Final Fantasy VI/Final Fantasy XII – Ultros/Balthier
-----
When Fran finds her partner inside the Whitecap, he is already beyond drunk. He is at that special point in the evening where he begins to curse liberally, picks fights and tries to get away with calling her "Frannie."
She sits beside him and frowns as the buxom barmaid sets down several pitchers of some dark brew that makes her nose itch. To her surprise, Balthier ignores the bountiful bosom before him and instead begins shakily pouring the ale into his mug.
"Is something the matter?"
He can only nod, gulping down the alcohol with abandon.
"Would you care to tell me what it is?"
He shakes his head, and that is when she notices the faint pink marks on the side of his face. Fran isn't sure what they are, and she decides to let Balthier tell her when he is good and ready.
Two and a half pitchers later, Balthier is more than ready to share. "It talked, Fran."
She raises an eyebrow. Her partner had decided to tempt fate and take on a mark all by his lonesome that afternoon. He'd claimed that it was to "keep his reflexes sharp" but since she's landed the killing blow on the last dozen marks they've tracked, she imagines that it was more a matter of pride.
"Talked?"
He nods. "He…it…" Balthier's forehead wrinkles in confusion over the correct pronoun to use. "The blasted thing talked."
Fran's partner is given to flights of fancy, especially when he is trying to impress her, but this is a bit much. "I wasn't aware that an octopus was capable of speech."
Balthier scowls. "I could say the same about Vaan." He cracks his knuckles and calls for another round of drinks. "I swear to you, it talked."
"And what did the octopus say?"
"He…" Balthier sighs. He then leans forward to whisper, as if the next words are very difficult. "He said 'Don't tease the octopus, pirate'."
Fran waves the barmaid away. "I think that's enough alcohol for you."
He grabs her hands then and pleads with her. "Would I lie about a talking octopus?"
She takes the opportunity to satisfy her curiosity. "And did you kill him?"
"No."
"No?"
"He…he surprised me…"
"Oh?"
Balthier releases her hands and points to his cheek. "He might have gotten a bit friendly."
"The talking octopus got friendly?"
Her partner looks ready to murder her, but he can't possibly expect her to believe that…
"The damn octopus licked my face like a Rozarrian prostitute!"
She rises from her chair. "I'm flying the ship tomorrow."