To the readers: Okay so this is my first Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles story. I wrote this because I felt a need to write it, and I don't see a lot of stories on De Nam. Which is a total pity because he may very well have been one of my favourite characters. If you're not exactly sure who De Nam is, not to fret. I will explain in the story. I know that my none of my chronicle entries or letters are correct. but I changed them to make it fit in with the story I'm trying to tell. Also, if I'm using to many three dollar words, please tell me and I'll try to fix that, though it's kinda hard for me. (I don't mean to insult anyone with this statement. So please don't hate mail me!!!)
Thanks for reading,
Kirux
Disclaimer: I'm not exactly sure who owns FFCC but I know it's not me.
Letters from De Nam
-Chapter One-
Year Three
Today I visited Shella. I was lucky that I had found that Shella Mark in Alfitaria, for I wouldn't have been allowed in otherwise. When I got into the city it was rather cold and it made me wonder if Tipa and Shella could really belong in the same world. It's a silly question, I know, but I thought it nonetheless.
Shella is the city of Yukes. I find them rather perplexing, seeing as I have never seen one with out it's face covered. Someone once said that they were only spirits and had no bodies. I laughed at them, how could they wear clothing if they have no bodies?
While there, I met a Selkie researcher. It was nice seeing one of my own tribe after travelling for so long with only Mog to keep me company. He introduced himself as De Nam and bodly stated that he would find away to rid the world of miasma, and if he couldn't do that, he would find a way to live in it. I doubted that he could do it, but I encouraged him anways. He called my bluff and seemed angry at me for lieing to him. I apologized to him and told him that I was a caravaner and highly doubted that there would ever be a way to rid the world of miasma.
He looked at me, surveying me to see if he believed I was actually with a caravan. I was embarrassed because I know I look awful. My short grey hair curls out at the ends and I haven't been able to brush it awhile so its trully tangled. The once white fur on my collar and wrists is now a dingy brown colour, and my sleeves and skirt are tattered and no longer purple. My sandels are falling apart and my feet are cut up from months of travel in search of myrrh.
He nodded, accepting what I said as the truth and apologized for getting so upset. I told him it was alright and that I shouldn't have lied to him. He invited me to stay at his place tonight before I head for Veo Lu Sluice in the morning. I accpeted his offer and I'm heading there now. I can't wait to hear
I closed the huge book that I used to chronicle my endevours and placed it into my wagon. I petted my papaopamus, who I affectionately call Pao-Pao, and started towards De Nam's house. He lived on the upper left side of town where the professor gives lessons during the day time. I passed Eleonor and waved at her. She waved her hand back once, as all Yukes do. I had talked to earlier and she told me an interesting theory about the crystals and the monsters. I continued to walk past the crystal and found my way to the apartment building where De Nam lived. I found myself suddenly nervous. I hope I don't do anything to upset him again. I stood there and knocked on his door. I heard the crash of glass and felt more nervous than ever. I wasn't even this rattled when I fought Jack Mochet. The door suddenly opened and De Nam stood there looking dismayed.
"Oh its you," He moved his goggles from over his eyes to on top of his head and gestured his rubber gloved covered hand for me to come in, "I lost track of time experimenting. You startled me when you knocked, so please don't mind the mess."
"It's okay," I entered and looked around. It was a quaint apartment, smaller than my home back in Tipa, yet bigger than a moogle's nest. As I looked around I spotted a hole in the floor with many pieces of broken glass around it, "What were you experimenting with to cause that hole?"
"A very nasty chemical that you do NOT want anywhere near you," he shut the dopr and walked over to the table with his equipment on it and picked up a box and started sprinkling a white powder around the hole and in it, "This is to neutralize the acid. It'll take me awhile to clean up here. If you want to, you may use my bathroom to tidy up as well. No offense, but you're rather dirty and smell like Orc guts."
"No offense taken," but I did wonder how he knew what Orc guts smelled like, "and I would be very pleased to shower. Where's your bathroom?"
He told me where it was and said that he had already laid out a towel and some spare clothes for me. He also explained that he was going to 'offer' me to let his bathroom no matter what. I took the hint and made my way to the room.
It was a nice sized room with one of those showers that could also be a bathtub. I found the towel and clothes he was talking about on a shelf next to the shampoo, conditioner, soap, and a washclothe. I started the water to let it get a chance to heat up and disrobed, wrapping my towel around me as a precaution. I spotted my reflection in the corner of my eye and turned to get a better look.
I looked worse than I had originally thought.
My hair had grown considerably, and was so knotted at the ends that I knew I would have to cut it to get some of them out. I could very clearly see my tan lines, seeing as I am a naturally pale person. I also took account of all my scars. Some of my wounds were superficial and didn't leave any, but other were very obvious. I saw one in particular that I knew would be with me forever. It was huge gash from my right shoulder down to my left hip. It was a parting gift from the Armstrong at Tida. I was lucky have had a pheonix down handy that day. I was also lucky that one of those annoying skeleton mages had casted fire on me and instanly caterized the wound or I may ended up bleeding to death anyways. That always confused me about magic, especially fire. It can caterize wounds, singe my clothing, burn plants, but I've never had any burns on my skin. I shrugged it off and decided the water was warm enough. Dropping my towel and grabbing the stuff off the shelf I stepped into the shower and felt the most soothing pain of my life. They hot water fell over me and relaxed all my muscels. It also got on my feet and into some of the not so healed wounds there. I looked down and was repulsed by the amunt of filth washing off of me. The water running down the drain was all but black. I set to work scrubbing myself off.
When I had decided that I was presentable, I dried off and put on the clothes De Nam had set out for me. I was amazed that they were a female Selkie's garb. They were a little loose, but I could take them in a little. If all else failed I could repair my old ones or send to my mom and dad for a new set of clothing. I took the brush with me and left the room. As I walked down the hall I spotted De Nam in the kitchen preparing some food.
"You're finally out of the shower," he turned around to look at me. His eyes widened a little and I think he started blushing because he promptly turn back around and coughed once, "I thought you may have drowned."
"No, it just took a really long time to get all that grime off of me," I started to run the brush threw my hair and found that most of the tangles had loosened with the conditioner. I would still need a haircut, but I don't think that I'll be able to managed that until I get home.
"I could imagine," he started to chop some star carrots, "I never did get your name."
"Oh," How stupid of me. Here I was taking full advantage of this boy's hospitality and I had never once introduced myself, "My name is Kirux, I'm the crystal caravaner from Tipa."
"I'd say nice to meet you, but it's a little late for that," He dumped the carrots into a pot than started to dice some gourd patatoes, "I'm just making a simple stew. I hope you don't mid vegetables."
"Oh don't worry I like just about everything. Traveling around you don't get the chance to become picky about what you eat," The stew smelled really good and my stomache made a really ooud noise, "Sorry about that."
"That is totally okay, I understand," He dropped the potatoes into the stew and covered it with a lid, "That'll be about half an hour."
"I've gone longer," I sat down on one of the dining room chairs and started to fight a rather obnoxious knot. The sad part was, I was losing.
"It looks like it, you have to be about fifteen pounds underweight," He wiped his hands off and turned to look at me, "That's one of the reasons I left my caravan."
I tored my attention away from the evil knot and looked up at him, "You were in a caravan?"
"Yes, Lueda's," he sat down in the chair across from me, "but I got a really bad injury one day on the way here from Alfitaria. The other caravaners said they could wait for me to heal, but I knew it would take too long. I told them to go on without me and I've been living here ever since."
"The Yukes let you?" They seemed like such a private people. I mean, they have a fricking bouncer at the entrence.
"Yes, and they even taught me something about the world I hadn't already experienced. That why I'm always doing experiments, to find things out by myself," I gazed past me lost in his fantasy, "Like with the miasma, where did it come from? Why can't we live in it, yet moogles and monsters can? What makes it so deadly to us? What is myrrh made of and why do the crystals need it to keep the miasma at bay? What enables the crystals to repel the miasma in the first place? There are so many questions that need to be answered."
"Yes thre are," I looked at him, truly listening and wondering with him, "It's really nice to see a Selkie with bigger dreams than hitting pay dirt with his next theft victim."
"Heh, the Striped Brigande, I assume?" He turned and smiled at me. I don't know why but I felt myself blush a little bit.
"Yeah," I turned away, "I've had a couple run-ins with them."
"They're a bunch of push-overs, most of the time all you have to do is throw a striped apple or two at them and the leave you alone," He got up and got two glasses out of a cabinet. He turned the faucet on and let it run for a few seconds, filled up the glasses and walked back to the table offering me a glass. I accepted and smiled shyly at him.
When the soup was done we ate and talked more. I told him about my family and Tipa. He asked how long I had been a caravaner and I pretty much recieted my entire chronicle book to him. When it got really dark outside he let me sleep in his bed while he slept on the couch. I fell asleep smiling that night, wishing I never had to wake up. I wished this because I didn't want to leave this place. It felt so much like home.
But alas, morning came and I had to continue my quest for myrrh. De Nam gave me a lot of produce and a couple flasks of water. He said that he would write whenever he thought to and that I should come visit him the next time I was in this part of the world. He walked me to Pao-Pao and looked over at me.
"I really liked talking to you," he blushed a little, "I know it's not much, but I want you to know that your travels have inspired me a little. You are welcome in my house anytime, wether I'm there or not."
"Thanks, De Nam, " I didn't stop to think about why he wouldn't be there. I grab Pao-Pao reins and left Shella tunring back once to wave at De Nam. I had never been that sad before, not even when I left home for the first time. I didn't understand why either. I shrugged it off and went along my way.
