Chapter 1: They're looking for you.
The lake here was always empty of what some would call 'intelligent' forms of life, it seemed. Sanou came here often when she wanted to get away and listen to the sound of the waves lapping up against the shore, or to watch the fish swim in the crystal lake. No one ever really came to this part of Jugner Forest--always running right past, always in a hurry to get to Jeuno. It was a shame.
Some adventurers devoted all their time to crafting and making money. Others went on epic battles for their country, and others still just to get stronger.
Was she odd? Just for wanting to see the sights with no real purpose in mind?
Sanou plucked absentmindedly at the strings on her harp, playing a soft minne for whatever monsters could hear it--none of them attacked her, not anymore. It'd been a long, long time since she'd first trekked through here on foot, following a much stronger friend. She had all sorts of hiding spells cast on her at the time, but she still couldn't help but squeak when they so much as passed a rabbit. Not that it could hear her, fortunately enough. She'd remembered taunting the monsters as she passed by on her chocobo after obtaining her license, then screaming when they caught on and started following after her. She never knew those birds could run that fast...
Ah, good times, good times.
"Sanou!"
She blinked and looked up, the sudden voice pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Over herrrre!"
The Mithran flicked an annoyed ear and whipped around, her eyes landing on a hooded figure. A hand reached up and pulled the hood down as they approached, revealing a familiar face.
"Well I'll be," she snorted, getting to her feet and dusting herself off. "Ryuichii, where've ya been?"
Her friend gave her a skeptical look, closing the gap between the two of them and folding her arms over her chest.
"I see you still have that terrrrible accent," Ryuichii said, smirking. "You've gotten taller."
"'Bout time, that's all I have to say."
Sanou wasn't tall for a mithran--members of her species weren't always very large, but she'd always been referred to as the runt of her litter. It never really bothered her, for whatever reason, but seeing as how Ryuichii and Sanou were both native San d'Orians (which was the Elvaan captial), it always was a bit amusing. Sanou hardly ever reached an Elvaan's chest, or if he was tall, she was lucky to make it to his hip.
"And yourrr hair is longer, too," the taller Mithran said, raising an eyebrow. "You had better get it cut soon, orrrr people will starrrrt mistaking you for some shaggy dog." Sanou flicked her tail and snorted in distaste, much to Ryuichii's delight--if there was anything she hated most in this world, it was dogs. And Bastokians. Not that one could tell the difference at times.
Oh, Sanou had nothing against Humes, per se--the ones she'd met outside of Bastok were fine. It was all the ones i inside /i the city that made her cringe. A bunch of stiff-necked, self-righteous, egotistical...
She felt the thin fur on the back of her neck rise. She shook her head, clearing her mind of the thought.
Bastok was the headquarters to mining and smithing of all sorts and also the home to Humes and Galkas. The city itself was primarily run by Humes, with Galkas doing most of the gruntwork. It was sad, really. She'd enjoyed the company of most Galkas she'd encountered and spent most of her time with them after she'd left home while she was young, and picked up on their accent very quickly--the rough, colloquial speech was easier on her tongue than Mithran... though if something got her fired up enough (or drunk enough), she had a habit of slipping back into it.
"I could say the same to you, Ryu," Sanou said indignantly, wiping at her nose with a thumb and folding her arms over her own chest. The two stared in silence at one another for a few moments, gauging the other, seeing who would make a move first.
Sanou burst into laughter and clapped a hand on Ryuichii's back, saying loudly, "It's good to see you again! Where in Altana's name have you been?"
Ryuichii blinked, startled by the rough contact from her old friend, then smiled back.
"I could say the same to you, Sanou."
The Lion Springs Tavern was always loud and almost bursting at the seams with people--Bards sang loudly and the drunken men took it upon themselves to sing along with the songs they knew about whatever brave heroes or homeland they decided to sing about (usually twice as loud and twice as bad as the Bards). It was one of the girls' favorite haunts, and they were well known there for their own song and dance shennanigans. Sanou wasn't one of the bestBards in San d'Oria (or any of the other nations, for that matter), but she was definately one of the loudest. She was outgoing, and it was never hard to get a crowd going in a bar. Ryuichii was the better dancer, and both had decent voices. Together they'd made a name for themselves on the streets, and made a killing in tips and donations from their performances at the different festivals, when they came home to rest from missions or adventuring.
But despite the fact that it was so loud it was hard to hear oneself think, Sanou had no problem hearing the words that fell out of Ryuichii's mouth.
"They're looking for you, you know."
Sanou stopped mid-bite and glanced up at her friend, her ears twitching nervously. 'They' could mean alot of people. The Mithra was incredibly loyal to her homeland, but that didn't mean she wasn't part of her fair share of illegal activities or that she hadn't angered the wrong people.
"Whooph luukinf phuh mee?"
Ryuichii glanced irritably at her and said curtly, "Trrrry chewing and swallowing yourrr food before speaking to me."
She'd never had much patience for bad manners. Sanou hurriedly rid herself of the food in her mouth and tried again.
"Who?"
"The gatehouse guards and Halver," Ryuichii replied casually, picking at her nails with a fork. Sanou raised an eyebrow, suspicious.
"What do they want?" She asked, leaning back in her chair. It wasn't that big of a surprise--she'd gone on a few missions for San d'Oria and had a modest reputation at the gatehouse and Chateau, but it seemed odd for them to actually be i looking /i for her. She, of course, had absolutely no problem swearing her time and loyalty to the King and late Queen (as for their bickering sons... maybe not), but it was odd for them to be looking specifically for her and not for Ryuichii as well. After all, the two had done most of their missions together--
Sanou blinked, flicking an ear in realization.
"Are you..." she narrowed her eyes almost angrily. "Are you hiding?" Ryuichii snorted, pulling on the sides of her hood.
"Why do you think I'm always wearrrring one of these?" She hissed, glancing around. "As farrrr as they know, I'm still fighting in Kazham with Magrrrrrrrriffon." Ryuichii huffed at Sanou's smirk, knowing it was hard for her to take her friend seriously when she had a tendency to get stuck on her "r"s when she was angry.
Sanou took a swig from her mug and leaned over, looking up at the other Mithra.
"Don't you love your country anymore, Ryu?" she asked, her voice low. Elvaans were a proud race--patriotism went hand-in-hand with that. If any of them caught you speaking ill of their country, you had a good chance of getting kicked out.
Ryuichii leaned forward as well, looking Sanou straight in the eye, and said simply, "Not in the same way as you do."
Her words stung, somehow. Sanou turned her attention to her drink and her friend found a rather interesting spot on the wall she couldn't keep her eyes off of. The two sat in silence for a moment, interrupted by the sudden clunk from two glasses being put on the table. Sanou traced her eyes up the hand that held it, and met the gaze of a rather handsome Elvaan man. The girls did love handsome Elvaan men.
"Drinks for the prettiest ladies in the house," he said, smiling. They chuckled, embarrassed.
"Sir, you're too kind," Sanou said, emptying her old glass and reaching for a the new one. He grinned, slightly embarrassed himself. He was young.
"Well, it seemed as though your day was far too black, from the looks on your faces," he said, leaning on the table. "I thought a drink might brighten things a bit. I hope Rum is all right with you."
Oh, Rum is more than fine, Sanou bit back. She instead flicked her tail and hid her smirk behind the glass, taking another sip to show that it was, indeed, 'all right'.
"Oh yes," Ryuichii suddenly mewled pathetically. "Our Auntie Marlainde-Orla just passed away this morning. How very dearrrrr she was to us indeed." She sniffed and looked down into her cup, looking as though she was fighting back tears.
Sanou stared. What the hell was she doing?
Ryuichii looked up and winked, telling her to play along. The Elvaan seemed a bit confused, if not slightly panicked. It was fortunate he hadn't yet learned that Mithrans had a habit of taking advantage of situations. Especially when the situation included free beer.
"You're sisters?" he asked.
"Yes!" Sanou almost yelled, standing up--she was a rather bad liar, but she tried, and effort should be graded instead of believability. At least Ryuichii should care more about the effort than the performance... this wasn't the first time they'd done something like this. Lying wasn't exactly one of Sanou's favorite things, but free drink probably was. "Do we not look it?"
"No..."
"Well, we are," Ryuichii said curtly, sipping again at her rum. "And we're very upset at the loss of our aunt. I've only just stopped crying because I've run out of tears and must drink more to cry again."
Sanou winced at the rather pathetic delivery of the line, but the Elvaan seemed to buy it. As he turned to shout for more drinks, the girls exchanged quick, catlike grins. It would be a marvelous night. May the Goddess Bless San d'Oria and its young, gullible citizens!