("What's that in aid of?" asked Taion, staring at Lanz's outstretched hand.)

It's all rather curious.

("Do the right thing." Lanz wiggled his hand in emphasis. "Come on.")

There are myriad reasons as to why Taion may have refused to return Lanz's gesture.

(Taion looked almost affronted. "Wh-...Sorry, but I refuse to debase myself like this!" With a silent huff, he walked away from the portable table, leaving Lanz hanging.)

Perhaps the gesture was unique to Keves. Maybe Taion had often seen Kevesi soldiers give each other a high-five after victories in battle, indelibly associating it with dead Agnians in his mind? Or rather, had he been the victim of a failed 'high five' before, only to jokingly be told that he was 'too slow'?

The imagination is rather inventive, and can come up with all sorts of ideas and hypothetical solutions...

xxxx

/Time: Chapter 4, in the morning, prior to Noah and Mio's flute exchange/

As the sound of Lanz and Sena's rhythmic exertions — if nothing else, Taion couldn't fault their consistency when it came to calisthenics — echoed through the early morning, the group's tactician quietly took the first sip of the morning brew. Hmm. It sits well, but the texture could be a bit better. Whilst charting their path for the upcoming day on his Iris, he briefly registered Riku's attempt to wake up Manana when Eunie entered his peripheral vision. At the sight of her somewhat cheeky look — then again, when was she not cheeky? — Taion quietly deactivated it so he could give her his full attention. "Good morning."

"Hey," she answered with a jaunty salute. "You got a cup ready?"

"I wasn't aware I'm supposed to be your personal quartermaster," dryly remarked Taion, even as he nonetheless grabbed a second tea cup.

"Well, you're up already, might as well save time," she remarked with a grin. Looking over his shoulder, she then asked, "So, what was up with you and Lanz? You in a row or something?"

As he poured hot tea into the empty cup, Taion wondered what she was on about. "Not that I'm aware of. What about me and Lanz?" he asked with honest curiosity.

"Last night. You left him hanging," she said matter-of-factly, sipping from her tea. (Her head wings briefly extended, a sign that she was savoring the flavor; the few brief flaps that followed indicated she was satisfied with the taste.)

Taion pulled his gaze away from her wings. "Hanging?"

"You know?" She held up her right hand. "This."

"...oh." Was that what she was referring to? "Is it that big of a deal?"

"Well, it was kind of rude."

Taion huffed. "Given everything we've gone through, it seems rather silly for us to be engaging in such childish gestures." He took a definitive sip from his tea, punctuating his point.

Eunie's deadpan stare said volumes about her opinion. "Taion. A high five is not childish."

"Yes it is," he said matter-of-factly, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Are you pullin' my wings?"

"Of course not, why would I?"

"A high five is so snuffin' normal, I can't believe you're that serious about it."

Taion impulsively adjusted his glasses before remarking, "I'm not unfamiliar with gestures signifying camaraderie amongst soldiers. But a high five is simply...silly. Juvenile."

Eunie audibly scoffed, downing the rest of her tea in one gulp. "Now I know you're pullin' my wings."

"I am not."

Crossing her arms, Eunie demanded, "Then tell me. Why's a high five so silly? I want an answer."

Taion's eyes widened with genuine befuddlement. "I can't believe you're asking me to justify something so trivial."

"The fact it's trivial is precisely why I wanna know," she griped.

"I don't believe this..."

(And so, as Noah and Mio had their very touching and emotional reconciliation amidst the morning sunrise, Eunie and Taion were having a serious debate about whether or not the 'high five' was indeed a childish gesture.)

xxxx

...but sometimes, there doesn't need to be a deep reason.

People are allowed to be petty and unreasonable about lighthearted matters, to no great consequence.

The same was true for Taion.

xxxx

/Time: Chapter 7, during the hunt for the Origin Shards with Queen Nia/

/Welkin Falls, Erythia Sea, Cadensia Region/

The search for the Origin shards needed to upgrade Samon's ship had brought Ouroboros to Cape Arcaphor. The signal for the Origin shard was coming from behind Welkin Falls: a simple enough task, all things considered.

Then a massive Serprond — bearing the markings of Otherworldly Rodsin, according to their Irises — had emerged from the depths, ambushing them before they could swim towards the waterfall. With a bellowing sound, the flying fish summoned friends in the form of Abyssal Medoozes: hovering creatures that looked like a cross between jellyfish and manta rays. Normally, such a situation would have put them in a tough spot.

Fortunately, they were accompanied by Nia, who made water her proverbial plaything. With a gesture, she had solidified the water into a solid sheet — all without turning it into ice, paradoxically enough — thus granting Ouroboros solid footing so they could fight to their full capacity.

This battle was nearing its end.

"We've got it constrained!" yelled Taion, his Mondo swirling about the wounded Serprond in a fashion that kept it from slipping free.

Lanz, who had adapted Taion's Tactician class for this battle, was forcing his Mondo to stick to the serpentine fish's eyes. Blinded and rendered too weak from injury to slip free, Rodsin was ripe for the reaping. "HURRY AND FINISH IT OFF!" he roared.

Noah and Mio obliged, using their Ouroboros form to bisect the great monster in two with a swing of their violet blade; the two halves began dissolving into ambient ether on the spot.

("Ugh, finally," grunted Nia, finally releasing her hold on the water; everyone promptly fell into the drink.)

"Spark yes!" exclaimed Sena, using the fans of Miyabi's Troubadour class to help her float. "One big monster down!"

Lanz chuckled with the satisfaction of a job well done. "Heh. Another one bites the dust." Turning towards Taion, he was about to congratulate him for their coordination when he noticed something unusual. "What's up?"

Taion was holding his right hand above the water, a complicated expression on his face. "That was good work with the Mondo. I'm complimenting it."

"...you all right, man?" asked Lanz with a raised eyebrow. "I thought this sort of thing was 'debasing'."

"Look, just do it before I change my mind," grumbled Taion, blushing with embarrassment.

Lanz shrugged. "Dunno why you're being weird about it, but I appreciate it." With a grin, he brought his hand out of the water and returned the high five.

xx

At the periphery of the group, Eunie's Iris was glowing. "And saved~" she said with a giggly smirk, forwarding the video to Riku's terminal (because Irises were great for visual displays, but their inherent storage capacity was very limited) for future use.

Nia looked at her with an amused expression, wet hair clinging to her skin. "Cheeky little brat, aren't you?"

Eunie, who had quickly gotten used to how jovial and strangely juvenile Her Agnian Highness could be, simply responded, "What, like you wouldn't in my shoes."

"...that's fair enough," Nia remarked with a sly smile.

xxxx

Alas, in the end, it's fair to say that Taion wouldn't leave Lanz hanging when it counted.

("So, you decided to return the favor, eh~?")

("Eunie?")

("That was cute, finally letting Lanz have his 'high five'.")

("Don't make it such a big deal, please.")

("I'm not the one making it a big deal.")

("Let's not have this debate again...")

And so their journey continued.

xxxx

Author's Note: The next story DLC better have Taion return Lanz's high five, or we riot.