Blessings of Eos

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Don't own the Final Fantasy series.

Aerith and Prompto stared at the chocobo, more than a little baffled. Tilting his head to one side, he asked, "It's feathers weren't that color last night, right?"

"No…"

Instead of the usual yellow, its feathers were now an opal color, gleaming iridescent in the midday light. With a kweh, the chocobo disappeared from sight, reappearing after another kweh.

"I think the green I fed it to get away from the tonberry did more than I expected." She said, idly noting how the chocobo's beak and talons had also gained an opal sheer.

"Will the man at the chocobo post be mad?" He asked, concerned.

"If anything, Wiz will be thrilled to potentially have a new breed of chocobo. Though, I don't think he can rent it out to anyone else now." She admitted, slightly embarrassed.

"Does that mean you can name it now? One of the scientists had been discussing what to name her new cat." He asked.

"Well, Wiz has a name for it, to keep track of which ones are rented out, but…maybe Opal?" She mused, not feeling very imaginative.

The chocobo kweh-ed in agreement, making its name now Opal.

"So does Opal mean anything?" He asked after they had packed up camp and started up again.

Well, Aerith packed up. Prompto had quickly gotten distracted and started chasing a field mouse, the newly dubbed Opal keeping a close watch.

"It's a rare kind of stone that people often wear as jewelry. The most common kind of opal is the same color as our chocobo's feathers." She explained, admiring the feathers' new shine in the sun.

"Jewelry?" He asked, blinking at the unfamiliar word.

Gesturing to Her bracelets, She said, "My bracelets are a kind of jewelry. Ultimately, jewelry is things people wear on their arms, hands, necks, and ankles for different reasons, like if it's something pretty or has magical properties or to show allegiance to something. Most of the time jewelry is metal and gemstones-what stones like opals are called-but it can also be feathers and braided threads." She elaborated.

He pulled out his dog tag. "Would this be called jewelry?"

She shook Her head. "I wouldn't call it jewelry. Things like this-"rubbing Her thumb over the engraved metal "-are meant to identify you. Hunters, people who go out and hunt animals and daemons causing trouble, wear tags like this so if they die, their bodies can be identified and the tag is given to their family, so they don't wonder what happened to their loved one. Others wear tags similar to these so if they get hurt, the people helping them can know if there is anything they should or shouldn't do."

"Like what?"

"Well, if a medicine could make them sicker, the person would wear an 'allergy alert' tag so anyone giving medical help would know not to give them that medicine." She tucked the tag back under his shirt.

"…do I need it anymore? I'm not where I was, where I was a number. I'm Prompto Argentum." He asked, tilting his head to look up at Her.

"You may not need it anymore for the reasons you did before, but your birthday is on it, so it's best to hold onto it." She told him, heartened that he was thinking of himself as Prompto Argentum, as a person.

"Birthday?" He echoed, baffled.

"The day you were born. It's called 'manufacture date' on the tag, but every time that month and day comes around, you are a year older. The 'M.E. 736' is the year you were born, while the current year is M.E. 742, making you five years old now, and you'll be six years old the next time it's October 25th."

"So what month and day is it now?" Prompto inquired.

"The month is May. I'm not sure of the day offhand." Aerith answered as a familiar-to Her-smell wafted on the air. Chocobos in a group always smelled the same, a combination of feathers and greens and the slightest trace of dung.

Crinkling his nose, he asked, "What's that smell?"

"We're almost to the chocobo post. The smell is from the chocobo herd." He practically vibrated in the saddle, eager to see the chocobos.

As She expected, Wiz was thrilled at the prospect of a potential new breed of chocobo. He was one of the few in recent decades to flat out ask if She was what he thought She was. Her policy was to answer truthfully if asked directly. The most recent people She had told Her identity to without a direct question were King Regis and his group of men during the war ten years ago. She could hardly avoid the truth given the flashiness of Her rescue of them.

Prompto was barely shy greeting Wiz. She was amazed at how quickly he went from clinging to Her skirt in front of someone new to greeting a stranger without prompting. She knew it had as much to do with how comfortable he was around Her as with his spirit. Most would have been crushed in the circumstances he had been in, but his spirit was just too strong to suppress. However, it was that he was comfortable around Her that he was able to let his spirit run free.

"We're in time to see a clutch hatching, right?" She asked Wiz.

"Definitely. In fact, one started stirring this morning. The chicks should be greeting the world within the hour." He answered.

Prompto could barely contained his excitement. "Can we go watch?"

Wiz laughed as he led them to the hatchery. "You can hold a couple once we've recorded all the details we need once they're out."

With that statement, he grabbed Her hand, pulling Her along faster. Laughing, She sped up Her pace, turning their walk to the hatchery into a race.

"You're fast!" Wiz complimented Prompto as he caught up to them outside the hatchery. The hatchery was probably the safest place in Lucis outside of the Wall, even factoring in the safety of the chocobo post itself. She remembered how Wiz had flat-out asked if She was Eos specifically so he could request a blessing of protection for his burgeoning post, especially for the hatchery. Only Wiz and Herself knew that the daemons would avoid the post even if the generators failed, however remote that possibility. He had badgered Cid Sophiar into creating the generators for the post, and Cid had went above and beyond the specifications he had received.

Wiz explained the development process of a chocobo egg from inside the chocobo hen all the way up to when the chocochick was ready to hatch to Prompto as he directed them to the incubator containing the clutch close to hatching. "We leave the eggs in the nest for the parents to care for until the hatching process starts, then we bring them here to hatch so we can tag 'em, get their birth weight and height, check for any potential problems or diseases and such. Since the chicks can't develop outside an egg, we can't do any testing for diseases or problems until they're hatched."

"What kind of problems?" Prompto asked, taking in the faint fractures growing on three of the five eggs in the clutch.

"The main thing is concern is development problems caused by the mother eating something she shouldn't. While what they eat is monitored here, they travel all over Eos, and we're still cataloguing the plants to avoid. Chocobos can live nearly everywhere, but there are plants that can cause the chicks not to grow right even if the adult doesn't suffer any problems from eating the plant. Problems can also show up randomly, but the most common randomly occurring problem is being a carrier for chocopox."

"Chocopox?" Came the question, his eyes glued to the egg with the fastest growing cracks.

"You get itchy red bumps all over you. While chocopox is readily passed between people, strains passed directly from chocobos to people are stronger and take longer for people to recover from." Wiz elaborated.

"How come?" The cracks had widened to the point of being able to glimpse the chick inside.

"The strains that people pass between each other are used to humans, and people have come up with treatments that work. The strains directly passed from chocobo to human aren't used to people, and the treatments that should work won't, causing problems in the people who get it." Wiz sighed here. "Every time we think we've nailed down the thing that makes a chocobo a carrier for chocopox something new turns up causing it. My family's been breeding chocobos nearly a hundred years, and chicks with no carriers anywhere in their family can be carriers, and chicks from two carriers can turn out not be able to carry. I'm thinking it's something environmental causing it, something the chocobos are exposed to, but we don't have answers yet."

Prompto jumped a little as a piece of shell popped out, and the chick pecked and kicked its way out. Donning gloves, Wiz picked up the chick from the incubator, passing it off to his assistant in charge of the hatchery, who had been dubbed 'Choco-mom', for the post hatching exam.

Hearing the sound of one of its siblings out of the egg seemed to spur the others, cracks emerging on the two previously inactive eggs as the cracks grew on the first two. "How long does it take for the chicks to come out?" He asked as a chick the color of honey emerged next, Wiz donning fresh gloves for this one.

"It's the darnedest thing, it can take over a day for the first egg in a clutch to hatch, but once it does, the others generally follow within the hour. Gotta bunch of theories with science far above your head about why, but let's just call it a mystery of life." Wiz brought the first hatchling back over, guiding Prompto on how to hold a chocochick correctly.

Aerith just watched, teary-eyed, as 'Choco-mom' gave Her the second hatchling to hold, as Prompto took in the hatchling with wide eyes. The look of wonder on his face surpassed his look of wonder at his first dawn, as he gently petted the hatchling's downy feathers, marveling over the softness as Wiz explained the difference between a chocochick's downy feathers and an adult's water repellant ones.

This is why She brought him to the chocobo post instead going directly to Longwythe. To give him new experiences, and create happier memories to combat the dark ones. For when the dark ones threatened to overwhelm him.

The cuteness factor that left Her wishing for a camera was icing on the cake.

'Choco-mom' evidently had similar thoughts, grabbing the Polaroid she used to photograph the chicks for the files created at birth. "Prompto." She called, and he looked up as the Choco-mom snapped a photo.

Her vague concerns about his reaction to the flash were for nothing, as he just blinked at the flash. "A photo?"

"Yep. A memento of your stay here." Choco-mom showed him the photo she had just took. "Can you take one with Miss Aerith in it with me?" His puppy eyes were turning into a dangerous weapon, despite Choco-mom having no intention of denying him.

Aerith crouched down next to where Prompto sat carefully, mindful of the hatchling in Her arms. Leaning in, She didn't need to prompt him to smile for the camera, as he automatically smiled up at Her. "Let's both look at the camera for this one, okay?" He just nodded as he did what She asked.

Choco-mom took two shots of them smiling at the camera, giving one to each of them in exchange for the hatchlings in their arms. In that moment, She could see a life-long hobby taking root as he looked at their photo. He would be a natural at it too, his natural shooting ability giving him a surprising edge in catching amazing shots.

Opal greeted them with a kweh as they exited the hatchery into the fading light. She noticed that Opal didn't seem to disappear with every kweh, and She could tell Wiz's mind was whirling at how to test and train this ability. But for now, it was time for dinner.

Instead of staying in the caravan (which was occupied anyway), they would spend the night in Wiz's house, with his wife Myra and twin teenage daughters Cassie and Chrissy.

Prompto, however, was leery of entering a private house. "I don't know what to do!" Came the exclamation.

"The most important thing is to be polite to the people in the house, since they are the ones who invited you into their home. Respect any rules they have, even if you don't understand why they have the rules they do, and you'll be fine." She told him, retrieving his bag of clothes from Opal's saddlebag. The next hurdle would be a bath after dinner.

Myra, Cassie and Chrissy, or his girls as Wiz called them, loved Prompto, him being shyly polite sending them into cuteness overload. And these were women who lived with chocochicks, so it took a lot to send them into overload. Dinner was a roast beef with potatoes and vegetables, Prompto's shy request for seconds earning squeals from Wiz's twins. He didn't quite know what to make of their reaction to him. She could tell he was starting to become overwhelmed as dinner wound down, so She used the need for a bath as an escape.

Taking in the bath tub, with its spout and handles for hot and cold water each, he looked up at Her asking, "Where's the thing where the water comes out? I don't see it in the ceiling."

"What you had before was a shower, since the water streams down on you much like a rain shower. This," She said, starting the water. "Is a tub, where you fill it with water and then sit down in it to wash."

"It's not gonna be cold like the pool where they had us learn to swim, is it?" He asked, hand stopping short of feeling the water coming out of the faucet.

Aerith knew these weren't lessons in the classic sense, but more of a shove into the deep end, the choices being swim or drown. And drown was the fate of some of his group.

"No, it'll be warm." Personally satisfied with the temperature of the water, She asked, "Can you stick your hand in the water and tell me if it's too hot?"

Sticking his hand in the water, his face turned surprised. "It feels really nice."

Clapping Her hands, She said, "Okay then, time to undress and get in." With the tub being an old fashioned free standing type, She helped him in, the water reaching about to mid-stomach as he sat. "Do you mind if I stay in here? Since you've never been in a bath tub before I would like to keep an eye on you."

"I don't mind." He told Her as She knelt down beside the tub.

Prompto didn't need any help with washing, although She opted to wash his hair for him. He was practically purring by the time She rinsed the suds out. "That was really nice. Can you do that again tomorrow?" He asked Her.

"If you want me to. The bathrooms at the motel in Longwythe have shower heads with the tubs, so you can choose if you want a shower or a bath." She answered, wiping Her hands on the nearby towel.

The washing done, he asked, "So do I get out now?"

"Well you can…" She trailed off. "Or…"

"Or…" He prompted.

She splashed him as an answer. His first couple splashes were timid, but it didn't take long for Her to wind up as drenched as he was, their laughter echoing off the tiles, a good portion of the water ending up on the floor.

A knock at the bathroom door drew Her attention, as Wiz's wife called through the door. "Doin' alright in there?"

"Yes!" She couldn't keep the laughter out of Her voice.

"Well, the guest room's made up for ya, and I found a set of old pajamas that have chocobos on 'em." The smile in her voice was evident.

Prompto perked up at the prospect of pajamas with chocobos on them, so there wasn't much protest at ending the splash fight. Bundling him in a towel, Aerith picked him up. "I can walk!" He protested. "Nope, you lost, so I carry you out."

"How'd I lose? You got just as wet!"

"Because I'm bigger than you." It was childish logic, but She didn't care. As much as She enjoyed looking after all the children She helped, Prompto was worming his way deeper into Her heart than She had expected when She set out to find the Soul of the King's Men. If this was only time they could share, before She left him in Insomnia with only a promise of a future meeting, then She would enjoy it as much as She could, and make sure he did as well.

A pout was his rebuttal as She opened the bathroom door, revealing Wiz's very amused wife. "Sorry for the mess." She said sheepishly, Prompto echoing Her apology.

Myra waved off the apology. "That's why there's tile. But you do have to clean it up after you get him down."

She nodded in response as She walked past Myra to the guest room. The pajamas turned out to only be a little too big on Prompto. "You remember the piece of glass I had you picture last night?" At his nod She continued. "I want you to imagine taking the glass away."

She gave him a few minutes before asking, "Can you See My sparkles?"

"Uh huh."

"Now I'm going to do what I did last night, flaring My aura. By Seeing more than it can process, your Sight will get stronger in order to cope with the new information." She explained before repeating the process from the night before.

"What are those glowing flying balls outside?" He asked as She dimmed Her aura back down.

"Those are probably bats." She hadn't expected him to See the aura of bats after only two exposures.

He opened his mouth, most likely to ask what bats were, but a yawn came out instead. "Time for bed." She told him gently, maneuvering him under the sheets.

"Are you sure this isn't a plot to get me into bed?" He asked between yawns.

"Well if you don't want to get up early to help feed the chocobos…" Aerith trailed off, realizing he was asleep.

After tomorrow night, his Sight should be strong enough that he wouldn't fall asleep after being exposed to Her aura. Shutting the door quietly behind Her, She went to clean up the mess in the bathroom from their splash fight.

Entering the living room once She was finished, She found only Wiz and Myra. The twins were doing the evening rounds, checking that the chocobos not currently on rental were settled for the night.

"Are ya gonna be able to leave 'im when ya get where ya goin'?" Wiz asked as She sat down on the sofa.

"You know there won't really be a choice. I've already Seen that I have to."

"That why you're making as many happy memories as ya can?" Myra asked, mouth silently counting off the stitches of her knitting.

"Partly. Also because where I found him…wasn't a place for children." She slumped into the sofa.

"Do ya have to leave tomorrow, or can ya stay another day?" Wiz inquired, flipping through the hatching records for today's hatchlings.

"I don't have a time table for this, so I can probably stay two more days if it's not an imposition." She admitted.

Wiz smiled gently at Her, his expression fatherly despite having known Her since he was Prompto's age. "Our door is always open to you, you know. I owe you too much for it to ever be. And even if I didn't owe you, I could never refuse a pretty Lady."

Myra rolled her eyes. "Flatterer. This why ya ended up with two daughters, hon. Its karma."

"I know I know. Now," Sitting on the edge of his arm chair. "Just what happened that I got an opal-colored chocobo that can disappear at will?"

Myra looked up from her knitting, also curious.

Aerith grimaced slightly. "A hunter was tricked into taking on a hunt far above his abilities by someone he trusted. He became a tonberry, and we were unfortunate enough to come across the aftermath. It never noticed us, fixated on revenge, but I only Saw that after. I created a green that turned the chocobo-and everything on it-invisible. I didn't think this would happen, but flaring My aura to strengthen Prompto's Sight quickly might have been the catalyst."

"What's coming, that you felt the need to do that?" Wiz's accent only changed when he was serious or worried. Or both.

"The Crystal had chosen. Prompto will be one of the factors on the road to success, should that be the path he follows." She stared at Her hands. "I…can't ever deny the selfish motivation for acting now. But…I'm hoping that the Path I Saw, leading to those fated to be the blood sacrifice seeing the Dawn after…I pray it will come true."

"Can it really be selfish, if it's not just you and the Planet that would suffer? My understanding is that everything would be doomed, should the Planet become tainted by the Scourge." Myra said gently.

Aerith said nothing, even though She knew what Myra was saying was true.

"I know ya don't need it, but best get a bath and head to bed. Ya'll need every advantage to keep up with that one tomorrow." Wiz prompted. "Good night, My Lady."

She smiled at both of them. "Good night, Wiz, Myra. Please give the girls my good nights when they get back." Standing, She said, "Thank you for letting us watch the hatching today."

"Could I do any less for the one who's the reason I'm able to do this?" Wiz questioned.

Aerith just bowed in thanks, about the only custom Wiz remembered from his homeland, receiving a deeper one in return. Not that many remembered the small island of Yamato.

Prompto was curled up on his side as She entered the room, toweling the worst of the water out of Her hair. Wiz was right when he said that She didn't need to bathe, but nothing changed the feeling of being fresh from the bath. Laying the towel down on Her pillow, She curled around Prompto and let Her conscious mind drift asleep.

Still with me?