Taion was not the only person he knew who wore glasses: Lieutenant Zakir at Colony Gamma, for example, and likewise Lieutenant Yuzet at Colony 30. They also seemed a fairly common accessory for the Nopon, as well.
He hadn't really questioned their purpose: as he had gotten older, his eyesight had degraded to the point where he needed corrective lenses.
But they were quite an oddity, in a world like Aionios.
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/Time: Chapter 2, after the defeat of Consul K, and the liberation of Colony 4/
/Colony 4 Barracks, Eagus Wilderness, Fornis Region/
Sitting upon a sleeping cot in the dust-filled tent, Taion looked at his glasses with a scowl. Again?
"Whoa. You all right there?"
Taion looked up at Lanz, who seemed somewhat blurry in his sight. "Of course. Why would I not be?"
Lanz, having just returned from the Colony baths, tilted his head with confusion. "You look like a Skeeter got in your shoe."
"...well, if you must know, I've run out of tissues." Eagus Wilderness was a blasted mudder of a biome; he had already gone through his whole supply of tissue paper trying to keep his glasses free of dust and debris. "This environment is ill-suited for keeping these clean."
"...what exactly are those for, anyhow? Haven't run into anyone who's ever had those back at our Colony."
The honest curiosity in Lanz's voice quelled Taion's impulsive retort. (He needed no reminders as to the reality of physical defects or abnormalities.) "If you must know, they're a corrective tool. As I get closer to my tenth term, my vision has gotten worse."
"Oh come off it; can't the healers or the medics take care of it?"
"It is not the sort of condition that can be rectified with curative ether," he replied, placing his smudged glasses back on his face; at least this way, Lanz's expression was visible. "It is simply something I...have to live with."
"...seriously?" Now the tall lunkhead seemed truly perplexed. "Doesn't...that seem odd, to you?"
"In what way?"
"Well," he said, plopping down into one of the empty cots. "Mio's ears, and Sena's chest doodads-"
"What kind of a term is 'doodad'?"
"Shut it and let me finish," Lanz griped. "Anyhow, I had never really thought about those kinds of things, before. That doesn't make an Agnian that much different from a Kevesi, given Eunie's wings and my skin. But a person needing glasses just because their eyesight's getting worse?"
"Could you kindly get to the point?"
"I mean...ain't it snuffin' weird? If we're born to fight, then why would our eyesight be getting worse from anything that's not a battlefield injury?"
...well, that was certainly a valid observation. (The fact that Lanz of all people had made it was somewhat galling.) "That...is an excellent question. Unfortunately, separated as we are from the Castles, it's not one I'll be getting an answer to anytime soon." Rising to his feet, Taion remarked, "I'll see if Oleshandra is willing to part with any of her stock." The paper quality for the medical supplies shouldn't be that different between Keves and Agnus, right? "And...what are you doing?"
"Tagging along."
"Why?"
Lanz looked at him as though he were the idiot. "Heard from Sena about how she and Mio accosted by someone with a grudge. Hard not to notice the way some of the soldiers look at you Agnians. And no offense, but you look pretty wormy."
"Are you doubting my combat proficiency? After everything that's happened?"
"Spark no, but it's not like they know what those Mondo doodads can pull off."
"My Mondo are not 'doodads'-"
"And besides, if your glasses are that dirty, you might not see a sucker punch comin'. And that'd be a snuffin' shame, you know?"
At this point, protesting further was only going to give him more of a headache. (Not that you're willing to admit that the gesture is appreciated.) "...do as you will," relented Taion, giving himself up to the fact that Lanz was going to be his impromptu bodyguard for the time being.
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Regardless, he had resigned himself to the need for them.
As such, he had to be flexible with regards to keeping them cleaned.
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/Time: Chapter 4, after liberating Colony Tau/
/High Maktha Wildwood, Pentelas Region/
The humidity in the Maktha Wildwood was a right mudder, Taion didn't say out loud.
But he certainly felt it. He had already gone through all of his tissues, this time due to the wretched humidity of the Wildwood. Not even Colony Lambda had ever been so consistently misty, and it spent most of its time parked around a sparking waterfall!
Still, he couldn't help but be observant. Thus, did he inquire. "Excuse me, Manana."
"Hmm? Taion want something?" asked the fuzzy chefypon.
(In the midst of their foraging for food, he had seen Mio and Eunie's conversation by the bright fig tree from afar. Bringing that up, however, would have been rude; after all, it hadn't been his place to butt in.)
(You're not surprised in the slightest that Eunie managed to get Mio to open up a little; she had a talent for that, it seemed.) "Well, you wouldn't happen to have a tissue I could use, would you?" he asked, pointing at his somewhat foggy lenses.
Manana promptly pulled out a red-and-white patterned handkerchief without a word.
xxxx
That being said, despite the difficulties that came with having glasses, they came with...some advantages. Not everything was completely negative, in the practical order.
Taion had simply had difficulties finding enough 'pros' to outweigh the numerous 'cons.'
He wouldn't have been able to articulate a single positive if he had been asked.
Not until a certain fellow from the City with the moniker of 'Storyspinner' had been the catalyst for an...interesting conversation.
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/Time: Chapter 7, during Melia Antiqua's trip to the City/
/Mitia Lookout, The City, Underneath Cadensia Region/
The mood had become rather morbid once Eunie had inquired about the nature of growing old, and the difficulties therein. The answer from Storyspinner, Taleb, had not been inspiring on the surface.
So much so that Taion couldn't help but ask, "Eunie, are you all right?"
His question prompted an immediate response. "I just wanna know what it's all about. Growing old. There's folk out there who get to live so much longer than us. And they still choose to fight." With hands on her hips, Eunie's tone became progressively more melancholy. "It just feels like I'm always taking a back seat. Like I'm getting left behind...but I wanna be there with you guys, even if it's just in spirit..."
The sentiment behind his partner's words were so heartfelt that Taion found it difficult to speak. So much so, that Noah, Mio, and Melia took turns reassuring her. (Did she truly fear being left behind? Did she truly dread being left alone, when all was said and done?)
(Quite frankly, you've had one too many thoughts lately about dying for her sake, if it meant taking a killing blow. Yet you've never pondered how that would make her feel, have you?)
Taion was jolted back to reality by Eunie's voice, quivering with untold emotion. "...don't suppose you've got any tissues on you?"
His hand impulsively gripped around the tissue packet in one of his pockets. The conversation continued on unabated, with Taion unable (nay, unwilling) to contribute any further.
Taleb's words seemed a fitting capstone to their meeting. "Life's a cruel journey from one end to the other. You only get one chance to walk it. But if there's one thing that gives it all meaning, it's love."
For all they had learned since first coming to the City — about life, the nature of human existence, and the artificial constraints imposed by the world upon those born from the cradles — that was a topic Taion still couldn't wrap his head around. It just seemed way too big to properly categorize, and dissect. Yet...
(And yet 'what', you fool?)
...yet he still felt a certain impulse to do something. Thus, as the party followed Melia back down the stairway, he found himself walking slower to match Eunie's pace. She was more sedate than before...and rightfully so.
That's why he didn't hesitate when he pulled out the packet containing his last tissue. "Here."
The girl blinked, bright blue eyes looking at him with the impulsive befuddlement that was so characteristic of her. "Eh?"
"You said you needed tissues, right?" he explained. "Take it. I needed to resupply anyhow."
"...hmph," huffed Eunie, her lips contorting into a coy smirk. "Don't you need these to make sure you don't go blind?"
Taion adjusted his frames out of habit. "Well, it's not as though my glasses are dirty now. Besides...tissues are practical."
"...yeah. Guess they are."
He turned away, not looking as Eunie dabbed at her eyes. She was oddly prideful about certain things...but he knew how that felt. He certainly wasn't one to talk.
xxxx
So, perhaps it wasn't exactly a positive for wearing glasses, per se. It was more akin to a 'pro' in favor of carrying tissues around.
Still...
xxxx
/The Very Next Day/
After having spent the night in the City, everyone was replenishing their supplies — and being treated to a rather large feast in Melia's honor at Michiba Canteen — in the time they had before returning the Queen to Keves Castle.
It was during this time when, in the midst of perusing a traderpon's wares, Taion felt tapping on his shoulder. Looking up, he blinked at Eunie's presence. "Ah. You're back from visiting Rozana already?"
His partner nodded; when Ouroboros had all gone shopping this morning, Eunie had insisted on seeking out Gray's wife for 'something important.' "Yeah."
"Did...she have what you were looking for?"
"She helped me find it, yeah." Fiddling with the tip of one of her wings — a nervous tic, he had noticed; why was she anxious? — the girl asked, "Say, mind if I hold your glasses?"
"Er...what?" What? "Why?"
"It's not for long. I just wanna hold 'em. Not like you're gonna fall over just standin' here, right?"
"...I suppose not." He couldn't fathom why she wanted them, but...he trusted her. (In the back of his mind, words from Agnus Castle — "Now I've got a reliable guy...to stand by me, so..." — roared past, without rhyme or reason.) As such, he removed his glasses, holding them out for Eunie. "I'd advise against wearing them; they're made for my eyes. Sena tried once, and she said it gave her a headache." Contrary to expectations, she didn't put them on; instead, she kept staring at him, with a level of focus that he could see even if her form was somewhat blurry. "...Eunie?"
"...it may sound weird...but you don't look like 'you' without these." Without asking for permission, she slipped his glasses back onto his face. "There, that's more like it. That's 'Taion' to me."
(Even if Moebius were there to threaten his life, he would have found it impossible to say a single word.)
Taking advantage of his stunned silence, Eunie pulled out a small package; it was a transparent parcel, containing a white handkerchief rimmed with orange(?), adjacent to a small spray bottle. "Here. For cleaning them. So you don't have to keep buying tissues."
"...oh. You..." Indulging in his own nervous tic, Taion pushed his glasses up. "You didn't have to."
"Well, I know how 'tissues are practical' and junk, but we're not exactly gonna find any Nopon Caravans in Origin. Wouldn't do for you to run out of tissues on our way to Z, you know?"
(At the periphery of the conversation, the traderpon sighed; he knew a lost sale when he saw one...)
The simple logic of her motivation was enough for Taion to latch onto, because otherwise he didn't know what he was going to say. "I appreciate it. Thank you, Eunie. I'll try to think of a way to pay you back-"
The woman's scoff was characteristic enough, as was her lighthearted slap on his shoulder. "Ah, you clod; you don't pay people back for gifts. Rozana told me so! So just take it."
Once again, Taion found himself mute.
Seemingly pleased by his perplexed silence, Eunie walked away with a cheeky grin. "Come on! There might not be any food left at the canteen."
"Um...right..." Taion watched her walk away, stuck in a trance...that is, until he heard someone clearing their throat. Looking to the side, his eyes widened with surprise. "Gray?"
The cloaked gunman was staring intently at him, his deadset expression challenging him. Somehow. But to what? "..."
"...is...there something I can help you with?"
The old warrior simply shook his head, gruffly said "Clueless. Can't see what's in front of you," and then walked away.
"...wait, what?" sputtered Taion, fighting the urge to pursue Gray. "What did you mean by that?! Hey!"
xxxx
...he supposed that was one positive, in the grand scheme of things.
To Eunie, his glasses were part of what made him 'Taion.'
Somehow...that was more than enough to outweigh any and all 'cons' he could think of.
xxxx
Author's Note: Forget Mio and Noah; Eunie and Taion have the most 'you make my heart go doki doki' energy.
It doesn't help that Taion is such a huge dork that it makes his reactions to Eunie's overtures so bloody hilarious.