Job Dysfunction

(FFIII)A little something just describing the four's issues with their first Jobs. Arc has some issues with his Black Mage skills. No pairings, just fluff.

Author's Note: First Final Fantasy fic here. XD Funny, it's about the one I only just got. Did I get the King's name right? Prolly not, but whatever. Anyway, this fic is just to describe what probably might've happened when they first started using magic and the Job Class system. I know I wouldn't be too good at magic right off the bat! R & R, please!

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It was early. Too early if you asked Luneth. Sleep beckoned for him to return to its peaceful and gentle grasp, but alas, disaster had to reach out with its chill and rise the young male from his slumber. Slowly, he sat forward, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. Small yelps and frantic stomping forced him to try and focus in his eyesight and when he did, he let out a soft sigh. It'd only been a few days since they were given the ability to choose an occupation for themselves, and it seemed that none of them quite had a grip of their new power.

Flailing madly to stomp out a raging flame, small Arc let out wild pleas. "Stop, fire, stop!!" he cried, demanding the fire to obey his bidding. While humorous and potentially a spectacle to point and laugh at, Luneth knew that not only would that be rude, but it may actually make Arc cry. That wouldn't be entirely fair to his best friend. Shoving himself up slowly, body aching from the physical training he'd been following, the self-proclaimed Monk moved over and coolly stomped out the flame.

Ingus made a soft noise from his tree trunk, rousing just enough to peek through his eyelids. He jerked out his knee, which jutted into Refia, who (with a rather sharp noise) bolted away and pulled back from the offending appendage. The four glanced to each other for a moment, before they cast their glances to the darkened sky. Only faint rays of warm sunlight spilled into the atmosphere, and it made it clear that it was just too damn early to be awake.

"I'm sorry," Arc mumbled, head low, the rim of his hat obscuring his freckled face. "I…just wanted to start on breakfast…so you all could wake up to something nice…" Luneth reached and patted the other's shoulder with a small, tired smile so the other wouldn't feel so bad, but Refia made an indignant huff and reached for her hat. Tugging it on and standing up, she looked at what Arc had gathered for their meal.

"The effort was appreciated," she stated. "But the ruckus was not. You're a Black Mage now! Shouldn't you be good at controlling the elements?" Arc's cheeks turned pink and the male shook his head miserably. Luneth smiled weakly again, shrugging.

"The King's castle wasn't built in a day," he offered and Arc gave him a warm smile. Ingus pulled himself up, brushing hair from his face, and he pulled his twin swords from the trunk of the tree he'd been sleeping against. He moved next to Refia, examined the fish the other had managed to find, and then he raised a light eyebrow. Luneth cocked his head, wondering what was on his mind, but didn't try to ask and merely went to go and allow his body to wake up officially.

Tugging his hair into a fresh ponytail, the youth dismissed himself to go and work out a little to get his body moving. They had a lot of traveling to do, now that their airship was blown up. Cid wasn't going to make them a new one until they meet the King Argos, so they had to get used to walking. They had another day or two until they reached Dragon Peak anyway, so he needed to ready himself for anything.

"I am not very fit," the Monk mumbled, stretching out his limbs once he was far enough away from the rest of his party, but close enough to flee back if monsters found him. This Job system that crystal had given them all was much more difficult than thought. They were all still new to their jobs and none of them really knew how to function yet, but they had all chosen occupations for themselves that suited their personalities the best in their own opinions. Unfortunately, they still didn't know how to work magic, or to properly hold a real sword (except for Ignus, the king's loyal knight), or even how to summon up your own body's strength.

When Luneth had finished his basic exercises, trying to tone both his body and his mind (as some kind folks had once suggested him to back in his home town before he'd left), he returned to the camp to only find another disaster awaiting him. After staring stupidly at the chaos, he attempted to analyze the situation and what had caused it. What he saw was Refia trying to put out the fire on her Red Mage's hat, Ignus lugging water from their bucket back from the stream, and Arc trying to melt the ice carpeting the grass.

"Do…I…um…ask?" Luneth attempted and spontaneously all of his new friends gave him a sharp glare. He laughed nervously and continued to try and figure it out. Arc's staff was tossed unceremoniously to the side; perhaps Arc had been attempting magic, but summoned Blizzard as opposed to Fire, iced the ground, and as he tried to defrost the grass, he had ignited Refia on fire? It seemed like a plausible situation, considering Arc's lack of control on his magic.

Once all was well again, Refia mourning the loss of feather in her hat and the hole in the rim, Ignus carefully cooking the fish Arc had gathered earlier on one of their old daggers as a skewer, and Arc himself sitting aside and looking miserable. Luneth moved over to his best friend and took off the other's hat, giving him a smile.

"Hey. Don't be so hard on yourself. It'll take a while to adjust," he reasoned and Arc sighed.

"…I want to get stronger," he mumbled. "But I'm no good at all."

"Haven't you seen me in battle?" Luneth laughed. "I can't lay a single hit without almost breaking my fingers. I'm not very strong yet at all. Neither is Refia or Ignus. We just need to practice and try our best. That's all, Arc."

Not looking convinced, the male tugged his mage's hat back onto his head and hid under the rim. Luneth decided to quit that battle and he went to go talk to the only female in their group. She didn't quite make an effort to look up at first, but when Luneth plopped down beside her, she sighed and pulled her gaze away from her hat. She gestured to it in sadness. "I just got this, too. But it wasn't his fault, so…I can't be too mad." Luneth nodded encouragingly.

"So I'm going to rip apart the first monster I see. I'll dig my sword into it and cut it in half! I'll watch it bleed until it disappears!" Refia concluded, voice climbing in volume, determination and frustration leading to something very dangerous indeed.

"You have magic too," Luneth added in a pathetic voice. Refia shrugged lightly.

"I'm not all that fond of black magic, actually…I'll cast Aero and things like that, though. White magics are more my taste," she sighed. Luneth tried not to smile. This obviously meant she had no clue how to use black magic. She was just too proud to admit it. Luneth chuckled to himself and then crawled on his knees over to Ingus. The Warrior flipped the cooking fish over, looking distracted and not very awake.

"How'd you sleep?" Luneth asked curiously.

"Horrible," the warrior replied in a low and dull voice. "Have you ever slept with your back against a tree?"

"Well…" the Monk tried, but Ingus simply smirked and shrugged. He checked the fish again, then took another knife and sunk it into one. Pulling it off of the cooking knife, he handed it to Luneth. The pony tailed youth blinked in surprise before he smiled and nodded. "Hey, thanks." Ingus nodded, tiredly monitoring the other fish. "How are your sword skills, anyhow?"

"…You'll find out sooner or later," the other responded, then stood to hand out the other fish to Arc and Refia. He returned for his own, and then doused the cooking flame. "Just worry about yourself, Luneth. You'll notice when you start to get your control over your Job, so will the other's. I promise." Luneth glanced up to him, cocked his head, then smiled and nodded.

Maybe it wasn't too early to be up after all. Luneth was grateful for Arc's little episode, and this fish was great. Just what he needed to start his morning, and his real training for his new Job.