Word Count: 172

Genre: Drama

Characters: Balthier

Note: Hey, sorry for the delay - I'm starting classes, moving into the dorms, all that stuff that drives authors away from writing. I've also ran out of pre-written chapters, so I'm afraid updates will be more infrequent. Still, if there's continued interest in this fic, I'll try to keep it going on a somewhat normal schedule. (I'm also up for ideas/suggestions/requests :). )

There are some things in this world you can run from, some you have no choice but to meet, and others for which you can unfortunately do neither.

Running was easy. Why, there were some women Balthier had successfully eluded for years. Authority was easy to run from as well, and he was quite confident in the Strahl's ability to be faster than any competition.

The past, on the other hand, was something you had to come to terms with. Running had worked for a great deal of time, and he couldn't say he regretted living the life of a sky pirate. But when the chips fell, his previous time as a judge couldn't be ignored.

It's the situations where neither option present itself that are the worst, simply because you don't have much choice in the matter. After the Ridorana Cataract, Balthier lamented the death of (what was left of) his father; however, he didn't fool himself into believing he could have somehow changed it with any method he knew.