Asterisks denotes information taken from Largo's support conversations, for if you don't know about him that well.
Key:
* Largo and Danved
** Largo and Muarim.
*** Largo and Mia.
**** Largo and Tauroneo.
*****(not from a support conversation) Recruiting Largo.
That's all of them! Feel free to check them out. The conversations sure are... Interesting.
Carnivals in Crimea were quite the rarity, especially in a remote town. So naturally, when the fair did arrive, everyone in town would try to spare some time for it, even fifteen-year-old Largo.
"Hmm... Which one?" He mused to himself as his eyes scanned the many booths. Long rows of carnival game stalls lined the winding pathways. The warm, bright sunlight lit the colorful banners atop the tents and booths, and the sounds of chatter, footsteps, bells, and even animal noises droned in his ears. In his hand was a small fistful of coin he had saved up from the work he did as a lumberman-in-training with some of the others of his village.
The clop-clop of horse hooves on cobblestone rang out from behind him, and he clumsily hopped out of the way. In doing so, he almost collided into a nearby booth. Disoriented, Largo glanced up to find that he was at some paper puppet stall.
"Hello, young one!" The man* at the booth beamed at him. "Step right up and be amazed! First, Devdan draws a picture..." The man, Devdan, stopped speaking to quickly sketch a stick figure. "...And ta-da! Meet Devdan"s friend, Nadved!"
From out of nowhere, a high-pitch squeak emitted. "Helloooooooo, Devvvvvvvdannnnnnn!"
Feeling more than a little disturbed, Largo backed out into the street again, away from Devdan. As he passed by the booths, he found no game or attraction that caught his interest.
He hadn't realized how far he'd walked, but he soon found himself at the end of the road. Not many people were milling about here. He was just about to turn back around when a gleam flashed in his eye. His eyes widened a bit when he realized where it came from.
It was from a carnival game, off in the distance, but one that he'd never seen before. He wasn't even aware that carnivals allowed knife-throwing games. A group of teenage boys hung around and cheered for the boy currently throwing the knives.
The boy-the leader of the gang, Largo figured-missed his target and cursed. He had one last knife in hand, and was staring at the moving targets in concentration. Suddenly, his hand flicked. The knife stuck into the wooden target with a sharp thunk.
"Good try, but I'm afraid you only got two out of four. That's not enough for a prize. Try again next time," the man of the knife-throwing booth said. The boys snarled and cursed, but began to walk away.
Largo glanced up and was in for a shock. The prizes were furs and hides of various exotic animals, stuffed moose heads-complete with antlers-and best of all, bear heads. Largo, being a woodsman, could tell that they were authentic. A little part of him was sickened, but he was mostly amazed. He wanted one.
"Hey! What are you looking at?" The leader's harsh tone jolted him a little, but it didn't scare him off in the least.
"Nothing." He hoped that was an okay answer. The last thing he wanted was to get into a fight with these idiots. (Not that he couldn't take them on, of course. After all, part of his life included chopping down trees and carrying them** back to the village.) Largo kept on walking, though he wasn't even sure what his destination was anymore.
Creepily, the thugs silently left. Largo was unsure what to make of this, and kept on going. The sunlight felt colder all of a sudden.
One boy was on the path, in his way. Largo altered his path slightly to the left, to avoid him. Soon, the same thing happened, but it was a different boy. Largo altered his course again.
He turned his head to the side and out of the corner of his eye, saw the rest of them, shadowing behind him. Then, too late, he realized what was going on.
He was being herded. Right into the knife-throwing booth.
There was no escape. He was surrounded. He couldn't believe he'd let himself be outwitted like that. By these shady boys, no less!
"Are you going to try the knife-throwing game? It's fifty gold," the man said.
Fifty gold! Largo was about to back out when the leader slid up from behind him, grabbed his wrist, and squeezed hard. His hand was quickly forced open, and the gold clattered onto the counter. The man eagerly scooped up his two months worth of savings and placed four knives in front of him. Now that he had a closer look, Largo had the chance to see just how sharp they were. Well, Largo might not be able to cast a bunch of fancy spells**, but he sure could throw knives.
"Make all four shots and you get the prize. The targets move. If you lean over the counter, you are automatically disqualified," the man explained, and then murmured a Wind spell. Circular wooden boards began floating and flitting about in every which way.
There was no backing out. Largo spent his money, and there was no way he was going to lose his chance at getting a genuine bear head! He blocked out the taunts of the thugs behind him and waited... And waited.
He flung one and was pleasantly surprised to see that it cleaved a target cleanly in two. The gang hollered even louder, but it did not deter him in the least. With another knife in hand, he waited for an opportune time. Like... Now!
By the time the thought reached his mind his body had already responded and launched it right into another target. It cut through like a hot blade through butter.
The boys quieted, no doubt astounded by his skill. His third throw did not fail to impress; it split the target right in two with a sharp crack. Finally, one more target remaining.
Everything depended on this. The target seemed to fluctuate in the air, as if suddenly aware of the danger it was in. Largo poured all his concentration into this final throw.
He raised his arm and threw it, right at the target. Or rather, that was what was supposed to happen.
Largo hadn't been focusing on the boys much at all, and wasn't aware that the leader had snuck up from behind him. And when he'd been ready to throw that last one, the leader, at the last second, had pushed him over. Largo had lost his balance, and the throw went wide.
"Hey! He pushed me over!" Largo protested to the man, who was shaking his head. "Try again next time" was the only answer he got from him. The gang was hooting with laughter and congratulating their stupid leader.
"Go home to your mommy, whelp! This is what happens when you mess with us." The leader sneered at him.
Largo wasn't going to waste anymore time-or money-with these fools anymore. It looked cowardly, but Largo had always valued peace***, so he did leave for home. Not to mention that if he stayed with them for another second he was going to lose his temper.
Two things consoled him: he didn't bring all his money with him, and the fair was still open tomorrow.
For once, Largo awoke not to the early morning birds but to his mother's voice.
"Largo, honey, I don't want you going into the woods today." The worried tone in her voice was enough to fully wake him up.
"What? Mom, what's going on?" Largo himself was becoming a bit alarmed.
"There have been reports from your father and the other men of the village that very late last night, they have seen bear laguz very close to here in the woods."
"Bear... Laguz?" Largo had no idea such a thing existed. There weren't any bear laguz in his hometown in Begnion, where he used to live****. Crimea is such a strange place, he thought.
"According to the reports, the bears don't seem to be fully animals..."
"Oh. Well, what's going to happen?"
"They're not sure yet. You can go ask your father what they plan to do. Later though, he's sleeping right now."
Largo frowned for a split second, then beamed. "Does that mean I can go to the fair? It's not anywhere close to the woods."
"I think not," his mother replied immediately. "Get your chores done first, and if there's any time left then you may go."
By "chores", he knew his mother meant "clean the house". He sighed. He really would be lucky if he had any time for the fair.
Several long hours later, Largo briskly walked down the main road of the fair. He didn't stop until he arrived at the end of the path. He went to take a look.
Just as he thought, no one was there. The knife-throwing booth was vacant, and there was no trace of the gang. Cautiously, he approached it.
He was expecting something like this, but not on such a huge scale.
All the prizes, the furs and the hides and the stuffed heads were gone. Not a single bear head remained.
He walked back home at a leisurely pace.
Apparently, the village was in a state of dissension. Half of the men wanted to send a party to track down the laguz and drive it out of the region. The other half wanted to wait another few days to see if the laguz would leave, and then hack them down if they stayed.
Largo thought it would be great to meet with them and try to make a compromise with the "laguz"-if they were real. He decided not to voice his thoughts just yet, but he didn't entirely swallow the bear laguz story. He wasn't sure if he was right about the boys stealing the bear heads and hides and pretending to be laguz in the forest. It seemed far-fetched even to him. But it was a possibility, however small.
The village was undecided on what to do. Night was coming fast, and the decision would have to be made another day.
He already made up his own mind on what to do, though.
Ever so silently, Largo slipped out of the house, armed only with the small iron axe he used for chopping wood. He stealthily stole to the edge of the woods, all the while alerting nobody, and paused to take a deep breath. Then, he entered.
Leaves and limbs blocked out the view of the heavens above him, obscuring the bright waxing moon as he ventured deeper into the thick woods. Owls hooted and crickets chirped, adding on to the eerie atmosphere all around him. Careful not to stumble on a tree root or shrub, Largo gripped the axe even harder and kept on going.
He froze at the sight of a black lump prowling about in the distance. More lumps followed it. Were they the bear laguz?
Without making a sound, Largo crept closer and closer to the silhouettes until he was not twenty feet away, hidden behind a tall bush. He tried to take a look.
The reports were right; the bears weren't completely animal. There was an odd style to their walking and loping, as if they weren't in complete control of their bodies. That was all he could tell, though, since the prickly leaves of the bush restricted his vision.
There was something else about laguz that Largo suddenly remembered. Didn't they have a very keen sense of smell? So shouldn't they have noticed Largo as soon as he made way to them? Unless they weren't laguz at all.
Largo burst out from behind the bush. Much to his amusement, the bears clumsily leapt back in shock and stood, frozen. Yep. Definitely not animals.
"I know who you are," Largo called out to the "bears". "You're the gang who forced me into playing that knife-throwing game at the carnival. You stole the prizes and are now pretending to be a bunch of bear laguz, right? I'm not dumb."
The bears remained frozen. If Largo didn't know better he would have thought they were statues. Largo gestured at the bear in the middle with his axe. "You know, that bear head helmet is supposed to be mine." He approached them and hefted his axe.
"Wait wait!" The "bear" cried in a shrill voice. He took off the bear helmet, revealing the leader's face. "I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!"
"I wasn't going to hurt anyone," Largo replied. "I'm not quite like you. So, do you think this is funny?"
The leader stared at the ground. "It was just a joke," he muttered.
"Well, it's not a very good joke." Largo said, but paused. He thought he heard something. "Who's doing that? Is one of your friends making that sound?"
The leader had also lifted his head, staring off into the distance, listening. It was the sound of footprints, light, quick, and very intimidating. "No," he responded, "it's not one of us."
"No, no, please don't tell me..." Largo trailed off. "It's... A real bear."
"What?" The boys cried out in alarm.
"Quiet down!" Largo hissed. The silhouette in the distance now stopped, turning to face them. He wasn't sure of its size. It hard to make out anything in the dark, dense forest.
Largo couldn't just leave. Especially with these defenseless boys behind him, trembling in fear. He'd have to hope it wasn't an enormous bear, or else he didn't think he could fight it off. It wasn't like he could just pin it to a tree with his bare hands*****.
The bear was on the move. The boys yelped and rushed to a tree to climb. Largo held his ground and waited.
The bear came bounding over to Largo, nose high in the air. It bared its teeth and growled in a most threatening manner.
Largo could hardly hear it over the furious pounding of his heart. He could scarcely breathe. He waited for the bear to make its first move.
The bear crouched and pounced. Largo desperately threw himself to the side, and managed to avoid the attack. He then swung at the neck of the beast, but missed badly, due to his lack of balance.
The bear turned, roaring ferociously, and swiped down at Largo. Largo whirled and jumped back, landing on a flat piece of ground, but still managed to get grazed in the shoulder.
The bear clawed at Largo again, but he caught the attack with the shaft of the axe. Pushing as mightily as he was able, and with all the strength he could muster, he heaved the bear off him and shoved it onto the ground, crumpled in a heap on its side. Largo was stepping in for the kill-
Suddenly, a blinding yellow glow illuminated the forest. The source of the light was, to everyone's shock, a stream of angry fire directed right at the bear. It bellowed and rolled back onto his paws and sprang away, running back into the safety of the forest. Largo turned to the unexpected ally.
The fire she casted was dying out, but the imaged of her face burned itself into his memory. Her smooth, perfect face, set in determination, complemented her lithe, graceful figure. Even clad in a plain nightgown, she looked ready for anything. As of the moment, she appeared to have said something.
"Yoo hoo! Are you listenin'? I asked you for yer name." The lady-well, no, she looked to be around Largo's age-snapped her Fire tome shut. "It's rude not t' answer somebody when they ask ya somethin'."
"Uh, it's Largo," he said, "and are you from around here? You have quite the accent." He blurted that without thinking, and judging from her hurt expression, knew that was the wrong thing to say.
"Around here? I am... from the city! Do you truly mistake me for some country bumpkin-"
"Miss Calill!" The leader shouted, perched upon a tree branch. He jumped down from the tree, and the others followed suit. "You came! Did your pop-I mean village elder-send you to find us?"
"Don't flatter yourself," Calill replied and gestured at her nightgown. "I was out for a little midnight excursion, heard all the commotion, and came to help him." She pointed to Largo. "Are you boys really that spineless? And do you realize the racket you all made? Some people might be trying to get their beauty sleep!"
Meanwhile Largo was staring at Calill with an odd expression. One glance at his face showed the millions of questions he had. "Yes, yes, I'm from around town," she addressed Largo, "and my father is our village elder. But I've been to the city, and picked up their accent too." She faced the boys again. "Come on, boys, let's return home before anyone notices our absences."
"Yes, m'am!" They cheered. The way they all immediately obeyed Calill amused Largo. They all turned around and headed in a direction different from Largo's own village. "Goodbye, Largo," Calill said to him. "You know, I have the strangest notion that we'll see each other again."
He grinned. "So do I. Goodnight Calill," Largo replied. He was just about to begin the long trek home when he heard fast footfalls sound out from behind him. He spun around and was surprised to find the leader of the gang.
"I'm sorry. I think this is yours." The boy offered in his hands the bear head helmet to Largo. His expression showed all the apology Largo needed to see. Without further conversation, he raced back to Calill and the others. Largo forgave the kid.
Largo smiled to himself as he took the bear head helmet in hand, glad to finally obtain what was rightfully his. Before withdrawing to his village, he returned to the spot where he first met Calill and buried the helmet there. Until he found a real use for it, he decided that he would keep it there as a reminder of how they first met.
(Author's Note: I have no experience with throwing knives or fighting bears, so sorry if some things are inaccurate :P)