Chapter 7: Alice and the Clan
Lauren's POV
It took me about a week to reach Alice's house in Muscadet. When I had reached Alice's house and knocked on the door, Alice had already been at the door.
"Wow, that was fast," I said.
"I know. It's a new record for me. Well, actually, I was told by your clan leader to expect you," she told me. "Anyways, the thing that I need help with is…"
"What?!? That's just creepy. Okay, I'll protect you. Maybe you should come with me to the clan headquarters." In other words, I wanted her to come back to the Chocobo's Kweh. Maybe she could join the clan, and then I wouldn't have to worry about her.
Once I had gotten back to the clan headquarters, I told my idea to Fenrir. He thought it was a great idea to have Alice join the clan, in order to protect her.
"So, would you like to ask? Or should I?" he asked me.
"I'll ask if she wants to join. I'll tell her it's to help her with her problem." I told him.
"Okay, then step to it." With that, he turned back to the meal he was sharing with Katie.
Sometimes, I wonder how he can be so clueless, and yet so clued in. Anyways, I walked towards Alice, who was enjoying the fizzy drink that they call soda.
"How would you like to join the clan that I'm in, Alice? You get a choice as to what sword you get. The sword is specially made for you, too! You have a lot more friends than what we had when we were exiled from the tribe. And it's kind of like having a family. You're going to be surrounded by those who would protect you, and care for you when you're sick… Or so I've been told."
She thought about it for about 5 minutes, all the while 'hum'-ing and haw-ing. I think that was all just for show.
"Sure thing! I'd love to see what it's like in a clan! … Say… I'll need a place to stay while I'm here… Can I bunk with you?"
"Sure. I'll go tell Fenrir, the clan leader, your answer. Now, sit tight for a bit." I told her.
"Sure! I'll just order another drink," she said to me. "Hey pubmaster! Another soda, please! You know, the Hero's Cocktail?"
"Don't get yourself too hyped up now. We'll need you to be calm enough to speak with the clan leader."
"Okay… I'll just have this last drink."
With that, I went back to Fenrir. "She says she'll join. You'll have to introduce her tonight." Most of the clan was out shopping for armour, weapons, and rations for long journeys. This was the time of year, when most of the clans were getting ready to go see their families.
"I'll do that then. Hey, if you want, because there's not going to be any jobs around this time, you two can come with Katie and I to Bervenia Palace to visit with our family."
I can say with absolute certainty that I was blushing furiously. I have to admit, I was kind of embarrassed. "O-okay… I don't want to be a burden on you though."
"Don't worry. You're not going to be. If you can, though, I'd like you to do the shopping for the supplies," he told me.
He turned to Katie. "Can you go with them? You know what to get. Dried foods. And plenty of water. In barrels that Chocobos can carry."
"Okay. Do we need camping supplies?" Katie asked him.
"Yeah, buy a few tents." He went to the stairway to go upstairs. "Oh! Don't forget to take your swords," he added.
He tossed us about 5000 gil in a brown leather pouch. "Don't spend it all in one place, now. Oh, there's a bit extra in there, so get yourselves something nice. Say hi to Mom for me."
We strapped on our swords, as he said we should, all the while thinking it was kind of odd. Katie had her sword strapped kind of like a spellblade should (in other words, on her back, placed diagonally), while I had mine placed right down the center of my back (kind of like what Cloud does in FF7*). Alice was the only one without a sword. We then stepped out of the Inn.
The trip to the market was quite boring. We didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Then suddenly, bandits attacked!
Katie and I stepped into battle, while Alice took to the air, hovering. Katie was obviously a veteran of battles. You could see it in her stance.
The battle began as soon as the judge appeared and blew his whistle.
I felt a peculiar feeling in my body, like pressure building. The next thing I knew, the bandits were on the ground out cold, and Katie was edging away from me.
"K.O. verified, Judge points awarded," the judge stated as he disappeared.
"Katie?" I said hesitantly.
"Yes?" Her voice had that somewhat scared tone to it.
"What happened?" I asked her.
"Umm… You, uh, turned into a… dragon. A pure white dragon."
"Oh… I hope I didn't scare you."
She was silent, then she said, "You didn't scare me… You just surprised me. Try not to do it again, please."
"Okay, I'll try," I told her. "There's no guarantee that something like that won't happen again."
The rest of the trip to the market was, once again, remarkably uneventful. We got our supplies, Katie got a necklace with a carrot shaped charm, while I got a bracelet with a Chocobo shaped charm. When I asked her why she got the necklace, she told me it was because she liked carrots.
While we were walking, I spotted a necklace with a charm that was shaped like a being with a lion's head, wings that looked like both a devil's and an angel's wings, and the rest I couldn't really make out. In the stall was a lady with white hair, and black clothing.
"Do you like it? I based it off of an image I saw a long time ago. This necklace is the image of the Griever lion."
It was then that I noticed the legendary gunblade Lionheart hanging at her hip.
"Mrs. Radiuju!" I spluttered. "When did you get here?"
"Well, I've been here all day trying to sell these necklaces for a friend. She got sick, so I told her not to worry about it."
"I hope she gets well soon."
"Me too."
"Your son says hi."
"Heh, sometimes I wonder how he does that."
I then realized how strange it was that he already knew that she was here.
"…." I was speechless. I was also standing there with my jaw dropped.
"Oh, dear, I've gone and shocked you. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I had just realized how odd it was that he already knew you were going to be here. How's King Mewt doing?"
"Oh, he's doing fine. He's currently organizing a tournament for after the holidays."
"Good. Your son invited me and a friend to come with him to Bervenia Palace for the holidays."
"Then I'll see you there. You had best go find Katie."
I looked around, and noticed 1: that it was dark; and 2: that Katie was nowhere near. I turned to thank Mrs. Radiuju for the conversation, and noticed that she, too, had disappeared. I headed back to the stables, and found Katie there, tending the Chocobos. With her was a handsome stable boy with white hair that had red tips. Also, his eyes were a dark, muddy brown, so dark that almost seemed black. I could tell, with one look, he was smitten with her, and vice versa.
"Oh," said Katie. "Lauren, this is Feith Fiers. Feith, this is Lauren, the friend who I said I was waiting for."
A.N.: You're probably gonna hate me now, because of the cliffhanger. This chapter was written almost six months ago (somewhere in January) and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna kill this series, unless I can get someone to help me with a plot summary.
