A Lesson on Control
A Final Fantasy XI fanfic by Renfro Calhoun
Disclaimer: Still applies. Property of Squeenix, you know the deal.
Notes: Training in the fine arts of Summoning, as written by a guy who hasn't even unlocked the job yet. Also, meal delivery with style.
"Whenever you're ready-weady!"
The redheaded Mithra scratched her thumb absentmindedly, her other senses desperately seeking stimuli with her eyes covered by the blindfold. She knew more or less what she had to do, it was simply a matter of doing it - 'it' being to command the fuzzy blue creature she knew was a few feet in front of her without making a sound.
Her sharp ears picked up the sound of a Tarutaru's tiny feet tapping the ground, in feigned impatience. She knew, as was the point of the exercise, that giving orders was no mean feat with ordinary creatures, let alone summoned beings.
So it was that Chaylinn had agreed to Kahri's unusual test, which left her bound by the hands, her back to a tree and a knife somewhere just out of reach. The Taru swore up and down was a proven way of learning to properly summon and guide things; in this case, the three-tailed, ruby-eyed Carbuncle, who sat and stared at the bound and blinded Mithra expectantly.
"The knife is nearby!" Kahri insisted. "Get Carbuncle to help you escape!"
(I know, I know,) Chaylinn thought. (All right, let's see... thinking... thinking...) She knew she could simply tell the thing to help, but silence was one of the parameters of the test. She had assumed, apparently incorrectly, that the creature could sense her requests somehow and respond. (What haven't I tried yet?) Briefly, she considered simply slipping her hands free from the ropes that bound her. Kahri tied a neat knot, but the rope itself was not quite tight enough, and the Mithra hardly needed to cut her way out. Still, she wasn't yet frustrated, at least not enough to bypass the point of the problem.
There was a hint in how the Taru had phrased the exercise, Chaylinn was positive of this. ("Think with two minds," she said. Okay... think with two minds. How?) She tried to relax, emptying her mind of any thought, as if to allow Carbuncle's thoughts to enter. When that didn't work, she moved to the next parameter. ("And be quietaru! You may have to give an order-worder without drawing any attention!" Okay, be quiet. So I can't say the command, yet he obviously can't read my... wait.)
She stopped. (She didn't actually say I couldn't talk. I just have to be quiet.)
"Carbuncle," Chaylinn whispered, "bring me the knife."
The creature made an odd, vaguely feline noise of discontent; Chaylinn might have described it as a very faint hiss. (I guess that's not it either.)
"You're getting warm!" Kahri announced in a sing-song voice. "You're on the rightaru track!"
(Right track, right track, okay. Why couldn't he simply bring the knife to me... what am I missing? What am I... wait, where is it anyway?) "Carbuncle," she said softly, "tell me where the knife is."
She heard the sound of paws on the grass as Carbuncle edged towards her. Surprisingly, it stopped just a few inches away from her feet and made a small chirping noise, clearly affirmative. (What the... wait, why... was it at my feet the whole time?)
Chaylinn grunted as she shimmied down the tree to a seated position, carefully snaking her tail off to one side. Slowly she wiggled around, feeling around with her hands and feet, until one of her fingers just grazed the handle of the weapon. She quietly gasped. (It WAS down there! Why did I need Carbuncle's help to find that?)
Kahri clapped and cheered. "All right! You can cut yourself loosey-woosey now!"
The Mithra quickly did so, grabbing the knife and turning it in her hand to saw open the ropes. They quickly went slack under the weapon's edge, and she promptly dropped it and reached up to remove her blindfold. As the world came back to her, she threw an odd look over to the well-dressed and smiling Tarutaru who now stood next to her.
"So what was that all about?" asked Chaylinn. "I didn't need Carbuncle to find the dagger. If I'd known it was close, I would've just picked it up myself."
Kahri continued to smile. "I know. That's the pointaru of this test."
Chaylinn blinked. "I don't follow."
"Well," said Kahri, "the truth is there are a number of ways he could have helped. You could have even told him to simply claw through the ropes."
Chaylinn paused, and raised an eyebrow. "Really?" she asked. (Wow... come to think of it, that WOULD have been a better idea.)
"But the point of the test isn't just to learn how to command Carbuncle - besides things like 'attack' or 'fetch my dinner'..."
The Mithra couldn't help but snicker a little. "They rrrreally do that?"
"If you ask nicey-wicey!" said Kahri with a broad grin. "Anyway, the point is to learn that, while ALSO remembering to use your own skills and abilities!"
"Ohhhh," said Chaylinn, a light turning on upstairs. "So that's what the 'two minds' thing was about!"
"Yup! Summoning is not bringing in things to fight for you!" Kahri held up a finger, and pointed to Chaylinn. "It's bringing them in to fight with you. You still have to know how to defend yourself, while properly controlling your summons."
The Mithra smiled, her tail swaying back and forth. "Interrrresting. Now I see why you recommended this." She bowed her head. "Thank you, Kahri."
"Hehe!" Kahri chuckled gleefully. "You're more than welcome!"
"All right then! Shall we get going?"
"Actually, not just yet." Kahri looked skyward. "It should be here any minutaru now."
Chaylinn looked confused, craning her head up. "What's that?"
A small, black dot was barely visible against the sky; it quickly grew larger, plummeting towards the ground. It took the shape of a box wrapped in paper, and seconds later it jerked as a parachute unfurled. Its descent slowed dramatically; the box gently floated to the ground and settled less than a foot away from Kahri.
The Taru grinned. "Dinner!"
"Okay... how, exactly, did you pull that one off?"
- MEANWHILE! IN UPPER JEUNO! -
Karlinn squinted into the sky, shading his eyes from the sun. "Did we make it?"
"Of course we made itaru!" said the diminuitive red mage next to him, with his tiny hand still on the catapult lever. "Another successful delivery! Kahri-wari will love it!" He reached down and gave Carbuncle an affectionate pat on the head. "Thanks, Carbuncle!"
"Where'd you find this friggin' thing anyway?"
"Pirate surplus store," Zoofster said proudly. "I'm thinking of getting my own ship!"
"Ah, you're crazy."
"I could use a firstaru mate, you know..."
"...I'm listening."
