AN: I always feel sorry for Tear.
Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of the Abyss.
A soft sigh of relief escaped from between Tear's lips as the cool air of Nam Cobandi Isle swept over her, taking away the heat that came from traveling during these harsh summer days with it.
Almost a year had passed since the destruction of Eldrant, an event that had left the world in an uproar. Since then, friends had scrambled to find friends, families had packed up and moved to 'calmer waters' within their chosen country, and the heads of the two kingdoms themselves had been forced to see each other in a new light, as potential friends instead of mortal enemies. The Order of Lorelei had been rebuilt, mainly to serve as a keeper of the world's history, a deterrent against war, should it ever threaten again, and as a public organization, helping those in need whenever it could do the most good. The only thing it was missing was an official leader, which, at its core, was the reason Tear had come.
Ever since Nam Cobandai Isle had come to the attention of King Ingobert, a struggle for power had come into play between the nobles and the city. The King and his council, claiming right of rule due to location, had written off the people of the city as their own citizens, people they could control for their own agendas. The citizens, however, had claimed that they were an automatous state, much like Cassedonia, and so were neither obliged to follow Kimlascian laws nor serve the king. It had been a sore spot between the two for months now, and hopefully, it was to serve as the changing factor that Tear needed.
Anise, through the newly decided upon system of choosing, should one more leader of a country or state agree that she would be right for the job, would become Fon Master. In short, she needed Nor's vote to win, and was promising protection to get it.
Dodging out of the way as a couple of children dressed as katz raced by her as some sort of game, the first smile Tear had had in a long time started tugging at her lips, forcing her mood to rise despite the seriousness of the meeting she was about to enter. Without Nor's acceptance of Anise as Fon Master, the entire process would have to being anew, delaying sorely needed aid and giving those who still longed for the Score to return that much more time to reach their goals. But as she stood there, waiting to escorted into Nor's private chambers, the smile grew on its own free will, playing off the sheer amount of uplifting joy within the city to change her own mood for the better.
"Tear. It's so nice to see you again."
Forcing her face into a more professional mask, Tear turned and gave a slight bow to the ridiculously clad woman that had come to stand beside her, her voice the overly polite tone that she was hoping would put the leader of the gang of performers and bandits that everything rested on in a good mood.
"Hello Nor. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."
"You really need to lighten up deary," Yoshi spoke up from behind her, startling Tear and forcing her to turn to face him. "This is a fun place and a place to have fun."
"Yah, that it is. I bet you look beautiful when you smile," Uni spoke up as he completed the triangle around her, forcing her to keep turning if she wanted to face the speaker. "You should give it a try while you're here."
"Alright boys, that's enough," Nor finally spoke up, shooing the men away before hooking arms with the slightly flushed Tear. "Us big girls have a couple of things to talk about, so why don't the two of you run along and take care of that thing we were talking about earlier, huh?" Without waiting to see if her suggestion was followed or not, Nor quickly dragged Tear into her sitting room, letting go of the other woman's arm so that she practically fell onto the couch she had been placed before. "Please," Nor said as she settled herself into the other empty chair, the only seat that was facing the door, "have a seat. I believe we have some things to talk about?"
"Y-yes," the flustered Oracal Knight stuttered before once again gaining a hold over her emotion. "You see, a situation seems to have developed in Daath, one that needs your consideration to be resolved. Anise has-"
"Yes, yes, I'm well aware of the situation in Daath," Nor cut her off, waving her hand in a circle, a physical movement to her words. "Anise explained the entire situation a few weeks ago, when she first warned us that you were coming. You can rest assured that, if she really does want to support our independence, then she has my vote. A performer's promise on that." Raising her hand, Nor tapped her fingers against her forehead and winked, sticking her tongue out slightly to tease the other woman. "A promise I gave Anise a few weeks ago, when I wrote back to tell her my stance on the issue."
"Then why did she send me here?" It wasn't a real question, not one Tear was truly expecting an answer to. She was annoyed- any response by Nor would have been received long before Tear had set out, meaning Anise had long since known that her position as Fon Master was secure, with the chances of the handful of people who were trying to get Florian instated as Master in Ion's place being successful highly unlikely. Meaning the last few days' worth of travel had been for nothing, a waste of time they didn't have to waste in the first place.
Not with the peace uneasy, not with the replica problem still rampant in the larger cities as people either tried to force them to fit into rolls they didn't know or tried to destroy them in their grief, not with the world still bearing the open wounds from a year ago, where the scars hadn't yet to heal. Not when she could be home, or anywhere else in the world, actually doing something that needed to be done.
"Stop it," Nor said sharply, tossing a small candy so it bounced off of Tear's forehead, landing in her lap. "You're going to get wrinkles. This is exactly the reason why Anise sent you here." Watching as Tear's anger melted away into confusion, Nor gave a small sigh and rolled her eyes, popping a piece of candy into her own mouth before continuing. "She told me how hard you've been working," Nor explained, her words slightly muffled by the sweet. "You're running yourself into the ground. You have to remember that we're in this for the marathon, not a sprint." Pausing to crunch the candy between her teeth, Nor ran her tongue over her lips, collecting the sweet dust before nodding towards the door.
"The ship comes back in three days with new supplies," Nor said, raising an eyebrow as she watched words form on Tear's lips, silencing the protest before it could truly begin. "You're going to spend them relaxing. Or I withdraw my vote for Anise as Fon Master. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Her voice was tense, though even Tear couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips, a tinge of amusement in her eyes. "Yes, ma'am, it is."
"Good." Nor nodded, popping another sweet between her lip before motioning towards the door. Silently, one of the katz children poked its head in, its nose twitching as it waited for the order to come. "This darling will show you to your room. Go have fun. That's an order."
"Thank you, Nor, for seeing me today," Tear said, standing to her full height, brushing her hand down her thigh to flatten some wrinkles that had appeared on her dress. "I would like to see you before I leave again, if that's alright with you."
"Fine, fine," Nor said dismissively. "Now go on, get. I have work to do."
With small bow Tear was gone, following after the child to reach the room Anise had asked them to put aside, right by the children's wing, where Tear would constantly be surrounded by cute, high energy critters her entire stay.
"Do yah think she'll relax," Yoshi asked, popping up from behind the desk to come stand next to Nor, Uni following him up the stairs that led through the secret hatch into the room proper. Handing over a piece of paper, he slid back down, leaving the other two alone.
"I'm hope so," Nor said, shaking her head. Flattening the paper on her desk, she carefully looked it over, examining it for any flaw or deviant that would require it being sent back and fixed. But there was nothing- it was perfect, just like Natalia, who had first brought up the idea of giving their soldier friend a break, had asked. "Even if she doesn't, she's stuck here for the next three days. She'll at least get some sleep."
It was relaxing, in a way, being ordered to take a few days off.
The isle was always amusing, at least, with dozens of hidden nooks and crannies that needed to be explored, games that needed to be played and shows that needed to be watched, all while accompanied by the set of katz children Nor had assigned to her. As guides and companions, to help her navigate the sprawling expanse that was their home. From the tunnels that ran half the length of the canyon to the ropes that crisscrossed the ceiling of the tent to provide a convenient walkway to those who feared neither heights nor death, Tear explored it all, following after the pink and purple feline children as they skittered and played before her.
But while it had been fun, in some times educational, three days had passed, and Tear was ready to be gone.
"Ya be good now, ya hear," Yoshi said as they stood by the ramp that led to the ship, watching as the crew finished unloading the crates that isle had ordered- food, medical supplies, cloth for new costumes for their traveling shows, everything an independent country that was based in entertainment needed. "And if ya need another rest, come back on by."
"Thank you," Tear said with a small bow, first to Yoshi, then Uni, and finally to Nor, the rest of her words directed at the woman in charge. "The meeting for the final vote will take place in two months' time. You'll be there?"
"Yes, dearie," Nor replied, rolling her eyes at the question. One she had been asked a dozen times or so in the last few days, whenever the two's paths had crossed. "Now, before you go…" Waving her hand, Uni stepped forward and presented the scroll to Tear, his smile almost real when she took it.
It was a picture, though when it had been taken Tear couldn't be sure. Sometime when they had all last been on the isle, the Antlion man's station within the tent clear from the background. And it had been taken without their knowledge- instead of being perfectly posed, as Natalia would have insisted, they were a mess. Natalia and Anise were almost at each other's throats, with Guy standing between them, trying to head off whatever argument was between them. She herself was off to the side, Mieu in her arms, half turned away as she watched the argument take place. Only Jade seemed to have any idea that someone was watching- he had turned to fully face the camera, wherever it had been hidden, a pleasantly fake smile on his face as he posed.
And Luke, smiling, caught in the middle of a laugh, his head thrown back, his hands on his hips, attention caught elsewhere from the scene going on behind them.
It hurt- she had worked hard to push him to the back of her mind, to not have his memory weighing on her heart. To not remember the weeks spent searching through the ruins, their hope almost nonexistent after the first few days. To not remember what she had told him, to not wonder if he heard, to just not remember him.
"We found this in our stores, after we heard you were coming," Nor explained, watching Tear's face carefully. "Figured you'd want it, so we cleaned it up for you."
"I…"
She said nothing, couldn't say anything, her tongue heavy in her throat. She couldn't even resist as Nor stepped forward, pulling her into an awkward hug, whispering in her ear.
"He'd want you alive, when this is all over," Nor said quietly. "So take a break every once in a while. Maybe a nap."
Again, Tear could say nothing on the topic, just nod and pull away and go through the motions of goodbye, promising absentmindedly that she'd come back, one day, when the world was calmer and a little more stable, when everything they were working towards wasn't so teetering on the edge of the abyss. Could only wave when she had gotten on the ship as it pulled away from shore, the picture still clutched tightly in her hands as she waited for them to go.
Could only smile her soft, small smile as she looked at the picture again, tracing the lines of the image of his face, before going to lay down in her bunk.
She should go talk to the captain, should go through everything necessary to make sure their trip back to Daath would go smoothly, but she did not. She went to lay down, to relax, to take a nap before the stress of life returned.
She slept deeply, deeper than she had in a long while, the picture on the bedside table, her friends, both those she knew the whereabouts of and those missing, could easily been seen when she awoke.