Vieraslayer

I finally got another review from someone besides Lisaviera, so I'm happy. And Balthier and Fran will return soon. They are going to fight the Reena-Kaanas with help from Vaan, Penelo, Ktjn, and Clan Centurio. In this chapter, Alja has to come to terms with the Reena threat, realizing she would've been safer if she had stayed in the Wood with the other Viera. That's not to say she's regretting her decision though!

No Mistake

Ktjn was sitting by her sister's bedside. Krjn's condition had been upgraded to stable, but she was still unconscious. Montblanc had sent flowers of the same kind that grew in the Wood. For somebody who denied loving Krjn as anything more than a friend, the Moogle had sure gone to extremes. A clan member guarded the Viera at all times to make sure the Reena didn't come and finish the job. It took Ktjn a while to convince the guard it was really her and not a Reena transformed to look like her.

Ktjn had Tjla with her. Tomaj was waiting for her so they could leave town. Ktjn was a bit uncomfortable about leaving her sister when she was so hurt, but Montblanc assured her Krjn would understand, and that she'd be fine.

"Krjn, you are so brave. You saved my life and it nearly cost you your own. I wish I was that brave." Ktjn told her sister. She didn't know if Krjn could hear her or not, but she hoped she could.

"Kupo. You're just lucky she was around. I hope she's still able to take on hunts. I don't know what she'll do if she has to quit the clan. Hunting is her life. I don't think she has much else." Montblanc said.

"I know. I won't go out alone or after dark. I am not going to tempt fate. I have Tomaj waiting for me outside. We're leaving town for a while. Contact me when that Reena's head is a trophy on a wall!"

Vaan, Penelo, and Alja (and Jarl) had heard what happened. They were going to visit Krjn once they got to Rabanastre. Alja was a bit worried about living in Rabanastre. She was pregnant and just plain needed something to do, but it wasn't safe for Viera to be there. That was just great. JUST PERFECT! She had left the safety of the Mother Wood for this?

"Viera are being attacked, and you want me to live in this city? The one Viera was killed right in front of that Bangaa friend of your's shop! I don't want to be killed by Reena! Vaan, I don't want to work at the shop. I want to fly with you and Penelo!" Alja cried.

"You don't have to work there. It's okay. You don't have to do it if it's unsafe right now. We are going to stop in and see Krjn though. She's helped us before, and it's the least we could do for the Viera." Vaan told his friend.

"Is she the Viera with the half-Hume baby?"

"No. That's Ktjn. She's Krjn's little sister. We might see Ktjn and little Tjla when we visit Krjn." Penelo said, still trying to teach Jarl to sit. The mini coeurl was not listening, but Penelo was determined to train her to know all the same tricks Whiskers knew. And Whiskers knew tons of tricks.

"We're gonna have to tell Alvyne what is going on. She has been searching for other Reena for years, and she needs to find out that she isn't the only one of her kind left. Even if it did nearly murder Krjn, we can tame it like Balthier tamed Alvyne. We are Humes after all." Vaan said.

"Are you okay Vaan? You said something intelligent for once!" Penelo exclaimed in mock shock. Alja laughed. Vaan thought it was so cool making the Viera laugh. Fran rarely even smiled, let alone laughed.

"We needed a Viera a long time ago. You certainly liven things up a lot Alja."

"I enjoy flying. More Viera should try it. Staying in the Wood and never leaving… that was fine a thousand years ago when there was more of the Wood, but these days, more Viera need to get out and live our lives in the outside world. If something should happen… I do not want us to be lost. Eruyt Village is one of only about a half dozen villages remaining. The four villages involved in the Reena campaign were Eruyt, Tarva, Arlisa, and Caman. There used to be many, but much of the forest is gone. If we should lose more of the Wood, there won't be enough Viera for our race to survive long. I would not want that to happen. We have lost the Salikawood. We will not survive another attack like that. Lady Sylva's campaign against the Reena won us our home, and we must protect it. I will not be one to protect it though. That will be the job of Viera like Mjrn and Jote and their children. I wanted to be a wood-warder like my sister and our mother, but it wasn't to be. I was not meant to protect the Mother Wood." Alja said.

"Alja, are you having second thoughts and are trying to convince yourself that you're happy?" Vaan asked.

"No. I am trying to figure out what in Ivalice I should do. I can't work at that shop if Viera are being attacked and killed. I need something to do. It would be a very bad idea for me to be a warrior. I can hardly run, and I am going to have a child. I'd do nothing but get killed. It's hard to figure out where my place is."

Alja sat on the floor and appeared to be very upset. Her moods could change in an instant. Vaan sat down next to Alja and began stroking her soft ears. The Viera began moaning. Despite the fact that they usually wouldn't let anybody touch them, Viera loved having their ears stroked like that. Alja calmed down only slightly.

"Alja, you know how to make potions. You could work on those most of the time like Lena does. You know that she's a salve-maker herself. We could always use more potions. And if you want to sell them… we could help you go places where you can do that." Vaan said to the young Viera. Alja nodded.

"I will keep myself together." Alja replied.

"That's good. Can't be good for Viera to fall to pieces at something like that. You need to stay strong for all our sakes."

Carraka was very upset at Atlas. It was ridiculously dangerous to attack a Viera in a city in broad daylight! A powerful male Reena or not, it was not good to attack Viera during the day. He could've easily been killed by Humes or worse: controlled. Atlas had a slash across his chest. Krjn, before falling, had managed to inflict a minor wound. It would've really hurt Alvyne, and Carraka would've been damaged, but Atlas was fine. He had been hurt worse by Viera. At one point, right after the Viera had attacked the Reena camp in Ozmone Plains (the same camp Alvyne was born in) he was sure he was going to die, but Carraka had saved him herself.

"I fear we may be suspected, Carraka." Atlas said.

"We are more than that! Those Clan Centurio hunters saw you! Those Viera know exactly what you are! They now know exactly what killed that girl two nights ago and probably have an idea how those other two Viera in the other towns died! We could be in grave danger if we aren't more careful! We're probably the only two Reena left! And you still listen to the Humes! If one of them tells you not to hurt another Viera, you'll be useless as a Viera killer! Both male and female Reena are hunters, and I want us both able to provide food for our pups!" Carraka yelled. She had red and white fur, unlike Alvyne's grey-and-white. Atlas was black-and-white. They both had blue eyes. The fur pattern of Reena was nearly identical to that of a husky and almost all Reena had blue eyes, although there were a few with brown eyes.

"I probably sent that Krjn to the eternal forest. She was hurt bad. I didn't get a chance to find out if she died or not, but I hope she did. Tajianda will be pleased."

"You still see those brats Kaila and Yiazmat as your masters just because they are half-Humes, don't you? We won't eat Taji, since she's such a vile little creature she'd taste foul, and because she gives us the location of Viera and helps gives us tips on taking them down. She hates that Krjn too. I don't mind you listening to those children, considering they're not like their Viera ancestors, but do remember that they are just trying to protect their mother so they may destroy you if Taji even pretends to be threatened!"

"I killed Krjn. They will be happy."

"Krjn didn't die. I was watching The Sand. WSND, you know. She was gravely wounded, but she is in stable condition last they came on. I wish you had killed her. It would have made life for our kind a lot easier. I don't want you to attack another Viera in daylight. We cannot restart our race if you are dead."

"I did not kill her? I will finish the job someday. I am declaring a vendetta on Krjn now. Nobody else may kill the Viera warrior. She is my prey!" Atlas let out a loud howl after he said that.

Fran was lonely. She missed Myko. She hadn't seen her for a long time. She knew having Myko around would be putting an innocent child in great danger, but she was so lonely. She had Balthier and three Moogles around, but she needed to hug something small and furry sometimes, and the Moogles were too busy all the time to be her personal stuffed animals. She'd never tell anybody her problem though. A miniature coeurl would just be trouble with a capital T. Kivana the Moogle was allergic to coeurls, and Nono probably would not like having a cat around. Moogles looked a little like cats themselves. Winged cats, but cats nonetheless.

Most Humes believed that Viera were antisocial, but that was not true. Why else would they live in villages with many other Viera if they preferred to be alone? Viera often traveled in pairs, either with a sister or a best friend. Tare herself had left her home village with her twin sister Raya. Had Mjrn been old enough, Fran probably would've taken her along with her. Mjrn had expressed desire to leave many times before she had met Janzyn and had Janson and Slya. Viera loved having big families and lots of friends. They just didn't get along well with those who weren't Viera. They considered everyone in their tribe part of their family. Viera got very upset if something happened to one of their tribe.

Fran remembered how the other Viera got along with her mother and Jote. Sylva was respected and adored even by Viera from the other tribes, which was how she got the other villages involved in the Reena campaign. Fran herself was not as beloved. Besides Kira, most of the Viera her age despised her. They didn't like how she would sit at the edge of the Wood and look outside. Kira knew she did that, and Kira might have left with her if she wasn't blind. Kira was picked at even more than Fran, and that led to her fleeing the village to live out in the Wood.

Balthier seemed to sense that Fran was uneasy. She was focusing on flying so she wouldn't have to think about her horrible loneliness. She wasn't as alone as she felt, but she wanted to spend a little bit of time with another Viera. Myko's letters were depressing her. Myko was well liked by most of the Viera, and she seemed to be very happy. She'd probably never leave the Wood. She had expressed no intent to.