Jarovise
by Cryptographic DeLurk
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AN: I decided to come up with some Leena crackships because I wanted to try to move away from the Kid-Leena-Serge triang a bit, so I listened to my heart and my heart said 'furries' so here's some of Leena and bunny girl. Read & Relax.
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They all said Leena was restless the summer when Serge laid siege to the village. Which was, perhaps, the kindest way of putting it.
Leena understood, of course, that there was Serge and there was Lynx, and that the difference between them was more profound than the simple shape of their appearance. And, of course, she understood that she couldn't really expect the other villagers to understand that – not without proof she didn't have.
And, of course, Leena knew Serge was a sweet and kind person – the sweet and kind person that the boy she once knew would have become, if he hadn't died when she was six. And she knew she wanted to protect him and not burden him. So she didn't talk to him about what it was like to go home, in the early hours of the morning, with mud on her socks and sandals, and scratches on her arms and legs. Chief Gonji would check her over, to make sure she wasn't a monster in disguise. And then, once he had, she'd be sent home where her mom would heat up leftover phanaeng to eat in the dark, and scold Leena entirely in whispers. Was she crazy? Had she lost her mind? Why would she side with Serge and his minions? Just explain. Explain! And sometimes her siblings would wake up, in spite of her mother's attempts to be quiet, and Mom would cry for them. Because what was Leena teaching them?
Leena sat through those encounters like a stone-faced golem. It made her feel heartless. But she didn't want to burden Serge with that. We'll never forget this day! She didn't want him to remember her telling him about her most cold and heartless.
And then Serge left and took his dreams with him. And Leena was glad that she had managed to conceal herself from him to the last.
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There wasn't much work to do around the village anymore. Mom still relied on Leena to babysit her younger siblings. Granny had pleaded with her daughter: Serge was gone, so couldn't she start trusting Leena again? But it wasn't like Mom had a choice. She worked long hours as a maid in Termina, and she didn't have the money to hire anyone else to watch after her children.
The other parents in the village didn't have their hands forced in the same way. It was simply a matter of taking their babysitting funds elsewhere.
Leena was beginning to wonder what was left for her in Anri. She had once though about life ten or twenty years from now, married with kids of her own. But the truth was the village was small – there was nobody of Leena's age. Even with the stink of social pariah on her, she perhaps wasn't homely enough that she couldn't find an older man to take her in and marry her, on the promise that he'd sort out her eccentricities with a firm but loving hand. But if she didn't want that, then she might as well come to terms with the fate of becoming Anri Village's hag – with a hut over towards the swamp, and a boiling pot full of stinking medicinal brews, and a rickety door that the village kids took turns throwing rocks and rotten fruit at.
Una drove this home one day, at dinner.
"Why can't you act more ladylike? Less temperamental and more submissive?" Una asked. "I would say that you need to get a boyfriend, so that he can break you a little. But I guess if even a guy as evil and terrifying as Serge couldn't fix you, there's no way anyone ever will."
The conversation at the table ceased. Una met Leena's eyes challengingly. And Leena knew Una had said it to hurt her, but more to provoke a response. And, knowing this-
Leena seized the wooden serving spoon off the table and slammed the flat end of it down over top of Una's fingers.
"Ahh! Wahh!" Una cried, drawing back and cradling the swollen fingers.
"Leena!" her mother scolded, rushing to Una's side and looking back with all the accusations. Your own baby sibling-
Leena didn't want to say or do anything else hurtful, and she would if she stayed. She dropped the spoon and stormed out of the hut as quickly as she could. She stayed out for a couple of hours – pacing across the length of the pier and fuming, at first, and then sitting and watching the stars – before returning home.
She started spending more time in Termina after that.
Lisa didn't exactly welcome her presence most of the time. She was pretty busy taking care of the Element Shop, and would complain about Poshul shedding on the rug when Leena brought her along. But Lisa tolerated her and, maybe more importantly, treated Leena as she always had. So Leena would sit behind the counter, bickering with Lisa when there were no customers to attend to and flipping through Lisa's novellas when there were. And just before closing Leena would sweep the storefront and tidy the shelves, maybe as an apology, before they went to walk along the boardwalk together.
Most evenings Lisa seemed keen to be rid of her, if not ostentatiously so. There was a vein of discomfort running through these times. They always declined the vendors eagerly peddling banana fritters and roasted nuts and fried fish, Lisa on account of watching her figure, and Leena because she didn't have the money to waste on street food. And as they walked empty-handed, Lisa would make biting comments about Leena's unemployment that stung a little more than they used to. And then they'd complain about their respective lack of a love life, and rib each other for their unattractive qualities. But Leena felt her participation in these conversations was shallow, like she was only going through the motions, and she was sure that Lisa felt it too. What Serge had impressed on Leena was not so much that any personal deficit had created her loneliness, so much as a great cosmic force and the indecision that stalled her fighting against it.
Today, Lisa seemed friendlier than usual. She purchased Viper Churros for the both of them without prompting, linked her arm with Leena's and pushed her sideways with a playful swing of her hips, and then pleaded her case.
"Leena, I'm going to be at the shop early this Saturday. Would you mind waking up early for once and coming to meet me? You can even bring that rainbow frying pan if you like~"
This was nothing if not suspicious. Leena took a long, contemplate bite of her Viper Churro. "I can come over anytime. Why should I have to get up early to brave Fossil Valley just for the privilege of being allowed to bring some means of protection along with me?" She left out that she often slept in to prevent running into her mother and siblings as they ran through their morning routines.
"I see you aren't going to let me get away without spilling all the details," Lisa sighed. "Isn't it enough that I've let you loiter around my shop for weeks on end with for not an ounce of gold or thanks?"
"Of course not," Leena huffed.
"You ungrateful witch," Lisa said. And even though she meant it kindly it stung a little. "Very well. I'm interviewing with a new supplier for the shop Saturday morning. And, well, they seem friendly and knowledgeable from what correspondence we've exchanged but..." Lisa cupped her hand around Leena's ear and hissed into it. "They're a Demi!"
"Oh…" Leena's tone was keenly unenthused. This was merely about racial prejudice.
But Leena felt concerned for Lisa who, for valid reasons or otherwise, had worked herself into a state of distress. "Please, Leena. I don't know who else to ask. Daddy's gone to the forest again to harvest mushrooms and, well…" Lisa bit her lip nervously for a moment and then- "It's just weird, okay?! He's this mushroom man-thing now! And it's weird and I don't know how to talk to him. If I had someone else to ask, you know I would. But I'm anxious and you're handy with a weapon and- Just- Please, Leena. I don't want to be alone when the Demi-human merchant comes."
Lisa did not often humble herself to begging, and only very rarely would cop to how effected she was by her wayward father's transformation. So Leena felt there was nothing to do but acquiesce and haul herself to Termina that Saturday.
When Leena arrived at the store, Lisa was in the middle of arranging the space. She had set three chairs in the middle of the room on opposing sides, two versus one.
"Well, I'm here," Leena said. "Bright and early to help you with your Demi-human problem." She yawned and made a show of stretching her empty hands over her head. But Lisa was so busy nervously tidying the shop, she acknowledged Leena with little more than a nod. And when there was a knock on the door, Leena was the one to go to answer.
"Knock knock," the person on the other side of the door said aloud, before Leena could reach them. Their voice was feminine, of a middling tone with a sing-song quality. And Leena struggled to place for only a moment before she opened the door and saw. Oh.
A long pair of ears perked up. "Are you the shop owner." The Demi-human balanced the crate she was carrying against her hip, and stretched out her other hand.
"That would be me," Lisa cut in, suddenly all ready to play gracious host. Leena moved instinctively behind her. "I'm Lisa. This is an old friend of mine."
The Demi-human redirected her hand to shake with Lisa. "Janice."
Now that Lisa was in her element – giving introductions, conducting interviews, and talking business – Leena could not find a trace of the fear and insecurity Lisa had displayed yesterday. Lisa took over asking questions, and brushed Leena aside anytime she got in the way.
Janice quickly learned where to direct her attention to, and dutifully answered questions about production rates and item costs. She set the crate she had brought on her lap, and pointed between the various element samples she had brought with her, explaining their properties and effects.
Leena watched, catching notice of Janice's gestures and the pitch of her voices, while all the content of their conversation flowed in one ear and out the other.
Leena remembered admiring Janice, from what she had seen of her in the other world. But it was maybe hard not to admire a showman. Someone who smiled and waved and preformed to a crowd with such confidence, and who could look so put-together while doing it. She had thought that the reason for this surge of admiration and longing had simply been a product of that kind of celebrity, stature, and prestige.
Janice was wearing different clothes now – a forest green blouse with long sleeves, gold bracelets, and black short shorts (because of course). There were large tufts of brown and white at her collar, like the lining of an extravagant fur jacket. Except, no- That was Janice's fur – her mane. It would be rude to just forget, like her Demi-humanness was simply an article of clothing that could be donned or removed at will. It wasn't. It was a part of her.
After the interview was concluded, Lisa requested a moment to consult between herself and Leena.
"The product samples she brought look decent," Lisa said, lifting up a yellow element that looked like a lemon. She rubbed at its skin and pressed her nose in to smell. "Fresh and high quality. And she seems to be docile and easy to communicate with… For a Demi-human, I mean." Lisa checks the other trays of merchandise. "And she says she has a steady source of ingredients. If I can get a reliable and consistent source for the shop, that would be so much better than bartering whatever peddler comes by every third week and running out of stock in the meantime… So I guess the only real question is whether or not she can be trusted."
Lisa often monologued to herself, simply to hear her own voice as she turned ideas over in her own head. And Leena, who had been letting her, was then completely unprepared when Lisa turned to her. "Well?" Lisa said expectantly.
Leena startled to attention. She hugged her arms to her chest and gave a jerky shrug.
"Well- Would you trust her?" Lisa prompted.
Leena could still see the crumbling stone, the waterfalls, the bridges giant blooming coral, licking cuts onto her toes as it ascended up and up the heights of Terra Tower. Watch out! Janice had shoved her out of the way of attack. They had barely known one another, but they slid shoulder to shoulder and covered each other's backs without missing a step.
"I'd- I'd trust her with my life," Leena answered. And in saying it she was struck by the banality of it. No exaggeration. No hyperbole. For no particular reason and without any fanfare, it was simply what had happened.
Lisa, whose mind was not caught in another world, simply scoffed. "If I'd had any idea of just how helpful you'd be, I wouldn't have bothered asking you to be here."
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They idled. Lisa at the register signing the contracts, counting the money. Janice had left and returned with a dolly stacked with six larger crates of merchandise. She placed a couple of them up against the walls, and skipped around the shop. She said she liked to see how shops displayed her products – liked to look at them and imagine she was a customer seeing them for the first time. And Leena edged closer, trying to decide what it was she wanted to say and why she wanted to say anything to begin with.
And eventually she edged too close.
Janice's eyes turned, and then her head. She bounced on the balls of her feet, and her eyes flitted rapidly to the side and then back. And it made her seem skittish even though Leena knew, if anything, Janice was brave to a fault. And Leena promptly forgot whatever words she might have been considering before that point.
"You were blessed-" she stammered, "blessed by the God of War."
She realised suddenly she wanted to thank Janice, but for being someone Janice didn't remember being and had maybe never been. But Leena was committed now, to what she had said and how she said it. And so she wrung her hands and waited for Janice's response.
Janice's ear twitched and, for a moment, she looked at Leena with something like curiosity or wonder. Then she lifted her hand and pointed to herself. "Me?" she asked. "I'm flattered but- I think you must be confusing me with someone else."
Of course. Leena hung her head. She must sound like a crazy person, but- "No, it was you," she muttered under her breath, hopefully quietly enough that Janice couldn't make it out.
"I see…" And after a moment, Janice chuckled. She raised herself up on the balls of her feet, and then flopped back down. "You must have really wanted to talk to me. That was quite the conversation opener, I'll give you that." When Lenna did not look back up, she continued talking. "I'm Janice and have my own monster farm, but I guess you already knew that… Have you never seen a Demi-human up close? I mean- I don't mind if you ask me questions or anything, but you should really watch yourself a bit more. I don't think you took your eyes off me during that whole interview with the shopkeeper."
"Ah ha, no. That's not it," Leena shook her head and waved this accusation away. "I've seen Demi-humans before. I went to Marbule once, even. I think I have at least a passing familiarity."
"Oh?" Janice smiled smugly. "Then you were staring for an entirely different reason?" She lifted a delicate claw to Leena's face.
Leena looked up, startled, but Janice didn't waver. She caught the edge of Leena's hair, tucked it around her claw, and brushed it behind Leena's ear and out of her face. Following the curve behind Leena's ear, she stroked her finger down the side of Leena's face until she brushed off the chin.
She seemed pleased when Leena bit her lip and blushed.
"If it's like that, I don't mind," Janice said. "As long as Demis aren't your fetish, or something."
"W-What?" Leena stammered, feeling vaguely scandalised.
"What?" Janice played dumb right back. She looked around, as if for another source of Leena's confusion. When Leena didn't call her out on it, she smiled. "Why don't you tell me about yourself, girlie? A name would be nice."
There was something about this that seemed unfair. She had walked up to Janice, thinking of the things she knew about Janice that Janice didn't even know about herself. But somehow Janice was uncovering things Leena wasn't sure she knew about herself instead: Why would she think I was the kind of person that-? But why wouldn't she think that?
"I'm Leena. From Anri village." She fought back a blush and reached out her hand. Then thought better of it and pulled her hand back a fraction. And then thought better of that. Janice's hands – claws? – were so large, so unlike a human's. Was shaking hands even the done thing over in Marbule? She and the other Janice had never even had time for anything as mundane and handshakes and introductions. Maybe-
Janice caught her hand before she could think on it more. It was professional and perfunctory, and it all felt very polite.
"Do you work here at the shop?" Janice asked.
Leena giggled anxiously. "Oh, no, I-" She was the village babysitter, a sweet country gal, until she wasn't. People called her reliable and responsible, until they didn't. "I'm an adventurer at heart," she said. Which wasn't entirely untrue.
"You just said that to impress me," Janice laughed.
Leena huffed and was about to tell her off – How rude!
"Don't worry," Janice interrupted. "It's working."
"No, really, I've been to… Gaea's Navel," Leena decided on something both suitably impressive and casually believable.
"Oh?" Janice said mirthfully. "It's widely considered unreachable, so long as you're a mere mortal and not a Dragon God. You'll have to show me how you got there sometime."
Leena could tell Janice didn't believe her. But it somehow made her feel smug. She didn't know how she might charm the Beebas into helping her again, but she knew she could. "I will then. Whenever you're ready."
"Um, well-" Janice, who seemed momentarily caught off guard, pulled herself together with aplomb. "If you've an adventurous spirit, maybe I can give you a tour of my ranch. It's not as uninteresting as I make it sound when I do my sales pitch. I really, really love monsters. I have a really impressive variety," she bragged. "Kinds you've probably never seen before. I'd love to introduce you to everyone. And I've got a really nice vege patch too."
"I bet you just say that to all the girls," Leena said. And she was surprised at her own boldness.
"Only to the ones that take an interest in me," Janice returned smoothly.
It was another chance for Leena to back out, claim some misunderstanding. But instead the silence dragged out between them, and Leena stared down intently at her hands rather than weather it head on.
"You two are totally in your own little world, huh?" Lisa said, right at Leena's shoulder, in a tone that made it abundantly clear how unimpressed she was.
Leena startled back, reached to brace herself against the wooden shelves in the shop, and almost knocked over a crate of blue elements in the process.
She looked up and realised that Janice had done something quite similar, only recovered herself quicker.
"So you're, uh, done checking your expenses and detailing your terms?" Janice asked.
Lisa swept into the space between then tapped her fingers against her clipboard, where an envelope of money was pinned under the clasp. She handed it over to Janice. "I assume you want to look everything over. But I want to talk about when you'll be by next. I know we discussed them being monthly, but you didn't bring a full shipment this time, and I was wondering if it was possible to set up another time before the following month?" She didn't wait for an answer before turning to Leena. "I think you've helped enough for one day. You can go."
Leena blinked, startled at being dismissed so suddenly. And then some of her old righteous anger hit her. "You're unbelievable!" she said to Lisa. "You're the one who asked me to be here in the first place. The ingratitude! And-" Leena's eyes flickered to Janice, who seemed equally at a loss, and suddenly all the fight left Leena. She felt her face flush, and she was not sure how to justify that she would like to say.
Lisa's lip curled in a smug grin. "So that's how it is? Huh, Leena?"
"You are impossible," Leena said, more softly. "But of the two of us, I can better take the hint when I'm not wanted." She tugged at the skirt of her dress, and pressed her feet more firmly in her sandals before she turned to go.
"Wait a minute!" Janice said. "Before you leave-!"
Leena could not help but turn back, where a far-too-amused Lisa had her arms folded over her chest, and a red-faced Janice dug through her crates. She seemed to find what she was looking for, though it was completely obscured from view in Janice's furry palm, and tossed it over.
Leena caught it reflexively. "What is it?" She rotated it in her palm. It was some type of root vegetable that looked like a carrot, so deeply orange it was almost red.
"A product sample," Janice said. "My special variety of red element. It can channel solar power. Plus, it's good to eat. Way more nutritious than your average Tablet." Her ear twitched, but her face remained calm. "Remember you still owe me a trip to Gaea's Navel."
"Do I?" Leena said, feeling very silly under Lisa's scrutiny. "And how will I find you to take you there?"
"Can't you search me out?" Janice teased. "You're an adventurer right? You'll figure it out." And then she turned back to Lisa, and it was all business.
Leena felt oddly light-headed, walking back through Fossil Valley on the way home. What a surreal experience. It felt almost as if Janice had stepped out of another world – although how silly, considering it was the other world's Janice that Leena had been familiar with, and not this one. But then Leena had felt like a different person than her usual self, too, talking to Janice like that. She felt herself, drifting and daydreaming about how she would convince the Beebas to help her return to Gaea's Navel, for Janice's sake. But it was a fantasy, something the different Leena that appeared earlier that morning might have the courage to do alone, not her.
Leena did her best to let that dream and memory fade. But at some point on her way, there was nothing to snack on except the element Janice gave her. It was sweet, and potent, and even weeks later she couldn't forget the taste.
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"So… that woman came by," Lisa said. The words were measured such as to seem casual.
"Who?" Leena asked blankly, as she scribbled a grid for dots-and-boxes on a piece of scrap paper.
"She came to drop off this month's shipment. The Demi-human woman – Janice." Lisa narrowed her eyes at Leena. "She asked after you. She seemed disappointed you weren't there."
Leena startled with remembrance. The taste of salty seawater, hot ash, and the red carrot element burst on her tongue. "…Did she?" Leena asked.
"She did," Lisa nodded solemnly.
Leena busied herself with filling in a couple of squares on the game board. "And… would you be disappointed in me if I asked after her in return?" she asked tentatively.
Lisa gave her a scathing look. "You might be a low class, overly loud, and smelly person, Leena, with no hope with either romance or games," she scoffed as she opportunistically seized the pencil and half the game board, "but of course I'm not going to be disappointed in you for something like that."
"I see…" Leena huffed angrily, but she felt soothed when, in handing back the pen, Lisa squeezed her hand affectionately. "Then what did she say?"
Lisa dug through her apron for a moment, and then balanced a folded slip of paper between Leena's knuckles.
"It's coordinates. She said she might have made things a bit too difficult for you last time, and this was her apology for hesitating. She said even if you're not a great explorer yet, that you can come see her as you are, and work out how to get to Gaea's Navel later."
Leena filled in only four squares on the game grid, before handing the pencil back. "I really have been there, you know."
Lisa huffed. "It's not me you have to prove it to."
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Leena spent a few days just looking at the slip of paper. The little numbers written into the folds, like fingers tucked into skin. Una had a map, and Leena sneaked it away and checked the numbers against it, like the location in the northern sea might have changed since she last looked.
She thought she might leave tomorrow, always tomorrow. And Leena wasn't entirely sure why four days in, tomorrow finally turned into today.
"How much to use your boat?" she asked the old fisherman, who was always sleeping at the dock and never doing anything else.
"To where?" he asked. "And for how long?"
"Anywhere," Leena said. "And indefinitely."
He named a sum, which surprised Leena, because she hadn't been sure he'd agree to offer his boat up for sale at all.
"I'll be back."
She gathered everything she could: dried fish and dried fruit, rope and netting, fresh elements gifted from Lisa's shop, a large jar of potable water, her trusty rainbow pan, a collection of seashells, needles and thread to darn her socks, and all the money she had, which wasn't nearly enough.
She was hesitating, but in the end she went to her mother's bed to pull out the money hidden under the mattress. It's a cruel thing, she knows. Something only a villain would do. But her Mom had a community here, and they would rally around to help her through her troubles, if Leena made herself the villain.
"Poshul," she called. "Do you want to go on an adventure with me?" And she kissed Granny on the forehead, and said it was for no reason, before leaving the house.
She feels truly like a witch – the hag they want her to be – when she places the money firmly in the old fisherman's hand. But after that he hands her the oar, and she feels lighter than ever, back to being an adventurer again.
Poshul dips her paw into the water. And Leena unties the boat from the dock, winding the rope in a circle beneath her feet, and presses the oar against the planks on the pier to cast off.
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AN: I'm not endorsing stealing from your parents. Don't do it. Yadda.
I'm not sure how exactly I've described Chrono Cross's elements in my other work, but I like the headcanon I made up for them here: material components for spells that are made of organic material. Some of them are edible. Most of them are perishable. Like fruits and vegetables. But I think some of the more sturdy ones are made of bone, or cartilage like a monster horn. Consumables like Tablets and Antidotes are, well, liquid and powder medicine made from concentrated and mixed ingredients. I'm sure it's a talent to put them together from raw materials – a talent Lisa has mastered.
That's all. Thank you for reading :')
bgm: Cais by Regina Elis.