Draco: Inspiration is yet going crazy and I need to get used to this laptop so here we go.

Bravely Default and all related properties © Square Enix

Caldis Region: A Most Unkind Farewell

Edea arrived in Norende as the sun began to rise.

She had left Lontano Villa this time yesterday.

"One of these days," Edea muttered, sheathing Ise-no-Kami as she walked towards the residence, "I'm going to bait Heinkel in here, hire a ninja to get his attention, and watch him swathe a clear path through here. Seriously, what kind of town plants itself in the middle of the forest without a-"

Here she came to a stop, for her gaze had wandered after a mosquito come too close to her ear - which directed her attention to the clear path not two minutes away from her.

"Oh, come on!" she roared. Now she was angry at herself for taking off straight into the trees when she had been deployed. Come to think of it, Holly had been about to speak with her when she had departed. Of course, Barras hadn't given her the time to finish talking, so Holly had left before passing on the information. The next time she saw Barras, she was going to kick his-

"Hello, there."

Edea's thought process came to a halt as she spun around, her hand flying to Ise-no-Kami - but she stopped herself from drawing the blade when she saw who it was. A boy roughly her age, perhaps a year or two older, with a small lamb at his side. The sudden action prompted the boy to step back with a yelp, scrambling at his waist until his hands fastened on a small survival knife. "Woah, relax!"

"Oh, uh, sorry," Edea insisted, laughing nervously. "Um... who are you?"

"I'm Tiz," he replied slowly, slipping his knife back into his belt. "Tiz Arrior. I'm a shepherd here. You are?"

"Edea Lee," she introduced. "This is Norende, right?"

Tiz nodded. "You need something?"

"I'm looking for someone," she replied. "Can I maybe get something to drink, somewhere to rest?"

"Of course," Tiz replied. "Come with me."

+x+x+x+

"So, why were you up at the break of dawn, exactly?"

Edea's question as she, Tiz, and his sleepy-looking brother Til met at the Norende inn, noon that day, was answered with a grim chuckle from Tiz. "I've been up since midnight," he admitted. "That's when Til came back from his turn. The sheep have been acting up ever since that Eternian airship roared over us."

"The Eschalot isn't that noisy, is it?" Edea said without thinking.

"That was you?" Til asked weakly, turning to her.

Tiz raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Er, yeah," Edea admitted, glancing around. No one was at the inn except the usual elders and the waitress who approached them now.

"Light coffee, with milk and two sugars," Tiz requested.

"Same here," Til murmured.

"Ancheim style, please," Edea said kindly. At the waitress' confusion, she elaborated, "Light, extra sugar, extra sugar, and then some, and then some, and then some."

"That's not even going to be liquid anymore," Tiz observed as the waitress wrote their orders down and took off. Once she departed, he leaned in closer to Edea. "You came in on that airship?"

Edea nodded. "Yeah," she admitted, keeping her voice down. "I'm with the Knights of the Eternian Sky. We're here looking for a girl who identifies as the Vestal of Wind. Our contacts in Ancheim said was supposed to be en route for the Caldis region. I was asked to come here for any information I could get."

Tiz shook his head. "Nothing," he insisted. "We haven't heard anything about a 'vestal' or anything like that."

"I see," Edea murmured. "I'm sorry for bothering you. And your sheep."

"If you were really sorry," Til murmured, "you'd help us with the sheep today."

"Til, that was rude," Tiz reprimanded.

Edea shook her head. "No, no, he's right," she insisted. "I don't know how much I can do, but I'll try and help you guys today. Alright?"

Tiz glanced between her and Til. "If you're sure," he mused. "Don't you have to report back to your boss?"

"Not entirely eager to get back to that crew," Edea admitted. "You have not known a headache until you've listened to Barras Lehr talk for a second straight."

Tiz and Til exchanged confused looks. "Is... is that considered an achievement in Eternia?" the elder brother asked.

"Talking that long?" Edea prompted. "No. Letting Barras talk that long without hitting him with something? Yes."

"Your orders, sirs and madam." The waitress stepped up to the table again, setting their drinks down. "One Acheim style coffee, two orders of milk-and-two-sugars."

After she had left, Til started to raise his drink to his lips. The heat was comforting, and when Edea glanced at him, he looked like he was going to fall asleep again. With a sigh, she pulled the drink gently from his hand and set her own drink into it. "One sip," she insisted. "It'll get you moving."

Til took a sip from the drink and proceeded to run to the washrooms to wash his mouth.

+x+x+x+

Though Edea was not particularly effective at shepherding, per se, having an extra hand did indeed help keep the lambs under control - Tiz and Til being a little out of energy from the start meant that the Eternian's presence was just this side of a blessing.

Their work trailed through the day, and the sun was starting to set when the three of them finished up their work. Par for the course, the two brothers proceeded to lay down on a grassy hill; Edea glanced at them briefly, then shrugged and took a seat next to Til. After a long moment, Tiz drew out a waterskin, taking a long draught from it before handing it to Til.

"What's in there?" Edea asked, noticing how Til seemed to be intent on draining the skin.

The younger brother lowered his drink. "You want some?" he asked, holding it out to Edea. With a shrug, Edea accepted the skin, shaking it lightly - it still seemed to be about half-full - before raising it to her lips.

"It's just a bit of ale," Tiz said idly as the liquid connected with Edea's lips.

Edea proceeded to eject the drink from her mouth so fast it hit one of the nearby sheep.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" Tiz insisted. Til was laughing while Edea experienced a brief coughing fit. "It's a Norende blended fruit juice. It's wonder after a long day's work."

The Eternian glared at him briefly before taking a small sip. A brief pause; then she upturned the waterskin, draining it in the span of a second and a half. She sighed in relief after she had finished, handing the skin back to Til before getting to her feet. "Well," she admitted, "I'd better head back to the Sky Knights. They're gonna be waiting on my report."

Tiz nodded. "Alright. Thanks for the help." He and Til got to their feet. "Let us know if you need anything. I'll ask the elders about that vestal you were talking about."

"Thanks," Edea replied.

Til lingered behind as Tiz headed off down the hill, waving to Edea as she took off. "Come by when you have some time!"

Edea chuckled lightly, turning around and walking backwards as she raised a hand in a friendly salute. "I'll think about it," she insisted.

The wind changed in her hair.

The earth vibrated beneath her feet.

That was all it took for her smile to fall, causing her to glance to either side.

Both of the Arrior boys noticed as well, looking around for the cause. A sound not of this world - a resonance that could only be described necrous - emerged from the village, and Edea raised her gaze to the village as a stream of shining white emerged from the center of town. Til spun towards it, stepping back, and Tiz reached for his survival knife as the light began to spread across the earth beneath the village.

Cracks spread between the houses.

Edea swore. "Run," she gasped. Then, screaming at the Arrior brothers; "RUN!"

The village began to fall.

Tiz spun on his feet, racing towards Til and Edea. The Eternian rushed forward, grabbing Til's arm and pulling him into a sprint. Tiz's feet carried him faster than Til's did, but as the earth rent open, shockwaves tore across the fragments ahead, knocking the three of them to the ground as the earth beneath their feet began to fall.

Edea was at the edge of the falling piece; not even thinking, she drew Ise-no-Kami and drove it into the rock as it was revealed before her.

Somehow, amidst the shaking, Tiz had managed to clamber towards him. His hands clasped onto those of Til and Edea as the earth fell beneath them, that murderous light shining in the abyss below; the lack of grip caused the three of them to strike the earthen wall into which the katana was impaled.

"Move fast!" Edea barked to the boys from Norende. "Human ladder! Start climbing!"

Til nodded, grabbing Tiz's shirt and struggling up his side. As soon as he had the moving room, Tiz used his free hand to push Til up faster as he clambered up Edea's back; he managed to use the flat of Ise-no-Kami's blade as leverage to pull himself onto the open earth. Only once he was clear did Tiz start moving, climbing up Edea's back.

No sooner had he raised his hand to grab the ledge above the katana than the abyss roared, like an explosion had sounded from deep within, shaking the earth more violently than the village's fall. Edea slammed into the wall, her hold on Ise-no-Kami faltering; Tiz himself nearly fell back into the earth, but he managed to grab the katana's handle as his legs hooked around Edea's arms. She scrambled for something to hold onto and grabbed the back of Tiz's boot as he tried to rise.

Til's hand closed on his. "Tiz!" he cried. "Hurry!"

The blade started to slide out of the earth - and Tiz knew, without knowing, that without that extra leverage, Til would never be able to support his weight.

A wince crossed his face.

His hand opened, sliding from Til's grasp, and he released the handle of the weapon as he and Edea plummetted into darkness.

And Til was left at the edge of a great chasm, where the village of Norende had been just moments prior - watching his brother die.

Draco: I choose to remain silent.