Note: In this chapter, you'll see an event from both Mariasta's and Raven's eyes. Raven will be underlined, and Mariasta's viewpoint will be bold.
"Kweh...!" Two chocobo chicks, just waist-high now and still as fluffy as dandelions, appeared over the knoll, chased by a little viera wearing a too-big cape and a pot over her head... Playing "Magic Adventurer! Whee!"
Raven looked up from where he was consulting a map. Gukko would never talk to Callypso about... What happened on the date... I'll go see her myself. Raven stared at the map. For both of their sakes.
It was a nice day all right, the kind that you read about in little childrens' books, a day filled with grassy meadows, sun, wispy clouds, and dandelions and kittens. It was pleasantly warm, but not too hot... The perfect day to travel to the rural area between Muscadet and Sphrom.
"Sabina, don't run them to death," he warned before setting up the map and shouldering his bag and mounting the waiting chocobo.
The little girl looked up from where she was throwing her arms around Mateus Star-Rise's neck and grinned.
"Have fun," he called after him, setting off...
Raven arrived at Callypso's home after an hour of walking and pausing to rest in the shade.
After hiking through a dense forest, the trees suddenly broke clear into a grassy, rolling, lush green meadow, fenced in by a pristine white fence and dotted with an occasional chocobo. Raven saw someone! He dismounted and walked off.
Mariasta was bored. Monte was away with his father to observe various dispatch missions, and... All the other kids were too wimpy and prissy to play with.
Oh, Mariasta knew what she wanted and dearly. She wanted a fistfight, a brawl. She wanted to get bruises and maybe her lip split and to feel her punches rain against someone's gut...
"Good Lady!" Mariasta scowled, having more than enough of her share of "Good Lady!" and "Greetings, fine Lady!" Usually it ended with, "Is your sister-" and a giant punch on Mariasta's part.
And this was no exception. "Is Callyp-"
"She's already taken. Her boyfriend'll beat you up," Mariasta said outright.
Raven shook his head. "No, no, I'm not trying-"
Mariasta scowled. "Come closer then, so I can see you," she commanded, not mentioning that she could see each hair on his eyebrows from her distance. The closer he was, the easier for her to throw the first punch, after all.
Raven stepped closer. Hey, Callypso's little sister was like a Panther kit- cute but fierce and more likely to bite than to purr... "Hey, you're Mariasta, aren't you?" He had heard about her from what Gukko told him... So this was what she-
O Sweet Beautiful Callypso! O Mariasta the Lucky! So Lucky to have such a wonderful older sister! Geez! Why does everyone want Callypso? What about me?
"Who are you?" Mariasta glowered. Oh great. Just great. Callypso's admirers. What about Mariasta? Sometimes she just hated her sister, hated her, hated her beyond any mere sibling rivarlry, hated her beyond everthi-
"I'm Gukko's best friend," Raven explained. "I just need to talk to Callypso about something-"
A backstaber, eh? That's what her sister does, Mariasta thought. She turns best friends and brothers against one another-
"Hey, so where's your sister?" Raven asked again... The little (actually, considering her size, not very little) viera was fast becoming a nuisance. Why didn't she give a straight answer for once?
This Paladin is persistant! Who did he think he was, to demand Callypso so boldly? If he was Gukko's best friend, wouldn't he already know that Callypso already had a date? Mariasta felt a punch storing up in her right arm... And the Paladin's idiotic persistence was not helping.
"Mariasta, please, this is really important..." Raven shook his head, seeing Mariasta's expression...
Her jaw was set tightly and unmovably. Her whole body was in a ready stance, like a mountain... And from her eyes, a steadfast stubbornness radiated, creating an intangible, almost-seeable force field around Mariasta. Great Gods! Why can't the viera see that this is really important? What did she think he was trying to get to Callypso for? Didn't she know her sister was...
What are you going to say to her?" Mariasta demanded. She growled. This Paladin was among the worst of the annoying boys coming to attempt to talk her sister into a date... What an idiot. A backstabbing idiot.
"Hey, if I tell you what I have to tell you sister, will you let me see her?" Raven was trying to keep an even temper, despite THE FACY THAT HE WANTED TO TEAR HER DAMN SMIRKING FACE OFF!
Oh great. "Maybe...?"
Raven wasn't sure how to break it to the little soul that her sister... That night... He took a deep breath. Another deep breath, and another, trying to figure out how to say what happened that night...
The Paladin Birdie whats-his-face seems to be dying of heatstroke! Why's he panting like that? "What are you doing? And what's the message?"
Okay... Calm down, Raven.. Think... "Okay, Mariasta.." He took in a deep breath. "Do you know what rape is?" He watched her wrinkle her face and reply,
"Something very bad."
Why's he asking me about rape anyways? Mariasta wondered...
"Okay, so remember that your sister and my best friend went on a date one night..."
"Uh-huh..."
"So then..." Raven was trying to control his anger as hard as he could. This little viera was seriously getting on his nerves...
And in a furious explosion, Raven screamed: "WELL, YOUR SISTER DATE-RAPED MY BEST FRIEND!" Raven screamed.
Mariasta burst too. "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU SAYING?" she demanded. Sometimes she could hate Callypso... But accusing her older sister of... Rape? This Paladin is crazy!
But no, the Paladin didn't stop at that. His evil mind went on concocting an evil brew of words...
"Well guess what?" he demanded. "She did. And not only that, Gukko doesn't have the guts to tell her otherwise. So I have to tell her- Oof!"
Mariasta had swung her whole weight over and punched the Paladin Birdie hard in the gut.
Raven staggered back with the force of the blow and his surprise, and when Mariasta's hands reappeared in ready position, he staggered forward...
"I'm sorry... But I- -Don't hit- -girls..." he wheezed.
"Well," Mariasta said with satisfaction that the fistfight hiding in her all day could come out finally, roaring and screaming. She let loose a bodyblow again to strike him in the kidneys. "Get up and fight!"
Raven shook his head. "No.. . Daddy told me not to hit girls..."
"Well, as Lady Mariasta," Mariasta said in a mock-nasal imperious voice, "I-eth commandeth thee-eth to fighteth!"
Seeing that he had no other choice, Raven charged at Mariasta, swinging his fist, which connected with air as Mariasta lept out of the way. And as she leapt, she stuck out her arm, intending to swipe Raven off his feet. But Raven grabbed her arm while his momentum carried him, driving Mariasta onto the ground.
But years of wrestling with Muglio impressed onto the viera instincts- she grabbed Raven's feet in one fluid motion and would have pulled him down if a Paladin didn't weigh more than a little boy of a bangaa. Raven kicked her grip off as Mariasta rose, feinting for a blow to the face...
"Ow..." Mariasta, at last moment, dodged out of Raven's grasp by flipping backwards and swinging her foot upwards... It hit...
Raven grabbed his crotch and fell down... "Owowow..."
Mariasta smiled. "That should teach you not to make up stories about my sister. I bet you're just a cowa-"
Raven leaped to his feet, enraged at the insult. "Well, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE THE BELOVED LITTLE SISTER OF A RAPIST?" he roared, swinging his fist at her and glancing a blow off her jaw.
Mariasta leapt back, rubbing her jawline. "Ouch!"
She they punched and kicked and fought and tore out patches of each other until...
"Mariasta! What are you doing?" a voice called.
Mother Mystrinia Kaya Leonclaws ran over the knoll.
What she saw shocked her-
They were both bruised and bleeding, and the Paladin had sustained what seemed like a huge kick in the crotch from the way Mariasta was sitting on his back with his arms pinioned in front of her, saying, "GIVE UP! GIVE YOURSELF UP!"
"Mariasta Celali Lireala Leonclaws! What do you think you're doing?" Mystrinia called angrily.
"Mother, he says that Callypso did something really bad-"
Mother was at their sides in an instant, helping Raven up and scolding Mariasta.
"Mariasta, you know you're not allowed to beat up random people. It's unfair. You're trained in fistfighting, he's not a White Monk, what did you expect, and look! Both of you are bleeding and bruised!"
"Mariasta..." Mystrinia warned.
Mariasta sulked. "It's not fair! He started it!"
"Fine! Both of you, say you're sorry!"
They were both flung over a chair each, nursing wounds and each holding an icepack, Mariasta, to her shoulder, and Raven, to where Mariasta had kicked him and in a very embarresing position-
"I'm sorry," Mariasta said.
"I'm sorry," Raven said too.
"Okay, so what happened?" Mystrinia asked evenly.
"Well..." Raven took a deep breath. "Correct me if I'm mistaken, Dear Lady," he said with a sarcastic pressure on the term Dear Lady, "I was walking here. I asked you where Callypso is-"
"No, you said you wanted to see Callypso for something-"
"I did not! I most definitely did not!"
"ANYWAYS!" Mystrinia roared, thumping the table in a way that quelled all arguement. "So then what?"
Mariasta kicked her legs in her chair. "He says that Callypso date-raped his best friend!" she exclaimed unhappily.
Had Mystrinia been a normal mother, there would have been too options:
Option one. She would fall for the "Not-My-Child" syndrome and pounced on Raven with a "How dare you accuse Callypso!"
or
Option two. She would fall on her knees and weep, "I'm such a bad mother... I let this happen to her..."
But Mystrinia was no normal mother... Instead, she considered it evenly.
"Hhmm... Considering... That's possible... I'll talk to her about it."
Mariasta looked unhappy. "Mother, Callypso would never, never..." her voice died in her throat.
"Well, thank you, but I gotta go now," Raven explained.
"Well, don't you two get into anymore trouble!" Mother Mystrinia warned, wagging a finger in both their faces.
"Thank you, my good ladies..." Raven winced as he got up and put the icepack on the table. "I'd better get going now."
"Bye," Mystrinia called. Mariasta scowled.
"Bye too. I hope that you get kicked in the crotch by someone bigger than me," she said before Mystrinia silenced her.
Raven reached the edge of Mystrinia's fields in minutes.
The Paladin saddled his chocobo painfully, and in a matter of minutes, Raven was riding away from Callypso's home...
And back to the clan base.
;'