Otherworld Year One: Chapter 8
What was the old adage? A fish out of water? He had exemplified that beyond expectations.
He had been in Gabe's employ for less than a week, and yet in that short time, he had somehow managed to overload (or crash, or whatever the damned term was) the shop register twice, frighten several customers into hasty retreats from the building, and rip a nice-sized hole in the workout floor while attempting to show a customer the proper use of his newly purchased sword. Granted, it had been the customer who had done the deed, but he was responsible.
His mastery of these new living quarters was equally stellar. Among other domestic mishaps, he had been forced to sleep with the lights on the first two nights... simply because he could not figure out how to turn the damned things off.
And for his grand finale, there had been the undignified meeting yesterday with Tidus and his mother. He had determined their location through the network (more by accident than competence) and dressed in his new chestplate with collar, had confidently introduced himself as Jecht's friend. This news had been met with tearful silence from the widow, and unbridled hostility from the son... who appeared to have a chip on his shoulder the size of a shoopuf.
Perfect. Adroit. Well done.
This was beyond irritating. And he had better find a way to release this pent up frustration, or he would surely perform an overdrive on Gabe's next imbecilic customer, who fervently believed their gil purchased them the right to be insufferably rude.
He looked over at his sword, mounted on the wall above the bed. It represented all that he was, all that he ever had been. Maybe he just needed to accept his own limitations. Or maybe if he positioned his head just right beneath his sword, he could decapitate himself with a well-placed blow of his fist to the wall. Or maybe he simply needed a good workout.
************
Gabe was sitting at his desk, finishing up the day's bookkeeping, when he heard muffled noises coming from the shop below. What the hell? He opened the door from his private quarters on the second floor and walked to the railing.
There was Auron... stripped to the waist and barefoot, wielding his sword like a man possessed.
He was moving rapidly from one side of the floor to the other, his blade spinning over and around him, as he let out short grunts of effort with each finishing move. Then immediately beginning another series of spins and strikes... at one point his body and his blade moving with such singularity that Gabe couldn't tell where the man ended and the sword began.
The sight of it was... well, there was just no other word for it. It was beautiful.
Gabe leaned forward on the railing and rubbed his chin. He knew Auron had been frustrated this past week. More than likely the result of failing to live up to his expectations for himself. But work would be the least of his woes, if he managed to re-open his wound with this display... Sahna would be less than pleased.
All that aside, Auron was being too hard on himself, given the newness of his situation. He supposed he had better give him a pep-talk, as soon as he was finished wearing himself out.
Gabe was beginning to think this would go on all night, when Auron finally gave in, and sank to one knee on the mat, drenched in sweat... his arm hanging from the hilt of his sword, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps.
"Finished?" Gabe asked.
"Maybe." Came Auron's reply, not looking up.
"If you can still walk, come on up for a minute... I have something for you." Gabe said, then turned and walked back into his quarters.
"Hmph." Auron snorted, rising to his feet and walking toward the stairs.
When he came through the door, Gabe tossed him a towel. Auron caught it and scrubbed it through his hair, then wrapped it around his neck, bringing one corner up to blot the sweat from his face, wincing slightly as it touched the right side.
"Have a seat." Gabe said, pointing to one of the large leather chairs in the sitting area. Auron didn't argue, sinking heavily into the chair and then leaning his head back against the headrest.
Gabe turned to the counter behind him and then turned back with a glass in each hand, extending one toward Auron. "Here."
"What is this?" Auron asked suspiciously, taking the glass from him and holding it up in front of his eye, swirling the amber liquid around for a moment.
"It's liquor. The kind that'll make you laugh at your boots if you drink too much of it." Gabe replied with a smirk.
Auron moved the glass under his nose and sniffed, closing his eye for a moment in reaction to the strong fumes, then took a tentative sip. "Interesting."
Gabe chuckled and lowered his bulk into a chair across from Auron, then took a sip from his own glass. "Well?"
"Well what."
"Are you gonna tell me what's got you so wound up, you found it necessary to wear the covering off my training floor?"
"It would not be my first choice, no."
Gabe waited him out... taking another drink, then fixing his eyes on Auron's face.
After a few moments Auron sighed, then said... "I'm afraid my chances of being anything other than a liability to you are slim."
"Explain."
"Has it not been obvious? I have failed repeatedly in my duties as your employee this past week."
"What? Just because you couldn't figure out the register a couple of times? Hell, it took me a month to figure out the damned thing when I bought it."
"In case you have forgotten, I also alienated several customers."
"I could care less about that... the assholes had it coming. Besides, I didn't hire you for your social skills Auron." Gabe said, then continued... "Look man, you're doing just fine. Give yourself a break. If I'm displeased with your work, I'll let you know."
Auron looked at him, but didn't speak. There was obviously more to the story. "What else?" Gabe demanded.
Taking a long swallow of his drink, Auron explained miserably... "I cannot decipher the controls for the apartment. Not even the simple panel in the bathroom. I keep filling the tub, when I wish to flush the toilet, and conversely doing the same, when I wish to take a bath."
Gabe bit his tongue to keep from laughing, then said... "Okay, let's finish our drinks, then I'll go over everything with you. Because if this continues unchecked, you may start bathing in the toilet and relieving yourself in the tub... then I'll be forced to evict you."
Auron looked at him for a moment, then lowered his head. Gabe suddenly became alarmed, as he realized Auron's shoulders were shaking.
Then Auron's head came back up, and Gabe saw that he was laughing, or rather trying not to, then finally giving in to it... as the deep, resonant sound of his laughter began to echo off the walls.
Gabe joined him then, and soon they were completely lost... rocking back and forth in gales, their drinks sloshing over the sides of their glasses and onto the floor.
************
"Yeah, that's the right one, you've got it now." Gabe said, standing over Auron as he finished keying in a sequence on the control panel.
They had spent the past hour going over all the systems in the apartment, and Auron seemed to be comfortable with it now.
"Feel better?" Gabe asked, lowering himself to sit on the edge of the bed. "In some measure." Auron replied.
Gabe sighed, then nodded his head toward the kitchen... "I don't suppose you can cook? I'm starving." Gabe asked hopefully, rubbing a hand across his stomach.
"Unless you consider boiling water cooking, no." Auron replied.
"Shit."
Auron turned his head slightly in thought, then said... "I am due for a visit to Sahna's, you could accompany me if you wish and..."
"What the hell are we waiting for then? Gabe interrupted, grinning like a fool, and rising swiftly to his feet to head toward the door.
************
Sahna was in the kitchen, standing over a large cooking pot, with a small child cradled against her hip, when Auron and Gabe came through the door. "Good timing boys, supper will be ready in just a bit." She smiled knowingly at them.
"Who's this wad?" Gabe asked, bending over to look at the baby. "She belongs to the neighbors, I volunteered to watch her for awhile so they could attend the Blitzball game."
"Cute little thing." Gabe said, grabbing a large spoon from the counter and leaning over the cooking pot. "Get out of there." Sahna said, smacking his hand and taking the spoon from him. "Aw, come on Sahna, I'm starving." Gabe whined. "Too bad. Now make yourself useful and go down to the beach and fetch Remie for me."
Gabe turned and walked outside, mumbling under his breath. Auron and Sahna exchanged a look, then smiled at each other as they watched him file dejectedly out.
"Here, hold Lizzie for a minute would you?" Sahna asked, as she plopped the baby into Auron's arms, not waiting for a reply. Auron stiffened, and then held the baby out at arms length... looking at the dangling child as though she were going to explode at any moment.
"Auron! For goodness sake! Haven't you ever held a child before?" Sahna said, laughing. "Here, put your arm under her like this, then the other one up like this to support her head, see?" Sahna instructed, as she shifted Auron's arms around the baby. "Now just relax... I'll be done with this shortly."
Auron stood there like a statue... afraid to move. He would have gladly faced an army of Sand Worms at that moment, rather than this small, wriggling bundle he now held.
He felt the leather strap of his collar being tugged and looked down.
The baby seemed to be lost in concentration, as she tried to bring her other hand up to the strap... mesmerized by it for some reason. Auron reached up with his hand and gently extricated himself from the baby's grasp. She then seemed to find his hand infinitely more interesting than the strap... wrapping her tiny hand around one of his fingers. Then she looked up at him and gurgled loudly. Auron didn't know if the baby was pleased or about to rupture something... but he suddenly found himself smiling nevertheless.
Good Yevon, he thought, if Jecht and Braska could see him now... what a field day they would have with all of this.
____________
Author's Blatherings: Okay, I think we've got our backstory in place, and the main characters established... so it's time to move on from year one. To where I know not. Just like poor Auron, I'm making this up as I go. But we both have kind people to encourage us. Auron has some friends now, to help him on his way, and I have all of you.
*BlitheringBard throws thank-you kisses doing the feedback-happy-dance*
What was the old adage? A fish out of water? He had exemplified that beyond expectations.
He had been in Gabe's employ for less than a week, and yet in that short time, he had somehow managed to overload (or crash, or whatever the damned term was) the shop register twice, frighten several customers into hasty retreats from the building, and rip a nice-sized hole in the workout floor while attempting to show a customer the proper use of his newly purchased sword. Granted, it had been the customer who had done the deed, but he was responsible.
His mastery of these new living quarters was equally stellar. Among other domestic mishaps, he had been forced to sleep with the lights on the first two nights... simply because he could not figure out how to turn the damned things off.
And for his grand finale, there had been the undignified meeting yesterday with Tidus and his mother. He had determined their location through the network (more by accident than competence) and dressed in his new chestplate with collar, had confidently introduced himself as Jecht's friend. This news had been met with tearful silence from the widow, and unbridled hostility from the son... who appeared to have a chip on his shoulder the size of a shoopuf.
Perfect. Adroit. Well done.
This was beyond irritating. And he had better find a way to release this pent up frustration, or he would surely perform an overdrive on Gabe's next imbecilic customer, who fervently believed their gil purchased them the right to be insufferably rude.
He looked over at his sword, mounted on the wall above the bed. It represented all that he was, all that he ever had been. Maybe he just needed to accept his own limitations. Or maybe if he positioned his head just right beneath his sword, he could decapitate himself with a well-placed blow of his fist to the wall. Or maybe he simply needed a good workout.
************
Gabe was sitting at his desk, finishing up the day's bookkeeping, when he heard muffled noises coming from the shop below. What the hell? He opened the door from his private quarters on the second floor and walked to the railing.
There was Auron... stripped to the waist and barefoot, wielding his sword like a man possessed.
He was moving rapidly from one side of the floor to the other, his blade spinning over and around him, as he let out short grunts of effort with each finishing move. Then immediately beginning another series of spins and strikes... at one point his body and his blade moving with such singularity that Gabe couldn't tell where the man ended and the sword began.
The sight of it was... well, there was just no other word for it. It was beautiful.
Gabe leaned forward on the railing and rubbed his chin. He knew Auron had been frustrated this past week. More than likely the result of failing to live up to his expectations for himself. But work would be the least of his woes, if he managed to re-open his wound with this display... Sahna would be less than pleased.
All that aside, Auron was being too hard on himself, given the newness of his situation. He supposed he had better give him a pep-talk, as soon as he was finished wearing himself out.
Gabe was beginning to think this would go on all night, when Auron finally gave in, and sank to one knee on the mat, drenched in sweat... his arm hanging from the hilt of his sword, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps.
"Finished?" Gabe asked.
"Maybe." Came Auron's reply, not looking up.
"If you can still walk, come on up for a minute... I have something for you." Gabe said, then turned and walked back into his quarters.
"Hmph." Auron snorted, rising to his feet and walking toward the stairs.
When he came through the door, Gabe tossed him a towel. Auron caught it and scrubbed it through his hair, then wrapped it around his neck, bringing one corner up to blot the sweat from his face, wincing slightly as it touched the right side.
"Have a seat." Gabe said, pointing to one of the large leather chairs in the sitting area. Auron didn't argue, sinking heavily into the chair and then leaning his head back against the headrest.
Gabe turned to the counter behind him and then turned back with a glass in each hand, extending one toward Auron. "Here."
"What is this?" Auron asked suspiciously, taking the glass from him and holding it up in front of his eye, swirling the amber liquid around for a moment.
"It's liquor. The kind that'll make you laugh at your boots if you drink too much of it." Gabe replied with a smirk.
Auron moved the glass under his nose and sniffed, closing his eye for a moment in reaction to the strong fumes, then took a tentative sip. "Interesting."
Gabe chuckled and lowered his bulk into a chair across from Auron, then took a sip from his own glass. "Well?"
"Well what."
"Are you gonna tell me what's got you so wound up, you found it necessary to wear the covering off my training floor?"
"It would not be my first choice, no."
Gabe waited him out... taking another drink, then fixing his eyes on Auron's face.
After a few moments Auron sighed, then said... "I'm afraid my chances of being anything other than a liability to you are slim."
"Explain."
"Has it not been obvious? I have failed repeatedly in my duties as your employee this past week."
"What? Just because you couldn't figure out the register a couple of times? Hell, it took me a month to figure out the damned thing when I bought it."
"In case you have forgotten, I also alienated several customers."
"I could care less about that... the assholes had it coming. Besides, I didn't hire you for your social skills Auron." Gabe said, then continued... "Look man, you're doing just fine. Give yourself a break. If I'm displeased with your work, I'll let you know."
Auron looked at him, but didn't speak. There was obviously more to the story. "What else?" Gabe demanded.
Taking a long swallow of his drink, Auron explained miserably... "I cannot decipher the controls for the apartment. Not even the simple panel in the bathroom. I keep filling the tub, when I wish to flush the toilet, and conversely doing the same, when I wish to take a bath."
Gabe bit his tongue to keep from laughing, then said... "Okay, let's finish our drinks, then I'll go over everything with you. Because if this continues unchecked, you may start bathing in the toilet and relieving yourself in the tub... then I'll be forced to evict you."
Auron looked at him for a moment, then lowered his head. Gabe suddenly became alarmed, as he realized Auron's shoulders were shaking.
Then Auron's head came back up, and Gabe saw that he was laughing, or rather trying not to, then finally giving in to it... as the deep, resonant sound of his laughter began to echo off the walls.
Gabe joined him then, and soon they were completely lost... rocking back and forth in gales, their drinks sloshing over the sides of their glasses and onto the floor.
************
"Yeah, that's the right one, you've got it now." Gabe said, standing over Auron as he finished keying in a sequence on the control panel.
They had spent the past hour going over all the systems in the apartment, and Auron seemed to be comfortable with it now.
"Feel better?" Gabe asked, lowering himself to sit on the edge of the bed. "In some measure." Auron replied.
Gabe sighed, then nodded his head toward the kitchen... "I don't suppose you can cook? I'm starving." Gabe asked hopefully, rubbing a hand across his stomach.
"Unless you consider boiling water cooking, no." Auron replied.
"Shit."
Auron turned his head slightly in thought, then said... "I am due for a visit to Sahna's, you could accompany me if you wish and..."
"What the hell are we waiting for then? Gabe interrupted, grinning like a fool, and rising swiftly to his feet to head toward the door.
************
Sahna was in the kitchen, standing over a large cooking pot, with a small child cradled against her hip, when Auron and Gabe came through the door. "Good timing boys, supper will be ready in just a bit." She smiled knowingly at them.
"Who's this wad?" Gabe asked, bending over to look at the baby. "She belongs to the neighbors, I volunteered to watch her for awhile so they could attend the Blitzball game."
"Cute little thing." Gabe said, grabbing a large spoon from the counter and leaning over the cooking pot. "Get out of there." Sahna said, smacking his hand and taking the spoon from him. "Aw, come on Sahna, I'm starving." Gabe whined. "Too bad. Now make yourself useful and go down to the beach and fetch Remie for me."
Gabe turned and walked outside, mumbling under his breath. Auron and Sahna exchanged a look, then smiled at each other as they watched him file dejectedly out.
"Here, hold Lizzie for a minute would you?" Sahna asked, as she plopped the baby into Auron's arms, not waiting for a reply. Auron stiffened, and then held the baby out at arms length... looking at the dangling child as though she were going to explode at any moment.
"Auron! For goodness sake! Haven't you ever held a child before?" Sahna said, laughing. "Here, put your arm under her like this, then the other one up like this to support her head, see?" Sahna instructed, as she shifted Auron's arms around the baby. "Now just relax... I'll be done with this shortly."
Auron stood there like a statue... afraid to move. He would have gladly faced an army of Sand Worms at that moment, rather than this small, wriggling bundle he now held.
He felt the leather strap of his collar being tugged and looked down.
The baby seemed to be lost in concentration, as she tried to bring her other hand up to the strap... mesmerized by it for some reason. Auron reached up with his hand and gently extricated himself from the baby's grasp. She then seemed to find his hand infinitely more interesting than the strap... wrapping her tiny hand around one of his fingers. Then she looked up at him and gurgled loudly. Auron didn't know if the baby was pleased or about to rupture something... but he suddenly found himself smiling nevertheless.
Good Yevon, he thought, if Jecht and Braska could see him now... what a field day they would have with all of this.
____________
Author's Blatherings: Okay, I think we've got our backstory in place, and the main characters established... so it's time to move on from year one. To where I know not. Just like poor Auron, I'm making this up as I go. But we both have kind people to encourage us. Auron has some friends now, to help him on his way, and I have all of you.
*BlitheringBard throws thank-you kisses doing the feedback-happy-dance*
