Terra mounted Orcus with the aid of a boost from the chocobo's master, who then pulled himself up behind her. He patted Orcus's flank and said, "All right, to Maranda. I intend to take the long way this first time until he gets used to having two people on his back, which will take about two hours. You have ridden a chocobo before, I presume?"

Terra nodded, also stroking Orcus's neck. "Yes, but never a black one. I've read that they're much faster, though."

There was a pause before he prompted, "... That's all?"

"That's all the book said," Terra affirmed. "That a hunter reported a single sighting of a black chocobo, but it escaped into a forest much more quickly than a regular yellow chocobo, and thus one has never been caught." She turned to look up at him. "Why? Is there something else?"

His lips spread into a grin. "Yes, but I think I'll save that for later." He leaned over her back and slid his hands over hers to grip Orcus's feathers. "But your book was correct concerning their speed, so you are going to want to hold on tight."

She swallowed and nodded, feeling a bit of giddy tension. She wasn't sure if it was because of the prospect of going fast, or because his chest resting against her back and his arms on either side of her holding her hands was like a covert half-embrace. Perhaps a combination of both.

He gave Orcus's neck a pat and declared, "All right, Orcus, let's go." Orcus ruffled his wings and strutted forward a few steps, almost as as a warning to make sure they really were holding on. Terra took the chocobo's unstated advice and gripped more tightly, and Orcus lowered his head and made his way out of the forest with a steady jog at the pace Terra was accustomed to riding a normal chocobo. However, once they had cleared the trees and were out in the open, he stretched out his neck and accelerated into a sprint.

"Ohh my..." Terra breathed, gripping on tightly. They sailed past Jidoor in only five minutes when it had taken nearly an hour to cross that distance while walking, even with weightless loads. Soon after that they reached the narrow land bridge that Lola's letter had mentioned connected Jidoor to Maranda.

"So, how are you holding up?" came a warm query in Terra's ear.

Her cheeks tingled and she let out an excited whoop. "This is amazing!" she said breathlessly. "Even though I know the airship is fast, from that high up the ground still seems to move so slowly so it's hard to tell. But this way, I can... I can feel it, and it's exhilarating!"

"Oh, you're the type who likes the wind in her hair, huh?" he observed with a grin. "You hear that, Orcus? She says she's impressed with you!" he called down to the chocobo, who gave an approving squawk. He mulled something over a moment before continuing, "We haven't yet hit the eastward bend in the land bridge, so the shortcut route would still save a little time." Giving the bird's neck a pat, he wondered, "What do you say, are you acclimated enough to this new weight distribution that you think you can handle it?"

Orcus ruffled his neck feathers and made a little "brr" noise. "That means 'yes'," his master translated. Leaning over Terra's shoulder, he playfully whispered into her ear, "And what about you? Do you want to find out what makes a black chocobo really special?"

Terra felt a pleasant shiver run down her neck. That line sounded like something right out of Edgar's playbook, but while she had never felt any reaction when Edgar had made enticing remarks at her... this time was different, like a tickle in her ear that traveled to her stomach. It didn't help that with his face right there, the feathers on his mask were literally tickling her in the ear.

She grinned and leaned down, saying, "Yes, Orcus, I'd love to see what you can do."

"All right, you heard her, time for a shortcut!" he announced, leaning forward and enunciating the last word, likely because the chocobo didn't actually understand anything he was saying outside of his tone of voice and a few key terms. Orcus gave an excited "wark!" in response, then veered to the left towards the shore of the land bridge.

Terra lifted her head to look at the approaching water. Maybe Orcus could swim like a duck, then? Was she going to get wet? Were there any monsters in the water they'd have to watch out for? But as they got closer to the edge of the land, Orcus splayed out his wings, which were much larger than a yellow chocobo's. He started to flap, and Terra had a moment of realization, turning her head around and asking in astonishment, "Wait, he can actually...?"

"I would suggest holding on tight," her partner said with a grin, squeezing her hands. She turned back around with an expectant smile and clutched the chocobo's feathers securely. Orcus crouched forward and then leapt into the air, propelling himself higher with a strong flap of his wings. They sailed out over the water and he continued to pump his wings to drive them higher until settling into a gentle glide about a hundred feet above the water.

Terra let out the breath she'd been holding and looked around in astonishment. "He... he can fly! Orcus can fly !" she exclaimed. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "And it's so... quiet. I'm used to there being the noise of engines when I'm flying, but this is..." She opened her eyes and looked down over the water passing by beneath them, able to hear the churning of waves with the rush of wind and the rustling of feathers being the only other sounds. "... serene."

He took a deep breath behind her and loosened his grip on her hands now that they were at a stable cruising altitude. "I suppose I have gotten used to this view after the dozens of rounds I have made between Jidoor and Maranda. But seeing it fresh through your eyes again makes me appreciate it more."

Terra nodded. "I bet it would be even more beautiful with blue sky and water rather than red," she said with a bit of wistful sadness.

"Blue...?" he questioned. Terra inhaled sharply in realization. If he had no memories from before a year ago... then that meant he had no memories of what the world was like before the fall. This rusty sky, blood red water, and barren landscape was all he had ever known. He'd obviously heard people speaking of the world from before, but he had no experience of it. That was... so incredibly sad.

This... this needed to be put right. She'd gotten so enraptured with collaborating with him that she'd almost lost sight of the end goal. She was here to help him recover from his trauma, yes, but also to hopefully recruit him into the fight against Kefka. And while there was no guarantee that defeating Kefka would restore balance to the world, at the very least it would allow people to stop living in fear of arbitrary judgment from the skies. He'd have one less thing he'd need to hide himself from.

But... he'd already been helping the world in his own way. Who was she to pull him away from that? Despite the ongoing degradation of the world, he had nevertheless worked to maintain some sense of stability in people's lives. His work was just as important as standing up to Kefka. She still intended to eventually make the offer, but if he refused, she would absolutely understand.

They reached land again in a little under an hour, which was indeed quite the shortcut compared to the two hours that had been quoted previously. Terra once again found arms on either side of her, firm hands clutching hers to hold onto the chocobo's feathers. "The flight is quite pleasant, but landing can be a little rough," he noted. "Orcus can only land in forests so that he has something to... cushion his descent, I suppose. Best keep a sturdy grip."

Terra gulped and braced herself, seeing the forest northwest of Maranda approaching ahead. Orcus reared back and flapped his wings to slow himself, causing Terra to need to hold on tighter to keep from sliding off. He stretched out his legs and gripped the upper branches of one of the trees, causing it to sway as he settled his weight on it. He ruffled his feathers and folded his wings, then proceeded to hop down the branches into the forest breaking off smaller limbs in the process. When they finally reached the ground, Terra's hair was covered in broken twigs and dead leaves.

She let out a breath and spit some shaved bark out of her mouth. "You were certainly right about the rough landing..."

"Haha, this landing was actually quite graceful compared to some others I've experienced," said her fellow passenger, dismounting and brushing the debris off his coat. He reached up to offer a hand to her to help her descend as well. "I think he may have tried to be gentle this time for your sake."

"Well, that's very thoughtful of him," said Terra with a little bow of her head, taking his hand and jumping down. She turned and scratched her fingers under Orcus's cheeks, saying, "Thank you very much for the ride. It was incredible." Orcus let out a happy "brr" sound and stamped his foot. Terra turned and asked, "Can I give him another treat? He's definitely earned it."

"Of course," he said with a smile, shaking a few raisins out of his tin to pass to her. "Flying that much distance with that much weight wears him out, though, so we will either need to stay the night here for him to recover, or return north by land."

"'Return'..." Terra repeated as Orcus eagerly nibbled the raisins out of her hand with a pleased coo. "Is there anyplace that you consider your 'home', then?"

He exhaled and looked slowly around the forest. "... Not particularly, no. My most valuable hunting marks are in the desert south of Maranda so sometimes I will spend a few days here. However, my orders and pickups are all in Jidoor, so I always find myself heading back in that direction. I spent some time living in the slums of Zozo early on and picked up some of their smuggling techniques, and I sometimes return there if I am desperate to socialize, but it is hardly a 'home'..."

Terra bit her lip, then offered, "I... know that you said you're not ready to deal with other people yet, but... when I go back to the others, you're always welcome to come with me."

He swallowed and noted, "You say that like you intend to return to them soon."

Terra clasped her hands in front of her and looked at the ground. "The others are currently planning their assault on Kefka's tower. We want to rid the world of his influence, and the sooner we defeat him the better. The longer we wait, the longer the world suffers in fear. Three days... is all they'll wait for me. At that point, either I return, or they launch their assault without me."

"And you wish to be present," he concluded.

She nodded. "I owe it to everyone I care about to take an active role in protecting them. I have the power to help, so I need to use it. I promised I would fight, and I still intend to."

"As you should..." he affirmed, still looking out into the forest. He clenched his hands at his sides, adding, "Kefka was the one who drove me into hiding in the first place. I feel that it would only be right for me to face him, but... the prospect is still so overwhelming. Even though you have helped me overcome so much in just these few days, I do not know if I can be fully ready to confront the source of all our suffering in only another two..."

Terra walked to him and held his arm. "I want to help you as much as I can, but even if it's not enough and you're still not comfortable joining us, I don't want you to feel like you let us down." She patted the crate tied to his back. "You've still been doing your part to save the world all this time, anyway."

"I have done what I can..." he said. "Though sometimes I wonder if I am truly saving anyone or if I am merely staving off the inevitable." He turned and held her hands, looking her in the eyes. "And it is not only that. If you are going to fight him, then... I want to fight at your side. I know you will have your other friends with you and I know I should trust them, but..." He lowered his head. "If anything were to happen to you and I was not there, I don't know if I would be able to forgive myself."

Terra smiled and leaned forward to rest her forehead on his chest. "I want you to be there, too... but I also don't want you to force yourself into a situation you can't handle just for my sake. I worry a lot about your well-being, too, after all."

He inhaled deeply, his chest rising against Terra's head. "Then... I cannot drag my feet any longer if I want to have any hope of being ready in time." He looked to the crate on his back and decided, "I will deliver these supplies in person, then, rather than merely leaving them at the edge of town. If I am going to be working with other people I must overcome my fear of them." She could feel him tremble a little. "You will... assist me, though, I presume."

She nodded against his chest. "Of course."

They unloaded the remainder of the chocobo feed - with Terra restoring its weight - and left it with Orcus in the woods to let him rest and regain his energy. Once they left the forest and headed towards Maranda the friendly chatter that had carried on for most of the rest of their travels had gone silent, replaced with anxious mental preparations at the prospect of talking to other people. Terra remembered how easily he interacted with everyone in Thamasa and on the airship previously and it was disheartening how much stress it caused him now. But even back then when she'd mentioned her envy over how easily he conversed with people, he'd reminded her that he was still scared, he'd just covered for it with a veneer of confidence.

Essentially, even before the fall, he'd still been wearing a mask. A mask that would slip off when he was excited or comfortable, but one that he would still put right back on the moment things became tense or uncertain. And by losing his memory... he'd lost access to that mask as well, and was left vulnerable in this new world with his fears amplified and laid bare. The physical mask he wore now... was an attempt at a replacement. But whereas the mask of authority and confidence he'd worn as General Leo was crafted from his own experiences of what kind of posturing he could get away with when conducting diplomacy, the lion mask was one he'd just picked up somewhere and found that it scared monsters away. It was a crutch that offered no room for growth or refinement.

She'd wanted to be as gentle and permissive with him as possible in order to let him feel his own way through this. But she'd learned with the children that their lack of experience meant that sometimes they wanted things that weren't good for them due to not knowing any better. And in those cases, she had to take it upon herself to tell them "no" and explain why so that they could make better choices in the future. Leo wasn't a child and she hated the thought of treating him like one... but with only a year's worth of life experiences at his disposal, in some ways he kind of was.

She wasn't really much different, though. After waking up from the Slave Crown's mind control, her recollection of anything prior was still fuzzy at best. She'd only gained a few months' experience herself between then and the fall of the world, during which time she had been comparably timid and uncertain. But the difference was that afterwards, she'd spent the next year constantly in direct contact with other people while Leo had spent it mostly alone. She'd grown and come to learn more about herself and the world while Leo seemed to have remained in a mostly persistent state since then. If he was going to break out of it, then he was going to need to do things differently.

"General..." she began, breaking the silence and startling him a little. "When we get to Maranda, I think you should try talking to people without the mask."

He made a small choke in his throat. "I... am still barely able to muster the courage to speak to them at all, but to do it with my face exposed...?"

"Why do you need to hide your face from them?" she pressed. "There are no monsters in Maranda, and I think wearing that mask at all times is unconsciously reinforcing to you that there's something you need to be hiding from."

"But..." he protested, but was unable to come up with a proper excuse. "Without it, I simply feel... far too vulnerable. That all my weaknesses and insecurities are exposed and easily taken advantage of."

"I do understand that," she concurred. "There are plenty of situations where your fears don't need to be made known to other people. But by relying on the mask, you've never given yourself the opportunity to learn to manage those insecurities on your own. If the goal here is to talk to people, then talk to them as yourself. The mask may be keeping monsters out, but it's also keeping your fear in. Sometimes you have to just let yourself be vulnerable to understand that you don't need to be scared."

He swallowed uneasily and looked towards the town on the horizon. "I wish I had your confidence..."

"Oh, I am terrified right now," she admitted, causing him to look back at her in surprise. "Standing up to you and calling you out, telling you to do something that I know you're not comfortable with... it hurts. I'm afraid I might scare you away or cause you to lose your trust in me. I can't even be certain that I'm right. But..." She couldn't keep it up. After giving him a glimpse under her own mask she'd put on to inspire confidence, she wasn't able to maintain it and covered her face in her hands with a shuddering sigh. She'd wanted to set an example for him but had only given a demonstration of how easy it was to fail at it.

After a few moments of uneasy silence, Terra felt something placed on her head and looked up in surprise only to find something black was blocking her vision. Reaching her hand up to touch it, she felt the brush of feathers against her palm. With a gulp, she slowly lifted the object up to peer out from under it, only to be greeted with Leo's face looking down at her with a faint smile. "Your mask was faltering so I thought I might lend you mine," he said.

"General...?" she whispered with a bit of uncertainty. Even though she'd seen it this morning, seeing his face again now caused that same swelling in her chest that she'd felt before.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I have been relying on you for support so much that I tend to forget that you wear a mask to hide your insecurities as well. Most of the people in Jidoor were immediately distrusting of me, and it was likely because my mask was so obvious. They could immediately tell I was hiding something. But you wear a mask to help inspire confidence and trust in me even when you yourself are uncertain, and it blends so seamlessly that it may as well simply be another facet of you." He lowered his arm and looked back towards town. "I do not like that you are frightened, but it is also comforting to know that I am not alone in my fear. And knowing that even though you have your anxieties, it has not prevented you from doing what needs to be done."

She blushed and pulled the lion mask off her head, hugging it against her chest. "I... really don't feel like I've done anything special, though..." she admitted. But she was saying that in comparison to the General Leo she'd known before. She'd judged him by the face he wore while trying to support and comfort her, and that had led to the illusion of some giant chasm between their relative competencies. But now here it seemed like he was doing the same, viewing her as some kind of highly capable mentor that was light years ahead of him when she knew for a fact that he was equally proficient.

It was like he'd said during their first conversation: they were in the same boat. They were still in the same boat. There was no great ocean between them, only the mutual perception of one. She knew he was just as capable as her if he'd only let himself try. But by definition, that meant that... she was just as capable as him... if only she'd believe herself to be.

"... But if what I've done has helped you, I don't want to belittle that," she eventually added after some thought.

He placed his hands on his hips and nodded. "In all seriousness, if you were not here, I would never have had the courage to do any of this. I would still be hiding in a forest, invisible, and haphazardly throwing resources at ailing towns based on hearsay and hoping something helped."

Terra held out her hand to him. "Then come on. Let's stop being so haphazard about it and make sure we're getting everyone what they really need."

He took her hand and they made their way the rest of the way to Maranda. When they reached the edge of town, she could feel him squeezing her anxiously, trembling a little. It was late afternoon now and there were various people roaming the streets, however the people paid them little attention, as they only looked like regular travelers now.

"Heh... even without the invisibility spell, no one is looking at me..." he noted, absently rubbing his thumb over the back of Terra's hand. "I am... just another person to them..."

"Well, you're a little bit more than just another person, but you're going to need to talk to them for them to find that out," she said. "If you want, I can try easing you into it at first by making the first introductions."

He swallowed. "I would rather not unnecessarily burden you with something that I by all rights should be able to do on my own." He scanned the streets and noticed an elderly woman with a cane shakily ease herself down onto a ledge and rub her knee. With a deep breath, he resolved, "All right, I see someone who may be in need of assistance. Wish me luck?"

Terra smiled and patted his arm. "I do wish you luck. But I also know you can do this."

She let him lead the way, first tentatively, then his pace evened out until he was striding purposely towards the seated woman. When he reached her, he first stood in front of her in uncertain silence, before clearing his throat and attempting, "Excuse me... ma'am?"

She looked up at him and said, "Oh, hello. Can I help you?"

He stood a little rigidly. "I... was actually hoping that I could help you. Are you in any pain, ma'am?"

"Oh, it's just my old knees," she said, patting them. "I used to take a potion for them once a week, but they're getting hard to come by nowadays and the shops keep increasing their prices."

"Is that so?" he said, pulling the small notebook out of his breast pocket and making a note in it. "While I understand that people who work in this town still deserve a source of income, I had hoped that these supplies would have been more charitably distributed." He looked over to Terra and queried, "Can you check the crate and confirm how many potions I have? This order should have had twenty."

"Oh!" she replied, not expecting to be so directly pulled into the work. But it also slightly excited her. He crouched down so that she could check inside the crate on his back, and after some counting, confirmed, "Yes, you have twenty."

He smirked. "While that shopkeeper grossly overcharges me, at least he does not short me." He reached behind his head and beckoned with his hand. "Give me four of them, please."

"Of course," said Terra, handing him the potions he requested.

He held them out to the old woman and offered, "Here, these should last you the month, then."

"Oh my..." said the old woman, looking at the items in his hands. "But I have no means of paying for this."

"You owe me nothing for these, other than your continued good health," he said, smiling softly.

She tentatively took them, as if still not entirely believing that she could just have them for free. Once they were fully in her hands with no strings attached, she said, "Thank you, young man... Are you some sort of traveling doctor?"

He pursed his lips in thought. "More of a traveling charitable relief aid worker, I would say. I am still in the process of attempting to 'find myself', so to speak, but I wish to help who I can along the way."

She gave him a pat on the hand. "Well, you seem to be on your way to finding someone great. I wish you all of my blessings."

He smiled wider and nodded. "Much appreciated, ma'am."

They turned and continued down the street, and Terra grinned at him a little giddily. "Well you just... eased right back into that like it was second nature," she observed.

"I know, I was a little surprised myself!" he concurred, letting out his previous tension with a shaky chuckle. "As soon as I started talking to her and knew that I could provide her with the help she needed, everything just... fell into place. I knew what I needed to do and was able to do it. I almost feel silly that I was so afraid to take this step all this time."

Terra folded her hands behind her back. "There's nothing wrong with being afraid, even if it's something that turns out to be small, because you don't actually know how small or large it is until you actually face it. But facing it is the important part."

He held his chest. "And just like when I held your hand that first time, there is... a flood of feelings coming back to me. My body remembers your touch, but it's my heart that remembers this... Reveling in the lives of my fellow people and being of service to them." He scanned the streets for anyone else appearing in need of assistance. "I wish to do more..."

He spotted a young woman standing on a ladder and attempting to hang a sign above a door, however the ladder was balanced quite precariously on the cobblestone street. He hastened his steps in that direction in concern, and just as he approached, one of the ladder's legs rocked into a gap between the stones, causing it to list dangerously. The woman shrieked and dropped her sign, grabbing the rungs, but he reached out and firmly gripped the ladder before it could fall.

"Careful there, ma'am. Are you needing some assistance?" he wondered, pushing the ladder back into place.

The woman panted breathlessly. "Oh my goodness, thank you so much!" She quickly but shakily descended the ladder to more solid ground. "I guess maybe that was a bit much to attempt by myself."

Terra came trotting over to offer her help as well, but then noticed that the woman he was talking to was: "Lola? It's good to see you!"

"Oh, Terra! You're back in town!" Lola exclaimed with a smile. "Have you had any luck in your search for General Leo?"

Terra stiffened and made a small squeak, glancing up at him. While the answer to that was definitely "yes", he still had difficulty personally identifying by that name due to still being locked away from any active memories of that person. It was still only feelings. Therefore, introducing him as General Leo at this point felt a little preemptive.

"We are making good progress on it," he offered for her, giving Terra a little wink. "We know that he still exists somewhere and are doing everything in our power to draw him out."

"I'm glad..." said Lola. "After everything you and your friends have done for me to help me find closure with Wes, I've been hoping that you would find your closure, too. I know how painful it is to be separated from a loved one and be left wondering."

Terra blushed at her choice of words, though they weren't entirely wrong. Just like with the children and her friends, she cared about Leo's well-being and felt joy when he succeeded and sorrow when he was hurting, so that logically meant that she loved him, too. And yet, her feelings towards him still felt... different than that. Something extra that was unique to how she felt about him that she couldn't quite define. Something that made "love" feel like it meant... something else when applied to him.

"And knowing you're not alone in how you feel really helps in working through those feelings," Lola continued. She knelt down and picked up the sign she had been trying to hang and held it out for Terra to see. "So I thought I'd try starting a support group for the other people in Maranda. Where people who are having problems can get together and talk, and maybe even find someone close by who can help them that they may never have realized." She held the sign to her chest and looked down. "Everyone has lost someone, either in the war or the fall of the world. And I kept thinking about how you helped me and how General Leo helped Wes and how Jidoor helped this town, and kept wishing there was someone who could help all these other people... and then realized what's stopping me from being that person?"

Terra's eyes wavered and she held Lola's hand. "Oh, Lola, that's so wonderful of you. Everyone who takes the time to prop someone else up relieves a little more burden from the world."

Lola nodded. "It doesn't feel like much... but getting all those letters probably didn't look like much to the outside, either, but they meant so much to me." She reached into her blouse and pulled out the small metal tag that she now wore as a charm. "And this tag might not mean anything to anyone else, but it helped fill a gaping hole in my heart. So I guess even small things can leave a big impact on other people without you ever even realizing it."

She looked up and saw the man who had come with Terra had raised his hand in a salute. Cocking her head, she wondered, "Oh, are you former military, too?"

He blinked, then slowly lowered his hand and looked at it curiously. "I suppose I am... That was an automatic reaction upon seeing that tag... Ma'am, I... am sorry for your loss." She had never outright stated that someone had died, but somehow... he knew? And that... he felt responsible?

"Thank you..." she replied, bowing her head slightly. "But you don't have to be sorry. It wasn't your fault." He was about to question that, but she pushed a stray bang back from her face and said, "I wish I could meet General Leo and tell him that, too. Even though the Empire took Wes from me in the first place, General Leo was the person who ensured that our separation wasn't absolute. So while I might be able to blame the Empire for losing Wes, I can't blame the general along with them. So wherever he is, I don't want him to feel guilty about that."

He swallowed, then nodded. "I... will do my best to pass that along." Clearing his throat, he nodded towards the ladder. "Anyway, do you still need help hanging that sign?"

"Oh, yes, thank you!" she said, lightly bopping the side of her head. She took the sign in one hand and a brick in the other and turned to climb the ladder again.

"A brick?" he noted. "Is that what you intend to use to drive the nails?"

"Oh, I don't even have nails, I was just going to see if I could wedge it between two panels of siding," she replied.

He shook his head then crouched down and unloaded the crate from his back. "No, no, that will not do. If you are going to provide a service to the town then it must be done with utmost care." He sifted through the crate and produced a new hammer and a packet of nails. Holding them out to her, he said, "Here, this will serve you much better."

She made a slight gasp of disbelief as she took them. "Even when I'm trying to be of help myself, you keep coming back to help me further. Thank you so much..."

Lola ascended the ladder again - this time with a spotter to keep it steady - and nailed the sign advertising her support group over the door. After confirming that it was straight and secure, she climbed back down the ladder and attempted to hand back the hammer and remaining nails.

He shook his head and pushed them back to her gently. "No, those are yours to keep. To help you continue to build yourself into the future." He pulled out his notebook and wondered, "Is there anything else that you might be needing? Floor cushions for your group participants? Stationery for them to take notes? Are you yourself in need of any essentials?"

Lola held her face. "Oh my gosh, I don't know if I could ask anything more of you after you've already done so much." She took a deep breath and dragged her hands away from her face. "But... if you're offering then... yes, I think cushions would be good. I'm still all set on stationery from my letter-writing, though." He noted those down while she folded her hands behind her back. "I wish there was something I could do to help you in return, though."

Terra shook her head. "I know what it's like to feel helpless in the face of someone who does so much for you but you struggle to repay their kindness. And... it's nothing to feel guilty about. Even if you can't help us right now, there are plenty of other people who you can help, and using what you've been given to pass along that kindness is the best repayment you could give."

Lola sniffed and nodded. "I will. As a tribute to Wes, and to you, and to General Leo. Oh, Terra, I do hope you find him. Both for your sake and for his. He deserves to be happy, too."

Terra looked to her companion with a soft smile. "Yeah... he does."

His cheeks reddened slightly and he turned his eyes down to the notebook in his hand to read over the wishes he had recorded so far that were still left un-granted. After some thought, he silently added one more to the list: "Find General Leo".

Notes:

- What, you didn't think that I'd specifically introduce a black chocobo and then never make it fly, did you? That's kind of the black chocobo's thing.
- A quirk of black chocobos in earlier games was that they could only take off and land in forests, and could usually also only be caught in them. Orcus isn't strictly bound by this rule, but I still wanted to at least give him a high affinity for forests as a nod to the original black chocobo behavior.
- Fun fact: If you beat Kefka without ever re-recruiting Terra, she'll spontaneously fly to Kefka's tower at the end, anyway, so she's there for the end sequence.
- Chapter title means "May the wind be gentle" and is the title of a song from the Mozart opera "Cosi fan Tutte". The full lyrics translate as: "May the wind be gentle, may the waves be calm, and may every one of the elements graciously respond to your wishes."