Author's Notes: Shit, I'm really sorry it took so long to get this chapter out! I got sucked into a couple of different stories, one original one that's probably not gonna get started until next year. Those two plus working on commissions have really sucked up my attention.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Final Fantasy franchise
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Chapter 10: Upside Down and Inside Out
Drake was inspecting the map mosaic on the wall when Zidane and the others arrived. He and the monk hadn't encountered any other monsters on their way up, thankfully, though the archer was mostly sure that it was because the other party had garnered all of the attention on themselves. Drake was just relieved that they hadn't seen any tonberries.
"How did you guys get up here so fast?" Drake turned to smile a bit at Zidane as the thief complained, and then looked at who he'd brought with him. Odette, at the back of the group, looked relieved to see Drake in one piece, and so did Sabin. Dagger was just behind Zidane as well, relief on her face.
"You're late, Zidane, and I'm the winner." Drake rolled his eyes at Amarant, and eyed the floor. He hadn't realized that it had started to glow as soon as Zidane entered the room. If that wasn't a sign that the thief was different, he didn't know what was. "See how much time you lose by dragging so much dead weight along?"
Irritation flickered across Drake's face, and he sent a short glare at Amarant, who didn't even see it. The archer didn't take kindly to hearing that his love and two Chosen were 'dead weight'. Odette merely lifted an eyebrow, looking faintly amused as she turned her eyes to Amarant. Sabin rolled his eyes briefly.
"Have you figured out how to break the seal?" Drake glanced towards the map briefly. He hadn't even thought of that. Instead he had been studying the map. There was so much that hadn't even been mentioned in the game. Certain areas had designs that he was pretty sure was supposed to mark where the Constellato were. He'd been trying to figure out why.
"Take a look at that wall. Maybe you can figure it out. But it's no longer my concern." Zidane frowned at that, and Drake sighed through his nose. Amarant certainly had his head up his rear about this. Even before Zidane could ask why, the monk was pointing at him. "I proved myself right. I don't need to follow you around anymore." Drake sighed and rubbed his face as Amarant headed out of the room, though he gave into his urge to roll his eyes when the man stopped just by the door to speak, his back to the rest of them. "We may be enemies next time we meet."
"Drake..." The archer shook his head a little at Zidane, smiled at Odette reassuringly, and took his bow off of his back. Sabin still looked a little miffed, but he'd moved to look at the map now.
"I'll make sure he doesn't get himself killed. He's stubborn as hell, but he's a good fighter." He waved and then trotted after Amarant. The monk was waiting for him by the lift, and nodded as the lean man scowled at him. "Don't say anything, let's just go, and I might forget that you called two Chosen 'dead weight'." Amarant just turned to walk into the lift. Drake followed, crossing his arms.
The trip down was pretty easy, without any monsters making an appearance until the trap room. Both Drake and Amarant paused as they heard a chittering sound. A shiver ran up Drake's back for some reason, and he set an arrow to his bowstring as he looked around.
"What was that?" Drake shook his head to Amarant's question as he continued to look around. That sound hadn't come from either of them, and it had most definitely been organic. There was only one creature that Drake knew resided in Ipsen's castle that they hadn't encountered yet, and he had been hoping to keep it that way.
Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. Four Tonberries were walking towards them slowly. Drake froze, his eyes widening. Out of all the monsters he had ever known about in Gaia, there was one that wasn't a boss that he wanted to avoid at all costs, and four of them were shuffling towards him.
"Move, Drake!" Amarant's bellow startled the archer out of his shock. The monk looked as uncertain as he ever had looked. "How do we handle them?" The archer shook his head, swallowing hard.
"We don't. We run. We couldn't handle one of them let alone-hey!" Amarant had completely disregarded what Drake was saying. The archer lurched forwards after the monk, and twisted to knock the monk's feet out from under him. "Weren't you listening, asshole?! We can't take theEEEM!" Amarant and Drake had landed on a trapdoor, which opened underneath them.
Amarant's hands scrabbled at the edge of the trap, but he ended up falling to land with a sickening crunch down below. Drake had hold of his bow, which saved him from the same fate, if barely. His fingers nearly let go of his bow, and he hung there precariously for a moment before getting his other hand around the wood.
Drake just hung there for a moment, his arms shaking because of the weight of himself and all of his equipment combined with relief that he hadn't fallen and landed on Amarant. Once his nerves had adjusted to the new situation, he twisted to try to look down to see where the monk had landed.
"You alive down there?" There was a grunt in response, and Drake smiled. He was afraid that the monk had broken his neck or something because Drake had made him fall differently. "Great. Lemme see if I can pull myself up-" Drake cut himself off as he saw the four tonberries staring at him. "Nope. No, that's not gonna happen."
"Th' fuck are you doing up there?" Drake didn't turn his eyes away from the reptilian horrors that he was sure were going to haunt his dreams if he got out of the situation alive. "Jus'...drop down already." Drake lifted an eyebrow, wondering if Amarant just wanted drake to break his leg.
"If I did, I wouldn't have my bow, and you're injured. I heard something snap when you landed. And before you ask, I can't pull myself up because I'm getting stared in the face by four Tonberries." Amarant grunted, and Drake smiled a little, thinking of something else. "Besides, can you even move away from where you landed? If you can't, I'd be landing right on top of you, and end up hurting you even more." The monk scoffed softly.
"You can't hang on forever." Drake adjusted his grip, his face grim as he realized that Amarant knew that he was right. "You can fight with just kicks. You'll be able to get out on your own, with my claws." The archer stilled for a moment. Was he really being selfless?
"I can hang on long enough for our friends to arrive and bail us out," Drake said with fervor as he glared up at the Tonberries. "And like it or not, they still see you as a friend, despite how much of an ass you've been making out of yourself." Amarant scoffed below him.
"They'll just come for you. They wouldn't care if I was the only one that went missing." Drake shook his head even though he knew that Amarant couldn't see. Or maybe he could, and Drake just couldn't see him.
"No, Zidane would come for you even if I weren't missing as well. That's just how he is. Once he makes friends with a person, it takes a lot to break the trust he has in them. While you don't see yourself as an important part of the group, Zidane sees you as one. He trusts you to make sure that those he can't keep an eye on stay alive, like me and the kids." Drake paused and closed his eyes with a slight laugh. "I'm not about to deny that I'm prone to getting into binds."
Amarant was quiet for a moment. Drake had to wonder if he was actually listening to him, now that he couldn't just get up and go away. Of course, the tonberries were still staring down at him. He wasn't sure if he was out of reach of them, or if they were waiting to see if he would try to climb up and risk them.
"You're sure about that?" Drake blinked at the monk's soft reply, so soft that he had almost missed it. He nodded, and winced as he felt his arms protesting. He groaned a little as he adjusted his grip, gritting his teeth.
"Yeah." Where was Zidane? Drake couldn't hold onto his bow for too much longer, and how long did it take to beat Taharka and get back out to the others, anyhow?! At this rate, he was going to find both Drake and Amarant in the basement!
"Hey assholes!" The archer blinked up at the shout, and the tonberries turned to look. Drake smiled and then gasped as his hands slipped. "Sabin!" A shadow fell over Drake, and he looked up just as his blood brother grabbed his wrist, a wry smile on his face.
"Still gettin' yerself into trouble, eh?" The archer smiled and grunted as he tried to help pull himself up. His arms were too exhausted, though, and Sabin ended up having to do all of the lifting. "'Ow long were y'hangin' there?" Drake lay flat on his back on the floor, opening and closing his hands to try to get the blood flowing back to them.
"Long enough. Amarant fell through, he's in the basement. Probably hurt." Odette leaned over Drake and cast a healing spell on him with a murmur, making him cringe as the sudden return of sensation made his hands cramp up.
"Right. We'll get him in a bit. C'mon, up you get." Sabin pulled Drake to his feet and then grabbed up the bow that was still hanging over the trap door. Drake turned to look at Zidane and Quina, and realized that Zidane had left the building and then come back in for them after all. The two of them were handling the tonberries quite nicely, though they were starting to look a little tired.
"Drake, you alright?" The archer looked to Odette and smile wearily before tugging her into a hug. She hugged him back, though it was awkward, what with both of them wearing armor. "I was scared, when we got outside and didn't see you there." Drake closed his eyes and took a deep breath in.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." He opened his eyes, and accepted his bow back from Sabin so that he could sling it over his shoulder, and turned to look back to Zidane and Quina. The four tonberries were dead, and Zidane was leaned over to pick stuff up off of the ground.
"Drake, are you alright?" The archer nodded, and let Sabin explain what he had mentioned to him. "Basement, right. We ended up down there ourselves, the way down should be over there." The theif pointed and started to trot in that direction, the rest of them following after him, wary of the floor moving underfoot.
By the time they got to Amarant, Drake was able to control his hands better again. Odette set the monk's leg before healing it, though the man didn't let loose much more than a grunt of pain. Drake hauled him to his feet and balanced him when he just about fell over. He gave the monk a stern look when he would have pulled away, which got another grunt in return, but the man didn't pull away.
They made the trip out pretty easily, seeing as they weren't too far from the exit. The others cheered when they saw Amarant and Drake walking out. The monk stiffened and tried to pull away. Drake rolled his eyes and let him until his leg complained, at which point he leaned against the archer again.
"Well! I was expecting to see Drake limping and being supported!" Drake chuckled briefly at Edgar's call, and squeezed Amarant's wrist a little as he growled, reminding him that having the support of others meant having to put up with their bullshit, and that they actually did care about him.
"What happened?" Freya stepped forwards to take Amarant's arm from Drake, which both the monk and archer allowed. Drake scowled at his bow, remembering that it was a piece of crap, and unstrung it with the barest effort, and shoved it into his belt pouch on the off chance that they ever needed to come back before taking his much better bow out.
"Amarant was an idiot, decided to try to take on four tonberries by himself. I knocked him down, we fell through a trapdoor. He broke his leg." Edgar's eyebrows rose, and he turned to look at the monk, concern in his eyes.
"Haven't you ever heard of tonberries before? They're the reason why everyone is warned about following strange lights at night. With your attitude, they'd have made short work of you." Drake shrugged a little, the gesture hidden by the fact he was working on stringing his bow.
"Hey, I never heard of them before Sabin spotted them inside." Edgar sighed through his nose as Zidane shrugged, and Drake ran his fingers through his hair, his good bow on his shoulder now. Even Sabin was pulling a face, and Eiko was looking at the thief oddly.
"Odd...The stories are widespread in Caledonia. I'd wager even the dwarves have stories of them yet. Why wouldn't the Mist Continent have 'em?" There was a round of shrugs, and Drake sighed before yawning and looking at the sky as he tugged his hood up. Someone laughed, and Drake turned to look, a frown on his face. "What?"
"I think I know why the tonberrys were staring at you." Zidane had a gleeful look on his face. Drake gave him a blank, irritated look. "Your hood's the same color as their skin." There were a few more snorts, and Drake picked up the tail of his hood so that he could look at it with a bemused look. He didn't know what was worse, that Zidane had thought it up, or that he was right.
"Whatever. Let's just go. I'm kinda tired." Odette giggled at him for that, and padded after him towards the airship. Drake's ears burned as he heard the others laughing at him as they followed. The crew greeted them as they climbed back on board, and Drake retreated to the cabin he shared with his blood brothers, sighing happily once he laid down.
Sabin came by with a couple of rolls for Drake to eat after the sun had gone down completely. The archer tore the rolls apart to eat them as he sat up, his back cracking as he did so. Sabin winced at the sound, and Drake groaned as he leaned forwards, stretching the muscles in his back so they would stop aching.
"Zidane's decided that everyone can wait until we've all had a break before he'll announce what we learned from the castle." Drake blinked at Sabin from under his brows, and shifted his shoulders, groaning when another series of cracks erupted from him.
"Besides don't let Amarant try to take on tonberries?" Sabin snorted with laughter at that, and Drake grinned. "Anyhow. Did you notice anything about the map itself? The mirrors are interesting, I know, but..." Sabin blinked, and hummed before shaking his head. "I think it had some marks about the Constellato. Cleyra, Lindblum, Gizamaluke's Grotto, Alexandria, Esto Gaza, the mountains near where Conde Petie, Treno, Daguerreo, Madain Sari, and a few other places I didn't recognize all were marked more than the areas around them." Sabin's eyes widened a little. "I know enough about the Constellato to be able to guess at what the marks were about, and there were thirteen of them, the same number as the Constellato." Sabin sighed a little.
"That...is troubling. We'll have to find one of the Constellato and ask them a few questions. I don't know if any of the Chosen know what the Constellato choose us for. Yes, they help us to become better fighters and leaders, but...we don't really know why." Sabin ran his fingers through his short hair. "Maybe it's time we know." Drake shrugged and stood up to stretch properly, resting his hands against one of the beams that marked the border between ceiling and floor.
"Or maybe we won't. It's hard to tell with them." Sabin rolled his eyes, and stood up. "Supper hasn't been served yet, has it? I'm pretty hungry." The monk shook his head and walked with Drake to the mess hall.
They weren't the only ones there. Amarant wasn't there, nor was Dagger, but that was more than likely because Dagger was ensuring that the monk didn't get up and hurt his leg any more than he already had. Odette smiled at Drake briefly, but turned her attention back to Eiko, whom she was talking with.
Drake was more than content to just eat and go back to his bunk to rest as the ship flew back to Lindblum. They stopped by Daguerreo again, and Odette returned the books that she had borrowed. She did leave with a few more books, ones that she had her nose in at every chance possible. Drake just sat and watched people the second time they were there, his mind consumed with the thought of what the Constellato were for. He had, of course, looked around for the Constellato of Dagurreo, but hadn't been able to find it.
That bothered him all the way back to Lindblum. Was he wrong about what those marks were? Or had the Constellato simply not been there? He knew that not all of the Constellato stick around unless something interesting was happening. Cleyra was one of the ones that didn't wander far. Why were they on the map that marked where Terra was anchored to Gaia, anyhow? What did Kuja and his group benefit from knowing where the Constellato were?
After they'd all had a chance to rest after the journey, Zidane called for everyone to gather in the meeting room. Drake was still looking rather distracted as he stood next to Odette, his arms folded. They were standing in the darkest part of the room again, because Drake's eyes hadn't stopped being sensitive to the light at least somewhat even though he was announced to be fully recovered, and Odette didn't want to be far from his side.
"Alright, let's sort out what we found in the castle." Everyone's attention settled on Zidane, who was carefully placing the mirrors they'd found in Ipsen's Castle on a world map where they'd been settled in the mural deep in the castle. "This map's a fair sight smaller than the one I found them lodged in, but the areas are the same. Did anyone else find something about the map that I didn't?" He looked at Drake, who shifted a little and stepped forwards, squinting against the light.
"Yeah, there were marks scattered about the map that I can't do more than guess at. The places marked where here, here, here…" Regent Cid passed Drake a stack of coins to mark where the places had been. Cleyra, Lindblum, Alexandria, Gizamaluke's Grotto, Oeilvert, Esto Gaza, the mountains near Conde Petie, the desert near Figaro Castle, Treno, Daguerreo, Dali, Pinnacle Rocks outside of Lindblum, and Madain Sari were all marked. "The only thing that I can think of that connects some of these locations is there's a Constellato associated with the place." Edgar and Sabin looked concerned as they looked over the map, as did the regent.
"This is...troubling. Yes, these all mark places where we dwell." Everyone jumped at the feminine voice. Drake in particular straightened, recognizing the voice as Maria, the Constellato that he bowed to. "Though this one here," she pointed towards the coin in the desert by Figaro. "My sister no longer lingers there. She has moved here." The woman tapped the lowlands where the Black Mages had built their village. She looked weary, her hair tied in a low ponytail that fell to the middle of her back.
"Milady..." Drake shifted a little, uncertain. The woman turned her eyes on him and lifted an eyebrow, silently prompting him to continue. He still hesitated, though, and then shook his head, not able to get his thoughts into a proper order. She eyed him for a bit before turning to look at Zidane. Sabin and Edgar both looked as uncomfortable as the archer did, as they knew what he had meant to ask.
"What about the mirrors?" Zidane leaned over and flipped the mirrors over, revealing their backs. More than one person frowned, bemused by the writing there. Drake in particular was scowling. It didn't look anything like any writing he'd seen from Earth or Gaia.
"I'm guessing by all the confused looks that I'm the only one that can read it." Zidane's voice was dry, and he sighed as if he wasn't at all surprised by that fact. "This one here," he reached out to brush his fingers against the mirror with a yellow frame as he spoke. "Says 'My power is protected under the shaking ground.' The green one there says 'My power is protected behind a tornado.' The red one says 'My power is protected high atop a fiery mountain', and the blue says 'My power is protected underwater, surrounded by the earth.'" Everyone frowned at that.
"The four ancient elements?" Everyone looked at Odette, who shrank a little. "The...the oldest of spell books refer to the earth, air, water, and fire as the cornerstones on which the world was formed." Drake nodded a bit, leaning on the table as he stared at the map.
"It's mostly the same on Earth, though some cultures added in an extra element. In one of those cultures, earth was divided into wood and metal, while in another, there was a fifth element, aether, that was commonly interpreted to simply mean the spirit." More than a few people gave Drake an odd look, but Odette nodded to back him up. Lady Maria hummed a little, looking at the map. Zidane paused for a moment to see if anyone else would offer any information.
"What the monster said before he perished provided us with a clue about the seal between Gaia and Terra. 'One is all. All is one.' Meaning, there must be a connection between these four seals." Drake's mind was scrambled, part of him trying to figure out if there was a fifth temple somewhere or whether he should bring up that they should attack the temples all at the same time.
"So. What do we do? Are we going to take each location one by one?" That was Dagger. Drake started to shake his head at the same time as Zidane did. Odette nudged him for that, and he blinked at her. She subtly tapped her forehead, reminding him to keep his mouth shut. He smiled gratefully at her for that, and looked back to Zidane.
"'One is all, all are one'. We're going to conquer all four locations at once." There were several startled noises from others. Odette and Drake didn't look at all surprised. Neither did Vivi, standing next to Zidane. Amarant twitched a little, though Drake only noticed because the man was standing next to him.
"We're not going together like we always do?" Zidane shook his head, his hands occupied with turning the mirrors back over. Drake closed his eyes as his blood brother did so, shielding his eyes from the dancing light. He'd come to terms with the fact that his traveling garb would have a hood for as long as he lived already.
"No. I'm going to drop off three of us in each location." He glanced at Edgar and Sabin as Drake paused, mentally counting. He then remembered that because of him, there were four extra members of their party: himself, Odette, Sabin, and Edgar. He couldn't help but wonder who would end up going where. He doubted he'd be sent to the Air Temple, because of his reliance on the wind being predictable.
"I see...Hey, I'll go with Dagger!" Zidane gave the girl an odd look, but didn't question it out loud. He glanced to Dagger, who shrugged with a small smile. Lady Maria chuckled a little, and returned to looking at the map, an indescribable look on her face.
"Lady Maria…." The woman hummed questioningly as Drake drew her attention back onto him. "What are the Chosen for? The Einherjar, Valhalla, and the Constellato? What purpose do they serve?" He swallowed hard as the woman stilled before looking up at him. The other Chosen in attendance shifted nervously, even though the woman wasn't looking at them.
"It has been a very long time since someone asked me that question. I believe the last to do so founded this very city." More than one person stiffened as the woman sighed and straightened, her appearance shifted briefly, from the well-dressed woman she had always appeared to something that fit more with the clansfolk of Caledonia, tooled leather, warpaint, and rough cloth covering her, before she shifted back to her more cultured appearance.
Drake realized abruptly that the Constellato must have the ability to change their appearance as they see fit, and that she had granted them a glimpse of what she had appeared to Cid the First, or Celach, or Ailbhe. The Constellato that he'd seen dressed to match the locals of their region, even Helgigars.
"The Constellato are the foil to the guardians of Terra's seal. We are the guardians of Gaia, only the seal that binds Terra and Gaia binds us as well. We cannot directly battle without revealing our true forms." She glanced to Dagger briefly, then to the others. "In those forms, we are vulnerable, as Gizamaluke was reminded. To that end, we guide mortals to be powerful fighters. These are the Chosen." Sabin frowned, looking confused.
"But...the Einherjar?" Drake drummed his fingers on the table thoughtfully. His eyes were focused on Dali, but he wasn't really seeing it, dredging up memories of norse mythology that he'd learned when he was younger.
"They're mentioned in the legends of Earth, but only as warriors that died in battle. Their purpose there is to be an army for the gods." Odette was the one that spoke, her voice just loud enough for the others to hear. "Is it much the same here on Gaia?" Maria chuckled dryly. Drake's eyes were still focused on the coin covering Dali. How fitting it was that coins had been used to mark the places when the Stellazio in the game were all coins.
"Indeed it is. Should it come to battle between Terra and Gaia, the Einherjar will stride into battle for Gaia." Drake straightened and looked to the woman that was worshipped by the clans of Constellato as a Mother figure. His movement drew her attention and she arched an eyebrow at him in a gesture to invite him to speak, much like his mother would have.
"What exactly is the connection between Gaia and Earth?" Now Maria looked startled. He inclined his head towards Odette. "We have theories, but...nothing substantial." The woman sighed with a small smile, and crossed her arms, looking at the two of them. Odette reached out to take Drake's hand, seeking comfort. Drake squeezed her fingers lightly, reassuring her that he was there.
"Gaia and Earth are two sides of the same coin. At one time, we Constellato were free to venture between the two worlds. Earth is older than Gaia is, and time's flow between the two is...impossible to parse. Souls were meant to freely flow between the worlds, but when Terra intervened, many souls were trapped in Earth's sphere of influence. I fear that the population of that world has grown far too drastically." Drake and Odette nodded with serious faces, silently telling her that that was the case. "I understand that the two of you are souls that were brought to Gaia from Earth due to the actions of Terra's paladin."
Drake blinked at that wording. He had thought of Kuja more as a puppet for Garland's desires, but calling him a Paladin made a great deal of sense, not only in terms of what he was doing, but for the inscriptions found in Figaro Palace. He had initially thought that they had been meant for Anastasia or the Valia Pira.
"So this seal not only binds Terra to Gaia, but it also gets in the way of the flow of souls from Gaia to Earth and back?" Edgar looked thoughtful at that. "Why is Caledonia the closest to Earth, then? From what Drake said, and our legends..." Maria smiled wearily at that.
"Because we Constellato decided that we must keep a connection between Earth and Gaia, and chose Caledonia to be the center of that tenuous connection. There is a culture on Earth that closely mirrors the culture of Caledonia. It is through that culture that our legends live on in that world." Drake blinked, and Odette nodded, accepting that information. She knew more of Norse mythology than Drake did.
"That culture has many mentions of Eidolons, as well. Though the Constellato and Eidolons are often portrayed as being equal in power. Except for Odin, who, in that pantheon, was shown to be the leader." Maria's eyebrows shot up, and Odette cringed a little. Drake squeezed her fingers again to reassure her that he was there.
"Truly? Well, I suppose that makes sense. He was the first warrior that any of us guided. Gizamaluke took an interest in him just as the seal was settling in. He grew in power to become a king, and then...died before we knew what to do with him. He became an Eidolon, and only after we gave him that power did we think to use the Chosen as an army after they had died. He knows the burdens of ruling better than any other. Even my sister Morrigan doesn't know the burden she places on mortals when guiding them to rulership."
"So we are meant to battle the forces of Terra." Maria nodded to Edgar, who sighed and ran his hands over his face. "I suppose that solves one headache even as it creates another." Maria smiled tiredly, and then stiffened, her eyes unfocusing briefly. She frowned, concerned, and then turned to look Drake in the eye.
"My kinfolk are calling me. They are concerned with the weakening of the seal, thanks to the removal of these mirrors. I must go, but I will recontact you in the future." Drake bowed to her, and when he straightened again, she was gone.
"This is a worrisome time, when the Constellato must intervene with the people they guide." Drake couldn't help but sigh at the regent's words, and rubbed at his face, pressing at his eyes briefly. His mind felt like it was running around in circles, but for once he had actually gotten some answers out of a Constellato. That was a pleasant change from before.
"Dear, do you need to rest?" Odette looked at him with concern as she gently touched his back. "You look as if your eyes are bothering you." He turned to look at her and smiled reassuringly. He had a feeling that the fact his eyes refused to heal fully bothered her.
"I'm fine. So. Who is going to go to which location?" He turned to Zidane with the new topic, sweeping his hands at the table. The monkey-tailed man blinked, and Drake smiled at him, though now the foremost question in his mind was if the reason his blood brother hadn't been picked as a Chosen was because of where he was from.
"Well, you obviously can't fight well in a tornado, so the Air Temple is out for you. I don't know what we'll find in the Earth Temple, but I do remember your dislike of being underground, so that seems like a bad idea for you as well..." Before Zidane could continue, Eiko piped up.
"Girls get the Water Temple!" Everyone stared at the little girl, bemused by her loud and insistent interjection. Zidane just shrugged and looked to Dagger, who shrugged back to him. Drake turned to Odette, who nodded to him, understanding his unspoken question.
"I'll go with. Dagger and Eiko can summon Eidolons, but that's a heavy draw on their mana. My spells don't cost quite so much to cast." Dagger smiled at Odette for that, and Drake squeezed Odette's fingers, glad that she was slowly starting to speak up again, or cringing quite so much when people's attention were on her. He supposed it helped that none of their group had said anything about her once serving Kuja.
"Which leaves the Fire Temple. Freya, will you-" Before Zidane even finished his sentence, she was nodding, and Amarant huffed, a scowl on his face. He crossed his arms, not an uncommon gesture for him, but still enough to get attention on him.
"I'm going with." Zidane blinked at Amarant, and Drake cast a glance at him. He hadn't thought the monk would offer. Then again, at Ipsen's Castle he had proven that he would stand at Drake's back of his own volition. "Freya tends to jump in the air to attack. Someone needs to keep an eye on Drake." Zidane sighed and shrugged.
"Okay, that's two groups filled. Steiner, Vivi, you two work great as a team, so I don't want to split you up." He glanced between Edgar, Sabin, and Quina. "Edgar, would you mind going with them? They need someone with agility to balance out their team." The lithe man nodded in agreement. "Which leaves Sabin, Quina and I as the other team." Drake blinked as he realized that there was at least one Chosen per group.
"When the gods-touched gather, the heavens tremble." Drake glanced to Odette as she whispered, and lifted an eyebrow. He was the only one to have heard her words. She simply shook her head and looked down at the map, her eyes on the blue mirror.
"Well, with that sorted out, let's break for dinner. We'll reconvene to decide which temple to find first, how we'll find them, and what supplies we'll need." Regent Cid clapped his hands together, drawing attention to him. He had been perfectly content to watch as the younger generation worked out a plan of attack.
Drake picked up all the coins to hand back to Regent Cid as Zidane wrapped up the mirrors carefully to tuck them back into the box that he'd repurposed to hold them. Odette lingered by the door for them, and looped her arm with Drake's as he walked out the door.
"I'm glad that we got an answer about the Chosen." Her words were low, and Drake sighed through his nose. He was definitely nursing a headache by now, but he didn't want to burden Odette any. He was still a rather firm believer in letting his body deal with pain if it wasn't too bad.
"I am too. That's been in the back of my head for longer than I'd care to admit. Where did that quote come from? The one you whispered about the gods-touched?" Odette leaned into him a little, giggling faintly.
"Oh, that? It's from an old play that I read when I was younger." The mention of plays finally clicked a piece of puzzle into place in his head, and he sighed, only now realizing something. Odette gave him an odd look, and he smiled wearily at her.
"I only just now realized where you got your name from." She giggled, and he smiled at her, though there was still a certain amount of pain in his eyes. "All of the names you've gone by have fit you, though I wish that they hadn't. Even your true name." She smiled up at him, and leaned against his arm, not in the least concerned that he knew her true name.
"And yours fit you as well. Though perhaps in different ways from mine." He couldn't help but snort at that, and leaned down to kiss the side of her head before he second guessed himself. They both blushed at that, and Drake glanced away, scratching at the side of his nose.
"I wonder if I could talk Zidane in letting us visit my clan before we handle the temples." His voice was low. There was no one else in the hallway where they were strolling, though he still didn't want his words to drift to ears they weren't meant for. "They're high enough in elevation that they should stay out of the Mist when it returns, but..." Odette stopped to look up at him, worry in her eyes.
"When?" She didn't have to ask if he was being serious or if he knew for certain. Drake sighed through his nose and glanced around furtively. There still wasn't anyone around. Still, he kept his voice to barely higher than a whisper.
"By the time we return from Terra the Mist will have covered the world. Not just the Mist Continent. Even the oceans will be covered in a thick Mist." Odette's eyes grew worried. Drake tried to smile reassuringly to her, but he didn't feel it at the moment. There was so much that had changed because he was there, he wasn't sure if everything would go exactly as it was supposed to. "Most places will be safe. They're above the level that the Mist can rise. It's the monsters that will cause the most havoc."
Footsteps broke off further conversation, though Odette still looked concerned. Amarant had come to find them, and tilted his head to the side ever so slightly. Drake sighed as he realized what the man must have come looking for them for. The others were waiting on them to show up for dinner. Odette tugged Drake along, quickly pasting a smile on her face.
"Sorry, we got distracted talking to each other. The rest are waiting on us, right?" Amarant nodded, and waited for them to pass him before walking just behind Drake on the side that Odette wasn't walking. Drake ran his fingers through his hair and sighed as he realized that it had grown since he'd last gotten it cut. It wasn't quite long enough to tie back, but it was almost that long.
There was a fair amount of grumbling that greeted them when they reached the dining room, and Drake bowed a little in apology. Zidane had half amused smirk on his face as he looked pointedly between Drake and Odette, his eyebrows raised. Drake ignored him.
"Sorry we delayed the meal. We got caught up in talking and lost track of where everyone else was." Odette's soft voice explained as she dipped in a curtsy to the regent before sliding into a chair that Drake tugged out for her.
"At least we weren't waiting long." Regent Cid waved to the servants to bring out the first course, the barest look of mild irritation on his face. Out of them all, Quina looked the most irked, though that too faded as the food was set out. The Qu got the largest portions.
"I only now realized that we still don't know the legends you lot in Caledonia have about those...what did you call them? Tonberries?" The speaker was Hilda, seated next to her husband. Drake exchanged glances with Edgar and Sabin and sighed mentally as he realized that both of them had their mouths full and didn't look inclined to empty them anytime soon. Conversation had been polite and shallow for most of the courses, though now they were on the meat course.
"Most of the legends are warnings to not follow any strange lights at night. It's...well, most of our legends are in the form of rhymes, to help remember them easier. We don't have much of a written history in the mountains, that's more of a lowlands thing. As with any oral tradition, though, things get warped a bit." Drake rubbed at his chin, feeling his whiskers scratch against his hand.
"Can we hear one of those rhymes?" Drake paused. Dagger had been the one to ask the question, leaning forwards a little with eager eyes. "I particularly enjoyed listening to the stories told in the mountains while I was there." Drake's eyes flicked towards Edgar and Sabin again. Both were still chewing.
"I don't see why not." He took a gulp of his juice – the regent had insisted on no alcohol for this meal, probably because of how some of their party had taken to getting drunk fairly recently – and took a bite of potato to assuage his stomach for the time being. Everyone waited patiently, their eyes on him, even Edgar and Sabin.
"Heed not the wisp of blue light-fire
As floats high and round the mire
Amidst whisp'ring leaves and dancing reeds
No moon to see where it leads.
Fae and elf, dryad and gnome
Creatures these, the place claim home,
And hatred all, for folk of Man
Who rule the day and walk the land.
Keep tight your grip on iron cold
That skillful smith broke from its mold,
For all those creatures within the night,
Regard the metal with naught but fright.
So watch the path, bear lantern high,
And mark your progress 'gainst the sky.
Walk in step with many a man,
An' ye'll reach home an' clan again."
There was a beat of silence before there was a smattering of polite applause. Drake ducked his head with a blush. His sense of timing wasn't nearly as good as that of others in his clan. Though he supposed that the only ones here on the Mist Continent that could match the skill of the storytellers of Caledonia were minstrels that practiced specifically for that.
"Do you have many such warning rhymes in Caledonia? It seems like a rather worryingly dangerous place to live, compared to here." Drake tilted his head towards Edgar, who had finally emptied his mouth.
The three of them took turns answering questions that the regent and his wife had about Caledonia, and clearing up a few misconceptions that their party had about the culture. Eventually, Drake brought up the idea of stopping by the mountains before going to take on the temple. There was a great deal of teasing, mostly about Drake wanting to introduce Odette to his parents. Zidane even brought up which charm the archer had found in his barmbrack, which got him a heated glare even as Edgar and Sabin guffawed.
After they finished was another meeting, in which there were many arguments about which path to take to drop everyone off at the temples, and how to make sure that they started at the same time. In the end, Regent Cid agreed that stopwatches were an acceptable solution, but then the argument was about how long it would take. By the time night fell, they hadn't made much headway on the plans, and hadn't even started on the logistics.
Drake sat by the window in the guest room as his brothers settled down for the night, whittling at what was swiftly becoming a hawk with wings outstretched and claws half clasped around nothing. He couldn't help but think while he whittled, trying to figure out when would be the best time to give it to Odette. He had to finish it first, but with the progress he was making with it, it would be done soon.
"Gonna be puttin' a ring in that hawk's claws?" Sabin's voice startled Drake, but he jerked the knife up instead of forwards before he turned his attention to his blood brother. "Whoop, sorry. You din't cut yourself, did you?" The archer shook his head and smoothed out the jagged mark his reaction had put in the wood.
"Yeah, eventually. I just...I dunno when I'll give it to her. I kinda want it to be before we go to break the seal, but..." Sabin smiled lopsidedly at Drake and sat on the other side of the windowseat, glancing out at the city.
"I know the feeling. I keep putting off asking Aoife. Th' elders eyein' her with a scowl don't help much neither." Drake sighed at that, and carefully carved out the beak of the hawk. He hadn't thought about how the elders would react to Odette very carefully. He knew his parents would love her because he did, but the elders were another problem entirely.
"I don't think the elders would approve of any bride for the three of us. Or would agree to approve of any. Odette and I have been together for a long time, though. Not here on Gaia, but on Earth, we were together for years before the incident that brought us here." Curls of wood came off of the wings now, forming the feathers of the wings. He really was on the finishing stages of this carving.
"Heh. The elders aren't gonna have a snowball's chance in the desert summer o' breakin' the two of you up. Y'act handfasted already." Drake ducked his head with a slight blush and shrugged. He wasn't about to deny it, though he was still pretty embarrassed whenever it was pointed out.
"I half feel like we already are. She helped me with dealin' with my old steward, after all, an' I can't imagine movin' forward without 'er." He paused for a moment to blow the shavings off of his carving and then looked at his blood brother. "What do y'make of Amarant?" The monk hummed a little as he stretched his large arms.
"He's fond o' you in his own way. You earned his respect at some point. No surprise everyone wasn't expecting him to volunteer to watch yer back. I think th' only reason he leaves off scowling at me like he does most is cause we bow to th' same Constellato an' I have the Stellazio." He paused and looked at Drake, tilting his head to the side. "You've been tryin' to get him to heed you." The archer smiled wryly.
"His bein' a loner never sat well with me. I don't like seen' anyone go without backup I keep thinkin' that they're askin' t' be killed without anyone seein' their end." Sabin frowned a little at Drake, who shrugged and finally put away his knife and carving, not quite done but willing to put it off. "Anyhow, I'm for bed. There'll be more meetings tomorrow, an' more arguments. I'll need my rest to put up with it."
Sabin chuckled at that and brushed the wood curls into a neat little pile for someone to pick up later. He had no idea where the trash was supposed to go in this great big fancy castle. He could barely remember living in Figaro castle, and even he had been looking around with half-awe, half-confusion when they were in the castle again. He'd simply hid it better than the rest. He preferred the mountain over the desert at any rate, not just because the styles were different.
"Sab, go to sleep." The monk jumped as he heard Ed's voice. He could have sworn that his brother was already asleep. Had he been listening to him and Drake? He honestly had no idea about what his brother was planning on doing in the future, beyond getting their father's land back. Sabin was just fine with letting him do just that, so long as he wasn't required to move back to the castle.
With a faint grumble, he wandered off to his bed, sprawling out on it with a sigh. The beds in Lindblum were far, far softer than the ones in Caledonia, and he still had a bit of trouble adjusting to it. It took him a while before he fell asleep. There wasn't enough natural sounds to sooth his mind.
Drake woke Sabin early the next morning with a pillow to the head. The monk growled a little and rolled over, accidentally falling right out from under the soft linen sheets of his bed. Drake laughed a bit and hauled him to his feet, balancing him for a moment as he wobbled.
"Sun's been up for some time now, Sab. You took a while to sleep last night, right?" Sabin growled something in reply and rubbed at his face grouchily. "I sent a message to the regent, told him that I was going to take you guys out to see the city some. After last night's meeting, I think everyone could use a break."
A basin of water was pointed out, and the blond man's grumbles faded as he washed his face, waking up slowly. The scent of tea and warm bread coaxed him over to where the others were already sitting. Edgar looked as haggard as his younger brother, but he was already working on a cup of tea.
"Anyone dream of the battlefield last night?" The three Chosen looked to each other at Zidane's question before they all shook their heads. None of them had slept soundly enough for that. Everyone was a bit too on edge because of the upcoming venture and the meetings to do so.
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End notes: I wrote that poem months and months and months ago, and I'm glad I was able to use it in here. Hopefully I can get myself to work faster on this, and not get distracted by other stories.