Chapter 6: Too Young! The Path Ahead!
Arc's home, not far from the Company Hall, was quaintly nestled in a rather quiet area of The Goblet. Bringing his Chocobo to a halt in front of the cozy cottage, Arc hopped down nimbly, helping Luna down and petting his Chocobo on its beak. "Well kiddo, we've arrived. Leera should already be here, come on in and I'll introduce you to her." "Introduce me, you say?" Came the serene yet wry tone of Arc's wife, the Miqo'te Leera, as she stood in the doorway to greet her husband. Giving Leera a kiss, Arc turned to usher Luna over to meet her. "Dear, this is Luna. She's the younger sister of a friend, and she's in a bit of a dire strait. Cuffs and I brought her to try and get her recruited as a respect, unfortunately due to her age she won't be able to join the Company. So, until then…" "I understand. It's nice to meet you Luna, I'm Leera. Feel free to make yourself at home." Leera spoke to the child with a warm smile, Luna giving a courteous bow. "Thank you very much, I'll do my best to be no trouble."
Handing the reins of Ruby to Luna, Arc patted Luna on her head. "Can you give us a few minutes to talk, Luna? The stable will be around the corner, you can take my Chocobo back there to tether. His name is Ruby, by the way." Luna nodded, petting the Chocobo on its beak as she had observed Arc doing. "I'm glad to meet you Ruby, my name is Luna, thank you for giving me so many rides!" Ruby gave a hearty squawk, nuzzling Luna with its beak before the giggling child lead him around to join Leera's Chocobo. Taking Leera's hand, Arc lead her to the bench under the nearby cherry blossom tree, sitting with her. "I hope it's not too sudden, I know it's a lot to…" "It's fine dear, though I suspect you haven't told me the full story yet, which is why you brought me over here to talk." Arc sighed with a smirk, pulling Leera closer. "You're several steps ahead of me, as always. Her sister was a good friend of Cuffs and I, one I was going to introduce you, but she wasn't quite able to make it here before she fell. It's not just that she fell though that made Cuffs and I bring her here to the Company, it's also how she fell. She's too young to join our ranks, but at the same time she's too young to be out here alone, especially after what happened…"
After some time of talking further on the matter, the pair entered the cottage to find Luna asleep on the floor. Bringing out a spare blanket, Leera draped it gently over her before she entered the kitchen, joined by Arc to clean dishes. As night gave way to the dawn, Luna awoke to an incredible aroma, seeing Leera standing over her holding a hot bowl of oatmeal. "Good morning, little one. Here you are, a breakfast of fresh oatmeal with honey." Luna took the bowl and spoon gently, smiling at her host before immediately and quickly partaking of the contents, Leera holding back a chuckle at the sight. "Not too fast now, you'll sour your stomach. Arc and Cuffs will be by later after they've completed their rounds, they're quite adamant about wanting to train you to full recruitment readiness. In the meantime, once you've eaten and freshened yourself you can assist me with tending the garden. And tonight I'll have a guest bed prepared for you, so you won't need to sleep on the hard floor again." Giving the younger girl a soft smile, Leera left her to exit into the garden.
Hours passed, with Leera and Luna tending to the various small crops, and preparing meals for the day. As the remainder of the daily chores was completed, Arc returned home with Cuffs in tow, Arc and Leera exchanging pecks to the cheek. "Don't work her too hard, love." Leera spoke, her husband returning a soft chuckle. "We'll do our best. Seems she's already got a fair degree of skill, she may even end up teaching Vayu and me some new tricks." Cuffs shrugged at that assessment, an amused grin on his face, the duo leading Luna out into the back to observe their usual sparring sessions. Much of what Luna saw she had already learned from her sister, however these two were much more acquainted with full-fledged strategic combat, and so she was exposed to new tactics she had never seen before. Eagerly following Arc and Cuffs as they directed while exchanging blows, she mimicked their motions with her arms and legs, to their amusement.
And so this routine would follow, for many a day, before finally they began to bring Luna more directly into their sparring rituals. Stances and form, proper reaction times for parries and dodging, and more were instilled upon the young charge. And as seasons passed, so too would the youthful naïveté of the Miqo'te child, her guardians slowly honing her into what would soon become a fierce warrior, driven by the promise to her sister to become stronger. To avenge without becoming consumed, to be the flame of hope that would not extinguish itself in the darkness of hatred. She would become the continuation of the legacy her sister had left behind.
