Praise the Mother

I didn't know how to do this. And I don't think I did it too well. I tried to find another way to go with this instead of having another Hume try to force himself on Fran. That isn't how it should be at all. No. This will go deeper, and less devastating. A face from the past reappears, and she wants revenge because she has no doubt about what Fran did to Darvis.

Chapter 11: Vieran Depression

Fran loved being with Balthier. It was spring of the following year after their little adventure in the Salikawood. Fran was happy that wasn't fall anymore. She and Balthier could spend time together without the risk of her losing her mind or anything, even though she'd give Balthier anything he wanted. The Viera and Hume had slept together one other time, during the winter, but Fran knew better than to make it a habit or she'd be as bad as Taji.

Fran didn't like Rabanastre. There were too many unpleasant memories there. Darvis and Taji had really ruined her life, and she had thought she had gotten past that, but every time Balthier and she went back to Rabanastre, the memories would return. And Taji's magazine was more popular than ever since the sleazy Viera's three older sisters came to live in the city and started working for the magazine. Taji's mother Elva had gotten in trouble again and skipped town, according to Raya, who Fran was happy to see. Tare had left town to live off in the country with Ty.

"Yeah. Taji is causing no end of trouble around here. She still gives all Viera a bad name. She ran off for a while after Darvis died. She SAID that she was going into the Wood to mate, and she did get pregnant, but I think she was already pregnant before she left. Her twins do look like pure Viera, but I don't know. There is something not right about her son. And the daughter is turning into a mini Taji." Raya said.

"Has Tare had kids yet?" Fran asked.

"No. And she's upset. She's doing everything in her power to get pregnant. Viera and Humes may not be able to have kids together, or there may be something wrong with one of them. Our family is pretty good, and we have a family history of having twins even. I wonder if Tyrone is the problem…"

"Raya, you are quite a pretty Viera. Are you married yet?" Balthier asked.

"Not yet. I am looking for somebody. Why?"

"Just interested. It seems that a pretty Viera would have men begging to be around her. I know about a dozen guys who would be fascinated with single Viera."

"Taji has the attention of every man in town."

Taji spotted Fran later. She had suspicions that she was responsible for Darvis's disappearance. Fran had to struggle to keep her self control to keep from strangling the disturbed little city Viera. Taji's twins were by her side. Her son was what the Viera would've seen as an ideal male. Her daughter looked just like her.

"Yiazmat, Kaila, stay back. I know this Wood-Reject." Taji said.

"WHY ON IVALICE DID YOU NAME YOUR SON YIAZMAT?!" Fran yelped.

"That is no concern of a Wood-Reject. The issue featuring your pictures was the worst I've ever sold! I have always sold more copies than that!"

"And Raya tells me that she suspects your children aren't full Viera."

"They are SO pure Viera! They are the PUREST of Viera!" Taji screamed.

"That rage of yours says that you are lying."

"My children are pure Viera, but you won't have pure Viera. I went back to the Wood specifically to mate. The Viera see the birth of twins as a reason to celebrate, and I had twins. You'll probably never have twins, and any half-breeds that come out of you will be Wood-Rejects just like you."

"Listen to me. I love Fran. She's much nicer, smarter, and definitely prettier than you. And she left the Wood by choice. She tells me that your MOTHER is the only Wood-Reject around here." Balthier said.

"My mother was kicked out of the Wood by HER mother. I am sexier than that Wood-Reject you call Fran. I have men following me all over Ivalice, giving me whatever I desire. And it feels SO good to have all kinds of followers. It makes me feel loved. If you'd like, you could become one of my followers. And if there's anything you'd like to know about a Viera, I'd let you know. And yes, I do enjoy spending nights with anybody who asks."

"You're no Viera. Viera do not act like that. We are far more than harlots, as you seem to enjoy portraying us as. Why do you do that? It can't be good for your children to learn that as Viera they're nothing but toys for Humes. And I've never heard of a male Viera outside of the Wood." Fran complained.

"The females will love him." Taji said.

"He is named after a terrible, legendary beast. The females will avoid him at all costs."

"And Kaila will be the mother of many powerful Viera."

"You talk about me having half-Viera. Kaila will no doubt marry a Hume."

"I ran off to the Wood to conceive her and her brother. She will do so as well when she desires to mate!"

"I want ice cream." Yiazmat muttered. Taji tossed him some gil and he and his sister ran off.

"You're allowing Vieran teenagers to wander in this kind of area? They're VIERA. That is a bad idea, allowing them to run around in this city alone. There are Humes around here like Darvis, and they will hurt your children." Fran said.

"They wander around here all the time! And Hume children are always alone in town! My children can defend themselves. Yiazmat knows how to fight, and Kaila is no sissy herself!"

"Viera children are more vulnerable in a city, Taji."

"My children can defend themselves." Taji said. Fran noticed that the other Viera was trying to do something. Fran cast Reflect, but Taji's spells those that could not be reflected. She was a Blue Mage!

"What was THAT?" Fran asked, trying to get up after being hit with the spell.

"What? You didn't know that sometimes a Viera is born that has the ability to use Blue Magick? And I'm the City Viera! Pathetic!"

"THAT WAS BLUE MAGICK?! UNBELIEVABLE!"

"My twins can both do it as well. It's something that runs in my family. Everybody in my family can cast Blue Magick."

"Proving that you aren't full Viera yourself! Blue Magick is a Hume ability!" Balthier yelled.

"That isn't totally true. The textbooks lied again. Viera sometimes carry the ability too." Fran whispered.

"You are a fiend Taji!What kind of Viera casts painful spells on one of her own just for showing concern for innocent children?"

"The kind of Viera who would rather have sex with a Hume than do anything else." Fran hissed. Taji glared at her, smirked evilly and cast Stop on Balthier. Fran could still hardly move. Taji walked over to Balthier, making sure to kick Fran hard on her way there.

"You know, Mr. Balthier, Miss Wood Reject was right. I would rather have sex with a Hume than anything else, and you happen to be a male Hume." Taji said.

"TOUCH HIM AND I'LL KILL YOU JUST LIKE I KILLED DARVIS!!" Fran roared. Taji grinned.

"I knew it! The annoying Wood-Reject slut confesses! Too bad I can't get the authorities on your case or anything, but I KNEW you killed my Darvy-chan!"

"Darvis was anything but cute, you little harlot. You don't call me a slut! You're the one who is always with somebody!"

"How about that? I can hate you even more for killing Darvy-chan. You know, if you hadn't killed him, I would've had more than two kids by now. I adored Darvy. I wanted him to give me children. Why did you have to ruin that?"

"He tried to rape me."

"Should've let him. Then he would've left you alone. He had always had interesting tastes in women. The man loved pretty Viera. You aren't unattractive. I hate you and wish you dead, but I will admit that if I was a male I'd find you quite beautiful."

"I will never allow somebody to abuse my body the way he attempted to while there is still an ounce of strength left in me."

"You will leave me and Balthier here alone for now. I'll send him back to you later."

Fran rushed at Taji and knocked her down. The younger Viera was furious that she had been caught off guard. She tried to get up, but Fran pinned her down.

"Leave me and Balthier alone, and don't ever try anything like that again, Tajianda!"

Taji kicked upwards with her clawed feet. Fran ended up hurt badly, and Taji got up. The younger Viera drew a blade.

"I am going to kill you! You had your chance! And you killed Darvis! I have to avenge him!"

The blade was blocked by another Viera woman who had luckily seen what was going on before Taji could kill Fran. The woman had pulled out a sword to deflect the knife.

"You again! I'm surprised you haven't had a bill posted for you! What do you think you are doing?" The other Viera asked.

"Krjn, this was between me and Wood-Reject! She killed my boyfriend and I have to kill her! Darvis would've wanted it this way! Go screw yourself!" Taji yelled. The other Viera pushed her backwards. It wasn't to be mean; it was to give Fran a chance to get up.

"Tajianda, Darvis had a bounty on his head long before his disappearance. If what you are saying is true, this Viera deserves a reward." Krjn stated.

"And I told you before Taji, my name is Fran, and I'm not a 'Wood-Reject'! I left by choice!"

"Tajianda, you have been trouble since you were little and your mother founded that magazine, 'Elva's Viera Lovefest'. Clan Centurio is working to outlaw it. It even makes me look bad! And that hurts."

"You tell Montblanc that if my magazine is outlawed in Rabanastre, I'll just move it somewhere else! Somewhere where two stupid Wood-Rejects like you and 'Franny' can't do a damn thing about it!"

"Calm yourself down Tajianda. You are very troubled. You live a hard life. Clan Centurio is here to help. We can straighten you out. Just let us help you."

"Great. Krjn the missionary. Well, preach to somebody who cares. I am not joining Montblanc's little clan. The only clan I am in is Clan Taji. There are three of us. Me, Kaila, and Yiazmat!"

"Tajianda, I just want to help! I am just trying to help my fellow Viera. I have a little sister about your age."

Taji tried to cast her Blue Magic again, but Krjn was ready. The spell was deflected, and Taji walked away.

"Are you okay?" Krjn asked Fran.

"Fine, thank you. Krjn was it?"

"Yes. I honestly don't know what is wrong with that Tajianda. I know she never knew the Wood, but that is no excuse for her appalling behaviour. And her mother is even worse. I don't approve of what she does, but I don't think she should be judged too harshly. I wish she'd just accept Clan Centurio's help. Montblanc could help her straighten her life out. We're hunters, but we're a family too."

"Montblanc? As in Nono's brother Montblanc?" Balthier asked, the spell wearing off.

"None other! Would you like to meet him? I could arrange that. I have nothing better to do. I was looking for something to do. Major marks don't come around as often as they used to. I'm glad I was able to save you today. Tajianda isn't evil, just… disturbed. She causes trouble all the time, and I pity her. I would like to see her turn into a decent member of society. She has great potential. She'd make a great hunter."

Krjn took Balthier and Fran to see Montblanc. Balthier decided to have a conversation with the Moogle while the two Viera stood off to the side and chatted.

"Do you love him?" Krjn asked.

"What?"

"That Hume. Do you love him?"

"I don't know. You see, he loves me, and I don't understand love that well. I left the Wood to figure it out."

"A Hume loved me once. We were very close, just like the two of you seem to be. He was a warrior, and we were both quite young and naïve. I would like to think that I loved him too, but I don't know. It is an amazing feeling, knowing that you're loved. I always figured he'd get old and I'd move on… but it didn't happen that way. Humes are violent creatures, and he died in a battle. We won the battle, but he died. He died in my arms. I hope you have better luck than I did." Krjn said sadly.

"Was that before or after you joined Clan Centurio?"

"It was the reason I became interested in clans. I actually helped Montblanc found the group, so I've been with him since the beginning. I don't think I'll ever find another for me. The clan is my love now. Still, I wonder what it would've been like if he hadn't died. I do think I would've gotten married and had children by now, but I don't know. My heart aches at the memory. I sincerely wish you luck if you do find that you indeed do love that Hume. Don't wait. Give him everything or you might regret it."

"You said you have a sister about Taji's age. I too have a little sister, so I know you want to help Taji. You're just behaving like a good big sister. Mjrn is very young, hardly more than a child, but I hope she makes the right decision with her life."

"You changed the subject just in the nick of time. Ktjn would adapt well if she joined us at Clan Centurio. She's got the potential to be a good warrior herself."

"Mjrn would not adapt as well. She has had a hard life already. My mother died two weeks after Mjrn was born, and I and my older sister had to pretty much raise her ourselves. And I've had this thing for Humes which has put her in danger more than once. She wanted so much to come along with me, but she was only ten when I left."

"It was wise not to take her. A baby does not need to be dragged across Ivalice like that. Ktjn too wished to travel with me. I would not take her. She will decide for herself whether or not to leave the Wood."

Fran took Krjn's words to heart. She could not let Balthier get away. Balthier had seemed distant since his conversation with Montblanc. After visiting the clan hall, the partners got a room at the inn. Fran insisted they only get one room. She wanted to talk to Balthier before they did anything though. She knew that it wasn't going to be easy to say what she wanted to say, but she had to.

"Fran, I don't know if I feel right about this. I mean, you're a Viera." Balthier was saying.

"I've always been a Viera. And we've never had problems before. I spoke to Krjn about the love issue, and I think I might understand something now. We need to make the most of the time we have together. Viera see love differently, and I've been trying to figure out how Humes see it. I believe I understand more than most Viera."

"I sort of knew a Viera once before. That is to say I wondered about her, and wondered if Viera fell in love or how they saw Humes. I would've asked her but…"

"She wouldn't talk to a Hume?"

"Fran, I don't know how to say it. This was at the Akademy, and I'd see her every day. We called her Mimi, but nobody knew her name…"

"Why didn't you ask?"

"Because this particular Viera... she was dead. Stuffed and mounted in the building. I don't know if they still have her or not. She was so pretty. Must've been something when she was alive. And she still looked alive. I hope whoever killed her didn't hurt her too much. I had almost forgotten. I just remembered her today. Krjn reminded me a little of her, only Krjn is alive. Now I can't get the image out of my head. There was no need to put a stuffed Viera at the entrance. She didn't deserve that. She was so beautiful, but so creepy. I always wondered what she was like while she was still living, whether she had any family, and all kinds of things. Do Viera go to heaven?"

"I don't know. I hope so. I think I'll have to make you think of Viera in another way." Fran stated. She took Balthier's hand and placed it on her chest. "Feel my heart? I am not dead. Do not think of the dead Viera. Just think of a living, breathing Viera, with a heart beating only for you. Please. I need you to forget the dead Viera. I am depressed now."

The two spent the night together, in each other's arms. Fran made good on her promise to make Balthier think of Viera differently. Very good. Fran could not forget her depression, but she did manage to smile at least once during the night.