A flock of birds flew off from a nearby tree in panic as a loud ring of clashing metal emanated through the air. A short, dark-skinned Roegadyn woman stood lonesome beneath the sun in the training yard hacking away at a training dummy with a glowing short-sword, seemingly made entirely out of aether. Each blow caused a small force of wind from a burst of energy as holy magic seemed to strike forth from each swing. The woman performed a flurry of attacks before thrusting her weapon into the ground, causing several large beams of light to erupt upwards and fractured the wooden training dummy into several smoldering pieces. Gripping the hilt tightly with both hands, she released her weapon from the earth with a bright flash as it swiftly shifted forms, seemingly twice the size of it's original state. Wielding it in two hands, the Roegadyn turned to another training dummy and leaped forward with a mighty slash, rocking the dummy frantically upon impact. With each slow yet powerful swing a force of pure darkness seemed to follow. She soon began to glow with a malicious red aura which made the dark nature of her attacks even stronger than before. Gripping her weapon tightly she performed a powerful swing that spun her entire body around. Swiftly impaling her sword in the ground as she once again faced her target, she pulled back her opposing arm, conjuring dark energy with it before extending it forward and releasing a powerful blast that destroyed the dummy and sent debris flying backwards.
"That was an impressive display of skill. Excellent work, Paris." A tall dark-haired Au Ra praised as he clapped softly.
"Gaius? How long have you been there watching me?" Paris turned around asking in surprise, still panting from exhaustion.
"Oh, long enough to see you add several new pieces of training equipment to the company restock list." Gaius replied with a smirk.
"Well, I suppose I might accidentally increase that number, I still have more training to do if I want to fully unlock the secrets held within these arts." Paris replied before pulling her sword from the ground and readying herself for combat once more, although she was soon interrupted as Gaius approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"There's no need to overwork yourself. Remember, Alvin spent the first two decades of his life forced to study and master the techniques of both magic and war, and look what became of him. I understand your desire to learn and understand all aspects of magic but you must also take your own health into consideration. I do not wish to lose you as you lost your father." Gaius explained softly, Paris' grip on her weaponing loosening at his last words.
"You're right Gaius, I'm sorry. Perhaps I-" The Roegadyn was abruptly cut off as her Linkpearl began to resonate.
"Paris? Hey, Leona and I got the stuff you wanted and are almost back at the building now so we'll bring 'em up to your quarters when we get there." Robyn informed her.
"Okay I'll make preparations immediately, thank you." Paris acknowledged before turning her attention back to her husband.
"What was that?" He asked.
"The final ingredients for a... Different sort of experiment." Paris replied. "Care to watch?" She invited as the two made their way towards the large company doors.
Some time later, two women entered what looked to be a large library as Gaius sat at a large desk across from Paris who had all manner of materials sprawled out in front of her.
"Leona, Robyn, you're here! So you gathered the materials I needed?" Paris asked.
"Yes! Here they are, it was so much fun having to play with the Moogles in exchange for-" Leona began before her eyes shifted to see Gaius sitting attentively at the table, gazing upon the two.
"Uhh I mean, we had to barter with some Moogles to make them part with them but here, some authentic Moogle fur, sheared from the back of a rather large Moogle as a prank apparently." Leona explained as she placed a bundle of soft white fur gently on the desk.
"And here's a full jar of pom dust just like you wanted! So what's all this for?" Robyn asked as she slammed a large glowing jar on the desk next to the furs.
"You'll all see soon enough." Paris grinned as she got to work with the construct in front of her. She began by placing an adhesive behind the layers of fur and placing them onto the object on the desk which took the form of various spherical objects melded together. She placed the furs and weaved them together around a large red object and several gaps and closed latches. Soon most of the construct was entirely covered in the soft huggable fur.
"Now, I'll just open... urgh, this and then place this Mammet core inside like.. So... and there! Now all I have to do is infuse the pom dust into it and the results should hopefully speak for themselves." She explained to the group huddling around the desk as the Roegadyn opened the jar and waved her hand around the entrance as it began to glow. Soon a bright pink stream of sparkling dust shot out from the jar and swayed over towards the white haired object on the desk, lifting it into the air and circling around it rapidly before the dust seemed to seep into it with a bright light before it gently lowered itself back onto the table. There was a moment of silence as everyone stared in anticipation for what would happen next.
"...So what now?" Leona asked.
"I'm... not entirely certain. Surely there couldn't have been an error, according to my calculations it shoul- AH!" Paris ended with a short squeal as the construct shot up into the air at face height with a loud "Kupo!" as it's bright yellow eyes opened wide before quickly forming back down into a dark squint.
"it's... So... Cute!" Robyn yelled excitedly as her partner tried her hardest to contain her excitement in front of her leader.
"Aww you're gonna make me blush, kupo!" The creation replied in a high pitched voice. It's body resembled that of a Moogle, although its pom was a soft, fluffy yellow sphere that lacked any illumination and it's fur has clear seams from where it was stitched together. Other than that it looked barely any different to any other natural born Moogle.
"You... Created a Moogle? I must say it does seem quite lifelike with its vocal range, although it's form is... quite unique compared to other Moogles." Gaius stated as he peered at the Moogle, closely inspecting it.
"His name's Moglet, I created him to help us on missions as an intel and support role. Whenever we need information or advice on a mission he'll be able to lend us his aid, even when he's not present thanks to Robin attuning him to all of our Linkpearls." Paris explained.
"That's correct! I'll be here to lend you all a hand from here on out, so whenever you need me just say the word, kupo!" Moglet encouraged.
"C-can I... Hug you?" Leona asked, unable to constrain herself any longer.
"Of course, kupo! Just watch the fur, kupo." He replied as he floated over towards her as the Elezen squeezed him gently in her arms.
"Aww you're so soft!" She cried happily.
"Hey I wanna cuddle him too!" Robyn yelled excitedly as she through her arms around them.
"Ahh, being cuddled by two gorgeous girls like this, if it was possible my cheeks would be glowing bright red, kupo." Moglet thought to himself, giggling sheepishly.
Paris looked upon the sight smiling happily with a sense of pride in her creation as her husband let out a soft sigh and shook his head lightly.
"Well this should be interesting, Moogles are known for their pranks after all. Although it is artificial so hopefully that won't be a problem. In any case it can't be any worse than Laris..." Gaius muttered to himself.