Blessings of Eos

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Don't own the Final Fantasy series.

"So how can you tell which ones are boy chocobos and which are girl chocobos?" Prompto asked Wiz as he and Aerith accompanied him on the morning feed round. Prompto had been ready to run out in his pajamas, but She had managed to convince him that Wiz wouldn't leave without them in order to get him dressed.

"Well, when they hatch, we can't. Unlike mammals like cats and dogs, the boy parts of a chocobo aren't on the outside, so we can't just look. As they grow up into adults, boy and girl chocobos still look alike, so without checking their blood, we don't know which ones are boys and which are girls just by looking. Unless we catch a boy chocobo doing a mating dance."

"Mating dance?" Prompto asked, Wiz guiding him through how to get a chocobo to eat out of his hand.

"Girls, whether birds or people, are picky. The girl chocobos will only mate with a boy chocobo that managed to impress them with their dance." Wiz switched out the feed that hadn't been eaten during the night by either the adults or the chicks.

"Well, how do you impress a people girl?" Prompto questioned as Opal came to greet them this morning, her latest clutch trailing behind, nearly the same height as Prompto.

"There are too many ways to count. Those answers will have to come with experience once you're old enough." Opal started grooming Prompto as he petted her chicks, who were just beginning to lose their down in exchange for adult feathers.

Aerith knelt down to also pet Opal's chicks. Thankfully, Opal's new color didn't bother her chicks or the other chocobos. It might draw some looks from the people visiting, but the vast majority would just presume that she had been fed berries to change the color of her feathers.

"Chocobos are unusual for birds in that you can't just look at a pair of chocobos and point out the boy and the girl. Boy birds are usually more brightly colored, both to impress the girls and to lure predators away from the nest. Girls are usually colored in a way to blend in with the surroundings as they nest." Wiz continued his lesson on chocobos.

"How come?" Prompto asked, Wiz leading them back to his house for breakfast.

"No one's sure why…" Wiz's voice trailed off as the distance grew between Her and them, leaving Her kneeling amidst the chocochicks.

She was distracted by Her findings from last night. Instead of floating in the Lifestream, She had been drawn to Her church, where Her fragment had brought copies of everything it could find on Prompto and the magitek trooper transformation.

She had only been vaguely surprised to discover an official, government issued birth certificate in the name of 'Prompto Argentum', with the names of both his genetic parents filled in. Given the potential for any one of the units to be drummed into the imperial army officer corps, such a document was needed in order for those units to have a legal existence, although she couldn't guess at the effects at suddenly going from being treated as a numbered thing to being treated like a person.

Next was the medical history of the parents. As She guessed, his mother was three generations removed from an Oracle's son. There was nothing alarming here, as they would hardly permit genetic donors with any potential inherited conditions.

Under the parental medical history was Prompto's personal medical history, starting from when he was a fetus up until four days ago. Everything was recorded, down to the precise nutrition content of the food he ate. It was difficult to read, from the detached notes on the broken bones he had received for refusing to take part in target practice to his near death from hypothermia during a 'swimming lesson'. The worst was a description of a surgery to insert an 'emergency termination device'.

A bomb. Prompto had been living with a bomb in his abdomen for two years, and they would have inserted it sooner, but they had to wait until he was big enough, and had a high enough infection rate, to increase the likelihood of survival. She had seen practically every inch of his skin last night, and there wasn't a scar on him. She also hadn't felt anything unusual when Her hand laid on his abdomen to steady him during the chocobo rides. The Scourge could not have been responsible for such healing, not at his infection rate

Flipping past the descriptions of how his broken bones had healed (no one looking at his arms or right leg would ever be able to see where the breaks were), She found the answer under 'Genetic Manipulation Record'.

They had started in utero, six months before his 'manufacture date'. Carefully altering genes related to healing, managing to increase his natural healing rate by fifty percent. The scientists had also improved the quality of the healing, meaning that injuries that would ordinarily leave scars and evidence would heal better, leaving little trace. Only mega-elixirs came close to the quality of the healing. The attempts to artificially improve his reflexes and night vision using couerl DNA had failed, even if the biologists were baffled at the failure.

It failed because such things are caused by the Spark of Life in every being, not by DNA.

Aerith was at a loss regarding the bomb. Given the way it had been inserted, She didn't dare to just banish it like She had the fawn carcass. But the contents would almost certainly start leaking once he crossed the Wall; the Wall neutralizing a danger in a way that was safest when it came to protecting the city, but meant Prompto would be poisoned from the inside.

Ultimately all She would be able to do was alert Regis as soon as She left Prompto at the last checkpoint before the Wall. She would give Regis a copy of the information on Prompto, and the manufacture process.

She returned to Her body after that, unable to bring Herself to read the information on the magitek trooper process. It was three hours before dawn when She returned, and She idly played with Prompto's hair as he slept until the house began to stir. Their positions had shifted while She was at Her church, with him using Her as a cross between a pillow and a stuffed animal.

The files had brought up too many memories.

"Miss Aerith?" She blinked, focusing back on the real world. Prompto was standing in front of Her, looking worried. "You missed breakfast."

She smiled at him, not quite able to keep the sadness off Her face. "I'm sorry. I found out some things last night, and they're not very good." She hadn't tried hard to get him to drop the 'miss' from before Her name, mostly because the way he said it never failed to make Her smile.

"About me?" He asked. "How could you have found anything out if we've been together this whole time?"

"Well, I can be two places at the same time, but I can't learn whatever My double learns until I go to sleep. I sent My double back to where I found you after you went to bed at Turncouth Haven, and looked at what it brought back last night. And you're right," She brushed his bangs out of his eyes "it is about you."

"They were always writing and taking pictures, no matter what we were doing. Some of them felt creepier than others when they did that." He admitted. "I guess you saw pictures of my broken leg? I was stuck in bed for ages, but I still had to go to target practice. There were pins sticking out of my skin."

"Yes, yes I did see the pictures from that, and from when you nearly froze at the swimming lesson. I'm a little surprised I was able to get you into the bath after seeing those."

"Well it was really warm in the bath, and it wasn't very high. Plus," He beamed at Her "I knew that when you asked if you could stay since I had never had one before that nothing bad would happen. Not with you there."

She was touched at his faith in Her, given his previous experiences and the short time they had been together. "Thank you Prompto." She said, kissing his forehead.

"It's true. I can't explain it, but you just feel safe. Even when I first saw you, when I asked if you were Death, I didn't feel like I had to be afraid. It feels the same here, like you're all over the place even when I'm not standing next to you." He told Her as She rose to Her feet, brushing off Her skirt.

"When Wiz first started his rental business and created the post, he asked me if I could do anything to keep it safe. So in a way, it is like I'm all over the place, up to the property line."

"Property line?" He asked as they wandered from the main barn in the direction of the hatchery, Opal and her chicks following behind.

"The property line defines the boundaries of the post, what Wiz owns. There's not a visible line, but it's marked on some kinds of maps, so they know where to put the roads." The chicks that hatched yesterday came over. She knew they were same ones because of the honey-colored one.

Prompto picked that one up carefully, remembering Wiz's words on how to hold a chocochick. "Is it safe for them to be outside? They just hatched yesterday."

"The sooner the chicks are exposed to different things, the better they'll be able to handle new things when they're older. Since people will be riding them once they're old enough and big enough, they have to get used to all sorts of people touching them and all the noises of the cars and the other animals." Opal's chicks greeted the new arrivals, welcoming them into the flock.

"Did you enjoy breakfast?" Aerith asked, Her lap full of chicks.

"Yep. Ms. Myra made what she called 'pancakes' and there were pieces of chocolate in them! She even did a few in the shape of chocobos!" Breakfast had clearly been a big hit with Prompto. "There was also 'orange juice', but aren't oranges fruit?"

"They are. You can make juices out of different fruits, not just oranges, but also apples and grapes. Some people mix the different fruit juices together into one juice, which can be an experience." Sitting on the ground, Prompto was hard to spot, surrounded as he was by chicks.

She heard the click of a camera as Cassie took photos. Cassie was a photography buff, with a dark room in one of the out buildings. Digital photos were only just starting to become more common outside the Wall, so most people used traditional film or Polaroid. She would have to see if Cassie would agree to show off her dark room to Prompto, as once he became aware of the camera, he worked his way out of the chicks to examine the camera more closely.

With Cassie explaining how to use the camera to Prompto, She took the chance to check the blessing of protection She had placed on the post. It was something of a habit whenever She stopped here, as the concentration of Her Power in one area made it easy to check the health of the Planet without actually entering the Lifestream.

The blessing was still strong, reinforced by the hatching that had taken place yesterday. Each hatching or birth that took place within the post would reinforce the blessing, a way of maintaining it with little outside help.

"Enjoying the sun?" Wiz asked, standing next to Her to watch Cassie guide Prompto into taking his first photos.

"Just checking on things. Still holding strong." She answered, Opal ruining Prompto's current shot by deciding he had gone long enough without her grooming him. "Any more clutches stirring?"

"Not yet. Should have a couple more stirring before dusk." He gave Her a side look. "Why ya asking me when ya can check yourself?"

"You are the expert after all. Chrissy's cat is pregnant by the way." She told him.

"When that happen?"

"A visiting tom last week. You may want to spay her once the kittens are weaned."

"Huh. I thought she was acting calmer. Not chasing the chicks as much." He admitted.

"That would be because she hasn't met the latest arrivals, and the current ones are too used to her to along with it." Aerith told him, Prompto escaping Opal's grooming after returning the camera to Cassie.

Working Her own way out of Her pile of chicks, She called to him. "Prompto! Lessons!"

He groaned, but came over. "According to Wiz, none of the clutches will be stirring until late afternoon, so why don't we work on what we started two days ago? We didn't get to do much yesterday."

"Guess that's my cue too." Cassie said. "Sis is probably waiting impatiently for me. Why she never starts without me…"

"Gotta balance the books myself." Wiz added.

"It'll be fun, I promise. And you won't fall asleep after I flare My aura tonight." She told him, leading him towards the ridge behind the feed silos. It provided the best view of Duscae, with a decent view of the largest of the astral shards.

Sitting down with their legs hanging over the edge, She asked. "Have you had the piece of glass up today? You fell asleep before I could ask you to put it back up."

He nodded. "I kept getting distracted by the sparkles in the air, so I put it up."

"Those sparkles are a manifestation of the blessing of protection I placed on the post. It's almost an extension of My own aura. Every time a clutch hatches or one of the farm animals gives birth, it reinforces it, meaning I don't have to constantly come back to maintain it. Not that it would be a bad thing to be constantly visiting, but it does make things easier."

A breeze picked up, blowing Her bangs into Her eyes. Brushing them back, She said, "Can you take the glass down now? I'd like to tell you about how you can learn different things from a person's aura."

She could tell it was down when he winced at the sight of the shard. "Is that part of the meteor Titan is holding up? It's really bright, like a second sun." He asked, instinctively squinting at it.

"The clash between Titan's power and the meteor created molten rock that instantly turned to crystal when a final wave of his power was released before he fell dormant. That one there is the largest of what are known as astral shards. Lestallum, the city to the northwest of here, uses some of the smaller astral shards to power the city." She answered. "What do you See, as you look at the region?"

Prompto thought a moment before he began to describe what he Saw. "There's like a hazy glow all over the earth and the trees, and denser glowing balls that are moving all over the place."

"What color is the glow?"

"…mostly pale green, but there are spots of white, and some of the glowing balls are yellow. There's also a couple of glowing balls that have red mixed in."

Aerith was impressed. It was a rare thing to be able to See the aura of plants and the earth itself. "The glowing balls that are moving are different animals that live on the plains. The ones with red mixed in are predators, and the yellow ones are animals that are ill or injured. The white spots are havens."

"How would an animal get ill?"

"The same way people get ill. They may be recovering from a predator's attack. Some predator have poison in their saliva, meaning even if their prey gets away, if they wait long enough, the prey will either die or be weakened to the point of being easily killed. Some of the animals are just old and near the end of their lives naturally."

"I'm not sure I get it. Things can just die?" He was puzzled.

"Everything has a time when their life energy is used up. That's what death is. When something is killed, then its body-its life energy-is damaged beyond the point that it can heal. As an animal, or human, gets older, their body doesn't work as well, and it takes longer to shake off different illnesses. Eventually, when the life energy is used up, the body shuts down." She explained. It wasn't a very traditional explanation of death, but it was the way She Saw Life.

"What happens after that?"

"Any remaining energy returns to the Planet, to cycle through to be reborn in the future. When a person dies, their soul travels to the afterlife."

"Soul?"

Aerith chewed at Her lip, thinking of an explanation that a five year old could follow. "It's…the sum of everything you are. From how much you love chocobos or hate snakes, to the memories you've created and the things you have experienced. It's what makes the difference between 'Prompto' and 'Wiz'. Life energy is pretty much the same regardless of if you're a human or a chocobo or a cat. Souls are unique to one person."

Prompto was quiet as he took that in. "What happens once a soul gets to the afterlife?"

"I don't know. My connection is to Life. I can See souls, but the afterlife is the world of the dead, where I cannot See or go." She admitted.

There was a companionable silence between the two as the honey-colored chick led its clutch over to them. "Does it take a lot for you to put the glass up and down?" She finally asked, idly petting the chick that seemed to like Her the best, closer to the color of daffodils then the classic chocobo yellow.

"Not really. I was practicing on the way here yesterday, but even when I started practicing, it was like all I had to do was flip a switch. You couldn't tell I was practicing?" The honey-colored chick, who seemed to be the leader amongst its nest mates, was content to settle in Prompto's lap and doze.

"Ironically, you can't See what someone is doing with the Sight. Since the Sight is an extension of what is commonly called the sixth sense, it's a little different for everyone, but that little difference is enough to keep a person with the Sight from Seeing if another person is using the Sight. If you took five random people and Looked at them with the Sight, you couldn't See if any of them have the Sight or is actively using it." She flopped down so She was laying on the ground looking up at the sky.

He did the same. "That doesn't make any sense." He complained.

"Believe me, I've spent centuries puzzling over it. Frankly the best way to tell if someone has the Sight is if a family member has it. So if both parents have the Sight, it's far more likely for the child to have the Sight compared to a child with only one Sight-gifted parent. Although it can skip generations, meaning that the child of two Sight-gifted parents can end up with no trace of the Sight, but that child's child could have it."

"So the only way to tell is to flat out ask someone if they have the Sight?" He asked to clarify.

"Pretty much. Though if they don't, you can get some weird looks." She turned Her attention to the clouds above. "That cloud looks like a rabbit, don't you think?" Pointing at the cloud in question.

He frowned. "I guess? I don't think I've seen a rabbit before, so I can't say either way."

"Well then, what do you see in the clouds?" She asked.

"There's a face in those clouds." Pointing to a grouping off to the left.

"I'm not seeing a face there. But there's a car above it." Was the counter argument.

"That's the hair, not a car."

"If you say so." Aerith sat back up. "Let's go back to Wiz's house; I think Ms. Myra has an animal encyclopedia."

"Encyclo-what?" The honey-colored chick was not overly disturbed by losing its nap spot as Prompto stood up; merely settling back down on the ground, two other chicks joining in the nap.

"Encyclopedia. It's a big book that has information on all sorts of animals, with pictures." She set Her daffodil-colored chick down with its nest mates in the nap pile.

The book in question was a children's version of an encyclopedia, with simpler terms and more pictures. The two curled up on the sofa, the book balanced on Her legs as they took turns reading the sections. While he stuck to reading out loud the shorter picture descriptions, his pronunciation was good, and he barely stumbled over any of the words.

While he didn't notice Myra snapping some pictures, She did. She would need to ask for two copies of the pictures they were taking, vague plans of a little picture album of their time at the chocobo post floating in Her head.

Thus the day passed. A light rain began to fall as Aerith helped Myra with dinner, leftover roast mixed with the remaining gravy and served over rice and broccoli. Dinner had just ended when Wiz got word another clutch was stirring. "It could take a long time for the first chick to hatch, ya sure ya won't get bored?" Wiz asked Prompto as they headed to the hatchery.

"Nope!"

She had Her doubts, given how easily he could be distracted. Though She supposed it was as much a result of so many new things to see as it was a lack of attention span.

Chrissy's cat Erika was curled up in one of the incubators when they entered. "C'mon, ya know ya can't be in here." Wiz said as he picked her up.

Upon being placed on the ground, Erika made a beeline for Prompto, rubbing against his legs. "Uhh…" Prompto wasn't sure what to do.

"She wants to be petted; just mind the ears and whiskers." She told him as he gently ran a hand down the cat's back.

Satisfied that this new arrival would be properly attentive to her needs, Erika came over to Her, meowing and raising up on her hind legs to rest her front paws on Her legs. She picked her up, cradling her as she began to purr. "She really likes you." Prompto said, craning his head to watch what the cat was doing. "But what's with the noise?"

"It's called purring; cats make this sound when they're happy, or to soothe her kittens." They settled in to wait for the hatching.

So far only one egg seemed to have made any progress, although there were hairline fractures on the other three. "Shouldn't there be five eggs?" He asked Wiz.

"Chocobos lay anywhere between three and six eggs at a time, so this clutch is pretty average in size. I think the record for the most eggs laid at a time is ten though." Wiz told him.

The cracks on the eggs slowly grew, as Aerith and Prompto lavished attention on Erika to pass the time. Eventually she decided she had had enough, and walked off, tail held high. Declining to leave the warmth of the hatchery for the wetness outside, she curled up in a corner for a nap.

Prompto was yawning by the time the first chick broke out of the egg. "C'mon, we can take a better look at the new chicks tomorrow." She told him, guiding him outside and back to the house.

He didn't put up much of a fuss as he pulled on the chocobo pajamas. "Is the glass down for Me to flare My aura?" She asked. At his nod, She repeated the process from the previous two nights.

"You haven't told me any stories about your friends yet." He reminded Her as She got him settled.

"Well, how about one now?" She sat down on the edge of the bed, thinking of which story to tell.

"One of My friends was determined to be a hero. His name was Zack. He joined a group of elite soldiers in order to try and reach that dream. He was lucky enough to have as a mentor one of the best…" Aerith wove Zack's story for Prompto, telling of epic battles and helping fair maidens as Prompto's eyelids grew heavier. "…in the end, he reached his dream. He became a true hero." Prompto had fallen asleep before the end, but She had continued until the end.

Preparing for bed, She fingered Her hair ribbon. It wasn't the exact one he had given Her so long ago, that one was worlds gone, but She still wore its copy. The ribbon had become as much a part of Her as Her pink dress. An eternal memorial, even if She was the only one who knew the true meaning. How ironic that the color She wore because Her first boyfriend had told Her that She looked good in it would take on such meaning.

As She laid down next to Prompto, Aerith prepared Herself to return to the Church, to read the information Her fragment had recovered on magitek troopers.

Seriously, I want to hear what you think. Child!Prompto is starting to look very sad.