Chapter Fourteen:
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Location: Spira - Besaid Village
Time: Night time - Party time!
~* Bystander *~
Besaid village, a beautiful, quiet, sunny little village most of the time, except for tonight because it is the birthday of Wakka's son, Vidina, who is now declared two years of age. Everyone had gathered up for the celebration; the stage was set, the food and drinks were made and ready, while the lights were up and set, they play was about to start. Everyone in the village had taken their seats and awaited the story to start while Shinra turned on a music sphere he created -recorded, actually- for the play.
Giving out the food and drinks, Barkeep and Darling stood side by side and watched the play from their stand. The only matter that had the Gullwings worried is that neither Nooj nor Leblanc had shown up just yet, they have delayed the party for as long as they could, Paine announced that they should go ahead with the party and hope that the Mayvn and syndicate leader would arrive short after, and so they did.
The crowed were in their seats, ready to watch the play. There were six rows of chairs, each row had six chairs, in the first row from left to right was Cid, Wakka with Vidina in seat between him and Lulu, the next two were kept empty for Nooj and Leblanc. The second row had the Oraches with one free seat for Ormi, the third row had Brother, Buddy, Shinra, Barkeep and Darling with one free seat for Logos. The fourth and fifth rows had the villagers of Besaid.
To the left of the crowed were three long tables with all sort of food and drinks ready for after the play while a mountain of gifts in all shapes and sized were stacked neatly near the stage. Brother was getting restless, very impatient to see Yuna's part in the play while Buddy and Shinra tried to cool him down, Barkeep and Darling were just watching them silently.
Then it started…
~* The play *~
The stage was dark, only one light flashed to show the center of the small stage where a giant costume of a Caitsith (sp?) danced into the center, the giant costume held a puppet of a little cute, blue creature that was called 'Pupu.' The Caitsith danced around itself for a few minutes, rhythmic with the soft melodic tune in the background, the huge black-cat-like creature with a crown on it's head, and an x of tape as a bellybutton stopped and bowed respectfully to the crowed who clapped, even Vidina clapped with glee.
"Hello, hello everybody! Thank you for coming to this tiny little play!" the cat's head slanted sideways so the person inside it turned it around while the crowd laughed, "Oh sorry about that, folks! Must've lost my head with all the excitement!" it laughed.
"Try not to lose it again, ya?" Wakka laughed.
"Okay with me!" the cat danced and posed like some rock star, "Okay, okay! First I'd like to thank the proud member of the Gullwings, Yuna, for her contribution in writing down this story, in which I hope you will all enjoy!"
"Yeah- yeah! Get on with it already!" Brother laughed from his seat.
"Hold your horses there, bub! First, allow me to introduce the narrator of the story, Lady Yuna!" the cat extended it's hands sideways to the left side of the stage.
A few seconds past…
Nothing happened…
"The lights, Gippal! Move the lights!" the cat hissed.
The spot light shook for a minute, as if stuck before a slight snap came and the spot light quickly spun a few times before it landed on a beautiful woman at the left side of the stage.
"Hello everyone." the beautiful woman with long brown hair spread over her shoulders, she wore a beautiful, traditional Japanese kimono in white, decorated in traditional symbols of Al Bhed, she wore a crown of bright silver and her odd-eyes shone as she smiled shyly, the pink on her cheeks and the make up giving her a beautiful visage, she was sitting with her legs buckled below her, her hands on her knees while one of her hands held a beautifully decorated fan, waving it in front of her face, "I thank you for coming."
Brother's jaw had seemingly dislocated, he just stood there gawking at the beautiful woman at the corner of the stage until Buddy yanked him down and snapped his jaw shut for him.
The cat bowed a little and danced it's way to the right.
The woman was just about to speak when she quirked her brows at something beyond the people watching the play, so in curiosity, everyone turned around, even Gippal, Baralai and Paine and the Chaitsith peeked from the back stages to look. The three old friends smiled for they have seen their fourth comrade with the missing syndicate leader, her two followers were behind her lugging a huge trunk.
Nooj gave a nervous chuckle and shrugged. "Sorry we're late."
"Our present needed a little more time to be complete, loves!" Leblanc blushed and brushed back a few stray bangs.
In the backstage, Gippal mimicked 'Our?' to Baralai and Paine who only shrugged.
Logos and Ormi panted and placed down the trunk to catch their breath.
"I'm glad you made it." The beautiful woman smiled, "Please do sit down."
"Thank you." Nooj smiled and smiled at Leblanc who smiled back and hugged his arm.
"What about the trunk, boss?" Ormi wheezed.
"Just push it aside, ya?" Wakka grinned, Vidina in his arms, "Come and join the party."
Logos and Ormi turned to their leader in question.
Leblanc grinned and waved a hand, "Whatever he said, loves."
With that they did as told and managed to their readied seats.
After a slight pause the woman continued with the play.
"Today, or tonight, I should say, is the time for us to start our play," the beautiful woman smiled as she rhymed, "It's a tale of Spira, our home and land, where we learn lessons we should take for grand."
The lights snapped, brightly showing the background, a very wide picture of a world map, but without Lady Yunalisca and her husband Zeon.
"Our tale begins a thousand years ago, where the people of Spira with torn in two. A war was standing, separating the ones that love, hate and treachery was all what lingered about."
The lights turned off and the background slid away only to be replaced with a portrait of Zanarkand, supposedly an image from the past.
Nooj quirked a brow, looking interested and a tad confused.
"Zanarkand, a city sleeping for a thousand years, in a thousand years if felt neglect and fear." The woman told.
The picture of Zanarkand lit like if it were slightly-transparent paper, the shadows of people crept into the picture.
"Zanarkand, the city of the past, where the Aeons lived their past." She told, "In a thousand years, a war came, it roared, it killed, it hunted and haunts us all, and only then did the wicked one fall. Sin, was born, out of negative thoughts, hate and despair, and so was Vegnagun, with regret and disperse. A futile battle it was, between the world of two, for the summoner and Aeons were the only ones true."
Nooj knot his brows a bit tighter, something about that play had him thinking.
Leblanc, for that matter, sensed his uneasiness, so since she sat next to him, she touched his fine hand and intertwined their fingers, drawing back his attention, 'It's just a play.' She cooed.
Nooj averted her gaze for a minute before he sided a grin, 'Yes, you're right.' He nodded and went back to watching the play.
Leblanc leaned on his shoulder a bit and watched the play as well.
"Today, it's been three years on that dream, three years and we no longer dream. Sin is gone, Vegnagun is gone, we have our future that is to begins." She smiled.
And so on the play went on as Yuna, as the narrator rhymed her way through telling the story of Sin and Vegnagun, and by the end of the tale, she sang the Hymn of the Fayth and everyone sang along. In the back stage, Baralai, Gippal and Paine had their eyes on Nooj, he was the only one that -they knew- was pretending to be singing, they knew because his lips didn't seem to match with the words, Leblanc knew that but said nothing.
After the play ended, the staff went on stage and the Caitsith come out with it's funky dance…
"Woo Hoo~!" it cried, "Alright everyone! Guess what time it is!"
"Karaoke time?" Buddy laughed.
"Nope!" the cat laughed.
"Um, feast time?" Shinra asked, scratching his head.
"Na- a!" the cat giggled.
"Yuna time?" Brother grinned.
Buddy and Shinra gave him an odd look.
"What? I can dream can't I?" brother growled and slumped back in his seat, arms crossed.
"Nope." The cat laughed shook it's over sized head.
"Time to open the presents?" Cid asked, quirking a brow.
"No~ not yet." The cat danced.
"I dunno, we give up." Wakka shrugged.
"It's~ Stage time!" the cat announced, "Now, who wants to come on stage and participate?"
Her reply was dead silence, except for the Shoopuff outside of the village that seemed to get sleepy all by itself.
"Aw C'mon! What's the matter with you? Stage fright?" the cat crossed his arms and pretended to be upset, "Okay then, I'll chose who it'll be." The cat pondered and turned to the beautiful woman who still sat at the far side of the stage, "You wouldn't happen to have a dice, would ya?"
"Why yes, I do." The woman smiled and reached into her butterfly-like sleeve, she pulled out a pair of dices and looked at the cat, "May I?"
"Be my guest!" she cat danced happily.
The woman tossed the dice and a drum roll came, the lights snapped over where the dices were and showed six on one dice with three on the other…
"Six plus three equals nine who is: -?" insert drum roll again, "Keepa!" the cat laughed, "You're on seat number nine so you're up!"
"Wha-?" Keepa, a member of the Besaid Oraches pointed at himself and blinked, "M- me?" he gawked.
"Yeah, you! So C'mon over here! We don't have all night!" the cat danced.
Nervous, Keep rubbed his neck and made his way to the stage, he stood next to the giant cat and stuttered a hello.
"Anything you'd like to say?" the cat danced around the nervous man.
"Um, yeah." Keep composed himself and looked at the leader of the Besaid Oraches, "I would like to congratulate Wakka and his wife Lulu on this wonderful occasion, um, also, I hope Vidina grows up into a great man just like his father."
"Gee, this is kinda embarrassing, but- thanks." Wakka flushed and rubbed his neck.
"Aw… isn't that sweet!" the cat giggled, and waved for Keppa while he left the stage.
"Right! Who's next?" the cat danced in joy.
Every one looked at each other, hesitant and nervous.
"Either you choose or I'm using the dice again!" the cat warned while wiggling a finger.
No one dared to do it.
"Fine!" the cat sighed and turned to the woman, "Would you be so kind and toss the dice again, milady?"
"My pleasure." The woman smiled and took the dices again, she shook them in her hand and then tossed them.
The numbers four and two came out…
"Two plus four equals six, and it would be- ?" the cat jilted a gasp, "Oh My God! It's number six!" it squealed.
Cid blinked for a few times before he started counting, "Would that mean I'm number one or six?" he asked hesitantly.
"Sorry, you're number one, which means~?" the cat giggled and looked at the one sitting at chair number six, the cat rubbed it's hands in glee, "Oh this is gonna be good!" it laughed like a villain.
"No Way!" Leblanc gasped, gluing herself to Nooj's arm, "I don't want to and you can't make me!" she pouted.
"What's the matter, Leblanc? Stage fright?" the cat teased, "C'mon! Come over here and do your part!"
'On second thought, maybe we should've come the next morning. It would've spared me the embarrassment.' The blonde woman murmured to her love while her face turned beat red.
"We would like to decline." Nooj raised a brow at the cat, "Yes, we! Just incase you pick me on purpose." He shot a slanted look at the sitting woman.
The beautiful woman averted his gaze and played with her hair-locks.
Leblanc peered up at her loves face, she suppressed a smile and looked at the cat, "Why don't you pick someone else, love?"
"Aw~!" the cat wiggled it's arms, "But it'll break poor Vidina's heart!" it whined.
The blonde woman blinked and looked aside at the pouting baby in the black-mages arms.
Vidina's baby-blue eyes shined cutely at the blonde, he squealed and gurgled cutely…
"Well…" Leblanc pondered, she perked a cute look at her love and pouted, "What do you think, love?"
"You don't have to if you don't want to." Nooj said flatly and then shrugged.
Leblanc pouted, "I'd love too, but I have nothing to say!" she shrugged.
Nooj blinked, "I have an idea." He smiled and then whispered into Leblanc's ear.
Leblanc grinned and clapped her hands in glee, "Oh yes, love! That would be awesome!" she giggled and popped up to her feet, "Listen loves, how about if Nooj and I delay our contribution to last, eh?"
The beautiful woman and cat eyed each other before shrugged.
"Alright, I guess." The cat shrugged, "Late but you are gonna do it, right?"
"Why of course!" Leblanc smiled and sat down, now hugging the Meyvn's arm, "Now, how about you go on with the show, loves? It's almost past the kid's bedtime, you know." She winked.
A little surprise was stirring…
'Just what are they thinking?' Paine thought while backstage, 'Nooj?'
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A/N: Nihihihihhi!! XD