Blessings of Eos
Chapter 8
Disclaimer: Don't own Final Fantasy.
Prompto stifled a yawn as he leaned his head against the glass window of the mail truck, watching the scenery go by much faster than it had on Opal, even when she was sprinting. Miss Aerith and the driver-Sean, he thought his name was-were deep in some sort of conversation, though he didn't really follow what they were discussing so intently.
The past few days had been like a dream. He had thought they were at first, but everything was too vivid-the sky, the smells of the plants, the animal sounds-to be a dream. His head whirled with everything he had encountered since he woke up that night, back where he had always been.
He couldn't say just what woke him up, since unless he had a nightmare he generally slept solid. However he awoke, he was awake to witness Her walk through the door as though it didn't exist. He never knew that colors like She wore existed, ones that reminded him of the red lines on the guards' uniform, but lighter and warmer. She looked and felt so different from anything he had encountered before that he couldn't help asking if She was Death, bringing Her over to him.
In a way, She was Death, since what he had been died when She named him and whisked him away. 'Prompto Argentum' was born in the light of that dawn over the ocean, a person touching him for no apparent reason and showing no disgust or reluctance.
He didn't have words to describe what he had felt since that dawn. Encountering so many things and people was strange, but he felt a weird sort of bravery as he grew used to this new world. Like he didn't have to be afraid of showing his excitement or worry, of being something other than just another unit, destined to forget himself and to be entombed in metal.
Miss Aerith was different from anyone else, he realized as they spent more time together. Not just compared to the people he had known before, but to those he had encountered on their travels. It wasn't just the sparkles or the sense of safety She emitted or the way She treated everyone and everything. It was almost like She was an extension of the glow he Saw from the ground and the trees.
He never could have imagined drawing Her attention to him would lead to this. He was Outside, living under a sun that didn't burn him to ashes like he had always been told. There was food with tastes he hadn't known were possible; people so vastly different from the scientists and doctors and guards he was used to that he couldn't believe they were all people. Were all human, like he evidently was.
He was still trying to wrap his head around the concept. He was human, just like the people who had told him that he wasn't? Miss Aerith had said that he was, that the people who told him and the others differently could only do what they were supposed to do if they didn't think of the units as human. She hadn't been anything but truthful to him, so he guessed that it had to be true. Even though She had freely admitted to not being human, She seemed more human when gauged against the humans who valued their humanity so highly.
There were three very important things Prompto realized as the ocean grew closer. First, She was powerful. While he wasn't prepared to believe that the man She had called Ardyn and he knew as Hat Guy was scared of Her, he did believe that he knew not to mess with Her, that he respected Her power. She had to be if just flaring what She called Her aura could let him See more.
Second, She was kind. Not just in a vaguely polite way that the scientists and guards used towards each other, but for real. It wasn't an act put on because it was expected or to gain something; there was no way for Her not to be kind.
Lastly, She truly cared for him in a way he had never known. He guessed it was something like having a mother, based on seeing Ms. Myra with her children and various chatter overheard before this point. And it wasn't just him, but people She evidently went years without seeing, and those who She could never see again. He hoped that one day he would have people he cared that much for.
"Prompto." He started, suddenly realizing that the mail truck had stopped, and Miss Aerith had said his name a couple times before. "Dozing off watching the scenery?" She asked as they hopped out of the truck cab, bidding farewell to Sean as he started unloading the mail.
"Kinda. Just thinking." He said, stretching.
"About what?" She had grabbed their bags as they exited, shouldering both easily.
"I hope one day I have people to care about as much as you care about your friends, even the ones you can never meet again." He admitted, looking up at Her.
She smiled down at him. "You will. That's part of why I'm taking you to Insomnia; there's a lot of people there to meet."
"How many a lot?"
"Imagine the largest group of people you've seen, and keep adding more and more people until you can't picture any more. Even more than that." She said, leading him up the steps to the dock.
"How can there be that many people in one place? Don't they all get grumpy sharing everything?" Prompto couldn't imagine so many people getting along.
"Well they don't have to share everything. Everyone has space and things they can claim for themselves. It doesn't have to be a lot, and there are times where they have to share things, but a little can go a long way." She elaborated, gesturing with Her hands. He wasn't sure how the gestures were meant to help explain things, but it did make it more interesting to watch.
He was about to say something, but he forgot it as he got his first good look at the scenery of Galdin Quay. The sun was low in the sky, casting reds and purples over everything. The water was clear enough to see things moving in the water, things that glowed. It was a little creepy, to see glowing lights without an obvious source, and he knew he wasn't Seeing their aura. "What are those things down there?" Clinging to the rail along the dock, he pointed down at the glowing things.
"Those are fish down there. I think these particular ones are called Glowing Barrelfish; they are about the only fish that come out at night here." Miss Aerith crouched down next to him to better observe the fish.
"Why? Are there daemons in the water?"
"Nope, they just like night time better, since what they like to eat only comes out at night. The glow helps draw their food to them." She explained.
"How are they glowing anyway?" He asked, tilting his head.
"I'm not sure of the exact process, but they have something in their scales that creates the glow." Standing back up, She took his hand, continuing the walk down the dock to the restaurant.
The lady standing the circle in the middle of the building greeted them as they approached. "Hi Miss Aerith, Wiz told me you were stopping by with a guest."
"Yep, this one," Placing Her hands on his shoulders "has never had a day at the beach."
"Hi ma'am." He greeted the lady, smiling at her as he clambered onto a stool at the circle. "I'm Prompto." He remembered you were supposed to say your name when greeting someone.
"Well aren't you a polite young man!" He blushed with that. "My name is Coctuna. Have you ever had seafood before?"
"I don't think so. I had never seen the ocean until a few days ago." Prompto told her as Miss Aerith sat down next to him.
"Well, you'll be in for a treat then." Miss Aerith told him. "Coctuna does the best seafood."
The lady-Coctuna-blushed at the compliment. It was interesting to watch someone else blush. "You're flattering me. I've only been doing this a couple years. I still have a lot to learn and practice."
"If you insist." Miss Aerith conceded for now. "But yours' is still the best I've had in a long while."
Since he didn't recognize anything on the menu, She just ordered two of one thing. Prompto was fascinated with how Coctuna was taking so many different things and combining them together in a bowl before pouring the contents in the pan on the stove. He barely managed to stay on the stool when flames shot up before settling back down. "How do you know what to do? It's like magic." He questioned.
"Lots of practice." Coctuna answered, tossing the contents of the pan into the air to flip them. Prompto was more impressed that she was doing something like that than by how nothing fell out when she did it.
"Some people say that cooking is just a matter of following directions. That's true to some extent, but the quality of the ingredients and the person cooking can make a big difference." Miss Aerith told him, sipping on Her water.
"Huh? What do you mean?" He asked, blinking up at Her.
"Well, when My mom would make chocolate chip cookies, hers would always turn out flat. But when I would make them, despite using the same exact things and doing everything the way she did, Mine would turn out lumpier. I know I would never try what Coctuna is making." She said, resting Her head on a chin.
"How come?"
Miss Aerith made a face. "The one time I tried cooking seafood everyone would up sick. I can grill a fish and have it turn out okay, but not seafood like shrimp and clams and crabs."
"Are you sure the ingredients were good?" Coctuna asked as she began setting up the plates for the food.
"Considering we harvested the clams ourselves, I don't think it was the ingredients" She admitted.
"Maybe you got distracted?" He suggested innocently, remembering how Miss Aerith had gotten so involved with what they had been doing with the Sight that She had forgotten about dinner.
Miss Aerith eyed him suspiciously as Coctuna set the now full plates in front of them. "If you're talking about the other night, in this case there was eight other people with me, with nothing stopping them from stepping in or speaking up. It was more unusual for a meal to be cooked without someone declaring that the night's cook was doing something wrong."
Prompto poked at the food with his fork. "What is it?"
"Shrimp grilled in garlic butter and white wine with fried rice." Coctuna told him as she started up another order.
He took a tentative bite, eyes going wide at the taste. "…Good?" Miss Aerith asked.
He just nodded, before attacking the rest. "It's not going to disappear if you take your time. Plus it's pretty decent cool." Coctuna told him, topping off the water glasses.
"It's just too good for me to take my time!" He exclaimed as he chased the last few bites of rice.
Miss Aerith just giggled. She seemed to do that a lot when he said stuff. He didn't think what he was saying was funny…
Prompto dug into something Coctuna called 'cheesecake' while she and Miss Aerith started what had become a familiar sight: Miss Aerith trying to get the cook or shop keeper to accept Her money. Licking the fork before taking another bite, he finally asked. "How come no one wants to let you pay for anything Miss Aerith?"
The two turned to look at him. "I can't speak for the others, but I feel that She's done too much for me over the years for me to really feel comfortable taking Her money." Coctuna admitted.
"On my end, I don't want to take advantage of their kindness. With Roger-when I got your clothes-I sneak money into where I knew he wouldn't find it until later. Micah and I agreed that while I'll pay for everything, the money goes to his daughter's education instead of the daily profits. Al knows I always stop at his place when I'm traveling with kids, so he'll let me pay, although I know he's not charging full price. Wiz and Myra flatly refuse anything I offer, so I end up contributing to the girls' education like I do with Micah's daughter. I haven't reached an agreement with Coctuna yet." Miss Aerith explained. "This isn't a common sort of thing, so you shouldn't expect stuff like this to happen when you buy stuff."
"Okay, how about the room at half price and the food at a quarter price?" Coctuna asked, returning to the negotiations.
"As long as you let me pay full price for the swimsuits." Miss Aerith insisted.
"Swimsuits?" Prompto asked.
"They're special clothes you wear when you go swimming or are at the beach." Miss Aerith answered.
"It's a deal on my end." Coctuna said. She didn't look very pleased, but he figured that was because she couldn't talk Miss Aerith lower.
"Deal." The two women shook hands with that.
The beds in the room felt like clouds. Well, every bed he had been in felt like clouds compared to the bunk he was used to, but these were on a different level. "What do you mean about taking advantage of their kindness?"
Miss Aerith sat down on the other bed, the bags at Her feet. "Mostly I don't feel like I should get special treatment because I've helped them in the past. I understand why they do it, but it doesn't mean I'm comfortable with it. I have to admit that it is fun, negotiating what they'll let me pay for. Reminds me of my mom haggling with food vendors when I was growing up."
"Haggling?" Prompto couldn't recall having heard that word before.
"The seller has a certain price he wants for something, but if you ask for the price, he'll tell you a higher number, you counter with a lower one, and you keep going back and forth until you've arrived at the price. If it's a seller that you always go to, then it's a part of the shopping ritual, like writing out a list of what you need."
"…so, would it be like how the guards would trade shifts on occasion?"
She hummed in thought. "I suppose."
"Does it happen everywhere, the haggling?" He asked, splayed out across the bedspread.
"Not really. There are some neighborhood markets where if you shop there often enough, then you can haggle, but mostly if you don't like the price, you either leave to try and find a better price somewhere else, or you just pay." Miss Aerith had shed the jacket She wore, along with Her shoes and bracelets as the process of getting ready for bed began.
"Sounds complicated." He said, pulling on the chocobo pajamas Ms. Myra had let him keep.
"It will make more sense the more you experience." She told him, prodding him into brushing his teeth while She undid Her hair, letting it fall around Her shoulders and face.
Privately Prompto thought She looked better with Her hair down, but he could see why She would tie it back most of the time.
"Do you want to share a bed like we did at Wiz's house, or you wanna go solo?" She asked as She turned down the covers.
"…can I join you if I have a nightmare?" To be honest he was a little scared to sleep alone, after experiencing the sense of safety he felt when She held him at night. It was like She could keep him safe even from nightmares.
Miss Aerith just smiled at him, the gentle one that felt maternal from his point of view. "Of course. But don't be surprised if I don't wake up." She said, tucking him in.
Prompto really hoped that there would be someone to tuck him into bed once they reached Insomnia. It felt weird, how quickly he got used to it. "Story time then?"
"Yup. Okay…" She trailed off, as She seemed to consider which one to tell.
"Barrett was, at first glance, a loud and intimidating person, muscled from working in the coal mines since he was a teenager. On closer experience, he was still loud, but it was hard to be intimidated after seeing how tenderly he looked after his daughter Marlene. Several years before, Shinra had approached his town leaders, regarding the possibility of building a mako reactor in the area, like what was already in place in Nibelhiem…"
He scrunched his eyes against the light disrupting his sleep before rolling over, pulling the covers over his head to escape the evil light. "Planning on getting out of bed today?" Miss Aerith asked, amused.
He stuck his head out of the covers. She was wearing what appeared to him as some sort of clingy bodysuit that covered Her torso but left Her arms and legs bare. Over that was what seemed like as overly large button down shirt, unbuttoned and reaching Her knees. "So that's a swimsuit?" He asked.
She nodded. "At least for girls. Boys get shorts like these." Holding up what looked like a normal pair of drawstring shorts in navy blue, with a sunflower on one leg. "No chocobos though. Sorry."
"Do I wear anything underneath?" He asked as he started pulling off the pajamas.
"Nope. It all comes off."
Despite having seen him without his clothes on, She still turned around as he changed. Once he was ready, She picked up a bag he hadn't seen before and led the way out of the building onto the sand. Maybe it was the time of day, but it seemed hotter and brighter compared to the day before.
Squinting at the light, he was distracted when a plain white shirt landed on his head. "Huh?"
Miss Aerith pulled out a bottle as he pulled the shirt. "One more thing and we'll be set." She said as She squeezed out what looked like cream.
"What is that?" Prompto asked as She started rubbing the cream on his arms and legs. He didn't really like the feel.
"Sun screen." She lightly dabbed a small amount on his nose and cheeks, before spreading it out. "While the sun won't burn you-or me-to ashes inside two minutes, it can still burn your skin. With your coloring, you'll be even more sensitive to sunlight. It's even brighter here since it's reflecting off the water and the sand." Finished with the 'sun screen', She plopped a hat on his head.
"What does happen when the sun burns your skin?" He asked as She started applying the sun screen on Herself.
"Your skin turns anywhere from light pink to nearly red. Everything that touches your skin hurts, and you can end up with a headache. It's no fun." Finished with the sun screen, She also put on a hat. It made of straw like had been in the chocobo stalls like his was, only pink. "The first time I was at the beach I got sun burn. Me, Tifa, and Cloud all got sun burned. Cloud hadn't thought he could get sun burned while Tifa and I hadn't known it's easier to burn at the beach. The worst thing about it was My scalp got sun burned where the part in My hair was." She had claimed a batch of beach near an umbrella, with towels spread out on the sand.
"What do you do at the beach anyway?" Prompto wasn't sure what the big deal about the beach was.
"The part I liked the best was walking in the surf looking for sea shells." Miss Aerith told him, leading the way to where the waves lapped up on the sand. "Sea shells are what things like clams live in. When they die, after the body is gone, the shells can wash up on the shore. You can build stuff out the sand by getting it wet and molding and shaping it. The general term is 'sand castle', but you can build anything you want. Some people can build amazingly detailed castles and buildings."
"Wouldn't it get washed away or fall down?" He ventured out to where the water reached his knees, just watching the waves move in and out.
"Eventually. But it's still fun, even though it falls down sooner or later." She had felt something under Her foot and had crouched down to dig it out.
As what he figured was a 'sea shell' emerged, he finally asked, "What is the big deal about the beach?"
"For most people, it's the classic place to go to relax. It's understood that nothing serious happens at the beach, with no other goal than to have fun. It's basically a place seen as being outside the realm of regular life for the majority." She started walking down the surf, with him trailing behind.
The sensation of the sand against his feet was unusual to say the least, but it was easily ignored when he spotted a fish in the water. Sneaking up on it as best he could, he lunged at it. Missing, he wound up face first in the water. "Are you alright?" Miss Aerith asked as he got back up, unable to keep the amusement out of Her voice.
"Yeah…" The water was so salty he coughed as a little went down. "Why's it so salty?"
"Sea water just is. You can't drink because the salt would make you sick. Most of the water on the Planet is in oceans."
"So all that water is salty?"
"Yup. I think only like three percent of all the water on the Planet is drinkable." They had started walking again.
So the day passed as he examined what Miss Aerith described as a 'tidal pool', full of weird things. There was a jelly fish he recognized from the book at Mr. Wiz's house on the beach, so he avoided it, remembering the description of the stingers. He scared a 'hermit crab' when he went to pick up its home. Between them they only found a few more shells, but one of the two he found was a 'cowrie shell', which She promised to make into a necklace for him. There was a guy fishing on the beach who let him try, but it was too boring for him to try for long. It seemed like no time at all before the sun started to set as they returned to the room to 'wash off the ocean' as She described it, before eating another delicious meal, this time with some kind of fish and vegetables. "I've never seen a kid enjoy vegetables that much." Miss Coctuna commented after he devoured them.
"They're a lot better than what I used to eat before, and the colors are more interesting!" He informed her.
This statement was enough to make her and Miss Aerith giggle. He was still confused at why what he would say was funny, but he didn't want to ask in case it made them stop. Their giggles were a lot nicer than how the guards used to laugh at him, usually before they took it upon themselves to remind him of 'its place', as they said.
After another slice of cheesecake, this time made with 'chocolate mousse', it was back to the room for bedtime. Bedtime was more fun compared to lights out, mostly because of the stories. Prompto had never heard stories like these before; hadn't really heard stories of any kind before, and that they were about people Miss Aerith knew a long time ago made them even more interesting. He liked the parts where She was in them the best, mostly because She seemed brighter when telling him things like how Zack had built a flower cart for Her that was mistaken for a weapon or the time Yuffie went to 'liberate' something from Her bag only to discover a mouse trap.
He really, really hoped he would have friends like that one day.
"Okay, tonight will be about Red XIII. His real name was Nanaki, but he introduced himself as Red XIII when we met. He was a kind of animal that was capable of human speech and were as intelligent as humans. He never gave us a straight answer as to whether his kind were more closely related to cats or to wolves, since he showed behaviors of both. His people's numbers had dwindled however, taking a big hit when their home faced invasion by what was called the Gi Tribe…"
His dream was weird that night. He was older, about the age Miss Aerith looked, and he was with three other guys of about the same age. The companionship he felt with them seemed like what She had described with Her friends in the stories. He didn't remember why he was telling them about where he had come from, nor their specific reactions, but he was left with a sense of peace as Miss Aerith shook him awake to continue their journey. Along with a phrase.
You're one of us.
Prompto PoV was surprisingly hard. Hope it comes across as believable. Maybe two chapters to Insomnia? One at Hammerhead and one on the arrival. Question: end with the arrival at Insomnia with an epilogue (which was my original intent) and continue in separate stories, or just keep going in one story? Seriously want your opinions.