*Note: 06 September 2000 edition is rated MA; see profile for other posting sites.
Title: Word of the Day v. FFIV
Author: Garnet Eyes
Archived: fanfiction .net, livejournal .com
Last Updated: 01 Jun 2011
Summary: 07 September 2000 edition.
Rating: T
Characters/Pairings: Cecil, Kain
Author Notes: variegated, adjective;
1. Having marks or patches of different colors; as, "variegated leaves or flowers."
2. Varied; distinguished or characterized by variety; diversified.
Disclaimers: Final Fantasy IV is owned by Square-Enix and I in no way, shape, or form profit off of my writing. This is simply for my own pleasure, and may at any time be removed and/or modified as I see fit.
...
Although they both had scars, it was nigh impossible to see the pale marks on Cecil's milky white skin. On Kain, each slice was obvious. His skin was naturally darker, and the lighter bumps that denoted where he had sustained serious injuries stood out like miniature beacons. Cecil knew intimately where each scar came from on Kain's body, from the old ones that had come about during games in his youth to the wounds he'd sustained out in the field of battle. There was one, though, a new one, that bore a different significance to Cecil. A large, serrated gash piercing all the way through Kain's chest just below his right shoulder, one that had bled so profusely that it had been questioned whether or not the dragoon would survive.
That wound was different from the others, because that wound was one that Cecil had given him. The paladin didn't even remember doing so, only that he had fallen asleep one night and awoken in the middle of a rocky cavern with his sword piercing clean through the blonde's chest; the only reason Kain was still alive at all was because he'd deflected the blade with his shield. Cecil couldn't afford to panic once he'd regained himself, and had started healing the blonde straight away and painstakingly removed the blade as cleanly as he could. But it was caught on bone and he'd had to wrench it, as much as that had made the younger knight flinch to do. Kain hadn't complained, although Cecil had chastised himself for his apparently infinite cruelty.
He still didn't know all of the finer details even years later, only that he'd been hypnotized in his sleep and he'd only come out of the trance at that moment. Kain had made it his personal mission to protect Cecil at night ever since, to keep him safe and well when the other dragoons only prowled the castle grounds searching for the obvious threats. It meant a lot to the paladin that his dearest friend would not scorn him for his susceptibility, and it gave Cecil new perspective in how a man as strong and honorable as Kain could possibly have his will overcome. His dragoon was always keeping watch over him – the king's own personal dragon protector – and Cecil was grateful for such loyalty.