The bonds that bring people together: Empathy
"You have started to work for your father?" Asked Fran "What of the offer the Airship Guild made you? You were so excited about it."
Balthier had run into his Viera friend on the way to the mithryl guild and to his delight she had felt inclined to accompany him.
"Yes I know, but." Balthier sighed. His face suddenly became downcast.
"I haven't seen nor talked to my father in a nearly year. When I heard the position for a new assistant for my father had opened I had to take that chance. I can find out what's got him so obsessed and maybe even convince him to come home once in a while. Mother's been pining for him terribly, but the only people that can have accesses to him and his labs are the people working on the projects, Lord Sabian and Lord Damond. Also there's Lord Vayne with his usual hovering."
Fran picked up the ever so stubble bitterness Balthier had saying the name of the Emperor's third son. She had known Balthier had had a mild aversion to Lord Vayne. However, in the past year Fran had become more acquainted with Balthier, it had become quite apparent that this mind aversion had grown in to a bitter hatred just short of complete loathing and contempt. Lord Vayne saw Dr. Cid more than he, his own son, could and he didn't like it. Though he did very well to hide it, Fran was quite pleased with her self in the way she had learned to read his behavior and emotions recently.
"He didn't even recognize me at first." Balthier continued in a tone Fran established as sadness. "Can you imagine? A father not even being able to recognize his own child?"
Fran could imagine it. Viera clans lived separate and isolated from each other. The males and females lived separately and only came together for mating. She had not seen her father since she was a very small child and was sure he would not recognize her by sight… But then again, the Voice of the Wood would let him know his own kin if they should pass, so it would not be as if he would not know her at all. Humes of course have no Voice of the Wood to tell them these things so Fran could begin to see how Humes depended more on meeting in person and spending time together and how it would trouble them being apart for long periods of time.
Fran suddenly felt pangs of what she recognized in Humes as sadness and loneliness that she hadn't felt in a very long time. She was now cut off from the Voice of the Wood. She could no longer tell how her sisters were feeling or what they were doing.
Fran stopped with her sudden epiphany thinking deeper. "So this was why Balthier and his mother were so upset."
Balthier stopped and looked up at is friend. "Fran? Is something the matter?"
Fran tilled her head to one side pondering. "I was only thinking that I believe I know something of how you feel, and it's given me curious feelings I can not quite understand. You feel uneasiness being cut off from your father. I believe these are similar feelings I have being cut off from my own family. It sadness me, yet I am comforted in the fact that I understand how you feel being we have these similar situations…it makes me feel…a sort of bonding to you somehow…"
Balthier is taken back by Fran's confession of feeling. Fran looks curiously at him.
"Do Humes have a word for this feeling I have?" She asks in her simple casual tone.
Balthier smiles thoughtfully at his friend "I believe my dear Fran that you have had a pang of Empathy. Not to be confused with Sympathy…"
"What is the difference?" She asks as if asking a Professor to further explain a theory.
"Well Sympathy is simply feeling sorry for someone else's sad situation. With Empathy you feel more sorry because you've been in the same sad situation. You understand how the other person feels because you have felt the same thing yourself. For example, your friend is sad because his cat died. You know death and that it's a sad thing for someone or something to die. So, "How sad for him. his cat died." You know it's sad but you can't really know how sad it is for him. That's sympathy. Now if your friend is sad because his cat died and you know just how sad he his because, once upon a time you too had a cat that died, then you know and understand just how sad it is. You understand that person better and feel that they can in turn understand you. That's Empathy."
"It seems to this could be a cause of people coming closer together." Says Fran thoughtfully. "In the way common interests do."
Balthier couldn't help but to laugh a little. "A bit morbid to think of it that way, not really the same as liking the same books or some such but I suppose you're right. People make friends in times of despair as well as happiness. Just look at the strong bonds warriors make fighting in battle together."
"Do you feel we are friends Balthier?" Fran asks
Balthier couldn't hide the shock of Fran's question. They'd been together for a year now, shared many things, talking for hours on end... "B-But of course we're friends! How could you think otherwise?" Balthier stammered
The Vieira's eyes lit up slightly making another connection "Ah! So this is what it is like to have a friend."
Balthier is a bit dumbfounded "D-didn't you have friends in the Wood?"
Fran titled her head thoughtfully "Well I do suppose I did. But that was sort of different. It was more like everyone was my sister or mother. Also I did not have nearly as much in the way of common interests with most of them that I have with you."
Balthier felt his face grow warm with blush and couldn't help to feel a bit happy. He turned away quickly not wanting Fran to see him blushing like a school boy. Thought it hadn't been that long since he had been a school boy.
"Well then there you have it." Balthier's says hastily continuing on his path to the Mythryl Guild. Fran followed behind him, turning the new information in her head.
"Is there something other than being ones friend or family in Hume culture?" Fran asks
"Well if two people become close enough, and aren't already family, the next step would to be lovers I suppose." Balthier smirking, his mind couldn't help but to turn to thoughts of an erotic nature.
"Lovers? Like for mating for the purpose of procreating?" Fran asks indifferently.
"Wha-!" That suddenly dashed Balthier's thoughts of lust and debauchery. "That's a rather academic way of looking at it. I mean there's a bit more to it than a simple means of continuing the speicies."
"In what way do you mean?" Fran asks curiously
He was now at near his destination and he really didn't want to go in talking about that sort of thing… "Really Fran, have you Viera no sense of romance? No courtship?"
Fran only tilts her head curiously
Balthier sighs. "Why don't you do some research on your own eh?" Balthier turning his head smirking. "Bookshops have loads on the subject, a whole section on Romance."
"Do they?" Fran thoughtfully pondering. "Well I think I will look into that."
Balthier grinned "You do that then. I have to see about mythril for father's little experiment, I'll see you around Fran."
"Yes." Fran nodded turning in the direction of the nearest bookshop. "I shall... see you around."
The young man couldn't help chuckling to himself. As wise and knowledgeable Fran was most of the time it amused him to assist in Fran's little study of Hume emotion.
As he watched Fran as she walked a way he couldn't help but to hope he'd be able to show her something of Hume romance first hand.
Update... for thoese of you who are actually still reading this. Don't know when the next one will be. I've been chipping away at this for a while and it some how turned in to a BalxFran chapter. I guess that's ok. I wanted to show Fran's prosses in ajusting to the world outside the Wood. True she's been out of the Wood a long time, but Viera move at a slow pace and she's only now adjusted to the outside and is now in the prosses of fully understanding it's inhabitants. I figure it's a good enough plot device for Balthire and Fran becoming close.
Still don't know how to write Vayne's ploting and Bal meddling tho...-_-