Fragment Chapter: How to Train Your Capture King
Tio Plato was eighteen years old. Legally, she was allowed to drink alcohol. In practice though, Randy told her to wait until she was twenty-one. He wouldn't explain why; he just laughed and dodged the question until she chose to drop it.
Given her situation now, maybe that was for the best. She took a nibbling sip from her juice. Lemon.
"WHAT did I do WRONG, Tio?" Elie said— slurred, actually. The foam framing her mouth was all kinds of disgraceful, but she yapped on regardless. "I mean, I'm kind and nice, RIGHT? I'm WIFE material, riggghtttt?"
"Uhm…" How should she respond? Elie's current behavior wasn't typical of a wife. At least, Tio thought it wasn't. It was probably only attractive for men like Randy, and as a blossoming young woman herself, she had to be diligent to not degrade into a drunkard bachelorette like Ilya.
"Heyyyyy, bartender," Elie called out. Thankfully, it wasn't for another glass of beer. The bar was running out of clean ones. "I'm pretty, right? ATTRACTIVE, and SWEET, and YOUNG, and…"
Elie continued to dole out self-targeted praises for herself as the barman nodded along. Tio didn't need her Aeon Systems to know that he wasn't actually listening.
Frankly, neither was her. Tio took another sip and dunked her cookie into a tub of ice cream. She only came for the free food courtesy of Elie.
...and also to restrain her if her drunken antics ever got out of hand.
Who else would? Randy was obviously out, she neither trusted nor wanted Wazy to be anywhere near a drunken Elie, and Noel and Lloyd were currently preoccupied with work.
Speaking of which…
"That stupid Lloyd… stupid stupid stupid," Elie rambled.
Tio had to agree. If anything extraordinarily bothersome happens, blame Lloyd. He deserves it.
"Damn his stupidly good lips… They're so GOOD, Tio!"
...Okay?
"He says he loves me right before we went to save KeA. He said he'd never leave me for anything. Then this whole Erebonia stuff happens and he's like: 'I'm sorry, Elie, but for everyone's sake let's end it here'."
Tears formed in her eyes. Tio handed her a napkin and politely declined when Elie returned it a snotty blowing of noses later.
She continued. "I mean, I understand! He did it for ME too. BUT STILL! If he wanted to be a criminal, I would have STAYED by HIS SIDE! BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT COUPLES DO!"
Wasn't easy finding the time for relationships when you're under constant threat of arrest, Tio reckoned.
"Then when all was said and done, he and his ADORABLE face come crawling back, saying he wants to rekindle the flame. You could have just rejected him right there, Elie, but nooooooo. You SMACKED your lips into his without a second thought! Holy Hells, they were AMAZING."
The handle of Elie's flagon cracked from her grip.
Tio was used to the cold. One of her crafts was named Absolute Zero after all. But absolute zero was like scorching summer compared to how the temperature in the room dropped.
A dark and glum aura enshrouded Elie. Her body swayed with intoxicated rage. The killing intent radiating from every fiber of her being threatened to choke the entire bar. Tio scooched her chair slightly away.
"But what do you know. The FIRST thing he does after saying that, he takes an airship to CALVARD. With RIXIA, of all people! HOW am I supposed to compete with someone like RIXIA MAO?"
And now they were back at the present. "HOW TIO?"
Tio Plato sighed.
One week later, on the outskirts of Tyrell, capital of Calvard.
Tio failed to control the twitching of her brow.
"Thanks for coming here on such short notice, Tio. I owe you one," Lloyd said.
What irritated her was not the fact that she had to book a flight the day after she got back to Leman. It was not the fact that somehow, Lloyd broke his ARCUS again and needed a replacement. It was not the fact that he had once again got himself into all sorts of trouble upon coming here and chose not to tell her about it.
No. It was because of the simple fact that Lloyd, dubbed the 'Capture King', had captured a harem of busty Calvardian women swooning all over him in the span of a week.
A blonde babe was all but clinging to his arm as she tried calling for his attention. Lloyd waved her off with his signature infuriating thick-headedness.
Tio wasn't alone, it seems. Rixia's face was similarly frozen in a deep and unreadable expression. Her eyes shifted dangerously as they scrutinized every single movement of the polygamous man.
"So about my ARCUS…"
"Stand still," Tio demanded.
Clueless, Lloyd followed her orders as a staff materialized into Tio's hands. "What's that for?"
Tio didn't answer and instead raised the staff high overhead. Dense water energy crystallized at the head, turning the orbal staff into a mallet of ice.
She promptly smashed it against Lloyd's shins.
Eyes bulging out in pain, Lloyd struggled to remain standing as the creeping cold agony suffused his legs. "W-what was that for?!" he wheezed out.
"For being stupid," Tio said in all honesty. Staff across her shoulder, she glared daggers into the suffering man. His harem was divided into those trying to help him up, and those cowering in fear lest they incur her wrath.
Rixia nodded, an indulgent smile on her lips.
Tio Plato sighed. What a bother.
I realized I havent used the Crossbell cast as much as I should, so here ya go. My take on Falcom and Lloyd's unresolved sexual tensions.
Reviews, favs and follows are much appreciated.
See ya.