Ripples in a Pond
Chapter 5
Rating:PG, ratings will go up in other chapters
Warnings: None. Yaoi in future chapters.
Summary: All bearings are lost when SeeDs experience an unfortunate crash that sends them on a planet where technology is at its beginning and monarchs stillrule. Theonly thingthey can do is try and keep their heads over the water and go with the flow, less they drown.ff8-ff9
Quistis found Vivi in a small dale at the back of the village, where a low hill broke the tree line. He was standing before what looked like tombstones fashioned in the form of crosses with poles and wooden panels, with weathered hats and scarves wrapped around them. Although she'd only been in the Black Mage Village for a day, and that having been spent resting and trying to assimilate the implications of the crash, she was fairly sure that she had found a graveyard.
She stopped short when she came to that conclusion and turned, intending to leave Vivi in peace, but the small mage looked up at her and nodded.
"I thought you'd be sleeping, Madam Quistis," he said softly, and she detected a smile in his voice. Taking it as an invitation to join him, she walked up to his side and peered at the strange tombstones. Numbers were carved into them –the Black Mages' names-, along with some poems.
"Just call me Quistis. I've slept all day, and I'm not nearly as injured as the others. I was restless," she said. Vivi nodded again, solemnly silent.
The Black Mage didn't speak again, and not wishing to disturb the silence, Quistis looked around at the tombstones dotting the landscape. They were surprisingly easy to see, considering night had fallen. Quistis looked up, saw the stars in the clear sky and the two bright moons, and etched a sad smile.
"I'm sorry…" Vivi muttered, breaking her out of her trance. Quistis looked down at him in surprise.
"What for?"
"For being stuck here. It must be hard for you," he answered. He was looking intently at her with those yellow orbs of his, peering out of the shadows of his hat.
"That's nothing you should apologize for. If anything, I'm sorry that we're causing you so much trouble." Still, Quistis was grateful for his sympathy. While he couldn't possibly understand the depth of that pain, of being uprooted from her homeland, she was glad that he did care.
"You're not causing any trouble!" Vive corrected with force. "It's just…hard to assimilate, I guess."
Quistis hummed noncommittally and sat on the ground. Vivi copied her, and silence reigned for a moment in the graveyard.
"Would you believe me if I said it's the same for us? We don't mean any harm, but everything we know has been turned upside down. We're completely, utterly lost," she finally said, shaking her head slightly.
Vivi had no idea exactly how much they were lost. This was a whole new planet. Everything was different, and that which wasn't was simply stranger.
"I'm sorry. We don't mean any harm either, but we can't help being on guard right now. I mean, you did fall from space," Vivi said, playing with the rim of his hat.
Quistis thought she detected something deeper in his words, and she turned to study him. For someone of whom you couldn't see the face, he was surprisingly expressive.
"Did something happen? About space?" It had sounded more serious than just bewilderment at discovering that ships could be made to fly in space.
"Yes and no." Vivi looked up at her then, staring intently, and Quistis felt uneasy under that scrutiny. While he usually sounded younger, he currently had a mature air that she'd noted on people like Edea, of fighters who'd grown through a hard-earned peace.
"We've had issues before with people from another planet," he started, as if he'd decided that she was trustworthy enough to be imparted with this information. "It's hard, especially for the Black Mages and genomes, to see you crash here like this."
"Another planet? You mean that others came here?" She didn't know why she suddenly felt hope. It was irrational and probably misplaced, but it was there nonetheless.
"Don't worry though, they'll warm up eventually. They're just unsettled," Vivi continued, as if she hadn't spoken at all.
"You don't trust us, do you?" Quistis challenged. She was a little annoyed at his avoiding her question, even though she could understand if it was something painful for them. He wasn't the one grasping after threads to try and stay sane.
Again he looked at her with that intensity that made her feel childish. It annoyed her, as she hadn't felt childish in a very, very long time. Quite the contrary, in fact.
"We do to the extent that we want to learn to trust you fully," Vivi answered. Quistis sullenly thought that he'd been around the genomes too long, to be using cryptic answers like that.
"I guess it's the same for us," she replied after a moment's thought. Of course they wouldn't trust them blindly. Her group didn't, so why should they? "But so long as no harm is intended from either party, it should be alright."
Vivi nodded and lapsed into silence for a few moments. When he spoke again, he sounded like his usual self.
"Do you mind speaking to me about where you come from? How you came here?" he asked, obviously uneasy at the possible awkwardness of the answer.
"I'll do my best. Squall is the leader, and I want to check with him before telling the whole story," she said, hoping that he wouldn't take any offence. They'd both admitted that they didn't blindly trust the other party, so why would he?
"That's ok. It's the same for me," Vivi answered with a nod.
Interesting. As Quistis tried to give him as truthful a retelling as she could without giving away any information susceptible to be branded classified, she turned over that last sentence of his. Vivi didn't hold any leading position in the village, but it had been clear that he still held great honorary authority. They'd thus assumed that he was the head honcho, in a way. Now she was thinking that there was another figure pulling the strings.
Well, whoever it was, it was worth investigating. If only to take their minds off their situation.
---
Squall woke up alone in the room. He shot upright in a momentary bout of panic, as in his sleep haze he could not recognize the place where he was, only to breath out a deep sigh when it all came back to him.
The four surrounding beds were empty, which had him guessing that it was late in the morning. Irvine was usually a late riser, so the fact that he was up before him could give him an inkling of how much he'd slept. Tossing the thin sheets aside, he checked his injury and was glad to see it was mostly healed, enough that he didn't have to worry about the smallest gesture breaking it open again.
Feeling rather awkward, Squall dressed in the clothes the residents had given him, his being too dirty and damaged to be of any use. They consisted of an odd combination of the usual Black Mages' garments, as no genome was tall enough to fit his frame. Fitting his belts and buckling the Lionheart, Squall had the impression of being some parade clown.
He was consoled when he found Seifer just a few steps outside in a similar situation.
"So the Ice Princess is finally awake," the blond man said when he spotted Squall, but his voice lacked conviction.
Silently, Squall joined the man, ignoring his barbed comment. He was used to that kind. Seifer was sitting on one of the many rickety bridges of the Village, watching the brook blankly with one arm wrapped loosely around the Hyperion.
"Do you regret coming with us, now?" Squall asked to break the silence, tone ironic, maybe as a form of vengeance for all the hard times Seifer had given him so far.
The blond man snorted, but the lack of usual reactions was blatant enough to alarm Squall.
"This planet or the other, it doesn't matter. At least here they don't think I'm going to turn into some rabid mass murderer," Seifer answered derisively.
Putting himself in Seifer's shoes, Squall could understand how the man would see this turn of event as an improvement. He'd said it himself, when they'd last met in Balamb: he was an outcast everywhere, and he wouldn't be able to live in FH without going crazy.
"Don't you regret coming? You won't be seeing Rinoa anytime soon," he asked, mirroring Squall's question. Seifer looked at him with such an expression that prevented him from actually sounding concerned.
"That's none of your business," Squall snapped faster than he'd intended. He winced inwardly at how that revealed how he so obviously felt. He'd managed not to think about it too much so far, with the events keeping his mind busy, but now that he was healed and safe in this peaceful environment, they'd caught up to him savagely.
Seifer laughed at his answer. Squall suddenly was more than annoyed, actually furious, and he might have hit the blond man if he hadn't forcefully reminded himself of how much of a fool he'd already been.
"What's so funny?" he hissed through clenched teeth. He failed to see the humour in the situation.
"You are so damn predictable, Squally-boy," Seifer answered with a shake of his head. "It never fails to amaze me."
"Whatever."
That answer only caused Seifer to laugh some more, as of course it proved his point to some extent. Squall turned his attention to the water, forcing himself to calm down and dismiss what Seifer had said. Frankly, he was tired of always arguing and fighting with the man.
The silence stretched, with Seifer obviously planning on being the most stubborn and forcing him to leave. In a childish bout of pride, Squall decided that he would not be chased off.
"How's your arm?" Squall asked, casting for whatever subject could justify his staying right there.
"Why do you care?" was the bland answer.
Sighing, Squall stretched his own leg carefully and grappled after patience.
"Listen, Seifer. We're going to be stuck here together for probably longer than we both like. Could we please try and make that less of a pain?" Squall asked resignedly. He never would have thought that he'd say that to Seifer, or ask him, even in a roundabout way, to be more polite, but it had to be done. He was tired to death of always having to fight against him every step of the way.
His words must have struck a deeper cord than he'd had expected, because Seifer's expression grew more serious than he'd anticipated. The man shrugged quickly as if to avoid answering.
"Can't make no promises," he replied cautiously before standing up.
Squall thought that it was better than nothing, and that it actually proved that he'd managed to get through to him even a little. He would've liked a more precise answer, but he would never expect it from Seifer. It was as good as he'd get.
"And don't worry about my arm, it's as powerful as ever."
Squall watched him as he walked down the small bridge and disappeared behind a wooden building. At least he'd answered the question, of course with a touch of mockery, but anything else from Seifer would be alarming. Squall took it as a first step for Seifer in trying to less of a perpetual ass.
Well, that was a relief.
---
The Black Mage Village, Irvine thought, was decidedly the best place for a guy to relax.
Lounging lazily in the grass with his hat shadowing his eyes, he was watching the treetops rustle and dance under the shifting clouds, letting his mind think lazily of nothing. It was surprisingly easy; everything here was peaceful, with the unpolluted nature and wooden houses and bridges being the only human marks. There was no electricity, no cars, no metal skyscrapers. Hell, it was even better than Windhill.
A chirpy kweh-ing sound reached his ears and he smiled to himself. Selphie hadn't left that chocobo since she'd first discovered the bird, but he'd grown tired of being in the cramped chocobo hut and had decided to go nap. Besides, he was happy for the alone time; now that the group was relatively safe, they didn't have to stick together so much. Everyone had gone off to do their own thing and think.
He'd done a little bit of that earlier, but he'd given up at some point. Scarce little made sense, and trying to force what didn't into being logical was just driving him crazy. Irvine slowly fingered the barrel of his Exeter gun. It wasn't that he thought he needed the protection. Quite the contrary, as he'd come to realize. Rather, he needed it as an anchor to his reality.
This Village was beautiful, there was no arguing about that. Even its inhabitants, in all their strangeness, were friendly and –he thought, at least- genuinely wanted to help them. The problem was, though, that at the same time, it roughly reminded him of the world they'd left behind.
The Exeter was cool in his hands. The metal was smooth, light and solid despite the monstrous shots it released. Irvine mentally counted the clips he had left, and tried not to think of what would happen when they would all be used up. He'd have to face reality then.
He was a man of technology. He was a sharpshooter, who dealt with death and gunpowder and bullets. It had been immediately clear to him that here, there were no such things as guns, or at least not as advanced as his own. There would be no restocking once he used all of his ammunition. The Exeter would become a useless carcass, a grim reminder of what had been lost.
Sighing deeply, Irvine forced himself to stop that line of thought, instead losing himself in a mental debate over whether that cloud looked more like a flower or a squid.
After all, the clouds here were the same as back home, so it couldn't be all that bad, could it?
He still hadn't decided about that cloud when he heard soft scuffles nearby. Pushing his hat up a fraction, he spotted Vivi walking a short distance away, looking around in that distinctive way of people who are searching from something. Irvine watched him for a few more moments before he gave in to his curiosity and called after the Black Mage.
"Looking for someone?" Irvine asked when Vivi was level with him. He sat up, raising his hat up so that he could actually see his eyes.
"Yes, in fact. Do you know where I could find Mister Squall?" the Black Mage asked, fumbling with the brim of his hat.
"Don't go using 'misters' and 'misses' with us, we're too young for that," Irvine chortled. "Is it anything important?"
Vivi nodded. "I guess it depends on the point of view, but yes," he answered, turning to look all around again.
"Care to share? I might be able to help," Irvine offered. Seeing Vivi hesitate, he shrugged dismissively. "It doesn't matter if you can't," he assured hastily, although it made him only that more curious about what it could possibly be, and a little wary.
"It's not that. I just thought it might be easier if I spoke to him first so he could tell all of you afterwards," Vivi explained. Irvine watched him for a moment, and although he knew Vivi wasn't lying, he was also fairly sure that it wasn't the whole of it.
"Well, you'll get to tell him. There he is," Irvine said, pointing to Squall who was walking by rather aimlessly. The sharpshooter called him over, glad that he'd just strolled by. He wouldn't have pried if Vivi didn't want to talk, but he still wanted to know what the hell this was all about.
"Is something wrong?" Squall asked when he was level with them. The question was more for the form than any real worry, considering Irvine's lounging attitude and light voice.
"Vivi just wanted to talk to you," the sharpshooter resumed.
Squall looked at Vivi inquisitively. Irvine could see how the Lionheart unnerved the Black Mage.
"It's just that I'm leaving soon for a place pretty far," Vivi started on a hesitant note, gaining assurance as he continued. "I was thinking that you could come with me."
Irvine immediately saw two things in these simple sentences: one, Vivi didn't trust them enough to let them out of his sight and two, he was either powerful enough or held sufficient authority –or both- to think they'd be only safe under his guard.
Squall nodded for him to elaborate, his face closed off in that typical way he used when he wasn't happy about what he was hearing.
"It's a kingdom called Alexandria, and it's much, much bigger than the Black Mage Village. The Village is very remote and it's a real challenge coming and going without an airship, so there isn't much going on around here. I thought that you might have better chances of finding something to help you in the large kingdoms of the main continent," Vivi explained, sounding far less uneasy than he had just a minute ago.
The excuse sounded pretty shaky to Irvine. He frowned and reached back to tug at his ponytail. "But why there, and why now, if it's so far?" he inquired, trying to question Vivi into a corner and find out the truth behind his offer.
"Because it's the wedding of very important friends," Vivi answered with pride. "And I think they'd like to meet you," he added.
Irvine pondered over that as Squall briefly questioned Vivi about the chosen means of transport and schedule. While the Black Mage could easily be a smooth liar trying to urge them into a trap, after what Irvine had seen of him, it wouldn't surprise him if he was perfectly honest. There was a simplicity about him that made it logical to bring strangers that had crashed from space around the world to see some friends.
"Wouldn't we get in the way?" Irvine asked, interrupting Squall as he was about to ask more information about some airship.
Vivi blinked quizzically before shaking his head with a small laugh. "No, that would be pretty impossible," he answered cryptically. "And about that airship," he continued, turning to Squall. "Commercial exchanges have barely started between the Black Mage Village and the kingdoms, so trading ships don't come here very often. I have no choice but to leave with that one, otherwise I risk missing the wedding."
Squall hummed his understanding, but he still didn't look even half convinced. Irvine didn't blame him; leaving the Village, which had become something like familiar ground –as much as that could be achieved in a day-, would mean being uprooted again and thrown into the total unknown. He wasn't sure that he trusted Vivi enough for that.
"We'll need some time," Squall said with a shake of his head.
"Of course! But please don't take too much time," Vivi agreed, and seemed to want to add something else when two mini-Vivis suddenly came running, nearly tackling their larger version.
Irvine stared at those two newcomers, and didn't need to look to know that Squall was doing the same thing.
"Dad, dad! Mister 33 is stopping!" they yelled in unison, waving their arms anxiously.
Irvine might have been staring at the two small clones –apparently his kids-, but he didn't miss the sudden alarm and pain that shot through Vivi's body language.
"Oh! I'm coming, please go ahead!" Vivi said, and his voice was heavy. The two children nodded and bolted away in the direction of the chocobo hut.
"What's this all about?" Irvine asked, frowning deeply. Whatever was so urgent, it was happening where Selphie was.
"I'll explain later. Please think carefully about what I suggested," Vivi said quickly and dismissively before turning on his heels and running right after his clones.
Irvine blinked, too surprised to react, before tugging at his ponytail nervously.
"Well, if that wasn't a 'don't follow me', I'm a Sorceress," he muttered, half amused, half alarmed.
Squall nodded his agreement, his eyes on the chocobo house. The chocobo was kweh-ing loudly, a keen, pained sound.
"What do you reckon 'stopping' means?" Squall asked finally, turning back to Irvine.
"I have no clue, but it sounds serious." He couldn't shake off the knot of worry for Selphie. "But Selphie's still there, she'll be able to tell us."
"Right." Squall nodded, then came and sat beside Irvine to wait for any development in the sudden, unknown crisis. "What do you think about his suggestion?"
"It didn't sound as if he was suggesting as much as ordering," Irvine snorted. "Or then again, not really ordering, but he was clearly stating that we had no other choice."
"If refusing is going to make them become violent, I'm going to accept his offer," Squall declared.
"Question is, will they become violent? For all we know, Vivi might just shrug and say 'later'."
"I don't think we can afford to take that chance. If he's sincere, then moving won't do us any harm, but if he's not, I want to avoid precipitating any hostility, at least until we know more about this planet." Squall shook his head. "It's not like our chances in a fight would be any better if we stayed here."
Irvine sighed deeply. "In other words, we really don't have a choice." He looked up at the clouds, trying to find the same oblivion he'd managed to absorb himself into earlier. "But I don't think Vivi wants to harm us. What would be the point? He could've done it easily already."
Squall shook his head. "Let's not take any unnecessary risks or assume anything, at least until we've met these friends of his."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. The others will probably agree, anyways. When do you plan on telling them?"
"As soon as this 'stopping' thing is explained."
Indeed, not too long after, Selphie stepped out of the chocobo hut, looking perfectly unharmed but decidedly depressed. Irvine hurried to join her, Squall a respectful pace behind.
"What happened? Are you ok?" Irvine asked worriedly.
Selphie sniffed and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ok. Just sad…"
Irvine gently urged her to continue walking, away from whatever had caused this. "What happened, Selphie?" he repeated.
"Mister 33, the one taking care of the chocobo, he died. They call it stopping here, because they just suddenly stop moving, like a broken robot or something," she explained, perking up a little as the shock ebbed away. She might be sensitive to that type of thing, but they were still strangers, and that allowed her to recover faster.
"Is Vivi still there?" Squall asked then, gesturing to the small house.
Selphie nodded. "Yeah, he asked me to please leave them alone for a bit."
Irvine shot Squall a look, who nodded and stopped when they reached a fork in the path. "I'm going to go look for the others. Meet us at the inn in an hour or so."
Irvine didn't watch him leave, turning his attention back on Selphie. Apparently, she'd quickly grown attached to the cute bird and its caretaker, and seeing the Black Mage die in such a weird fashion had unsettled her.
"These people are so weird," she declared at some point. Irvine agreed wholeheartedly with her.
And he had an inkling that it would only get stranger.
TBC