In light of Halloween being today, and the fact that the normal update is supposed to be tomorrow... I thought, what the heck, why not update today? Enjoy Chapter Thirteen a day early, guys!
Original chapter was (a'hem) OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAND words long, so I had to split it up in two parts. (When else am I gonna use that joke?)
Ya know, I always thought the Fun Bunch was a little cruel for not standing up for Norma under Zamaran's criticism of her… Really, friends don't let friends get hurt feelings. Also readers, if you're thinking Walter is going to accompany Norma to the Ice Monument, with a possible fluffy/dramatic moment happening afterwards, well… Sad to say, you guys aren't that psychic. If you think I wrote Walter as a sympathetic character before… Make sure you're sitting down, I guess... :feels bad: I've almost turned him into a Woobie character, I swear...
While I took some liberty of changing around lines, a lot of them come from the actual game script. If some parts seem very familiar, this is probably why.
Themes are: Never Say Never - The Fray, 'Fish - Silent Cruise' - Yoko Kanno (Ghost in the Shell OST), Strawberry Swing - Coldplay
Chapter 13: Strawberry Swing
The group of five came back to Werites Beacon sometime that afternoon, sun-drenched and grinning. Even if trekking through the Man-Eating Ruins didn't benefit any prizes such as the Everlight, they decided to return later that day to town instead of in the morning. The reason for that? They were at the beach, who wouldn't take that chance to have some fun?
Though Shirley didn't want to play in the water that much, it didn't stop Norma from trouncing around in the surf, her long boots forgotten in the sand by their doused campfire. Jay on the other hand, didn't appreciate it one bit when Moses had nearly tossed him into the surf like an older brother would his bratty younger sibling. He hadn't gotten completely wet, but his shorts had become drenched in salt water, which were still damp when they had gotten back. Walter was simply content letting a small black teriques flutter around his fingertips as he snoozed under an overhanging piece of driftwood.
At any rate, the group had arrived back at the city completely content. After a short amount of time attending to their own business, the group had split into their own routine again. Moses checked with his bandits about any dragon sightings they may have seen traveling into the mountains to their hideout. Shirley received and wrote letters to Maurits warning about the recent activity of powerful monsters around Werites Beacon, and to be on guard if they were spotted anywhere near the village. Jay had checked in with the Oresoren about the same subject as the last two.
For Walter and Norma, they checked in with the innkeeper about their now-fixed room, and had bargained a decrease in the cost because of the few days they had spent out of it. By bargained, of course, Norma had given a guilt-trip to the owner who had reluctantly shaved off the cost of the room. What would have normally been a few days had later turned into a full week without rent, despite their having to sleep over at Madam Musette's home for around three days.
After this, Walter forced the girl to pay off a bit more of her tab with the loot they had earned from the Man-Eating Ruins' monsters. Needless to say, the innkeeper liked the intimidating blond man a lot more after that, who never thought he would see any of the promised pay for the room at all. Walter on the other hand, wasn't nearly as pleased (moreso embarrassed) about his praising as 'a good influence to keep his girlfriend in line'.
When he had gotten back, Jay and Walter eventually fulfilled the third condition of Norma's bargain by speaking together in private (with much encouragement/pushing from Norma). That had easily taken a few hours, and by the end of it the two hadn't told her a single thing of what happened. And she was definitely curious about it too: she thought she heard a lamp break in there an hour into their conversation. Knowing how Walter's temper flared sometimes, she wouldn't doubt it was him.
Later on, the whole Fun Bunch (Walter was excluded for obvious reasons, not that he wanted to join anyway) had gotten together at Will's to talk about the issue of the black mist, and afterwards headed for the inn's restaurant to have a bite to eat.
"Maaan, I can't wait to eat!" Norma said, a wide grin on her face as she ran in front of the group as the inn came into sight.
Then not a moment later, Norma came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the street, earning curious glances from her friends. "'Ey Bubbles, what's up?" Moses asked curiously.
From around a corner, a elderly man in a green robe shuffled towards them, his eyes either closed or squinting. The older man continued to walk towards them, and stopped before he could run into any of the group. "I thought I heard a loud squawking sound, but it seems it was only the monkey." Zamaran said, voice matter-of-fact and even a bit cynical.
Instantly Norma bristled in anger, "Don't call me a monkey, old man! And what the hell are you here for anyway? Go back to the mainland!"
He raised an eyebrow and ignored her complaints. Moving his head as if to look around her, hesaid, "My my… For all of your earlier enthusiasm, it seems like you've come up with nothing yet again."
The brunette recoiled, looking cowed before waving her arms at Zamaran with renewed irritation. "T-that was just preliminary research! I'm just getting started!"
The man shook his head in what seemed to be sympathy. "I only hope that you don't spend the rest of your life doing just 'preliminary research'…"
Norma flinched visibly, but otherwise stomped her foot and glared daggers at him, quivering in anger, "Just shut the hell up, old man! Go away!" She waved her arm at him as if sweeping him aside, "Go on! Shoo! Shoo!"
The older man shrugged to himself, "My pleasure. I'd rather not waste my time talking to monkeys." Turning, the man walked in the opposite direction towards the inner streets of town. Norma turned her head to the ground, her quivering of anger not ceasing just yet.
Moses looked at Jay from the side, "Maaan, those two do not get along. Should act more like me an' Geit!"
"You and Geit seem… close." Jay responded, as if remembering a particularly displeasing taste again.
Shirley looked to the others, then back to Norma, who still hadn't moved from her spot. "…Norma? Are you alright?"
Norma's face was sad, and a feeling of doubt settled inside her stomach. She struggled to regain her composure as she spoke. "…Ya know guys, I think I'll head home for bed. I'm a bit tired from today." She cheered herself on for not letting her voice break. Exhaling a breath, she turned back to them raising a fist in the air like she did during a victory cheer. "All that excitement, it can wear a girl out! I just dunno when to stop, heh heh…"
Jay had a feeling she wasn't being completely sincere, but nodded anyway, "...Well, we'll see you tomorrow then."
Norma nodded, her face cheerful. Raising an arm to wave at them she said, "Well, see you later guys!" Turning to face the inn, she felt her mask begin to crumple as tears welled up in her eyes, that painful cold feeling in her stomach coming back in full force. Squeezing her eyes shut so they wouldn't fall, she ran into the inn and out of sight.
x x x
Later that evening, Walter was carrying a few borrowed books back from Madam Musette's library (with her permission, of course) in his hands. His footsteps slowed to a stop as he paused in the street, noticing a familiar figure walking up the path, fair hair flowing gracefully behind her. Unfortunately, she wasn't alone. Walking alongside her was Senel and Chloe, chatting with themselves about something he couldn't quite hear.
Quickly striding over to a particularly thick rosebush in someone's garden, he carefully crouched behind it and peered through the foliage. He couldn't help but grip the edge of the books tightly while looking over at the three, mainly that white-haired one smiling down at Shirley.
"…she knew Zamaran?" Senel asked, a questioning look in his eyes.
"I don't know. It looked like he knew what the Everlight was as well… Maybe they just don't have that great of a relationship." Chloe responded, looking over at the other iron-eren.
"…Norma seemed upset." Shirley mused to herself as she stopped in the street, which caused the hidden Ferines' eyebrows to furrow in confusion. What had made Norma upset? He hadn't seen her at Musette's home, so he assumed she had gone back to the inn.
Shirley looked over at Senel with a worried look on her face. "Senel… Why didn't we do anything?"
Chloe and Senel looked at her with concerned and puzzled expressions, "Didn't do what, Shirley?"
The girl looked at the ground. "Didn't support her… Didn't defend Norma from what Zamaran was talking about. Even if we don't know if the Everlight is real or not, she believes in it. Someone shouldn't have their dreams trounced on like that…" She looked up to the white-haired boy with eyes wiser than her age should entail.
Senel rubbed his head, "It didn't feel right getting involved. We didn't know the situation or either side of the story… so how could we have any say in the matter?"
Chloe looked at the two, and shook her head. "Either way, we'll see Norma tomorrow. We'll talk to her about it then." She gave Shirley a comforting look, which soothed her guilty conscience a little. Shirley was silent for a moment, then nodded.
Senel turned to Shirley, "So, I'll see you in the morning?"
Shirley nodded and smiled, "...Yeah, ok."
Chloe nodded her goodnight along with Senel, and the two left in the direction of the hospital and Senel's house.
Shirley pursed her lips, then turned to walk to Madam Musette's home before shaking her head in frustration, "Oh… What do I do?"
Walter took this moment to walk out from behind the bush calling, "Shirley?" The girl jumped and he shook his head in apology. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."
She looked over at him with a sad expression on her face. "Did… did you hear all of that?" With a solemn expression he nodded. She gave him a sad smile and sighed, "You're going back to the inn?"
"Yes. I couldn't find Norma at Musette's home, so I was going back there anyway. Something happened?"
Shirley couldn't help but pick out a note of concern in his voice, which seemed unusual from the normal Walter she had known before. He still surprised her with how much her previous bodyguard had changed, even after spending a few days around him. "Yes. Come on, let's go see if she's alright and I'll tell you along the way."
x x x
In the room of the inn, Norma was sitting on the seat next to the newly repaired window, her knees drawn up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them. The dim light of twilight shone through the window, too late for the sun to be visible and too early for the lamps to be lit outside. The room was filled with the golden light a bedside lamp gave off, casting warm shadows around the room save for the window, where the dulled light of the window reigned supreme.
Her hair covering her splotchy face and red eyes, the girl sniffled and her arms clutched her legs tighter to her chest. "Where are you, Everlight?" She said aloud, her voice downcast and sad. "I thought for sure you'd be in the Man-Eating Ruins…"
Letting her head fall onto her knees, she exhaled a heavy watery sigh. She sniffled again, her expression slightly fearful now. "How many times did I screw up today?" The light of the sun finally disappeared fully as twilight faded into night. Any moment now the lamps outside would light up, signaling the full transition of evening into night.
Norma sighed after a long period of silence, "…I'm not cut out for this. I wonder if I'll ever find the Everlight." She slowly looked up and murmured, "I wonder if I'm even capable of finding the Everlight."
With that line, her mind wandered to an instance where she had become stuck on her Relares research, back when she was still attending the university on the mainland. Sven had annoyed her until he had figured it out, and told her it wasn't such a big deal to run into trouble, or to mess up. You just got back on your feet again and continued onwards.
Then, of course, she had countered about why he still went after the Everlight, after failing so many times before, after being told multiple times it was a myth. He said it was because he believed in it. She didn't understand what he had said, and still didn't today. Either her teacher had been very wise or very stupid with that line he spouted. And… And then he had the nerve to remind her about that stupid incident with the boiled egg!
As the memory rewound itself through her eyes, she felt her stress falling away like an eggshell. The individual pieces would crack and fall off in tiny shards, revealing a newborn yellow chick underneath, chirping in happiness. Norma looked outside at the lamps, and noticed that her reflection in the mirror had a smile upon its face. A real smile, not just a façade to comfort others.
Smiling wider to herself, Norma reached out and plucked her old notebook from her side on the cushion, stroking the leather cover with a grin coming to her face. "I'm stupid too, but nowhere near his level…"
She abruptly stood up on the seat, her notebook clutched in one hand as she shook her head. "I really need to stop moping around." Pumping an arm into the air, she grinned, eyes sparkling with a light of excitement. "Tomorrow, we're gonna go back out there and get to work! Chaaarge!"
x x x
Walter and Shirley got to the inn sometime after the lamps had been lit the evening, and the streets still had one or two people walking up and down them. Walking up the stairs quietly, the taller Ferines rapped his knuckles against the door a few times. "Norma, are you awake?" He called after a brief moment of silence. A heavy thud came from the other side of the door, then a rustling sound followed.
Light footsteps got louder as they approached the door, and it opened to reveal a bubbly girl who beamed at them, "Heya Wally, Shirl!" She stepped aside and walked inside as the two let themselves in, Walter closing the door behind them. "So guys, what's up?" Walter crossed his arms and gazed at her piercingly, "…Okaaay, what's got your tights in a knot?"
His eye twitched at that line while Shirley spoke up, "Norma, are you feeling ok? Better than earlier?"
She tilted her head at them, "Well, yeah, I guess. I feel fine. Nothing a little sleep won't solve-"
"You know she doesn't mean by that." Walter interrupted, giving her a look. "From what Shirley told me, that old man calling you a monkey didn't seem to make you so upset before, and I don't see you as a sort of person who takes that to heart. Be honest Norma, what's wrong?"
Norma was silent during this, and simply raised an eyebrow at him. "Since when did poking at someone's personal back-story become a hobby for you, Wally?" She asked sarcastically.
This earned her an intense glare, which made the girl cringe. "Since it became a hobby of yours to poke around my past, Beatty. Now answer the question." He said this with tension lacing his tone. Obviously he was still a little sore about her continuously trying to get him to open up.
Shirley gave the two a helpless look, "Stop it, you two…" She gave the other girl a sad look, "Norma, is it really so bad that you can't tell us?"
Norma bit her bottom lip, keeping her gaze steady on the floor as thoughts and what-ifs ran through her mind at a million miles per hour. "Can I tell you two a story? And keep it between the three of us?"
Shirley and Walter looked at each other and nodded. "I won't tell anyone." Shirley replied, with a serious expression on her face.
Norma took a deep breath and plopped down on the window seat, gesturing for the others to find seats. Walter sat back on his bed while Shirley sat on the edge of Norma's bed, both giving her their undivided attention. The brunette leaned back in her seat staring at the ceiling, "Where to start…"
Closing her eyes with a smile, she began. "Master was, to put it simply, the world's biggest idiot."
The other two in the room sweat-dropped.
Norma continued, her eyes still closed as she remembered… "He was an idiot, but he was fun to be around. I'm really grateful to him too… More then I can ever say." She opened her eyes. "I was a bit of a troublemaker when I was a kid. I probably wanted my parents to stop fighting and pay attention to me." Walter's gaze shifted to the side as she continued, shrugging and shaking her head. "So, I rebelled as much as a child could, you know? I ran away from home a lot."
"Back then, I thought the whole world was the enemy… I came to distrust adults and society and all sorts of things. It was around that time that I met Master." She looked over at them, and shifted her legs so one was under the other. "I did a lot of crazy things, but Master was even worse. When he learned I could use crystal eres, he immediately enrolled me in a high-level academy! It was a place no commoner like me would've normally been able to attend. Even though he didn't make much money, he paid for all my school expenses."
"Which one did you go to?" Walter asked curiously.
"Eh?" Norma was caught off guard by the question, expecting one of them to agree with Sven's stupidity or something along those lines. "Uh… I went to the one on the border of Corinth and Rexalia. Why?" She asked, blinking.
He shrugged. "Just curious. I was curious if you went to the one that tries to specialize in Relares."
"Tries to… They don't do that bad of a job!"
The Ferines smirked, "Well, if I gave them a rock covered in random bits of gibberish, they would think it was a record of the royal families of ancient times."
Norma rolled her eyes, not quite disagreeing with him. "So anyway, this stupid master of mine was searching for the Everlight."
Shirley was quiet, "So, you're carrying out his final wish…?"
Norma looked over at her, "Yeah, something like that…"
The room was quiet, and Norma looked over at the uncharacteristically still Walter with a slight smile on her face, "So… I just made up half of that stuff right now, but that was good enough, right?"
"You what!" Walter yelled, causing Shirley to jump as well. His eyes were swirling with all sorts of emotions, mostly sympathy, anger and confusion as he glared at the brunette. "Are you telling me I got sucked into your sad little sob story, only for it to be fake?"
Norma shriveled a little under his glare and shrugged. "Pretty much. You can be naïve sometimes, Wally!"
Shirley saw his fists begin flickering with violet streams of light, and she panicked. "Norma, that wasn't a nice thing to do!" She stumbled over her words a little, waving her hands in front of her and looking from Walter to Norma quickly.
Norma shook her head, "I was only teasing you guys, relax… Geez, you two can be uptight sometimes." She chose her words carefully, trying not to put herself on the bad side of the Ferines that would be sleeping in the same room as her tonight. "I was only kidding."
Shirley sighed, then her eyes looked up at the clock. "It's already nine-thirty? I need to be getting home…"
Norma nodded, and Walter turned to the Merines, stifling the light of his eres until it disappeared. "You'll be careful, I assume?"
"Walter, I'm sure I can walk home alright. Thank you for your concern though." She couldn't help but smile. Even now he was still overprotective; it seems that passing in and out of the afterlife hadn't changed that. She walked to the door and nodded at the two. "Goodnight Norma, Walter."
"Goodnight, Shirley." "'Night, Shirl!" The two called from their positions in the room, and door opened and closed with a quiet click. The footsteps of the current Merines echoed outside the room until only silence remained.
Norma stretched and yawned loudly, "Well, I'm pooped. I'm going to bed!" She walked over to the bathroom to change as Walter laid back on the bed, his fingers linked behind his head.
She might have been teasing all she wanted, but that was a cruel trick. He thought to himself. He knew parts of Norma's story were true, her affectionate tone speaking about the man she called master said as much. It somehow didn't surprise him that the university she went to was the infamous one in Rexalia that studied Relares either. Much as her trap-springing skills needed work, she was knowledgeable about ruins enough to recognize certain symbols on the walls. Only a trained eye or a Ferines could recognize that the seemingly-ordinary scratches on the walls were, in fact, faded symbols of Relares.
Rubbing his eyes, he heard the bathroom door open and Norma appeared around the corner, now clad in oversized pajamas. She ruffled her hair as she looked over at him, with a small frown on her face, "You're not still mad, are you?"
"No... I'm thinking." He responded, his hand still covering his eyes.
"Careful about that. Your brain might overheat from the strain." He moved his hand up over his hair and gave her an icy glare, twice as intense with his bangs out of the way. He saw her recoil and avert her eyes, "Aiee, you could skin something with that look, Wally…"
A smirk formed on his face. He ran his fingers through his hair before his hand came back to settle onto his stomach, hair mussed and out of his face.
"But really Wally, are you...?" Norma sounded a bit unsure.
"No, I'm not mad for the last time. Though considering Shirley and I were concerned about you, telling us a sad sob story wasn't the kindest thing you could have done." Walter said, looking over at her with calm eyes.
"Well..." Norma hesitated, looking aside with slumped shoulders.
The blond sat up and gave her a level stare. "...How much of that story was true, Norma?" Norma was silent, but bit her lip and gave a little shrug. He sighed and lay back down, "You know. If you really don't want to tell me, I won't force you to."
"I almost feel like I owe you though... What for, well... That one time at Granny Musette's house." She reminded him quietly, her tone full of guilt. Much as he hated how she had managed to pry his problem out of him, she was obviously still feeling bad about the whole ordeal.
Walter shook his head lightly. "You don't owe me anything. If anything, I owe you for giving me a place to stay and saving my life."
"But..." Norma's inner self cheered at his last sentence, but still felt unsure about the whole thing.
"Just stop, Norma. Doubt isn't very becoming on you." He interrupted, rolling his eyes.
Norma paused suddenly, very slowly turning to look at him, "...Did you just give me a compliment?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Why would I do something like that?"
"Because you think I'm cuuute!" Norma grinned, a blush on her face as she wiggled in place. His deadpan expression made her laugh. "What, you don't think I'm freaking gorgeous?"
"I think you're delusional, that's what." Walter responded, which made her huff in annoyance.
"Liar, you do too." Norma responded with a pout.
"I never lie. And you can think whatever you want about it, you're still crazy." He responded, fighting a smile threatening to appear from her pout. ...She was rather endearing when she was flustered about something, now that he thought about it. Not that he'd ever give her the pleasure of knowing.
"Oh ha ha. Very funny, but there's always a chance to start." Norma paused for a moment as she figured out something, "…Hey Wally."
"Yes?"
"When did you start calling me 'Norma'? Didn't it use to just be 'Beatty' or 'Filthy Orerines'-" Norma started, trying to think of the circumstances where he stopped referring to her by her last name.
He leaned up to give her an indignant look, his hair tangled where he ran a hand through it. "Hey, I stopped calling you 'Orerines' a while ago! And why do you keep calling me 'Wally' anyway?"
"It's your nickname, silly! I have to use it, and it's not gonna change anytime soon! I mean really… it'd be like changing Red's nickname, or C's! It fits too well." Norma countered, crossing her legs to give him a flirty smile.
This drew only an exasperated sound from him as he sat up to pull off his shirt. "Fine, be that way…"
"Hey, you never answered my quest..." The brunette's voice trailed off.
It had to have been because she was so tired, but Norma had to struggle (in which she failed) to pry her eyes off of his toned chest and keep her mouth from drooling. Literally, her mouth was watering. She blinked hard, and forced herself to look away as her face grew red. Calm your ass down, Norma! It is perfectly normal for your roommate (very attractive roommate, her mind added) to take off his shirt in front of you. There is no need to stare so much at- Oh good gravy, it should be illegal to look that attractive!
"I need sleep." Norma announced to the world, more like blurted loudly, and plopped face-first onto the bed with a fwump.
Walter gave her an odd look as he tossed his shirt onto the nearby chair. "…Ok." He said, somewhat confused at her sudden departure from conversation but shrugging it off anyway. Climbing into bed, he closed his eyes.
"Goodnight, Blondie." Norma's reply came from the pillow, though it was so muffled that it sounded a little like 'hottie'.
Walter smiled slightly. Two could play at this game. Thinking to himself, he spoke finally, "Night, Velnes." He heard her slight gasp of shock, and felt his smile grow. So his prediction was correct: she did know a bit of Relares. Clever girl…
Norma barely stifled her gasp of shock. She couldn't have heard differently, could she…? Velnes, that was Vel and Nes separated. The base of Vel was…? She grabbed her notebook off the table and jotted the two-part word in an empty spot in the middle of it, circling and writing 'Translate' next to it. Hearing it was one thing, deciphering and eventually understanding it was another story. She needed sleep for that.
x x x
My theory is that treasure hunters need to know a bit of Relares to be able to access/understand some ruins, therefore it is a good reason that Norma would be skilled at it with her seemingly average skills in trap-detecting. Walter saw her partially understanding some very faded Relares in the Man-Eating Ruins, hence how he found out she knew it.
And so you all know, VelNes means "yellow person" in Relares. The yellow part was supposed to dignify happiness, being cheerful, bright and lively in general. So Walter was basically calling her a bright and cheerful person, which suits her well.
And just a warning ahead of time, the next chapter will be dark. Since this was all one chapter, the first half was to be light-hearted then have a mood whiplash into a less lively second half. Enjoy the cheerfulness while you can, guys.
Reviewer Comments:
Ranchdressing: If the group were to do that to Norma, she wouldn't be able to walk due to the concussion she'd get! XD And she finds it at the end of her character arc, and she is a very determined person. She'll find it, I'm sure. As for Wally, well you'll have to read on and find out.
Shiroi Iyasu: Exams, eugh... I wish you luck on those. Well, Walter was a bit of a loner who depended on himself a lot, from what I've seen of him in the game. I tried to portray as much in GitA.
PlanetStorm: :blown back by shear size of comment: ...Ok, let's see if I can respond to this behemoth of a comment, haha. First off, this sounds similar to the whole 'Not So Different' trope over on TVTropes, which was mentioned on the Legendia page for Walter and Senel, and arguably him and Chloe. This puts it a little more into perspective. According to my version of Walter, he lost his mother and village at a young age, and therefore also went onto a road for eventual revenge, just as lost as Chloe was as a kid when trying to be the head of her family. And I believe the word you're looking for is related to being guardians. Hint for the future: thesauruses are your best friend!
Second, you remind me of how much I feel bad for Walter in the game. Maurits did give him a grave along with Fenimore though. Maurits may be a manipulative bastard, but he wasn't that cruel... Walter wasn't written in more because he was originally supposed to be a playable character, but it might have interfered with Grune's story arc and Shirley wouldn't have had a chance to shine. Therefore he got bumped off to a secondary character in the main story, and his attitude and determined/stubborn personality made it so that he wasn't able to be redeemed. Personally, I think his 'support system' would have been Fenimore had the two stayed alive long enough: she was the probably the closest Ferines to him besides Shirley and Maurits, and I couldn't have seen him hooking up with any Orerines any time soon.
Third, no worries on not remembering all of it: you gave me enough material to make me incredibly interested now. I can see why that would have made you a fan of Chloe/Wally. Really, it's very good brain-food for possible story ideas. Thanks for liking the chapter, by the way!