FINAL FANTASY XI
CHAPTER XV
Indecision
There was no reason for any of this to happen; Magus was completely at a loss when he saw the zemzelet make its way out to attack Aadia. It would make sense that the creature was defending the young it had spawned, but in all seriousness none of these events should occur. Was it fear that had inspired in his heart, or was Magus just a bit frustrated with the escalation at hand. He couldn't simply sit by; Magus began to draw the hilt of his staff from his belt, undoing a clip that would hold it to his waist. However, before he could finish, Aadia and the beast she tried to tackle in battle would come his way. The Black Mage was forced to leap out of the path of the two and he could feel stray feathers clinging to his legs.
"Come on, you can't be serious..." Magus uttered the words under his breath, as he watched the Elvaan and the zemzelet try for each other's blood so fiercely. He'd seen fighting before, and had fought before; but there was nothing as intimidating as watching the two lunge at each other with lightning speed. It was like there was a magnetic force that pulled them together, yet as soon as the two touched they were pulled apart. They relayed off the trees and ground, and Aadia clashed her lance against the talons of the bird. It was a thrust and parry at the same time, and he could see neither was getting anywhere.
"Stupid bird, it wasn't my freak of a child who attacked you was it!?" Aadia was shouting out a multitude of things as they clashed; Magus looked around to see if the small rat-bird mataviel that instigated this was still around. It seemed to truly have escaped Aadia's wrath, and as sad as it was, it seemed that the zemzelet was merely sacrificing itself. All this had starting over something as trivial as the lacing of boots. He was getting frustrated still, and the small circle of spells that he had honed came to mind. There really wasn't much in his array; anything that was above his level was usually just a fluke action.
"I'll teach you to mess with me!" Aadia would thrust out her weapon a little higher this time, and Magus witnessed the falling of feathers become company to blood. The zemzelet would shriek and send himself backward by pushing off of Aadia. Aadia's coat seemed to provide some protection; perhaps that was why she changed her attire for the trip. Magus assumed it was all over; the fight should end when the opponent was fatally wounded. The creature had something else in mind, and Magus was beginning to grow more and more sick of the situation. It was hard to simply stand by, and his staff extended to full length from his pressing the trigger on it. Down the metal of one end came, he forced it in the manner that he always practiced.
"Aadia, get back!" Magus shouted out to his traveling companion as his black clad palm extended towards the bird. As the Dragoon cartwheeled herself free of the radius in which Magus proposed attacking, a small flicker of light would encompass the bird's feet. It was a pleasant surprise to the cast; a random bolt of blue energy, which came from skyward, struck down the bird. It sent the zemzelet to its knees, and what Magus perceived as unconsciousness. There was only a low moan emitted from its beak.
It wasn't much of a battle; Magus had brought a quick end to it in hopes to get back on the road. While he was not a monger of violence, he was not afraid to fight or even to incite a conflict. To him, there were some things only resolvable by bringing about pain. Besides, Magus did practice the elemental arts of the Black Mage, which were created to invoke damage. His soul was not dark, nor was his magic skill, but it was seemingly a tremendous responsibility for Magus to avoid going around killing people.
Aadia dusted herself off from her exit of the battle, which had sent her into the dirt. She seemed a little displeased, but she'd had her part in the attack. It was her weapon that had strewn the red stains upon the ground, and she should not have seemed so selfish as to think she was the only one who could kill. That was the demeanor Magus felt she carried after he had struck down the bird. Only Aadia can take things down... He silenced himself from thinking ill of her; she really was a lot more of a fighter than he was.
She didn't wait for him too much, simply gesturing for him to continue with her and walking with a slow pace away from the battleground. Magus understood; it was time to get back on the road. They still had to go see the Wasser-Kristall, and this wasn't even so much as a set back. Magus wasn't really sure why they were heading off to see the crystal, and he wasn't so sure that Aadia knew what she was doing either. But could he ask her why she was taking him along on this outing so easily? Torukoishi had approved, and that alone was enough. But the fact she had proposed the idea to him did indicate she was seemingly friendlier than the other Elvaan he had met. He hadn't spoken much with Elarisa, he could not decide on her manner.
"Hey Aadia..." He didn't finish her sentence, her facial expression hadn't perked up like he expected. She wasn't paying attention to him at the moment, but it was not as if anything else was catching her gazing either. Aadia was just staring at the ground; she must have been in thought about the events or maybe even what Magus sought to ask her. He quieted down, not hoping for her to respond at all. Was she quieter when she traveled? Magus wasn't sure if she really was quiet, he arrived at more indecision when he thought about it.
"Hm? You were going to say something?" Aadia had in fact replied after all, her posture also changed a bit. She was standing up more and her gaze was focused more on the road ahead. It took Magus a second to remember what he was going to ask her, she had caught him by surprise. He took another pause before speaking to push in on the ends of his staff in order to shape it back into a hilt. After replacing the hilt into the fastenings at his belt, he decided to speak.
"Why are we going to see the Wasser-Kristall?" Aadia didn't seem to register much of what he said until the sentence was complete. She turned to look at him for a moment, before returning her line of vision ahead. Her expression wasn't unnerving to Magus; it made him think. It was a smile, yet her eyes had a little concern in them. As if they asked, "Why do you care? Do you hold it in importance?" She could even be flattered that he wanted to know more about her and the quest she dragged him along on.
"Well, I haven't ever seen the Wasser-Kristall before, and apparently it's important to my country." Aadia spoke as if she was the only one with common sense enough to perceive the importance of the crystal San D'oria possessed. Magus considered that he might just be on edge, yet the reason wasn't easy to grasp. He couldn't decide whether it he might have been on to something. Magus decided to just match her pace and stay quiet for the moment. He felt there was something on Aadia's mind, but what was it? He couldn't hold himself in any longer, and after only roughly a minute of silence, he decided to try and start conversation again.
"So, getting a feel for Windurst more?"
"You mean that zemzelet?"
"Well, I'm sure you don't see many back home."
"That's true, there aren't too many birds in San D'oria."
"What happened to all of them?"
"There's a strong proficiency in the Elvaan culture for cooking fowls."
***
CHAPTER XV
Indecision
There was no reason for any of this to happen; Magus was completely at a loss when he saw the zemzelet make its way out to attack Aadia. It would make sense that the creature was defending the young it had spawned, but in all seriousness none of these events should occur. Was it fear that had inspired in his heart, or was Magus just a bit frustrated with the escalation at hand. He couldn't simply sit by; Magus began to draw the hilt of his staff from his belt, undoing a clip that would hold it to his waist. However, before he could finish, Aadia and the beast she tried to tackle in battle would come his way. The Black Mage was forced to leap out of the path of the two and he could feel stray feathers clinging to his legs.
"Come on, you can't be serious..." Magus uttered the words under his breath, as he watched the Elvaan and the zemzelet try for each other's blood so fiercely. He'd seen fighting before, and had fought before; but there was nothing as intimidating as watching the two lunge at each other with lightning speed. It was like there was a magnetic force that pulled them together, yet as soon as the two touched they were pulled apart. They relayed off the trees and ground, and Aadia clashed her lance against the talons of the bird. It was a thrust and parry at the same time, and he could see neither was getting anywhere.
"Stupid bird, it wasn't my freak of a child who attacked you was it!?" Aadia was shouting out a multitude of things as they clashed; Magus looked around to see if the small rat-bird mataviel that instigated this was still around. It seemed to truly have escaped Aadia's wrath, and as sad as it was, it seemed that the zemzelet was merely sacrificing itself. All this had starting over something as trivial as the lacing of boots. He was getting frustrated still, and the small circle of spells that he had honed came to mind. There really wasn't much in his array; anything that was above his level was usually just a fluke action.
"I'll teach you to mess with me!" Aadia would thrust out her weapon a little higher this time, and Magus witnessed the falling of feathers become company to blood. The zemzelet would shriek and send himself backward by pushing off of Aadia. Aadia's coat seemed to provide some protection; perhaps that was why she changed her attire for the trip. Magus assumed it was all over; the fight should end when the opponent was fatally wounded. The creature had something else in mind, and Magus was beginning to grow more and more sick of the situation. It was hard to simply stand by, and his staff extended to full length from his pressing the trigger on it. Down the metal of one end came, he forced it in the manner that he always practiced.
"Aadia, get back!" Magus shouted out to his traveling companion as his black clad palm extended towards the bird. As the Dragoon cartwheeled herself free of the radius in which Magus proposed attacking, a small flicker of light would encompass the bird's feet. It was a pleasant surprise to the cast; a random bolt of blue energy, which came from skyward, struck down the bird. It sent the zemzelet to its knees, and what Magus perceived as unconsciousness. There was only a low moan emitted from its beak.
It wasn't much of a battle; Magus had brought a quick end to it in hopes to get back on the road. While he was not a monger of violence, he was not afraid to fight or even to incite a conflict. To him, there were some things only resolvable by bringing about pain. Besides, Magus did practice the elemental arts of the Black Mage, which were created to invoke damage. His soul was not dark, nor was his magic skill, but it was seemingly a tremendous responsibility for Magus to avoid going around killing people.
Aadia dusted herself off from her exit of the battle, which had sent her into the dirt. She seemed a little displeased, but she'd had her part in the attack. It was her weapon that had strewn the red stains upon the ground, and she should not have seemed so selfish as to think she was the only one who could kill. That was the demeanor Magus felt she carried after he had struck down the bird. Only Aadia can take things down... He silenced himself from thinking ill of her; she really was a lot more of a fighter than he was.
She didn't wait for him too much, simply gesturing for him to continue with her and walking with a slow pace away from the battleground. Magus understood; it was time to get back on the road. They still had to go see the Wasser-Kristall, and this wasn't even so much as a set back. Magus wasn't really sure why they were heading off to see the crystal, and he wasn't so sure that Aadia knew what she was doing either. But could he ask her why she was taking him along on this outing so easily? Torukoishi had approved, and that alone was enough. But the fact she had proposed the idea to him did indicate she was seemingly friendlier than the other Elvaan he had met. He hadn't spoken much with Elarisa, he could not decide on her manner.
"Hey Aadia..." He didn't finish her sentence, her facial expression hadn't perked up like he expected. She wasn't paying attention to him at the moment, but it was not as if anything else was catching her gazing either. Aadia was just staring at the ground; she must have been in thought about the events or maybe even what Magus sought to ask her. He quieted down, not hoping for her to respond at all. Was she quieter when she traveled? Magus wasn't sure if she really was quiet, he arrived at more indecision when he thought about it.
"Hm? You were going to say something?" Aadia had in fact replied after all, her posture also changed a bit. She was standing up more and her gaze was focused more on the road ahead. It took Magus a second to remember what he was going to ask her, she had caught him by surprise. He took another pause before speaking to push in on the ends of his staff in order to shape it back into a hilt. After replacing the hilt into the fastenings at his belt, he decided to speak.
"Why are we going to see the Wasser-Kristall?" Aadia didn't seem to register much of what he said until the sentence was complete. She turned to look at him for a moment, before returning her line of vision ahead. Her expression wasn't unnerving to Magus; it made him think. It was a smile, yet her eyes had a little concern in them. As if they asked, "Why do you care? Do you hold it in importance?" She could even be flattered that he wanted to know more about her and the quest she dragged him along on.
"Well, I haven't ever seen the Wasser-Kristall before, and apparently it's important to my country." Aadia spoke as if she was the only one with common sense enough to perceive the importance of the crystal San D'oria possessed. Magus considered that he might just be on edge, yet the reason wasn't easy to grasp. He couldn't decide whether it he might have been on to something. Magus decided to just match her pace and stay quiet for the moment. He felt there was something on Aadia's mind, but what was it? He couldn't hold himself in any longer, and after only roughly a minute of silence, he decided to try and start conversation again.
"So, getting a feel for Windurst more?"
"You mean that zemzelet?"
"Well, I'm sure you don't see many back home."
"That's true, there aren't too many birds in San D'oria."
"What happened to all of them?"
"There's a strong proficiency in the Elvaan culture for cooking fowls."
***