Cold as Ice- Trials
Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to get up. School and all you know. I have no clue where I'm taking this, really...Well, okay, so I have a faint idea. But I think that's part of what makes it so fun. Oh, and in a re-statement of the disclaimer, I wish I owned the concept behind FF9 and the characters and all that, but I DON'T. So uh, don't sue me and stuff. I do own Boko the Moogle and Mogli the Chocobo, though! They're mine! And...if you'd really like to, you could use them, but credit them to me, and tell me you're using them. I'd appreciate it. (Just, y'know, on the off-chance that the idea may strike you or something.)
It was very cold in the Ice Cavern, being nearly made of ice, as it were. And it is a scientific fact that two warm bodies will tend to attract one another given a cold environment. So it was that when Freya jolted awake the following...well, when she jolted awake after a nightmare about Fratley, she found herself sleeping beside, almost on, Amarant.
When she realized this, she blushed a deep crimson and immediately scuttled as far from him as she could manage. That is, she stopped when her back connected with the wall somewhat painfully.
She was chanting something over again and again in her mind. Something along the lines of, "Oh god, I can't believe that just happened."
There was a sudden echoing "Kweh!" throughout the room. The Chocobo, Mogli. Freya looked up at the source of the sound, though she couldn't see, and found that ...well...she couldn't see him. But she heard his blue claws clicking on the stone floor.
The sound of Amarant stirring drew her attention away from the Chocobo. "Please let him not have realized..." she pleaded in her head.
"K-kweh-kweh!" Mogli announced, and she heard him ruffle his wingfeathers.
"The hell...?" Amarant asked, on his feet now.
Mogli repeated what he'd said. Amarant replied, "Uhh...." Freya understood his response, seeing as how she didn't speak Chocobo, either.
The bird stamped his foot on the ground, angry, and ran forward to grab the collar of Amarant's shirt in his beak. Amarant protested, but allowed the Chocobo to drag him off to...wherever he was dragging him off to.
Freya stood there, confused, but at the angry, muffled "kweh!" thrown at her, she followed the sound of the clicking claws. Neither had any idea where they were being led, only that when they got there...they still couldn't see. Then suddenly the darkness lifted, almost as of an esuna being cast. Which, er, it was.
Standing there, in her ridiculously long cloak, and her little mini-skirt, and her purple vest, was Boko.
"You cast Darkness on us!" Freya exclaimed.
"Maybe on you," Amarant responded.
Freya suddenly felt like dying. So had he known? Had he been able to see her, blushing against the wall as she had been? "You mean...you could see?" she asked, trying to hide her anxiety.
"...No. I was just saying that maybe she cast it on you. I know she cast it on me."
She let out a relieved sigh. So he hadn't been able to see her. That was good. That only left the question of whether or not he realized she had been sleeping so closely to him.
"Oh, shut up. I have something to say here, and I'm gonna say it, kupo!" Boko declared.
Freya and Amarant both stared at her, waiting for her to say whatever it was she was going to say.
The silence was long.
Finally, she said, "...Mogli, kupo, what was I gonna say?"
They would've done the classic anime falldown, but...well, they're fanfic-ized. Not animeted. Mogli hung his head in exasperation and said something in Chocobo. Boko brightened with an, "oh yeah!" and began talking.
"You're wondering why I've called you here rather than just letting you rot in that little prison room, aren't you, kupo? Well, I want to exact a little revenge on society, kupo. They're the ones that made me evil and all, kupo, you know." Silence from the two. She continued. "Sooo....kupo.... Just to make this fun, I'm going to put you two through a series of trials. If you pass all six of 'em, you'll get to face me."
"Six?" Amarant questioned.
"Yeah, aren't there usually just three?" agreed Freya. "And can I have my hat back?" It was then that she noticed that Mogli was wearing her hat. She snatched it off of his head and replaced it on her own. If you've never seen a chocobo with hat-feathers, it's quite odd looking.
"Yes, kupo, there are usually three. That's why I'm giving you six. It's TWICE as challenging, kupo!" and she laughed maniacally. Amarant and Freya continued to just stare. "Ahem...kupo. When you get through the six challenges, you'll face me. And then...maybe, just maybe, kupo, if you defeat me....I'll let you go."
"How does that prove society isn't all bad?" Freya asked. This villain was a very confusing one.
"It doesn't! I just want to toy with your lives!" she insisted, with another wicked laugh. "I'm EVIL, kupo!"
"Dude, you're an idiot."
Freya giggled despite herself. Amarant's response was quite accurate. Boko was just annoyed. "Shut up! The trials begin now! Kupo!" Then she and Mogli vanished, leaving in their stead a Behemoth.
The two heroes stared at the beast in awe. "...I can take it," Amarant said, but he sounded a little doubtful.
"This looks tough, even for the two of us together..."
"Just Jump," he said, taking up a fighting stance. "At least that way you'll get out of this."
She hesitated. He said that without emotion, as he said everything, but it sounded like he should've had a concerned tone behind it, even though he didn't. Why?
Amarant rushed in to attack, and as she realized this, jumped into the air. This was going to be a difficult battle. Hopefully the other five challenges wouldn't be as hard as this one would turn up to be.
Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to get up. School and all you know. I have no clue where I'm taking this, really...Well, okay, so I have a faint idea. But I think that's part of what makes it so fun. Oh, and in a re-statement of the disclaimer, I wish I owned the concept behind FF9 and the characters and all that, but I DON'T. So uh, don't sue me and stuff. I do own Boko the Moogle and Mogli the Chocobo, though! They're mine! And...if you'd really like to, you could use them, but credit them to me, and tell me you're using them. I'd appreciate it. (Just, y'know, on the off-chance that the idea may strike you or something.)
It was very cold in the Ice Cavern, being nearly made of ice, as it were. And it is a scientific fact that two warm bodies will tend to attract one another given a cold environment. So it was that when Freya jolted awake the following...well, when she jolted awake after a nightmare about Fratley, she found herself sleeping beside, almost on, Amarant.
When she realized this, she blushed a deep crimson and immediately scuttled as far from him as she could manage. That is, she stopped when her back connected with the wall somewhat painfully.
She was chanting something over again and again in her mind. Something along the lines of, "Oh god, I can't believe that just happened."
There was a sudden echoing "Kweh!" throughout the room. The Chocobo, Mogli. Freya looked up at the source of the sound, though she couldn't see, and found that ...well...she couldn't see him. But she heard his blue claws clicking on the stone floor.
The sound of Amarant stirring drew her attention away from the Chocobo. "Please let him not have realized..." she pleaded in her head.
"K-kweh-kweh!" Mogli announced, and she heard him ruffle his wingfeathers.
"The hell...?" Amarant asked, on his feet now.
Mogli repeated what he'd said. Amarant replied, "Uhh...." Freya understood his response, seeing as how she didn't speak Chocobo, either.
The bird stamped his foot on the ground, angry, and ran forward to grab the collar of Amarant's shirt in his beak. Amarant protested, but allowed the Chocobo to drag him off to...wherever he was dragging him off to.
Freya stood there, confused, but at the angry, muffled "kweh!" thrown at her, she followed the sound of the clicking claws. Neither had any idea where they were being led, only that when they got there...they still couldn't see. Then suddenly the darkness lifted, almost as of an esuna being cast. Which, er, it was.
Standing there, in her ridiculously long cloak, and her little mini-skirt, and her purple vest, was Boko.
"You cast Darkness on us!" Freya exclaimed.
"Maybe on you," Amarant responded.
Freya suddenly felt like dying. So had he known? Had he been able to see her, blushing against the wall as she had been? "You mean...you could see?" she asked, trying to hide her anxiety.
"...No. I was just saying that maybe she cast it on you. I know she cast it on me."
She let out a relieved sigh. So he hadn't been able to see her. That was good. That only left the question of whether or not he realized she had been sleeping so closely to him.
"Oh, shut up. I have something to say here, and I'm gonna say it, kupo!" Boko declared.
Freya and Amarant both stared at her, waiting for her to say whatever it was she was going to say.
The silence was long.
Finally, she said, "...Mogli, kupo, what was I gonna say?"
They would've done the classic anime falldown, but...well, they're fanfic-ized. Not animeted. Mogli hung his head in exasperation and said something in Chocobo. Boko brightened with an, "oh yeah!" and began talking.
"You're wondering why I've called you here rather than just letting you rot in that little prison room, aren't you, kupo? Well, I want to exact a little revenge on society, kupo. They're the ones that made me evil and all, kupo, you know." Silence from the two. She continued. "Sooo....kupo.... Just to make this fun, I'm going to put you two through a series of trials. If you pass all six of 'em, you'll get to face me."
"Six?" Amarant questioned.
"Yeah, aren't there usually just three?" agreed Freya. "And can I have my hat back?" It was then that she noticed that Mogli was wearing her hat. She snatched it off of his head and replaced it on her own. If you've never seen a chocobo with hat-feathers, it's quite odd looking.
"Yes, kupo, there are usually three. That's why I'm giving you six. It's TWICE as challenging, kupo!" and she laughed maniacally. Amarant and Freya continued to just stare. "Ahem...kupo. When you get through the six challenges, you'll face me. And then...maybe, just maybe, kupo, if you defeat me....I'll let you go."
"How does that prove society isn't all bad?" Freya asked. This villain was a very confusing one.
"It doesn't! I just want to toy with your lives!" she insisted, with another wicked laugh. "I'm EVIL, kupo!"
"Dude, you're an idiot."
Freya giggled despite herself. Amarant's response was quite accurate. Boko was just annoyed. "Shut up! The trials begin now! Kupo!" Then she and Mogli vanished, leaving in their stead a Behemoth.
The two heroes stared at the beast in awe. "...I can take it," Amarant said, but he sounded a little doubtful.
"This looks tough, even for the two of us together..."
"Just Jump," he said, taking up a fighting stance. "At least that way you'll get out of this."
She hesitated. He said that without emotion, as he said everything, but it sounded like he should've had a concerned tone behind it, even though he didn't. Why?
Amarant rushed in to attack, and as she realized this, jumped into the air. This was going to be a difficult battle. Hopefully the other five challenges wouldn't be as hard as this one would turn up to be.