Terra and Leo made their way to the house next door, and when they entered, Terra explained, "The underground storage area is actually fairly well-hidden. We didn't even know about it until the dogs found it. It's over here behind the bookshelf." But when she looked to Leo, he was walking purposefully towards the opposite side of the room. "No, it's this-"
But then she saw what had caught his attention. Next to the bed was a record player, dusty and unused this past year. Leo sat on the edge of the bed and immediately started intently examining the pile of albums left in the cabinet.
Terra relaxed her shoulders with a smile. That should hopefully lift his spirits quite a bit. Curious about what he'd found since she hadn't paid the records any mind previously due to her not yet being able to apply any meaning to them, she set down the pot and crawled onto the bed behind him, wrapping her arms around his chest and resting her chin on his shoulder. "Anything good?" she wondered.
He let out a wistful laugh. "In my mind there is no such thing as 'bad' music..." He paused and squinted at one of the album titles. "'Fifty Harlots for a Hundred Gil' ... Well, that does not mean that there is not certain music that is of lower quality and not appropriate for children, I suppose. But if this is a dinner party, there should be music, shouldn't there?"
"Oh absolutely," Terra confirmed. "And you're definitely the person I can trust to know what would suit it best."
"Heh..." He smiled softly and bumped his cheek against the top of her head as he continued to flip through the pile of albums. He stopped at one with a picture of a dragon on the front and his eyes lit up. "Oh! The Dawn Warriors! This is a good one, and certainly something the children should enjoy. Does this record player work?"
"Um... I actually don't know how to work it..." Terra admitted sheepishly. "Can you show me?"
He kissed the top of her head. "I would love to. Here, come sit next to me and I'll let you give it a try." Terra moved around him to sit on the edge of the bed next to him while he wiped the dust off the record player. Looking it over, he murmured, "Oh, this is an antique. It's beautiful." Checking around the sides of it, he said, "Now, somewhere around here, hopefully there's... Aha." He fished something that looked like a cranking mechanism from behind it and handed it to Terra. "This is the key to music whenever you desire."
"Really?" she said excitedly, looking it over. "What do I do with it?"
He indicated a hole in the side of the player and instructed, "Slip the end of that crank in there and then start turning it clockwise until it becomes difficult to turn."
"Like this?" she confirmed, doing as instructed and starting to turn. As he'd said, eventually she felt significant resistance while turning and removed the crank. "Um... it's still not doing anything."
Leo chuckled and pulled the record from the sleeve and handed it to her. "That's just step one. Here, now put this on the turntable, with the center over that pin in the middle." He watched her do so, nodding, then instructed, "All right, now take that arm on the side with the needle coming out the bottom and place the needle right on the outer edge of the record. Yes, good. And now, if everything still works correctly..." He indicated a switch next to the arm and said, "Flip that switch and see what happens."
Terra pressed her finger against the switch, and with a click the turntable suddenly began spinning, the sound of static coming from the large bell speaker atop it. A second later, a fast, high-pitched song started playing that startled Terra. "Oh! It works! It's so... energetic!"
Leo laughed and searched around the other side of the player. "Actually, someone has been messing with the speed controls. Ah, here it is." He pointed to a dial with a few numbers on it. Holding up the album cover, he indicated a number in the bottom corner, explaining, "This number explains what speed the record is meant to be played at. Different recording processes use different speeds, so players need to be adjustable. Try setting that dial to this number and it should sound much better." Terra did so, and the song slowed down to a much smoother introductory prelude using more familiar-sounding instrumentation. Leo closed his eyes and let out a contented sigh. "Yes... that's perfect..."
Terra smiled broadly and hugged his side, nuzzling his arm while taking in the music as well. It wasn't quite the acoustics of a live performance of the opera house, but the fact that they at least had an approximation of it at their disposal here made her giddy with joy. It was a brand new world of experiences that she'd be able to share with the children.
Leo inhaled, having gotten almost too comfortable sitting on the bed with Terra listening to the record, and realized, "Oh, the food is going to get cold if we keep sitting here. Why don't you go ahead downstairs and I'll get this packed up to bring down?"
Terra gave him one last squeeze before standing up and giving a little fist-pump. "Right. Let's get this party started!"
She picked up the pot and carried it down the stairs to the underground storehouse. When she arrived, she was greeted by the sight of some of the empty crates turned over and being used as makeshift tables, with floor cushions that they'd bought in Jidoor surrounding them as seating. Each crate-table was set with bowls and spoons, and a few of the children were already seated on their cushions patiently awaiting their meal.
Terra set the pot on the existing high-topped table that had already been down there and tried to suppress a grin with her hand. "Duane... did you set this up?" she wondered.
Duane rubbed the back of his head. "Well... I was already bringing everything down here and figured if we were going to set up for a dinner party that there had better be a dinner party setup, so..."
Katarin hugged his arm and grinned. "Isn't he the best?"
"Yes, he's been a wonderful help. Thank you, Duane," agreed Terra.
"Heh..." Duane cleared his throat and looked around. "Is that everything then? Isn't Mister Leo coming? I set him a place at the taller table, too..."
To answer his question, Leo came slowly down the stairs with careful steps, cradling the antique record player in his arms. "Apologies for my tardiness, but Terra and I found something that we simply could not do without." When he descended completely and also saw the current state of decor, he nodded in approval and commended, "Oh, excellent work, Duane. You certainly thought ahead to everyone's needs and comfort for this gathering." Setting the record player gently on the counter in the rear of the store room, he said, "May I request this addition to your arrangement?"
Duane nodded, still a little flustered at all the praise. "Y... yeah, sure. Although... do you even know how to work that thing? No one here could figure it out."
Terra grinned and balled her fists. "Yes, and he showed me how, too! Can I try setting it up myself this time?" she queried to Leo. He nodded with a smile and handed her the record. Terra took it and walked Duane and Katarin through the process, "Okay, first you wind this here, then you set the record on here like this, then you put the needle here, and theenn... press the switch!"
The record player spun to life and immediately began to serenade them with a boisterous tune. The children gasped and ran over to it, watching the record spin, wondering, "Mama, what's this? Is it more magic?"
Terra crouched down with a smile and explained, "No, it's music! Leo and I experienced some amazing music at the opera house and we wanted to be able to share some if it with you, too!"
Katarin held her mouth and her eyes watered a little. "It's been years since I've heard music... When I was little the shopkeeper at the relic shop would have music playing in his store... I'd used to sit outside and listen to it for hours..."
Duane perked up and remembered, "Oh yeah, we'd sometimes meet in secret behind the relic shop. And it seemed like whenever we went back there, it was always playing that same song that you decided was 'our song'." He took Katarin's hands and they gazed into each other's eyes, swaying back and forth to the music. "This makes me feel like we're love-struck kids again..."
Leo discreetly leaned down next to Terra's ear and inquired, "Is the relic shop still standing?"
"It is, actually," Terra confirmed. "And now that I think of it, there was still a record player in the back room."
He made a rumble of affirmation and stood back up straight, restraining himself from going off to look for it right away. For now, this was more than sufficient, and they had already had enough other distractions that had delayed the children in getting properly fed. That was a priority now.
Terra clapped her hands together and announced, "All right, everyone, we've kept you waiting long enough. Isabel and Jeanne have worked extra hard to prepare dinner for us all, so let's all eat, shall we?"
"Yeeeah!" the children all shouted in unison, running back to the crate tables to grab their bowls while Terra went to remove the lid from the pot. They then crowded around Terra and lifted up their bowls to her exclaiming, "Me! Me!"
Leo loudly clicked his tongue from the side and reminded, "Now, now, don't crowd her like that. You'll all get a turn. Remember what we've been practicing?"
"Oh yeah!" They scrambled around to order themselves from youngest to oldest again, and Felix held up his bowl calling out, "Me first!"
Terra spared a glance at Leo and mouthed, "Thank you," before leaning down and addressing the children with, "Very good, everyone! But there's still one person here who's younger than you, isn't there, Felix?"
Felix looked around in confusion. "Huh? Who's that?"
Terra motioned to Katarin. "Come on, we need to make sure that baby comes into this world healthy and strong. It needs this food the most of all of us."
Katarin blushed and held out her bowl. "Thank you, Terra..." Terra filled it, then moved on to the other children, filling their bowls one at a time, after which they ran back to their cushion at the crate tables to begin eagerly devouring it.
Except when she got to Ivan, he looked into his bowl and pouted, "It's not dried meat."
Terra shook her head, "No, I'm sorry, we ran out of dried meat. But we've been eating that all year, so don't you want to try something different?"
"But I like dried meat," he complained.
"I know you do," Terra replied a little sadly. "And maybe later we'll be able to have more. But until then, I need you to make sure you eat so you stay strong enough to protect everyone from monsters, okay?" She glanced at Leo and smirked. "Plus, Leo brought everyone treats for when they finish their dinner."
"Really?!" said Ivan. "Is it dried meat?!"
Terra giggled. "You'll see. Now go on, make sure you get plenty to eat."
She finished filling everyone's bowls, including Duane's and another serving for Katarin since she was eating for two now. She took a bowl for herself, then handed the last one to Leo. "And for you. Thank you for waiting."
Leo took the bowl with a smile. "Well, if we were serving youngest to oldest, my being last was a foregone conclusion." He lifted a spoonful to his mouth, then after swallowing called out to Isabel, "Mm, you were quite correct in your assessment, Isabel. These are very all right."
"Hee, I'll make it better next time, I promise!" she called back to him.
Leo saluted with his spoon back at her. "I look forward to it." After a few more nonchalant bites, he casually leaned over to Terra and softly wondered, "Now what was this about me having treats?"
She nudged his arm playfully. "Oh, I saw you take that bag of candy at the store and put it in your pocket."
"I would never do such a thing," he replied with mock indignance. "Now, buying a bag of candy and putting it in my pocket, on the other hand..."
Katarin leaned across the table and wondered, "So... if Jidoor has this much food to spare, the rest of the world can't be doing all that badly, right? Mobliz has always been isolated but at least we had the carrier pigeons before that would bring news from the outside, but for the past year it's been... nothing. Until Terra's friends showed up a few weeks ago, we thought we were the last people alive on the planet."
Leo and Terra looked at each other, and Leo replied, "I do not mean this disparagingly, but Jidoor has always been a nation of excess and are a significant outlier. The rest of the towns are struggling to survive, though Mobliz, being so isolated, I admit is a severe case. However Narshe, which was cut off from Figaro, was completely abandoned and overrun with monsters. Doma is also utterly without life... And Vector..."
Terra placed a hand on his arm and took over talking. "And that's why we can only stay tonight. Tomorrow we're rejoining the rest of our friends and launching an assault on Kefka to protect everyone from any further harm. Even though he ruined the world so much and separated us all, we still all managed to find each other and give each other hope. And if we can do that, then I believe we can defeat Kefka once and for all. And once that happens, I hope we'll finally be able to make forward progress in really putting the world back together."
"I hope so..." said Duane. "I mean, I have no idea what we would have done if you and Mister Leo hadn't shown up with food today. And I don't know what we would have done a year ago if you hadn't shown up then. Kefka is the one who killed all our parents, so... if you go face him, are you really going to be all right?"
"I... don't know the full extent of his powers so I can't promise that," she replied, looking down at the table. She then slid her hand around Leo's arm and assured them, "But I'll have Leo and the rest of my friends with me, and I can guarantee you they're reliable and will do everything they can to make sure we're successful and everyone comes back safely."
Katarin nodded. "Well, if just the two of you were able to bring a miracle back to Mobliz, I'm sure all of you together can bring a miracle to the world."
Terra smiled and nodded and looked up at Leo. He managed a weak smile back, but she could tell that thinking about Vector had hit him hard. She couldn't blame him, though. His home was just... gone, and it had taken him a year to realize that he even needed to mourn for it. Now that she thought about it, it sounded unnervingly similar to what he'd said happened to his mother: She'd died while he had been out on a mission and didn't find out about it until it was too late to do anything. In both cases, he'd been absent only to come back to find a vital part of his life simply wasn't there anymore. That was... exactly what had happened to Orcus, too...
He had every right to grieve and she wanted to make sure he could... but he'd also committed to putting on a strong face for the children and making sure he was emotionally available for them. She had a feeling that if he allowed himself to break down here, he would only fall into further self-loathing at failing to meet the children's needs.
Terra heard the song change on the record player, and the feeling the song gave her prompted a flash of an idea. She stood up from her chair and tugged on Leo's arm. "Dance with me?"
Leo blinked at her in hesitation, however from across the table, Katarin turned to Duane and said, "Oh, we should! It's a party, after all, and we even have music! I haven't danced in ages!"
Katarin pulled Duane out of his chair and into the open area of the room while Terra moved closer to Leo and lightly leaned her forehead against his temple. "Thank you for being strong for the children this whole time," she said softly into his ear. "But if you need any extra strength to help get you through the evening, I'm here to offer mine. And so is the music."
Leo closed his eyes and inhaled slowly, feeling the warmth of her breath against his cheek and letting the music penetrate his body. He knew this song, and it was one of reminiscence and friendship... it wasn't particularly upbeat, but it wasn't sorrowful, either. It was just... calming. Soothing. Reassuring. Just like Terra's presence.
He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her to pull her into a firm embrace, slowly forcing out his breath as he did so. Terra rested her cheek on his shoulder and returned the embrace, slowly rubbing her hand over his back. He rocked her a little in time to the music while taking a few more controlled breaths, then finally whispered, "Yes... I would be honored to have this dance..."
He stood, keeping his arms around her, sliding one to wrap around her shoulders and hold her to his chest while moving the other to hold her hand. Terra looked up at him and met his gaze attentively, silently assuring him that she didn't judge him for still being so emotionally erratic and that he was going to be okay.
She kept her own hand on his back and gave him a light tug to start swaying with the music. He stumbled slightly and she caught him with a light giggle. "Sorry, this is a bit harder when we're not floating," she said with a sheepish grin.
He responded with a small smile of his own and a light breath through his nose. He leaned down to rest his cheek on top of her head and allowed himself to sway with her. "Thank you... This song... sets a pleasant mood..."
"Ooh, I wanna dance, too!" exclaimed Frances, leaping up from her cushion and then bouncing around the room much more energetically than the music really called for.
Lili tugged at her brother and said, "Come on, Felix, I wanna dance, too!"
"I dooon't," he complained back. But he was unsuccessful in resisting her dragging him into the middle of the room and then swinging him around. One by one, the other children stood up to join them until the room was filled with a generally chaotic flailing of small arms and legs punctuated by delighted laughter.
Leo observed their merriment and let out a soft chuckle. "They all look so happy..."
Terra squeezed him and nuzzled his chest. "And you certainly helped with that. You brought them music, and all the feelings that come along with it."
He smiled softly took a deep breath, rubbing his cheek against her hair. "Music cannot create joy, only bring it to the surface. The one who ensured that they did not lose their joy over this past year was you. Nevertheless, it heartens me greatly to be able to provide any further assistance with them."
Frances ran up to them and insisted, "Mama, Mama, look what I can do!" She then spun on her heel, her skirt billowing out. "I can spin twice at once! See, see!" She did it again, but this time made herself dizzy and stumbled, to which Leo immediately crouched down to catch her and keep her from falling.
"That's very good, Frances!" Terra commended. "Are you showing anyone else how to dance?"
"I wanted to dance with Charley but he didn't want to," she replied, pouting and shaking out her head.
Leo looked to Terra, who gave him a knowing smile and nodded. He turned back to Frances and offered, "If you would like a dance partner, I would be willing to dance with you."
"Really?!" she said excitedly. She grabbed both of Leo's hands and pulled him with surprising strength for a six year-old. She rocked quickly from side to side and swung his arms back and forth, giggling.
Leo gave a quiet laugh in response. "I appreciate your enthusiasm! However, if you want to dance this energetically, may I suggest a more appropriate song to dance to in order to match that energy?"
"Ummm... okay?" she responded, not entirely understanding what he meant.
He led her over to the record player and momentarily lifted the needle off it, then picked up the record, flipped it over, and replaced it on the turntable. "This album has a much more appropriate song for that kind of dance." He took the needle and with expert precision placed it on an interior position on the record that was nevertheless the very beginning of a new song, which was much more upbeat and lively.
Frances jumped up and down. "Yes! Yes! I like this one!" She spun around again, but stumbled into Leo's leg. "Awh, I thought maybe I could do three spins now."
Leo held her hand and raised it above her head. "I'll bet you can do even more spins now if I help hold you up like this," he suggested. "Why don't you try it again?"
Frances giggled and spun again, and this time with Leo holding her up she was able to spin four times in a row. She stumbled dizzily a few times, then snapped back upright and happily hopped and clapped. "I did it! I did it!"
Lili ran up to them and exclaimed, "Ooh, I wanna dance with Mister Leo, too! Felix isn't being any fun. He says dancing's dumb."
Leo put his hands on his hips. "Well, dancing certainly is not dumb, but I will accept that it is not necessarily an activity everyone enjoys." He glanced back at the record player and hit upon an idea. "But dancing isn't the only thing you can do to music. Would you prefer to play a game instead?"
"Ooh, a game?!" Some of the other children perked up and crowded around him. "What kind of game?!"
Leo weaved around the children to one of the crates that Duane had left against the wall. He rummaged through one of them, then produced the ball that he had found in the Jidoor shop. Upon seeing this, the children jumped up excitedly and shouted, "Toys!"
"Exactly," he said with a grin, then motioned the ball towards Terra to get her attention before tossing it to her, which she awkwardly caught. "Now, back on the base, the soldiers called this game 'Hot Coal'... because before I got them a ball to use they would play it with a literal hot coal. Now, the object of this game is to have some music playing and stand in a circle throwing the ball to each other." He motioned to Terra to toss the ball back to him and he caught it. "However, if the music stops and you're caught holding the ball, you got 'burned' and are out of the game. This continues until there is only one person left. Is this understood?"
"So I gotta throw the ball really fast?!" Felix wondered.
"Yes, quite fast, to ensure you are not the one holding it when the music stops," Leo confirmed with a smile. "Now, since I have an unfair advantage due to already knowing all the songs on this record and when they end, I'll be sitting this out and manually controlling the record player to stop the music."
"Awwh, but we wanted you to play, too," complained a few of the children.
Leo flushed, and Katarin stepped up behind him and touched his arm. "Um... if you need someone to sit out of the game and control the record player, I can do it. It probably wouldn't be good for the baby to have things thrown at me, anyway, even if it's just a ball. Felix can throw pretty hard, after all. I just need to flip that switch, right?"
"Y, yes, that is correct," he confirmed. Terra grinned excitedly and pulled Leo into the circle of children, and Katarin pushed Duane in that direction to do the same. Leo held the ball looked around at the circle of small, expectant faces smiling up at him, along with Terra and Duane. Part of him felt a little intimidated by it, but he mostly felt... contented and accomplished. Like this was a taste of something that he had been subconsciously working towards all his life.
He let out a breath, then announced, "The game begins now." He first threw the ball to Terra, who caught it with a squeak. He quickly informed her, "Oh, also, you can't throw the ball back to the person who threw it to you. You have to pick someone else."
"Okay, um..." Terra looked around the circle, then tossed the ball to Felix, who proceeded to immediately fling the ball to Lili.
"Ack, Felix, not so hard!" she complained, fumbling with the ball. She then tossed it to Jeanne, who looked at it contemplatively a moment, until a "click" was heard behind her and the record player stopped.
Jeanne looked to Leo and confirmed, "So this means I got 'burned' and am out?"
He nodded. "Sorry, it looks like you're the first casualty."
She shrugged and handed the ball over to Isabel next to her. "That's all right. I prefer reading to games like this anyway."
Terra motioned to her, then leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Well, if you're out of the game, why don't you go check that crate that Leo got the ball from? We brought some new books, too."
"Really?!" she said excitedly. Now completely placated, she bounded over to the crate to examine its contents while the others resumed the game.
Katarin switched the record player back on and they continued. The next casualty was Dennis, followed by Frances, Ivan, Duane, Isabel, and Charley. But it was when Felix made quite the energetic throw that Leo found himself holding the ball when the music shut off. "Ah...!" he said in surprise.
Terra giggled and took the ball from him. "Sorry you got burned, but I can come heal you once I'm out if you need it."
"Heh, I appreciate it." He leaned over and kissed her forehead, playfully whispering, "Do watch out for Felix; his throwing arm is quite formidable."
"Hee, I'll keep that in mind." Terra turned to the remaining children: Felix and Lili. She took Leo's advice and made the tactical decision to first throw the ball to Felix so he couldn't throw it back at her, and he proceeded to chuck it at Lili, who went back to Terra...
And the music stopped. "Ah...!" Terra blushed and handed the ball to Felix, then moved out of the ring. "All right, it's just you two, left. I guess this means the rule about not throwing the ball back to the same person is lifted since you have no one else to throw it to."
Felix looked intensely at Lili. "I'm gonna win."
Lili glared equally intently back at him. "Nuh-uhh."
"Okay, here's the last song, then," said Katarin, switching the record player back on. The two young children frantically lobbed the ball back and forth between each other, and when the music stopped, Felix was still holding it.
Lili blinked a moment, then wondered, "Does that mean I won?" She then hopped around exclaiming, "Yay, I won, I won!"
"Aww..." said Felix dejectedly.
Terra crouched down and held his shoulder, reminding him, "But that means you get the ball, right? Just as long as you share it okay?"
His eyes immediately lit up. "I get to keep it?!"
Leo stepped forward and clapped. "Well done, everyone. I want to thank you all for finishing your dinners and engaging in good sportsmanship while playing this game. So, as a reward for all of you..." he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of candy, "... I have some treats for you all."
"Treats?!" they all exclaimed, rushing him all at once.
He held the bag over his head and wagged a finger at them reminding them, "Ah, what have we been practicing?"
They scrambled again to get in line youngest to oldest, but Felix wondered, "Does Katarin's baby still go first this time?"
"Oh, that's very considerate of you, Felix," Leo commended. "Katarin, you were an excellent maestro. Would you like some candy?"
"I would love some!" she replied, walking up to him and curiously examining the contents of his bag. She selected one, unwrapped the paper, and popped it in her mouth. She squeezed her eyes shut and shivered, then shook out her head, commenting, "Phew, it's been so long since I've had anything sweet like that! But thank you, it's still delicious!"
Felix eagerly reached out his hands, insisting, "Me, me, me!"
Leo arched a brow at him and observed, "Now, Felix, you were quite polite before when you let Katarin go first. I would like you to employ similar politeness when asking for yours."
"Please, please, please!" he corrected.
He chuckled and placed the piece of candy into Felix's outstretched hand. "Better, but you're still going to need to work on that a bit."
Lili was next and held out her hands, requesting, "I would like a piece of candy, please."
"Oh, now that is certainly the example to set!" he approved, handing her piece to her. She took the piece eagerly and immediately turned away, but Leo clicked his tongue at her, prompting, "What do you say now?"
"Oh, um... thank you!" she remembered. He nodded with a smile and she proceeded to inelegantly stuff the candy into her mouth.
The remainder of the candy was distributed to eager hands, including Duane who was also surprisingly enthusiastic about getting candy. Leo removed the final two pieces from the bag and Terra held out her hand with a light smile, saying, "May I have a treat, too, please?"
Leo smiled and pressed one of the pieces into her palm. "It is not necessary for you to be so formal with me as I am fully confident of your manners. I simply wished to ensure the children had the opportunity to practice proper etiquette."
"I know," said Terra, unwrapping the candy, "But in that case, as their mother figure, I should still be setting a good example for them."
Leo flushed. "I... apologize if I have been superseding your authority; my actions were not meant as a criticism of your parenting-"
She reached up and held her finger to his lips, using it to press the piece of candy between them into his mouth. He froze and flushed harder, the sugar in the candy slowly melting and coating the inside of his mouth with a pleasant buzz that was heightened by the feel of her finger against his lips. She leaned forward with a light smile and said softly, "Leo, you have been an amazing help today and I appreciate every moment of it. So please don't worry so much and simply be the nurturing person that you are, and everything will be fine."
Terra pulled her finger away and Leo felt an ache in his throat at the loss of her touch. He swallowed in an attempt to clear it, but that only served to spread the sweet flavor of the candy further. Terra looked at her finger, then casually brought it to her own mouth to suck on, which caused a new snap of heat to rise to his face as he watched her. Terra looked up at him curiously, then her own face turned bright red a split second later once she realized that she was sucking on the finger she'd just touched his lips with. Pulling it out of her mouth, she quickly explained, "Oh, ah, it was just sticky from the candy so I was just...!"
Leo let out a light laugh that dissipated some of the tension in his throat and eased the heat in his face to a pleasant warmth that spread into his chest. He looked down at the last piece of candy he was holding and said, "Well, since you demonstrated your generosity by sharing your piece with me, I suppose if I am to show kindness without being self-conscious, I should return the favor." He unwrapped it and held it out to her while prompting, "May I?"
Terra flushed and nodded a little bashfully, then closed her eyes and slightly parted her lips. He reached forward and lightly brushed the piece of candy over her lower lip before placing it in her mouth. She closed her mouth around it, catching the tip of his finger between her lips as well. He slowly pulled his finger back, drawing it across her lip as he did so, and she opened her eyes and looked up at him with a demurely coy expression.
Leo looked at the finger she had temporarily captured, then while still holding her gaze, slowly brought it up to his own mouth to clean off the sugar residue in an act that was much more deliberate than her previous accidental innuendo. Terra felt her face warm and its heat slowly spread to the rest of her body. Though her initial action had been unintentional, what followed had been a much more conscious act, and his reciprocation seemed to be implying consent to the actual activity that they had been simulating. And after that exchange, her desire to do so had only been heightened. But at the moment she was in such a pleasantly warm daze that all she could manage was a nod in his direction that she understood what they had both been implying, and that she also accepted.
She was broken from her stupor by the sound of the children squealing and throwing the ball at each other. She turned and caught it in surprise just as it flew at her, then crouched down and laughed. "All right, everyone, I hope this was a fun party for all of you. But now I think it's time for us to clean up and go back to the house for story time before bed. I can read you one of the new books!"
They turned to each other excitedly and exclaimed, "A new story!"
"Does it have chocobos?!" Dennis wondered eagerly. "I like the chocobo story!"
Terra giggled. "You'll see. Why doesn't everyone take their floor cushion back with them so you have a comfortable place to sit on the floor?"
"Okay!" they chorused, running to grab their pillows, some of them having quick arguments over which one was "theirs". They then scrambled up the stairs back to the main house to eagerly await their first new story in a year.
Terra and Duane began gathering the dishes, then Terra wondered to Leo, "If music can arouse feelings, do you think that it can also calm someone down and help them sleep? Some of the children still have nightmares and I was wondering if that might help."
Leo smiled and picked up the pot. "I know I certainly had to be careful with what I had playing in the background in my office or I would find myself falling asleep at my desk. So, yes, I think if we can find the proper music it may assist in soothing their minds somewhat."
Terra placed her armful of dishes into the empty pot, then put her hands over his to bid him relinquish the handles to her. "I saw that glint in your eye when we mentioned that other record player in the relic shop. This one can stay down here for games and activities while we could move the other one to the sleeping area." She took the pot from him and nodded her head towards the stairs with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Go on, the relic shop is at the north end of town. I can take care of this, but that type of magic is something only you can provide."
He flushed a little and gave a light nod of his head, but before leaving moved to pull Katarin to the side and whisper something to her. She looked a little embarrassed, but after some coaxing whispered something back to him. He nodded with a smile and gave her a small affirmative gesture, then briskly ascended the stairs to carry out his task.
Notes:
- Following my insistence that the soundtracks to all the other Final Fantasy games exist as operas in this universe, the album for The Dawn Warriors is a reference to Final Fantasy V.
- One of Lola's letters to the wounded soldier said that she lost his favorite record and asked him to send her a copy. And it's like... that seems like a pretty high demand of someone whom she knows is too injured to move and is currently in the middle of nowhere. Also, Lola doesn't have a record player in her house so I'm not sure what she planned on doing with it. The only record player in Maranda is in the weapon shop.
- Leo coming back and finding out the Empire just doesn't exist anymore is the bulk of what his story in Dissidia is about, and it felt like at a couple of points he was on the verge of a mental breakdown that Gilgamesh had to keep pulling him back from. Since the game is an official Square Enix release (and Kingdom Hearts III indicated they're open to considering their mobile games part of canon), I also wanted to align with it as much as I could. But it's also weird that when I originally started writing this, it was for a game and character that had no new development for 25 years and thus it was pretty safe to consider everything established, but then Dissidia went all "lol nope, here's more". Like, I'm definitely not complaining about new FF6 content, it's just weird that it's coming out as I'm writing this and I feel like I still need to keep in line with it.
- The song playing on the record when Terra asks Leo to dance is "Dear Friends" from FF5.
- And for the kids he puts on Mambo de Chocobo, also from FF5.
- Title "Scherzo" is a type of music that is light-hearted and playful.