Update, yay?
It's a week til Christmas, and I have no money to actually buy presents. So I've been working on paintings and talking to people I haven't seen in a long time. The most important painting is nearly finished, so I should be able to put more concentration into the request fics soon. They WILL go up!
Now to move on to some awesome stuff that made Christmas come early for me...
AccessBlade wrote a short fic about how the group reacts to Letha going missing in Nor Harbor. Some of you may have seen this already, and those who haven't should go check it out. It's called "Missing."
The Fool Arcana made some more fanart of Nevys, who will never live it down. (remove the spaces) Http:/ thefoolarcana .deviantart .com/art /Nevys-190072788? q=gallery%3A the fool arcana%2F25039027&qo=0
She also made a ToV amv on youtube that's dedicated to me. I want to say THANK YOU~ again, and tell anyone who doesn't know that Innocent Sorrow is an awesome song.
I got my 100th review from AccessBlade, coincidentally my first reviewer, so another THANK YOU~ for that.
And responding to Angelic's review: I'm happy that you returned to read the rest of the chapters after seeing the profile picture. Your vote has been noted, and that scene will be SOON.
Speaking of the poll, this chapter I'm NOT telling you the results. If you're curious, I think you can see the progress if you check it in my profile, but let's preserve the illusion of surprise.
x x x
Chapter 25: Day Off and Send Offs
x x x
Once back at the inn I fell right into the bed the others said was for me. There weren't any other beds, so I figured they must have rented me my own room so I could rest and recover. Humming my contentment (almost purring, if you will), I pulled the blankets up to my chin and dropped right into deep sleep. If I had any dreams, I forgot them.
I woke up early in the morning. Lying on my bed, I stared at the ceiling. Hmm, I'm not sure when I got back yesterday, but maybe sometime in the mid afternoon? Wow, I must've slept over twelve hours. I have done that before, but never consecutively. Usually I wake up for an hour or so and then go back to sleep. Maybe I'd done that and just didn't remember. Whatever, probably didn't do much even if I had.
No longer feeling like the corners of my eyes were full sand, or that the lids were made of lead, I was able to concentrate on thinking. Yesterday. I don't think I actually killed any of the Red-eyes. The only one I seriously hurt was the weaponless one, and if he was treated fast enough he'll probably make it. Gibbs and Birdman will probably be out for my blood, for pride and pigheadedness. Umm, Chase definitely killed Thin Man and Big guy. That leaves two...
The One Who Fed Me and Mr. Shy got off relatively easily. They might just pass this off as a failed job and move on. Four or five of the original seven were still running around then... If I saw them again, I might not get away without killing one. I sighed, no good thinking about such depressing thoughts now. Just do what the situation demands when it comes, and deal with it then.
I fingered the scar that stretched from my collarbone and across my right shoulder. It was from the fight in the alley, and because I'd been captured it had gone days before someone healed it. Being left alone so long not even gels or Estelle's arts could keep it from scarring. I wondered if the slash across my back would also leave a mark... Reminders that I couldn't stay soft.
My stomach growled and I wrinkled my nose. "Food and shower. ASAP." I swung my feet up and down (sound familiar?) and lightly landed on the wooden floor. I'm part cat, I swear. Padding quietly to the door, I cracked it open and peeked out. Other than some staff getting started on the early chores, no one else seemed to be up. A maid was passing by and I quietly called out to get her attention.
"Miss? Will it be a problem if I take a shower? Or a bath perhaps?" Normally I prefer a shower, but some days you just need to soak!
"Of course it's no problem!" Gyah! Radiant Professional Smile attack! She bowed slightly. "I'll draw bathwater for you immediately, and if you'd like, I'll wash your clothes while you bathe?"
I beamed at her. "You are the best person in the world right now." She smiled professionally again, but there was a light in her eyes this time that said she enjoyed the praise.
"Right this way, ma'am." Ma'am? Oh well, she's working, and I think I'm actually older than her.
x x x
It was roughly two hours before I was downstairs, tying my damp hair in a ponytail at the base of my neck (except for the braid, that was left hanging free to avoid getting a weird kink in it). The maid had done an amazing job washing the blood stains out of my clothes (How'd she do that so fast? Even the old stains were gone!) and I was basking in the sensation of being clean.
My restored sense of "life is wonderful"died with the first bite of breakfast.
A few minutes before, when I had arrived in the common eating room, the rest of the group was already there waiting for me. Raven wasn't there, so he must have left again after I'd fallen asleep. Was someone else missing? Right, Judith also left the party immediately after leaving Ghasfarost, so she hadn't been with them the night before.
Karol had called me over to the large table everyone was seated at and told me breakfast should be arriving soon. It was only while I sat with a fork of something awful in my mouth that I realized no one else had started eating and were watching me with expectant looks on their faces.
I slowly removed the fork, and asked, "Who made these pancakes?"
"Flynn," Yuri told me innocently. No wonder they were waiting for me out here. Probably wanted to make sure I didn't see Flynn at work in the kitchen.
"What...why are pancakes crunchy now?"
"He added cereal for a more balanced nutrition."
"Why did you let him?"
"'Cause you could probably use the added nutrition." He couldn't hide the smirk on his face anymore. The others also looked like they were discretely hiding smiles or trying to hold in laughter, Estelle doing a better job than Karol and Rita. Even Repede looked like he was laughing at me. "You know, after being prisoner for three days and not having real food."
"I don't think this counts as real food either." I placed my fork back on my plate. "Is there anything here that's safe to eat?"
Now Yuri looked at the plates doubtfully. "I dunno. Only saw him get started on the pancakes..."
The next half hour was spent daring each other to try different foods to see what was safe. Estelle discovered that the donuts (don't know how he made those) actually were really delicious, so that's what most of us stuck to. The worst part was when I tried taking a drink of water to clear the fishy taste from the bacon (what the hell?) out of my mouth, only to discover that somehow the water was spicy.
"Just how did you get Flynn to cook breakfast!" I asked Yuri after returning from the bathroom. Yeah, I had run off as fast as I could to rinse that mess from my mouth before I got physically sick.
He was watching Karol try to get Repede to eat his own pieces of fish corrupted bacon, and not succeeding. "Err, well, it seems he heard about me promising to have him cook something for you, and actually felt obligated to do it. He was already in the kitchen when we woke up..." Flynn's the Wonder Chef of bad cooking now... The Anti-Wonder Chef!
I glared at him. "So this is your fault." I noted that the others were giving him similar looks. At least he'd apparently warned them before we ate.
"Sorry, my bad."
x x x
We took the rare chance to relax and each do our own thing for the day. After all,everyone else thought we'd taken care of everything, and I couldn't tell them otherwise. Estelle had apparently managed to beg one last day before returning to the capital. Rita seemed willing to put off her research in order to stay with us a bit longer. The three of us went out for a girls' day kind of thing.
Translation, Estelle was excitedly looking in shop windows and exclaiming about "How cute that dress would look on Rita!" or "Letha, why don't you try this on?"
Rita adamantly refused, but I sighed in resignation. "If it'll make you happy, I'll try it on, but I'm not gonna buy it!" The dress Estelle picked out for me was white with red trim. Its short skirt flared out from my hips. I was even wearing some red earrings I'd noticed on a display. She squealed when I came out of the changing room.
"Wow, you look really good in that!"
"You actually do look kinda mature for once," Rita admitted.
"Funny," I said, "Dresses make me feel like a kid trying on her mother's clothes." Maybe because that was always the case when I actually did try a dress on. I fidgeted, feeling exposed with my legs bare, but Estelle wouldn't let me keep my shorts or leggings on under it. Well, they weren't really bare, but I always thought tights weren't even a step up from nothing at all.
"Are you sure you won't buy it?" Estelle wheedled.
"No, and anyway I'm pretty much broke." I sighed. The funds Ludwig gave me had run out, and I had none to restock my supply of gels with.
"Excuse me, miss?" All three of us looked over at the older woman running the shop. "The lady trying on the dress." I nodded to show I was listening. "If you need money, you could help out here. My son normally helps me, but he was hurt during the fighting the other day."
"Really?" my eyes lit up. Getting a part time job was never this easy back home. "But I'm not planning on staying in Dahngrest for more than a few days..."
"That's fine, even just one day would be a big help."
"Alright then, I definitely need to earn some gald before I leave after all." I turned to Estelle and Rita. "Sorry guys, but I guess I'm staying here." The princess seemed a little disappointed, until the shop lady whispered something into her ear. The way she immediately brightened up was surprising.
"Okay, we'll come see how you're doing later!" The princess grabbed the mage by the hand and dragged her out of the shop, chattering happily about stopping by a cafe. Rita didn't seem to know what to make of it either.
"So what do I need to do?" I asked the lady. She smiled sweetly at me.
x x x
"What are you doing?"
"What are you wearing?"
I blushed as Yuri and Karol both stared at me. "This, um, I'm just helping out at this shop..."
"And the clothes? Don't tell me it's for work."
"Kinda..." I looked down at my feet. My pink slippered feet. The bunny ears on my head flopped over. I was still wearing the dress Estelle had me try on, but Jeanne, the lady who owned the shop, had thrown in a frilly pink apron, bunny ears, and delicate little slippers. And a bunny tail that unfortunately the guys had seen before I turned around and realized they were there.
"Oh, more friends of yours Miss?" Jeanne showed up out of no where. "You youngsters should stick around, it's about time for her to change into the next costume." EVIL, I have seen the face of the devil, and it is a kindly old lady wearing bifocals!
"The next costume?" Yuri asked, and I didn't have to see to know he was smirking. I shuffled into the back room to change, hoping they'd be gone by the time I was done.
"Of course!" Jeanne was telling him cheerfully. "It's a clothing shop, but we carry costumes as well. Having a young lady show off how they look is great advertising."
They were still there, waiting, when I came back out. And Estelle and Rita had come back, so I'd bet my wages that that's what the old lady told Estelle to make her so happy. The princess squealed again when she saw my new outfit, and Rita seemed a bit jealous.
A black cat suit, complete with ears and tail. And a big red ribbon with a bell around my neck. When I stared back at them Yuri and Karol actually blushed a bit. I smiled as I recalled a skit about Rita's waitress costume, where Yuri said that the cat ears were the problem (implying he thought they were too cute. Cat ear fetish...).
"Mrowr." I said. Not the cheesy fake "meow," I actually sounded like a real cat. Years of mimicking my pet cat Sophie (who knew we were mocking her, and was very vocal in her displeasure) had given me plenty of practice. I turned away, the tail flicking behind me, and went to help a customer.
"...I think she likes that one," Karol finally said.
They kept dropping by every now and then for the rest of the day. Somehow Estelle always seemed to know when I'd changed again. Usually the old lady just had me show off normal clothes, but occasionally she'd give me another weird costume. I had lots of fun cackling my head off while wearing the witch costume.
There was one in the men's section I just had to try on though. When they came back again (Yuri was probably just doing it so he could laugh at me later) they seemed taken aback by the different direction my outfit had taken. While the shop owner had been choosing stuff that was embarrassingly cutesy and feminine, I had picked a blue uniform with long gloves and boots. And glasses. And unlike with the other costumes, a light brown wig.
I pushed the glasses up on my nose. "Can I help you?"
"Letha...aren't you dressed..."
"Hmm? Is there something wrong with my appearance?"
Estelle suddenly seemed to recognize the outfit. "Wait, isn't that what one of the characters in Tale of the Jade Planet wears?"
"Oh, the princess is well informed."
"She seems kinda different..."
"Don't tell me she's trying to act like the character."
"Now really, why would I do something like that?" Fiddled with my glasses again. "You all have such overactive imaginations."
They stared at me. I smiled faintly back at them. If only my eyes were red...
"...We'll come back later."
"Leaving so soon? You youngsters have so much energy," I called after them as they walked away very quickly. Jade Curtiss is awesome.
Letha earned the title of Crazy Cosplayer...
x x x
I returned to the inn late in the day, with a money purse full of gald. Jeanne had been beaming at me when she payed me, saying she'd given me extra since her business had done better than usual. There was a calculating gleam in her eye when she said I was free to come help out again anytime I was low on money.
But she let me keep the Jade costume, so I was perfectly willing to forgive her for being evil. It was tucked into my bag for later use. It had also been restocked with gels and some basic foodstuffs, just in case I didn't get another chance to go shopping before the giant Entelexeia attack I was anticipating.
I was humming as I came through the door, Lala's Lullaby version of Lacrimosa again. Songs I learned most recently tend to become the default on my internal playlist, as I try to make sure I've memorized the words properly.
The others looked up as I came in, and I noted the heavy atmosphere in the room. "Something wrong?"
"Estelle and Rita are leaving tomorrow," Karol told me glumly. I reached out and ruffled his hair a bit. Been awhile since I'd last done that.
"Don't look so sad, Ace, or that'll just make everyone feel sad. We can all visit each other any time, after all!"
"Yeah, that's right," he brightened a little bit, but still looked like he felt a bit lost. Couldn't blame him, at the moment he had nothing to work towards, and was just kinda waiting for Yuri's yes or no to starting up a guild. Probably felt left adrift with the prospect of us all leaving.
Well, what comes next is a delicate situation. If the timing is off at all, we might not end up in a group together like we're supposed to. Very unappealing idea. When I'd started traveling the whole plan to join up with the group was just for convenience (and a bit of fangirlishness) but hadn't been necessary. Now I really didn't want to have to travel alone.
"Hey, I'm sticking around for a bit, you know?" I rubbed his hair a bit harder to distract us both. "Haven't decided where I'll go next."
"Why don't you join that guy from before?" Karol asked as he tried to smooth his hair back into place, the rooster head...
"Who, Chase? Do you think it's a good idea for a delicate and proper young lady to travel alone with a virile young man? My uncle would not approve."
"I'd feel bad for Chase," Yuri snuck into the conversation. Repede barked, and I glared at the swordsman and canine.
"Ha ha," I laughed insincerely. Though, to be fair, something always seemed to go wrong for the poor guy every time we ran into each other.
"Actually, I think he left earlier today." We all looked to Estelle in surprise. She smiled a bit sheepishly, "I wanted to thank him once more, for helping us look for Letha, but they said he'd already checked out."
"Darn, I was hoping to at least say goodbye to him..." I hadn't known him long, but Chase seemed like a pretty nice guy. He'd taken all the trouble we came with in stride after all. "Hey, I know Yuri met Chase last time we were here, but how about the rest of you?"
"He just came right up and began talking with Yuri when we were looking for you," Rita told me. "Told us he'd found the pieces of those swords that Red-eyes like to use. So did a bunch of other guild members we didn't know," Yuri looked away to hide a smile, so I thought I could guess who they were. I was starting to wish I'd asked the names of the guys who'd lent us their flare capes...
We didn't talk about our plans again, everyone seemed to want to forget for a little longer that it was our last night together. Yuri and I teased the others, Rita punched Karol, Karol fell for our jokes, and Estelle smiled and laughed with us. A few times she tried to get Repede to let her pet him just once before she left, but the dog would have none of it and kept moving away from her. Once he walked over to Rita and flopped against her legs, nearly knocking her over.
It should have lasted longer, we should have stayed up late just being friends and not worrying about anything (well, except for me who was worrying about GIANT BIRD ATTACK in the morning), but it ended too soon. Estelle and Rita needed to turn in early, as they each had a full day of travel before them. The guys and I seemed to lose the will to stay and talk longer after they left, so we also went to bed early. I lay on my bed staring at the ceiling for a long time, and wouldn't be surprised if the others did the same.
x x x
"It's too bad we've gotta split up," Karol mumbled. He and I had come to see off Estelle and Rita, leaving Yuri to sulk in the inn. Yes, the swordsman was sulking. Not quite as bad as he had in the game, there he'd also been dealing with the fact that he'd just killed Ragou in cold blood. Sure that wouldn't bother him that much, but I always figured he hadn't wanted to face pure and innocent Estelle after that.
Plus, he was clearly of the opinion that she shouldn't be running back to the empire, even if he didn't say as much. Point is, he was sulking and didn't come to say goodbye.
"Please come visit the castle anytime," Estelle was saying, directing her words to both Karol and me.
"They'll really come if you say that," Rita "warned" her.
"What, didn't she just invite us?"
"Huh... Idiot..." Aw, come on Rita! You know she meant it! And you're happy about it too!
"With the treaty it'll become easier for guild members to enter the capital," Karol continued, not bothering to figure out what Rita had been implying.
"That's right." Dialogue even I remember...yaaawn... A bit rude of me, but sorry, it wasn't much more than small talk meant to delay the inevitable.
"Princess, we should be going," says nameless Empire Lackey A.
Her face fell, "Oh, yes." Hmm, here in the game Estelle promises to try and get a more appropriate punishment for Ragou, and that's when everyone else finds out he's "missing." But they already know that...
Instead Rita went ahead with her next lines. "Well, I guess I'll be going, too. I want to check out stuff like those aer krene." She hesitated a bit, then looked away as if embarrassed, "When I finish my analysis, I'll...um...pay a visit to the capital, too."
Estelle reached out and grabbed her hands in an energetic shake. "I'm looking forward to it!"
The embarrassed mage spluttered, "O-okay then, see ya!" and ran off before we could see her blush.
"Ain't she adorable when she's being all shy?" I grinned.
"...Karol, where will you go from here?" Estelle asked.
"I want to start up a guild with Yuri..."
"That sounds like a good idea." The look on Estelle's face pained me. She clearly thought it sounded like a really good idea, and wanted to stay and see the guild her friends made. But her smile tried to cover that up. She looked to me, "Letha, are you going to join their guild?"
"Huh?" Woah, I hadn't really thought about that.
"Yeah!" Karol looked up in excitement (guild boss radar, potential member alert!), "You should join too!"
"But...I need... I'm looking for something, you know." Umm, right, they all still think I'm looking for clues about Sophia's ruins...to find out more about the mysterious tattoo on my hand.
"You could still keep looking," the guild ace seemed to be warming up to the idea. "You might even be able to find some clues while on jobs!"
I was strongly tempted to say "yes." How cool would that be, to be a member of Brave Vesperia? But...the guild laws..."all for the guild, and the guild for all." ...I can't. I'm hiding too much, and I can't even say it's for a just reason that I'm lying through my teeth all the time.
I shook my head, "I can't answer you right now. Not yet."
"Oh..." Damn, now I've ended this goodbye (temporary as it is) on a down note.
Empire Lackey A cleared his throat. "Your Highness..."
She nodded, "Sorry. I'm ready now."
"Shouldn't I...go get Yuri?" Karol asked uncertainly.
"No...I wouldn't want to wake him."
I snorted, "By all means, wake him. With a bucket of water." Just because he claims being here would make it harder for Estelle and Rita to leave, doesn't mean he's right. Not seeing him here is probably just as painful, even if it's so like him.
Estelle shook her head, but at least she giggled a bit at my words. Then she followed the Empire Lackey towards the exit of town. I immediately started feeling antsy, (how long til Phaeroh comes?) and had to fight the urge to run after her to make sure we didn't get separated for real after all.
Karol couldn't stay to watch her leave, he turned and scampered back towards the inn. I almost didn't manage to keep up, he took me by surprise. I stopped and waited outside the inn, knowing the boy had gone inside to try and talk Yuri into coming out to catch Estelle to say goodbye. Well, that's what the game did.
So I was looking right up into the sky when Mega Ultra Chicken appeared (Yugioh Abridged Series... good for people who like the show, good for people who hate the show). So, Phaeroh showed up and caused an uproar among the crowds as he flew around the city. What's the big deal, he can't get past the barrier...can he? Entelexeia are affected by barriers too...like Ent back in Caer Bocram. Well, even if he couldn't, it was justifiable to freak out about a GIANT BIRD flying around your city.
Karol and Yuri came crashing out of the door behind me. "Monsters?" Yuri breathed in disbelief. "Karol! Any idea what that thing is?"
"No, I've never seen anything like that before..." Phaeroh swooped lower. "It's coming down!"
"Come on, Karol, Letha!" Knowing this would happen, I was right behind the swordsman when he took off running towards Dahngrest's bridge.
"What? Hey, wait!" Karol ran after Yuri and me.
x x x
One Mess after Another
Yuri: Just when I get to relax...I get dragged into another mess!
Karol: Yuri, fate really is out to get you!
Yuri: Hey, it's not all my fault. You both had roles in this, too!
Karol: But I never ran into gigantic monsters or got arrested by knights before I met you!
Letha: Same here actually, despite all the trouble I seem to attract myself...
Yuri: Well, things didn't go bad for me until I left the capital with Estelle.
Karol: ...So that means...
Yuri: Drop it. Keep moving.
Karol: R-right.
Letha: Personally, I just prefer to blame everything on Nevi...
x x x
We reached the bridge at Dahngrest's entrance, where Flynn, Sodia, Witcher, and loads of knights I didn't know were in various states of collapse and exhaustion. Phaeroh was hovering nearby, not even looking winded. Though I don't now how you could tell if he were...
Flynn tried to push himself back up to his feet, leaning heavily on his sword, and Yuri rushed over to his friend's side. "What is going on here?"
"Yuri," Flynn noticed us for the first time, "Protect Her Highness..." He fell heavily to one knee again.
"Yuri, look!" Karol pointed, and now we noticed the pink and white figure further down the bridge. Estelle was kneeling by several downed knights, trying to heal them. She looked up just as Phaeroh turned away from the knights to look her over. He was seriously only twenty feet away tops, almost no distance for something as big as him.
Phaeroh was distracted again when Witcher threw a fireball at his face. "This way, foul fiend!" Midget's got guts... Sodia was on her feet again two, using both hands to hold her sword steady. Even if most fans hated her (I don't exactly, just don't like how all the scenes the game gave her end in "Die Lowell!" vibes), you had to admire her for standing her ground to do her duty.
But Phaeroh had already dismissed them, talk to the wing, bitches! Okay, need to not do that again. He and Estelle were staring each other down and I saw her lips move, though we were a bit too far away to hear her line. ("Is it coming for...me?" or something like that.)
Yuri and Karol were running to Estelle, but I paused when I heard Flynn's disbelieving, "The Commandant... But why is he here...?" I looked back to see Alexei and some of his personal guard joining our little party.
He stopped to survey the scene of loss on the bridge. "Our finest Knights...! I am left with no choice..." Oh boy, oh crap oh crap oh crap... I took off to catch up with the others before the fireworks started. Behind me I heard Alexei calling out orders for Heracles to prepared for use against the "beast."
"Oh crap oh crap oh crap, running running running!" I muttered as I caught up with the others. In my head the words had my oldest brother's voice. At least I thought it was his voice.
Ahead of me Yuri had reached the princess first, and I was finally close enough to hear her exclaim, "Yuri!" in relief. Phaeroh took another fireball to the face, and this time rose up higher into the air with a single beat of his wings.
There were blasts of explosions and large gunfire from Heracles and shrieks of pain and anger from Phaeroh. Orange bursts of fire in the air and purple flashes from barriers that it looked like the Entelexeia was throwing up in defense threw multicolored light everywhere.
The others watched the light show and fight in awe. "What is that...?" Yuri breathed.
The princess knew, "Heracles..."
"Whoa, we've gotta get out of here!" Karol cowered and ducked instinctively as an explosion burst in the air fairly close to us.
Animated cut scene time! Part of my mind cheered, and another part started screaming at it to shut up and make sure I didn't get killed. While I was having my internal argument, Yuri had gotten Estelle's attention and was looking her straight in the eyes. "I'm going to leave the city and continue my journey," he told her with resolve.
Her eyes widened, as if she already knew where this was going but couldn't dare to believe what he was offering. "What do you mean?"
"If you're going back to the capital, you shouldn't keep Flynn waiting." She looked down and away. "It's for you to decide." So indirect, Yuri, but it's better for her to actually think options and choose on her own...
"Then I..." She looked up at us all, "I want to continue the journey as well!"
Yuri smiled and took her hand. "Now, that's what I wanted to hear." YurixEstelle shippers go wild...but Yuri is oblivious to female psychology. Both his words and my thought were cut off by an explosion right above our freaking heads! Well, a bit further down the bridge actually or we all would have been fried, but it seemed like it was above our heads! We all turned away and raised our arms to shield ourselves from flying debris as we ran to escape the blast.
Aaand, there's Judy, standing calmly on a not-destroyed section of the bridge and staring up into the sky at Phaeroh. I realized this would be the first time I saw her without her armor on. "Judith?" Estelle pulled to a stop and ran back to the Krytian. "Don't! It's too dangerous!"
"Look who's talking," grumbled Yuri good naturedly (despite the flying death! and things blowing up!) as he fell back to the ladies' sides.
"I'll be fine, you go on ahead," Judith told them as calmly as if we were discussing getting good seats for the Fourth of July.
Estelle grabbed her hand anyway, "Come on, quickly!" and dragged Judith along with us. Which meant I didn't have to.
"My, you're a stubborn one." Phaeroh, who had just finished his private discussion with Judith (telepathy for the plot device win!) gave one last cry and started flying away from the city.
"Huh? Why's it taking off?" Karol gasped.
"Yuri, Lady Estellise, wait!" Oh yeah, Flynn gives us a send off. Though that's not what he meant to do. He was standing on the other side of the brand new gap in the bridge. Biiiig gap, he'd had to shout to be heard and it was barely enough.
Estelle stood on the very edge of the gap, I prayed she wouldn't slip and fall into the water, in order to shout back at Flynn. I couldn't help but feel the moment was a bit ridiculous, a princess explaining her reasoning at the top of her lungs. Hoping the others didn't notice, I had plugged up my ears to mute the sound to a more reasonable level.
"I'm sorry, Flynn. I realize now I can't just go back to the capital. There are too many things I still need to know." Flynn said something, I could no longer make it out, but Estelle shook her head. "The voices of the people suffering in Nor Harbor never reached the capital. I won't achieve anything if I'm not willing to approach these problems head on... I've come to realize that during my travels. That's why! That's why I have to keep going!"
"Good speech," I said (fingers still in my ears), "I totally agree with you." Karol was giving me a funny look. "What? I can hear her!" Judith seemed amused.
Yuri didn't pay attention to me, instead winding up his throwing arm and chucking something at Flynn. He really has an amazing pitch, I should try and get him to learn baseball. Not that I actually like baseball. "Flynn, get this core back to the lower quarter!"
Flynn caught the aque blastia core, a feat nearly as impressive as Yuri's throw, and looked up in confusion. "Yuri!"
"I won't be going back to the capital anytime soon. I'm going to start up a guild." Karol's head shot up and his mouth fell open. "Give my regards to Hanks and everyone else."
"Yuri...!" the boy couldn't find any other words to express his happiness.
Again, I couldn't hear Flynn with my fingers in my ears, but I knew what his response basically was. Something about now understanding how Yuri was going to do things his own way.
"Yeah, I've finally made up my mind."
More stuff I coudn't hear from Flynn.
"Take care, Flynn." The look on the knight's face said he'd been cut off and wasn't happy. Ignoring that Yuri started walking away, the rest of us falling into step. I let my hands fall from the sides of my head, smiling at the swordsman and princess as they looked questioningly at me. Nobody commented (same old, same old from Letha).
As we were walking away Yuri started talking with Karol. "I suppose I should've talked to you first, but here's to our new guild, Karol."
"Right!"
Estelle bowed one last time to Flynn and we left Dahngrest behind.
x x x
Silly stuff has a way of working itself in and pushing the serious stuff back to other chapters...
So...anyone remember that skit where Estelle mentions Tales of the Jade Planet? I remember it, and how in the comments on that video people were discussing whether it was a reference to Tales of the Abyss. For the sake of a plausible Jade Curtiss cosplay moment, it is. And note that I haven't played Tales of the Abyss either... I saw the first volume of the manga, and when I found out it was adapted from a game I read the game script. Probably the first Tales of game I'd heard about.
Keep an eye out for the requests!