Ffamran was very headstrong. He knew not how to rob a castle, but he was determined to find out. Days passed in the aerodome, in which the back living space was gradually separated into two halves. Weeks passed, and a second mattress was fitted in the place where my couch used to be.

"I told you they would fit." He cheered, wiping the sweat from his brow on his rolled up sleeves. Nono had been teaching him about the airship, and he was forgetting to wash the grease from his arms. After wiping the sweat away, a black streak smeared on his forehead. He was wondering about my smile for the next hour.

The night approached, and I decided to go to sleep. I'd been working on programming flight patterns all day. The ship, which was still unnamed, would be ready for complicated evasive maneuvers in the morning. I'm sure Ffamran was looking forward to attempting them. But for now, he was occupied not with ships, but with a greater, more difficult task.

I entered the room and found him hunched over the table, squinting his eyes at a map of what appeared to be a maze.

"Did you know there is an entire district thriving under our feet?" He asked. I looked over his shoulder and took notice of the new map. He'd been busy and gone today, and brought back with him a new bag of papers and books. Now I knew why. "They are connected right to the underground water way system." He continued. "You know what this means?"

"You have established a plan, then?" I asked. He put his hands on the paper and flattened out the edges that were still trying to hold their cylindrical shape.

"It means I'm working on it...and moving in the positive direction." He leaned back over the chair and stretched.

"It is late." I informed him. The window was swathed in black, like it had been draped by a curtain. Then I looked across the room, from his bed, to mine, and realized how clearly I could see from one to the other.

…No curtains.

"True enough." He said with a yawn. "It feels as if you've cast sleep on me again." It wouldn't have been the first time. He'd stayed up much too late before, and to preserve my own sleeping schedule, I took proper measures to encourage him to retire as well. Even if it was sudden, and his pillow was the table or floor.

He walked to his bed and proceeded to unbutton his shirt. He noticed me watching. Without a word spoken, he faced me, and continued undressing. His eyes tried to hold onto mine, but I swiftly guided them to the side before it became a contest of stares.

"Are you trying to do something other than prepare for bed?" I asked.

"No. You just seemed to be interested. Have you seen a hume's body before?" He asked, barley suppressing a grin to keep up his act.

"In fact I have. You seem to have forgotten that I once undressed you with my own hands." His fingers fumbled on the second-to-last button. Ah…

"You were with fever, so I had to ice you down as well. You healed so quickly because I cooled you in the most effective places. The armpits, neck," I met his eyes. "groin."

"Fran, you're making me blush." He said, with a nervous chuckle. I took the cloth off the table, and ripped it down without so much as disturbing the maps and vase of water atop them.

"Then perhaps a curtain to preserve your modesty." It was hung that very night.

Ffamran was eager to steal something. I found myself refusing suggestions, and keeping my opinions quite to myself. I watched as he gathered information and proved it. I watched for weeks. But that was all he could handle. On our fourth week in Rabanastre, he walked into the cockpit, dressed in a freshly pressed cotton blouse and declared that today was the day we were to become pirates. How could I protest? I was bored as well.

We left our ship in the capable paws of Nono, and he led the way into the city. He'd been traveling those streets for the past weeks, and he seemed to have a good memory for them. He claimed it was because of his years of dodging Arcadian law-enforcement, and that I believed. As we walked, a flock of young-ones raced by. I was certain one of them ran between my legs, as If I were a wild chocobo and they were fleet-footed hares. Still jogging, they turned and stared at us. A young-one with sandy hair waved at Ffamran, and he cracked a smile and returned the gesture. A female with yellow hair followed him, shyly stealing glances back at Ffamran and myself.

"I encountered them before. Orphans of the war and plague." Ffamran said. He chuckled. "The boy asked me to teach him how to fly the airship- he saw me come from the aerodome and thought I was a skypirate. I'm glad it looks that way now." I looked to him for elaboration.

"And you told him it was impossible." He sighed, and slowed to a stop so we could watch the children run out of sight.

"I promised him I would, though not for a few years- until his feet could reach the floor while sitting in the pilot's chair."

"That boy will unlikely live those few more years." I said softly.

"I know that." He said. "And that's why I promised him." He shrugged, and scratched that spot on his neck that always seemed to itch when he felt guilty. "If he has something to look forward too, then maybe he'll just survive." I looked into the crowd where the young ones had long been replaced by adults and soldiers.

"Just maybe."

We took a dark stairwell down, below the city. A heavy metal rolling door opened for us, and led into the underground neighborhood that Ffamran had been exploring. I'd been traveling for many years now, but I had never seen a place quite like it. For an underground city, it was not like I'd imagined. There was a fountain, surrounded by small walls covered in lush green vines. The light filtering in from above cast a misty hue to the air.

But Ffamran led me past the fountain, only pausing to let me look. We kept on walking, until the sounds of the people were replaced by the sounds of his leather boots and my heels. He looked over his shoulder, then dashed across an alley and stopped before a barred gate.

"If the map is correct, then this is our way into the palace." He tapped the lock.

"Hmm…can you do anything about this?" I moved him aside and put my hand above the flimsy metal. A puff of frost filled the air below my hand, and the lock froze. I took the back of my hand, and smashed it against the lock which broke as easily as glass.

"It will melt, leaving no evidence save for a puddle." Ffamran took the lead again, passing me with an impressed smile. I never seemed to tire of it, as neither did he. I tried to pass, but his arm was outstretched to me, ending with a first. He didn't seem to be trying to bar my path, but he wanted me to do something.

"What?" I snapped. He looked at his fist.

"You don't know what it is, do you?"

"It is a hand."

"No, well, yes, but you're supposed to make a fist of your own and bump them." I frowned, but made a fist and dropped in on top of his. He laughed. "No- bump it!"

"I did." I said, demonstrating it again. He sighed, then lifted his fist back up and bumped mine like I'd done to his.

"I suppose it works too."

The waterway's air was thick and misty. It was mist I could withstand though. Not Mist. Just thick air. Ffamran had a map hung over his arm, and constantly referenced it. But only with each turn. And it only took a half-second. A mere blink at his wrist, and he continued. At least he had some of the characteristics of sky-pirates. Aptitude for a map was essential. Navigating the jungle had given me the ability, as his evasion of air-police in Archadia had. But as we walked, I felt like Ffamran was following a certain trail. I looked for such markers, but saw none.

I began to guess which direction he would pick, and began assuming correctly. I met his shoulders and started leading.

"Have a map in your head, Fran?" He asked, as he began to follow me instead of the map.

"There is…something I am following. I cannot tell what, but it is leading towards the castle." My feet splashed through a puddle of washed up sewer-water, and Ffamran yelped and gave a mighty leap to clear it without so much as a toe touching it. My hair blew out behind me, and the mist started stinging my face.

"Fran- are we being chased?" Ffamran called, unsure if it was sarcasm or actual concern. I slowed my pace, despite the tugging sensation that urged me onwards.

Ffamran suddenly gasped as we turned a corner, and caught my arm and pulled me back. I struggled for a moment, and only regained control of myself after he whispered my name over and over again into my ear.

"Fran, please- we can't go that way for now! Calm yourself…" I regained my bearings and took a step away from him.

"I do not know what came over me." I started walking towards the corner again. "Something is calling to me." He snatched my hand again.

"Fran. Wait, and look." He walked with me to the corner, and slowly looked out. Two bangaas were sitting around a motorbike, organizing bags of loot. Ffamran pulled me back again and looked at me, beaming. "Did you see all of their stolen treasure…!" I hushed him. "They're blocking the entrance to the palace, but who cares for that when they already seemed to have retrieved the treasure for us! And it's those same lizards that stole you. Their leader is gone though." He smirked. "Probably still nursing his hide."

"I wish to steal something from them." I said. He looked at me, eyebrows high on his forehead. He put his back against the wall and put his thumb to his mouth.

"As do I. Did you see something you liked? They were polishing a pretty piece of brown silver I saw-"

"I caught eye of something larger." He touched his chin, massaging an invisible beard.

"You do have fine eyes."

"The hoverbike." His eyebrows fell and creased. "It has been calling to me."

"Calling?" He repeated. I took a deep breath and looked to where the machine was calling.

"It is something called the Mist. It is emitted from hume machinery."

"You can hear mist?" He waved his hand through the air.

"You cannot. No hume can. I feel it, and it calls to me. Viera are in tune to it." I shrugged. "And I like the bike." He laughed, and silenced himself before the pirates behind us heard. "A plan." I insisted.

"Ah, yes…" He looked up again. "Yes…" He pulled his gun from his holster and shouldered the wall. "How about a little appetizer before our royal main course!" The clicking of a gun, but not Ffamran's.

"Drop yer gun." The bangaa rasped. Ffamran groaned.

"So forceful." The bangaa's lips curled up.

"Drop it." Ffamran lifted up his arms and allowed the gun to slide from his trembling hands. Dinner, as he called it, would have to wait.

I'd left my bow and arrows in the ship. I could have knocked one and planted it in the reptile's temple. Instead, I allowed myself to be walked to one of the pillars, and shackled by my wrists. The two bangaas raced around their loot, sliding in gold coins as they frantically decided a plan of action. Ffamran sat cross legged on the ground, his arms tired above him. He watched them as casually as possible, but his eyes danced around the loot that sat just out of reach.

"At least we don't panic." He said to me, as the female skidded to a halt.

"I'm getting big brother." The female snapped. "He'll want to see these two again- especially the pretty one." She said, swinging her neck in the direction of Ffamran. He smirked nervously.

"I'm flattered, but I prefer warm-blooded creatures. And I beg to argue that Fran is the more attractive." He said, with a wink aimed at me.

"I suggest you stop showing so much fancy for that wild hare. Brother will feel more…inclined to keep her in less than one piece." I closed my eyes as Ffamran shouted everything but smooth responses. If he wanted to become a sky-pirate, he would have to learn how to keep that silver tongue from melting.

The female dashed off, pleased at her response, and left her younger brother to watch us. He sat on the centerpiece of the loot and repeatedly loaded and unloaded his gun. Ffamran's eyes danced up and down, and waltzed sideways across the room. Finally, he looked to me, and I gave a slight nod. He did not know what it meant, but he nodded back at me.

He must have been expecting an explosion. Instead, the bangaa looked up and around the room, sniffing the air, and returned to his sloppy gun work. Ffamran frowned at me.

'That was it?' He seemed to say.

The bangaa stood.

"Dull, dull, dull! How long does it take that woman to run her tail down the water way? Too long, if ye ask me." He walked up to Ffamran, pointing a clawed finger. "If ye weren't worth so much alive, I'd have ye skinned and sell yer pelt already."

"And why is my pelt worth so much when still attached to my bones?" He demanded.

"Ah, you're worth enough even to catch Brother's eye. Those Imperials like to have their rules followed…"

"Imperials?" He gasped. "Archadia! Is my Father behind this? Cidolfus Bunansa!"

"I don't care for the names, only the gil." He stood and kicked a golden saucer, and let it roll off the pathway and into the water. "And as you can see, we've plenty to spare. Brother did say he would rather rip you apart now, instead of sell ye…So, if that's the case…" He eyed Ffamran and yawned. Then, he lifted his arm and brought it across Ffamran's face. I felt myself strain against the pillar behind me, and for a moment, my own composure was lost.

I snapped my fingers, and a heavy block of ice formed over the bangaa's head, and crashed downwards. The reptile was buried under shards of ice and did not move. I gasped as I realized what I'd done. At least…I had used more magic than necessary, but it seemed that I wanted to inflict the most damange. Ffamran looked to me with huge eyes.

"I had cast sleep on him, but they have a stronger resistance. It was taking too long." I explained.

"Why didn't you just do that in the first place!"

"By allowing ourselves to be captured, I had had hoped one of them would leave-"

"Well you guessed right, but I still think you should have knocked them out before I was slapped like a wench." He even had the greasy claw-marks to prove it.

"I believe he was trying to punch you." As I spoke, I fitted one of my nails into the wide lock. I could not see it behind my head, but it was a simple lock, and it did not require sigh. My nail slid into place as easily as if it were a key, and the shackled fell off. He frowned at me.

"What spell was that?"

"Improvision." I said, rising to my feet. I leaned behind him and fitted my nail into his lock as well. He sprung to his feet and looked at my hands, then at his own, blunt-tipped fingers. "You will have to create your own way."

Ba'Gamnan returned to their meeting spot, and found his brother unconscious in a puddle. The only metal in sight was a single gold saucer, and a pair of empty shackles.

"Fran-Fran, easy now, uuuop! All right then!" I could hear her laughing, or something another, as she flew the hover bike through the waterway. I clutched the bags of twice-stolen loot between my knees, and held onto the back seat for dear life. After I'd uttered the first yell, she seemed to start lurching the bike over and over again in search of the same response.

The bike finally leveled out as we approached the stairwell that led back to the underground district of Rabanastre. I laughed unevenly.

"Are you all right?" She called over her shoulder. I beamed.

"Better than ever." I stammered, eager to learn her intentions. I doubted they involved slowing down.

"Good. We are going to make quite the entrance now." Ah, there they were.

"We are?" I laughed.

"Hold on." She revved the bike, and we shot upwards. The stairs passed us like a concrete waterfall, and we suddenly made a sharp turn and entered the maze of the underground. Startled screams as men leapt out of the way, and women struggled to hold down their skirts. Fran circled in front of the main gate until it rolled open, and we raced up the final row of stairs, and into Rabanastre's sunset.

They were not so advanced in personal air travel, so we did not have to worry about airborne guards at least. Before anyone in royal armor could identify us, we had flown through the back doors of the aerodome and parked. Fran dismounted and held out her fist to me.

"Is this not an appropriate time to…bump fists?" I smiled and brought my hand down on hers.

Nono instantly was beating on my ankles, mewling once more about my bad influences on his viera friend. Fran pat his pom-pom as she strutted by, and the two of us shared a quizzical stare.

"Bad influence, encouraging reckless behavior, call it what you like- but I'm certain she was quite corrupted before I met her." Nono crossed his small arms. "…I'm going to ask her to marry me!"

"Kupo!"

"You heard me. I'm going to marry that beautiful creature- ow! I didn't know moogles had claws- ow! Off my leg!"

I would never call her my wife, but we would be married one day...I was certain of it.