…" Mia sighed, trailing after him, and Ivan laughed, remarking as soon as she was out of earshot,
"More like she just wants to spend a little alone time with him."
"Garet and Mia?" Piers replied, perplexed, "When did that happen?"
"It hasn't yet," Isaac explained, "though it's probably only a matter of time."
"But I always thought he was kind of attached to you, Jenna," Piers wondered, "What happened?"
"He hasn't had a crush on me since we were little," Jenna retorted, blushing red when Sheba added,
"I think you're confusing Garet with Isaac here." Now it was Isaac's turn to blush.
"Are we really going to have this conversation?" Felix finally said, a little irritated, and Ivan shrugged,
"Got any better ideas?"
"We could join the party," Sheba suggested, and when no one responded, added more forcefully, "Come on! Standing around here like we always do isn't any fun!" And grabbing Felix with on hand and Piers with the other, she began dragging the two older Adepts off. Laughing, Ivan followed.
"Now what?" Isaac asked, fiddling with his scarf.
"We could watch Sheba embarrass them…" Jenna replied, with a look that suggested she wasn't really interested in joining the others.
"Well…what then?" Isaac asked, running a hand through his messy blond hair.
"I don't know, I…were Ivan and Sheba just kidding about you and me?" Jenna suddenly asked, for all her boldness looking suddenly shy.
"I don't, I mean, well…you're my best friend, Jenna, better than Garet, even," Isaac finished lamely, clearly unsure where this conversation was going.
"Well, yes, but, that's not what I meant, and you know it."
"I know. But, really, this is the first time I've really had to think about it. I mean, we've been working towards saving Weyard for such a long time, and maybe thinking about you is what got me all the way to Contigo, but how do you really know and what about your brother and is this really the best ti—" Isaac's babbling was cut off when Jenna rolled her eyes and kissed him.
"So that was…"
"Uh-huh."
"Well, now what?"
"I'm pretty sure you're supposed to kiss me back." And Isaac was more than happy to oblige.
And they probably would have been perfectly content to stay that way, had it not been for the return of their friends. Garet whistled and Sheba and Ivan made a few remarks, and Piers, chuckling, remarked,
"We leave for a few minutes and you're already going at it?"
"Typical," Ivan agreed, and Garet laughed a little before Mia elbowed him and said, more kindly,
"Sorry about the, uh, interruption," but only burst into giggles too. Felix's silence was rather telling, too, but he seemed more freaked out than angry.
Jenna and Isaac were blushing red, and Jenna risked a glance at her brother, who finally muttered,
"I am never going to be able to un-see that image. Get a room next time, will you?"
Now everyone was laughing.