Air Wave

III : progress

Balthier smirked smugly as he inserted another bullet into his gun, from afar a loud thud could be distinctly heard. Another monster had fallen under his weapon, his catastrophe he always felt proud of. He turned his gaze from his gun and swiveled around, just to see whether his partner had killed her prey or not. As expected, the bow specialist had beaten a monster down and was now standing on a big rock, her white long locks swaying with the wind behind. He whistled.

"Have you had enough fun, Fran?"

The Viera turned her head to him, lips twitching to form a small smile he got used to see. Her ruby eyes gleamed blissfully in the radiant light of the sun. "Yes, most likely. It's as if you've woken up from a long boring dream and now you can see the beauty of the world again," she gestured her hand around; as if she was showing off old valuable statues and weapons in a museum. "This is magnificent." She added, grinning.

Balthier couldn't help but laugh. It was the first day he and Fran set out together after three weeks being caged in Nalbina, without even a chance to go out due to inopportune situations. Balthier's flu had been really bad that to his aversion he had to take rest more than he'd expected. Fran's condition, however, hadn't been fit enough to be brought down onto the battlefield. So now with new vigor residing on them, they killed many monsters as ravenously as a wild beast ate its preys.

They killed them with reasons though. First, they needed to search for an item the bartender had asked, and second, to satisfy their selves after almost a month being secluded from the outer world. Both of them had never felt so alive like this before. Even the quiet Viera Fran wanted to scream at the top of her lungs in exhilaration.

Tossing her white hair back, she jumped swiftly from a rock to another before landing right beside her partner. "So where are we going now? You've got the item in your pocket, have you?" She asked, and though her face didn't portray her burning soul, his eyes could tell she was agog.

Most people would step back with pleasure, raising hand in defeat whenever it came to reading Viera minds. But to the sky pirate Balthier, it was different. Reading Fran's mind was intriguing and challenging, and as time passed by, after getting with her for quite a long time, he finally could put the puzzle at whole. The reward of being patient and looking at her as a fascinating being instead of a boring one was the sight of Fran's true self. Maybe there was no one out there that could understand her very well like he did.

With a wide smile Balthier shoved his hand into his pocket to retrieve a big crooked fang. Fran's eyebrows arched. He exclaimed, "Just what we need!" The gunman smirked seeing her reaction as he put it back to its place. "I just think, somehow, the bartender is…keen on…" He waved his hand in the air as he attempted to stifle a guffaw. "…monsters' dirty, ugly fragranced fangs."

Fran's lips twitched upwards. "I'd say he's obsessed with them."

He couldn't hold it any longer; he snickered before finally hanging his head, guffawing. Fran eventually laughed along with him.

As they stepped into Nalbina, the same aura automatically greeted them; the usual activities, the usual inhabitants and their stuff displayed before them, looking as superior as their owners filling every possible space. Walking amongst the crowd, Fran's ears, as usual, moved from one side to another, alert like a supervisor. She jerked her head up when Balthier tapped her shoulder gently, grinning. "Lost your direction, ma'am?" He pointed to the café on his left and it was when she realized she'd strayed from the path she supposed to be in.

Fran looked down, mumbling. "Thoughts would be more right."

The brown haired man's grin grew wider as he ushered his partner into the café. "Ah," he rubbed at his chin. "That needn't be told again."

She shot him a look which he himself couldn't sort out, so with an uncertain shrug, he strolled towards the bartender while his hand rummaged in his pocket. With an obvious grin he didn't try to conceal, Balthier gave the fang to the middle aged man, who jovially received it with sparkling eyes. "There you have it, old man." The gunman folded his arms over his chest, satisfied.

"Splendid, splendid! Here you go, my son," his eyes averted from Balthier. He took out something under his counter and with a jolly smile he gave the sky pirate a small box. "Thanks for the fang again, son!"

Smiling and curtsying slightly, Balthier whirled on his heel and approached Fran. In an unspoken agreement, they walked out the café only to be greeted by the warm light of the sun. "Can you guess what is inside?" He lifted his hand so the box could clearly be seen. Fran cocked her head to the side.

"Money?" She stared down at him, wide-eyed, clueless.

He laughed. "Now, now, aren't you obsessed with money, Fran?"

The Viera wrinkled her nose, bewildered. "What? I just think, what is possibly inside there other than money? Isn't money what you always get after hunting and bringing the item your clients have asked?"

Balthier laughed again while Fran could only gaze down at him, having no clue of what was going on. "Well," the gunman rubbed at his temples. "You're too rational, Fran. And beside money, I do think there are more things inside here." He tapped the lid of the box, smiling. "What about a human's finger?" He suggested, innocently.

Fran grimaced. Her voice almost resounded too high-pitched in his ears afterwards. "What? No way." Her eyes almost fell off her eyes because of shock. Human's—human's dead finger? Bloody hell no.

Chuckling, he looked at her playfully. "Ah, I never knew a human's finger could freak you out so badly, dear Fran." He massaged his chin and squinted, as though considering of what to say next. The more dreadful and disgusting the things were, the more fun he would get. "Then what about if…"

"Stop," she said firmly, half-glaring at Balthier. "No more human's finger or whatever."

Her friend erupted into laughter.

The crisp air of autumn engulfed the room as they sat face to face, a box filling the gap between them. As a gentle zephyr permeated through the cracks of the windows to warm the atmosphere up, their eyes fixated on the little object that in the past ten minutes had become a topic he found humorous. Just remembering the expression on Fran's face could make him smirk idiotically, to which his partner would retort with a sarcastic remark and a glare, afterwards, would be added.

No. Fran really couldn't comprehend this gunman. He had the weirdest sense of anything. She sometimes wondered why she'd accepted the offer to go with him in the first place. Maybe it was just him, his own true self that had attracted her to him. Maybe it was just Balthier.

She turned her eyes to the windows and stared out, watching the fleeting clouds pass by in boredom. Her gaze moved downwards and she saw a line of trees in a distance, their leaves were changing into shades of red and orange, a clear indication that autumn was descending upon this town. The air was less warm than before, sometimes the wind blew too hard that it wasn't necessary to go out too late at nights.

The redden leaves was a change every eye could see, but beyond that, Ivalice was changing too, letting no eyes to detect it. But those who were aware enough would be able to feel it.

She was one of those. From time to time she could feel every layer of this world cracking, cracking, and cracking, opening up and ready to change, ready to grow up for the better or worse. So far, the world had survived its darkest layers and was now showered with glorious light. But there were still too many layers behind, so feeling composed and satisfied right now would be practically wrong.

"Fran?" Balthier suddenly interrupted her train of thought.

She instantly turned her head to him, only to find his eyes penetrating into hers. "Yes?"

One of the edges of his mouth turned upwards, forming a smirk. "You look so distant. Thinking much?" He leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"…Not really." Fran shook her head, not wanting to bring up everything she'd always been thinking. Sometimes it irritated her how her thoughts were proved incessant and she couldn't forget or bury them. It was annoying, but it was a part of herself she couldn't reject and had become closer and clearer as she grew up. So hiding her thoughts from everyone else around her was the least she could do. She wasn't the type of person who always voiced out her thoughts and feelings unless she was asked, after all.

"So," Balthier nodded towards the box. "Let's open this then?"

"You open it." Those words ran from her mouth almost immediately and she felt so stupid. Now it looked like she didn't want to open it because she was afraid there would be a human's finger or something inside. Not like the bartender would bother to put one there, though. "I-I mean, go on ahead, open it." She amended her previous words, hoping these ones didn't sound as ridiculous as before.

There was that smirk again on his face. "Oh? You don't want to see what's inside first?"

"No. I will see what is inside in the end, so what's the point?"

He chuckled. "Ah, nice theory over there." Still chuckling, Balthier reached for the box and put it on his lap, eyeing it attentively for awhile as if it was his new born baby or something. And then, very slowly and almost idly, his fingers moved across the lid and took it off. Fran didn't need to raise her head any higher to be able to see what was inside. She was tall enough.

"Money…and herbs?" The Viera cocked her head to one side, stupefied.

Balthier let out a faint chuckle. "Looks like yes." He took some green plants and weird-looking roots out the box. "I wonder why?"

"Maybe he knows your antibody isn't working very well?"

He shot his friend a glare as he put everything back into the box. "I wouldn't say that if I were you, Fran. That can't be taken lightly,"

Fran shrugged and sent her stare out the window again. Autumn. Falling leaves. "I wonder…" Her eyelids closed for a brief moment while images of a wood with abundant amount of trees and their golden leaves injected her mind. The sound of knife clashing against dead logs, the sound of kettles heating up as they exuded vague mist into the air…everything was so vivid in her mind. "I wonder…" She opened her mouth again. "The Wood must be at its best state right now, with golden leaves and bountiful amount of apples hanging on the trees."

He gawked at her for some seconds before he was wise enough to stop being an idiot, and let his words fall. "Pardon me?"

She snapped her head around to greet his eyes. "Nothing. It's just… The Wood always looks perfect in autumn."

"Ooh..." He nodded in acknowledgement and silence fell upon them giving some unspoken comfort for a minute, before Balthier killed it with his voice that echoed throughout the room. "I wonder…" He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, contemplating whether or not he should bring this topic up. But this woman was his best partner and there was almost nothing between them they never spoke about. So he continued, "I wonder…how Ashe is doing. And the others, too." He clumsily added, somehow feeling odd if he only mentioned about the princess.

Their stares met. But Fran broke it as she went to her bed and seated herself there. "Yeah." she said nonchalantly, brushing some strands of her white hair off her face.

"Er…yeah. I wonder… It's been quite awhile, you know."

"It has." The crimson eyed woman spoke without looking at him.

"Uhm…Fran?"

"Why don't you go and pay a visit then, sky pirate?" She asked the question carefully, but directly at him.

Balthier looked at her for awhile. "I don't think it's a good idea. I mean, I don't think Rabanastre will become an interesting place to visit anytime soon. It's—"

"But you want to visit her, don't you?" She was being persistent about this, he noticed.

"And the others, if I may add," he frowned. "Look, I still don't know where to go after this. Don't you think Nalbina has grown a bit boring?"

Fran flicked her hair back, standing up and walking towards the door that led to the terrace. Before she opened it, she turned her vision to him. "Whatever your choices may be, I'll stick with you nonetheless." With a loud click the door was opened, and she left him alone.

He wrinkled his nose. What was that? There was something running across Fran's ruby eyes, something unusual and had never been shown before. It was almost too clear. Was it disappointment? Was it fear? Was it anxiety? Was it…

Jealousy?

Shaking his head, Balthier let a bitter laugh escape his lips. No fucking way. How could he think she was jealous? He didn't even know if Viera could feel envious. Viera, shortly, were complicated beings no one bothered to know or understand.

Even so, he deemed them as fascinating beings. Moreover, he liked one of them. Like, hell much. Or maybe more than that.

He sighed.

Her stomach gave a sudden jolt when the door opened without any warning. Her grey eyes rolled vigilantly. They spotted a middle aged woman in apron and over worn red outfit. Her tendons relaxed once she recognized this woman as one of those chefs. Rising to her feet, she approached her with graceful paces a fine lady ought to have.

"Your highness," the woman bowed slightly in respect. "They're waiting for you down in the hall. The dinner is ready."

An understanding smile emblazoned her beautiful face. "Thank you for notifying me. I'll be there in a minute. You may go." She nodded just as the chef curtsied again, leaving her alone. Exhaling, the blond haired young woman went to her lengthy mirror, only to find her reflection strewn across the glassy surface. She touched it. "Here we go…"

After examining her reflection for some more time in the mirror, she went out her spacious bedroom which could only be depicted as a little heaven by commoners without status. Determined and unwavering paces reverberated throughout the wide corridor, resounding in her ears as she made her way down to the hall. She had known this place so well. This was her home and despite of its unusual enormous size, she could remember every path she had to take, she could remember tiny things about this castle. Yes, she was not a hopeless little princess who didn't even know the way back to her room.

She had grown up. She had duties to do.

The twin gigantic doors swung open before her, revealing a huge hall where two people were sitting at a big dining table. Once her presence was registered in their eyes, they quickly stood up and gave her their best charming smiles.

"Ashe!" Exclaimed a short boy who hardly could be called as a young man. His brown eyes sparkled joyously and none would know how hard he'd been through just by looking at his innocence.

"Hi Larsa," Ashe smiled warmly at him, seating herself across from him as she flashed the other man at the table a smile. "Good to see you all here. I really appreciate it. Please, be seated."

A man with dark violet hair adjusted his seat and beckoned for some women dressed in fancy outfits to come closer to him, and then he gave his sunglasses to one of them. He fixed his attention on the ruler of Dalmasca. "Ah, Lady Ashe. It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

Ashe nodded. "Yes it has. And I see you're still popular amongst women," she nodded politely and smiled.

"I am Al-Cid from history, if by any chance you remember; you must know I cannot live without these beautiful creatures."

She nodded her head again. "Of course I do. It would be a shame if I didn't, after what you've done for us in the past." She smiled again at him, before shifting her vision towards the younger man. "Really, I'm exhilarated to have you both, rulers of other regions, attending this euphoric moment. I am beyond happy to have Dalmasca returning to normal."

Al-Cid waved a hand in the air, one edge of his lips turning upwards to form a smirk. "I am no ruler, my lady. But I am a member of the rulers, so I think that also counts. Considering that he didn't have the chance to go…I decided to. Beside, it would be an honor to us Margrace's meeting you again," he bowed his head slightly which made Ashe feel no better.

"Please Al-Cid, it's okay." As they talked some chefs came in, bringing meals with luscious aroma, cooked by the most professional and trained specialists from the land of Dalmasca. One of those women filled Ashe's mug with fresh water while she opened her mouth to bring up a conversation again. "The restoration of Dalmasca means a lot for us, and you see, I'll try…not to call this as a 'meeting'. I'll try to deem this as a, uhm, small dinner for celebration? But of course, we do need to talk about some few things, like our alliance, imported stuff, and—"

Larsa let out a chuckle and the blonde looked at him, giving him a puzzled look. "Ah Ashe, you need to brighten up a little. I mean, this is….what do you call it again? Yeah, a dinner to celebrate the restoration of Dalmasca. Or freedom. Or whatever you want to call it. Should we honor it, don't you think we need to put those things aside, just for awhile?" When the blond haired woman just deepened her scowl, Larsa chuckled again. "C'mon Ashe…"

Al-Cid went into their conversation. "Ah, let me make this straight and clear. You know your majesty; don't you think this restoration is worth a big party?" Ashe's head turned towards the violet haired man. "I bet people of Dalmasca will be very happy. I mean, who wouldn't? You know…" Al-Cid leaned forward and kept his voice audible, just loud enough for her to hear; "we'll help you with this, if you want. We will, right, Larsa?"

Ashe leaned into her chair, rubbing at her temples in a motion Larsa had never seen, and he thought it was kind of funny, it's as though the blonde was extremely exhausted; all her strength drained into a topic she couldn't really grasp. Beside, this uh, dinner was where they supposed to talk about political issues, alliance and stuff, right? But there they were talking about throwing a big party to celebrate Dalmasca's restoration, along with freedom. What on earth was happening?

The ruler of Archadia bit his bottom lip in try to retain himself from chuckling again, or worse, laughing. "You know Ashe, this freedom is what you people have been searching and waiting for, right? So now that it's already in your hands, won't you celebrate it? It's been awhile since the last time Rabanastre had dancing people around the square, if I still remember well. And I do think your people will be happy."

The woman stared into his eyes, as if by doing so she would find an answer. She straightened her seat and expelled a sigh. "…Will they?"

"Sure they will. No doubt about that." Al-Cid nodded his head, grinning.

She looked at him with uncertainty. Here her friends were suggesting her to throw a big party celebrating Dalmasca's restoration. It was true everyone was ecstatic about this freedom after being pushed down into the ground, pressured, and ruled around by someone as devious as a beast. It was true this freedom was what everyone had been dreaming of. But…celebrating this? She'd never thought about that.

"Well Ashe, this is just our suggestion. We, of course, as allies, want the best for you and your people."

She intertwined her fingers together, mulling this for awhile. Had she been too serious? Had the duty as the Queen made her less human? Hadn't she thought too much about political issues? Sure, she was the Queen, but that didn't mean she had to abandon her people's happiness… Yeah, that was probably right. Her people's happiness also meant her own.

Ever so slightly, her mouth turned upwards; she smiled. Larsa and Al-Cid exchanged glances.

"…I think, yes." The blonde finally said, looking up at the two with eyes full of hopes and expectations. She really wanted to make her people happy. Because sometimes, there was more to life than just drowning with political issues.

Al-Cid smiled. "Splendid! If you need any help, we'll be here anytime you want."

"And you know what? Politics can wait." Larsa grinned, showing his pearly white teeth.

Ashe smiled at them, for the very first time she thanked God for having great friends like them.

"Vaan."

That voice was so disturbing at the moment, though usually, it was what he always wanted to hear. The feminine voice echoed in his ears again, this time sounded more demanding than before. Next he felt his hand being tugged by slender fingers as delicate as porcelain. With an aggravated growl he finally opened one eye, and when that voice became too shrill to bear, he snapped his eyes open. Blue gazed into gray.

"Vaannnnn….!" She waved a hand before his eyes, as if testing whether he could see or not. Of course he could, but the problem was, his eyes were so heavy right now.

"Mhm yeah?" He rubbed at his eyes idly, reluctantly. "Whaat?"

The blond haired girl pouted, placing a hand on her hip as she pointed her index finger towards the dark sky. Vaan followed her finger, only to be saluted by the dark blanket of night. He blinked. She was biting her bottom lip now, annoyed. "Oh c'mon Vaan! Grow up a little, would you? Didn't you promise me to watch the shooting star together?"

He stared up at the sky blankly. Was he hallucinating? Or there were no stars in the sky? "But Penelo… Look, what are we waiting for? There are like, no stars in the sky. Nada."

Her friend shot him a glare. "You idiot…" She grumbled under her breath. "Look sleepy head, there are many out there, see—Vaan!" The blonde boy had closed his eyes again, murmuring something about stars in his head. Penelo couldn't help it any longer. She slumped to the ground next to him, chin on hand and knees brought up. She looked so pissed.

"Sorry P-nelo, I'm so sleepy." Vaan murmured an apology in a futile attempt for his voice was so hoarse, barely above the lowest whisper, even. "Ye-eaah…"

There was a long pause after that. The princess of night had dispatched her silence to descend upon them, taking back every word, every noise. In the comforting silence between them, the girl just stared at the sky, eyes distant, mind wandering around through the valley and mountain of thoughts. Her effort, all her patience was all drained into one certain thing; a shooting star. But as she waited there, trying to look determined and casual, why wouldn't it emerge and shoot?

Now that she thought about it, what would she wish for? Freedom? Restoration? They had gained both. Tranquility? She was in it now. Happiness? They had it at the moment. So what…?

And suddenly she remembered one thing. Vague like a mist was a picture of two partners who had been with them not long before, fighting alongside them throughout their hard journey. They were total opposites, but they were the best partners she'd ever seen. Balthier and Fran. She really wished they were still alive.

The blonde exhaled, her breath creating an almost unseen haze in the air. "Hey Vaan, where do you think they are now? Do you think they're still alive, somehow? I'm worried about them, you know. They're such good friends. And don't pretend you don't know who I'm talking about, hey Vaan—" She averted her gaze to her right and there Vaan was, already in deep slumber and of course, he didn't hear whatever his friend was saying.

She was outraged. "VAAN—"

She crossed one leg over the other, seating herself across from him. Her ruby eyes fixed on the mug under her nose. "So are we going to Rabanastre?"

His eyes flickered towards his partner as he sipped the coffee. Placing the cup back to the table, he leaned into his chair, arms crossed. "I think I haven't said that. And we haven't reached an agreement, have we? I suppose you still remember about partners, Fran. You know—"

"Partners always share everything together. Should they want to go somewhere, they must talk about this and find an agreement before setting out." Fran finished off, a smirk dancing around her cocoa yet beautiful face. She remembered that line pretty well. That was what Balthier had told her over and over long ago, when she always said 'it doesn't matter where we're going; I'll just follow'. It pretty much had annoyed him.

"I didn't say I wanted to go to Rabanastre," Balthier cocked an eyebrow. "Yesterday I was only wondering how the others were doing, Fran. So we haven't had a choice yet, have we…" the gunman leaned forward, face looking somewhat severe and interested. "I heard about this promising rumor. Ever heard of Bervenia?"

The slight move of Fran's head to the side was obvious enough; she had never heard of it. She straightened her position and looked more solemn. "What's with it?"

"A city in Rozarria. Full of bounty hunters, treasures, and everything sky pirates are fond of, I assume." He let out a soft chuckle and leaned back into his chair again. He could feel a smirk creeping to his face right now. "What say you? Doesn't this sound too appealing to resist?"

The Viera twirled her white fringes with her fingers, eyes looking over his shoulder and staring at nothing in particular. She looked utterly unfazed and calm, masking herself pretty well though deep down there she was arguing with thoughts. The woman flashed him a puzzled look. He couldn't help but smirk. A bemused Fran was always capable of inviting more than a smirk to his face; oh dear, didn't she look more adorable with those rolling eyes, mouth turned up into a pout, wrinkled nose, and unsure expression? It was totally priceless.

"This sounds great," her low flat tone brought him back down to the earth again; regrettably he had to leave his land of imaginations. "Beside," Fran looked more composed now; the usual, professional Fran. "We haven't been there, have we? This is so challenging." She smiled.

"It is. A week from now, and we're off. How does that sound?"

The Viera only nodded in response, smiling.

He replied that smile with a wide grin. "Great. Bervenia it is."

¤--

author's note : finally an update again. Yes yes, Ashe, Vaan, Penelo, Larsa and Al-Cid were introduced in this chapter. They are in the story, of course. lol. Oh yes, isn't everything getting interesting hm? The mention of Bervenia, at last, I know :D

I hope you liked this chapter and thanks a lot to those who have reviewed.
So now please review? I'll be as hopeless as a sad kitten if you don't, because your supports mean a lot for me (they also make me want to update sooner x3).
And I want to be a good girl, which means I'll update this as soon/often as I can x)
so now be kind and review (:

× miyori