I lowered myself into a waxed-down chair in front of a single person table. The sounds of the tavern were the same as always, glasses hitting against each other, and the hearty talk and laughter of pirates. Occasionally, their conversation would erupt into loud, contrasting yells and obscene gestures, but they would calm down almost instantly, clapping glasses together again. Only a hume.

A barmaid approached me, a tin tray balanced on one hand. Two large drinks were also on the tray, one on each side to even out the weight on her tiny wrist.

"Hello, dear. What can I get for ye'?" I glanced at the drinks on the tray; the scent of alcohol strong. Tiny bubbles popped continuously on the foamy surface. I could hear the fizzing sound, and became so fixated on it, that I ignored the curious woman who held it so precariously. "Not sure? Well, I'll bring you back something nice then." Smiling, the hume woman left me to be again.

I stared out the window, made of criss-crossing metal bars without glass. The sea breeze ruffled my loose hair, reminding me to braid it when I returned to the airship. …To my airship.

The hume obviously had made a friend. One capable of teaching him how to live in those slums. He would be sound. So I felt no remorse in regaining my airship and taking my leave with it.

The broken heel an infamous viera façade. No viera traveled without a spare, and I still could walk without it. After all, humes were so ignorant about vieras. Getting away from him away was simple. And the arrival of the eager-to-help hume was quite convenient. He took Ffamran away before I had to ask for his 'help'.

I left his pack where he would find it and left him to his own accord.

'That city is my forest…!'

I hastily cleared the image and words out of my head. How dare he assume that he could understand my situation. What nerve. He could not relate to my exile the least. And he did it with such confidence.

"Here you are, dear." The barmaid returned, with a tall glass of golden drink. "This'll make you feel better." My ears twitched.

"What makes you think I need the comfort?" She smiled, and rolled her eyes.

"Dear, I've been working here all my life. I recognize when a girl is having problems with the lads." Before I could protest otherwise, the hume left me alone again. "This one is on the house."

I stared at the bubbling drink with narrowed eyes. Given to me out of pity.

I left then, leaving the drink untouched.

I did not need a drink on the house.

I left the tavern, slinging my newly acquired longbow over my shoulder. It was hume-made, but well crafted enough. I had time enough, before the requested repairs on my airship would be complete. That and the new paint work.

I followed the streets, taking at each corner, the less crowded path, until I found myself in a grassy clearing. If I continued this way, I would be in the monster-infested plains.

"Kweh." I recognized the honking bird cry instantly. A tall yellow bird stood haltered in a small corral near the field. A few other birds stood around behind the fence, watching me intently with large blue eyes.

"Fran, kupo!" A few moogles were talking together from in front of the corral. One was hovering off the ground, though the long pink train of her skirt still touched the grass. The one of the green jumpsuit bounded over to me.

"Are you not supposed to be watching over the repairs?" I questioned. The moogle gave a nervous chuckle.

"Sorry. I just heard that my sister was here, kupo." The well-dressed moogle waved through an overly-long sleeve.

"Hello, kupo! I'm Gurdy!" She glanced back to the large avians behind her. "If you need a chocobo, I'll be happy to rent you one- even with a discount, kupo!" A moogle in charge of a chocobo service? The creatures were easily ten times larger. Then again, chocobos were never too difficult to handle.

"I was just walking by. Nono- please go back to the Aerodome."

"Sure thing, kupo! See you later then!" The gray moogle skipped back into the streets. His sister eyed me curiously as I passed her by, heading towards the fields. I could already see a herd of wild monsters in the plains, though they were far, and my eyesight was strong. Then I noticed something elese. Much closer, but naturally more difficult to see.

A young viera stood out against the grass, just at the entrance to the fields. When I called her young, I meant that she was of less than fifty years. It was easy to tell just by looking at her.

Her hair, though cut short, was still silver. Most viera that chose to discard their old ways also dyed the white from their hair and ears- as a symbol of disregard to their past. I did not waste the time in thinking why my hair still glowed white instead of radiated brown.

I had noticed the two pirates earlier, but it had not occurred to me that they were bothering her, since I had not noticed her until now. They stood squared off to her, talking in soothing voices like they would to a desert hare caught in a trap. That seemed to ironically be her situation. She was balancing precariously on one foot, supporting the other, very broken, stiletto.

No hume would have caught the young viera's apparent distress, but I picked it out after a moment or so of rudely staring. She was staring back, though nervously from the corner of her eyes. Her calm façade was given away by her rapid blinks, as if she were clearing her eyes from tears. Viera could not make tears, but the reaction was still the same- to try and control sadness.

Just so similar as Mjrn did when I left the Wood. In fact, Mjrn would be as old as this viera now as well.

I suddenly forced my stare to the ground.

No. I could not lie to myself. I had given up my sisters when I left the Wood. My precious sister was no longer with me, as I was nothing to her.

But this viera had left the forest also. Probably on a whim. I could approach her as…another person in this place. Not as a sister.

So I did.

"She does not require your assistance any more." I said, once I was directly behind the two men. They turned, eyes wide.

"Ah, hello. Are you this pretty thing's friend?" I did not break the stare.

"I am. You may go now." The two pirates glanced at each other, then at the tempting, pretty thing between them.

"Say, we were just about to take her to the local tavern for a refresher. As her friend, you could tag along too. What do you say, gorgeous?" A bell of alarm resonated deep in my ears. Now I understood why she had seemed so distressed.

"I said- you may go now." I stepped up closer to the shorter viera, making certain to display the bow across my shoulder. They hesitated a moment longer, definantly considering my order. Finally, the taller man bowed, already feet below me.

"As you wish." Though his companion seemed less content, the two slowly made their way back into the port, possibly to look for one of their own kind this time.

"Thank you." The viera murmured. "I…was unsure what to do." I stood a foot or so taller than her, and she seemed to cower under my shadow as if it were led. And for good reason- I had taken the impending stance that I once took to Mjrn when she misbehaved.

"Hume males are often unpredictable." I explained. "You would do better to stay out of their paths. Until you are more accustomed to Ivalice, that is." I let my pack fall into the crook of my arm, and I daintily took my spare heel for her.

She lowered her head, slowly taking the stiletto in her hands.

"Hume males, eh? I've had enough of those already."

"What do you mean?"

"Every town I enter, they fawn over me as if I were a baby chocobo. I wish they would leave me be until I became accustomed to Ivalice." I permitted a soft laugh.

"Yes. Men are like that. Usually they can tell when not to approach on though." I tapped her chin. "You are taller then most, or , you will be. So stand straight and tall. When they look at you, ignore them. Most will be deterred." She smiled up at me- a sight that I hadn't seen in over forty years now.

"What about the ones who will not be?"

The image of that cocky hume splashed into my head as if the viera had dumped cold water on my face. I tapped the bow on my shoulder.

"I suggest you find yourself a sturdy bow."

I followed the crowded streets back down towards the ocean, where the Aerodome stood out against the waves. Humes and their young ones raced along the street, leaning precariously over the edge of the boardwalk to peer down into the water.

The Aerodome was strangely empty. No tourists waited in line to purchase tickets, no one was looking out the windows at the docked airships.

My ears picked up the sounds instantly. My hand reaching for my bow was second. I rounded the corner with an arrow knocked. A ragged sword was aimed at my legs, and I narrowly jumped over it, landing lightly a few feet away.

A scarred bangaa gave a frustrated hiss and stepped out of the dark of the niche he'd been waiting in.

"Brother said I could just wait here and the boy would walk into the trap…but of course not." Finally, he lifted his head, squinting his beady eyes. "Eh? A viera?"

At the bangaa's feet was a rucksack, squirming lively- the source of the sounds I'd been hearing. The knot stretched, and a red pom-pom burst from the sack a moment later. It was soon followed by a fluffy gray head.

"Gasp-kupo!" The moogle breathed.

"Nono?" The bangaa looked us back and forth.

"Ye' know him? That mean you've been on the airship." I knocked a fresh arrow, aiming it at the bangaa's head.

"Release him now. Then leave. Or I will kill you and do it myself." He turned his head to the side, better to see me with his sideways placed eyes.

"Eh? What's that? Little viera's threatening us."

"Fran! Look out, kupo!" I leapt to the side just as a larger bangaa landed where I'd been a moment earlier. Two more bangaa followed in suit, dropping from the rafters like dust, leaving me surrounded by a total of four violent creatures.

"This is dejavu!" The large bangaa cried. "We come to find the hume with the airship, and instead we get a feisty viera."

I recognized the four as headhunters- dangerous skypirates who made a living by capturing or, in most cases, killing for a bounty. If they were so intent of finding the supposed owner of the airship, Ffamran was their new target. And because I currently had the airship, I was attacked instead.

…Even when he was not with me, he put me in dangerous situations.

"Where is he?" The large green bangaa demanded. I narrowed my eyes, but said nothing. "Fine. Don't say anything. We'll get you to talk later." They closed in on me, with clawed hands and daggers. I held a bow- a long distance weapon. I was outnumbered and outmatched. I suddenly drew my bow high, and released an arrow. It pinned Nono to the wall by the rucksack, quickly tearing it as the moogle's weight pulled down on the arrow. The moogle dropped to the ground, and nimbly sprung to his feet.

One of the bangaa gave a hearty groan.

"You have no idea how long it took to catch him!" She cried in frustration. I did not feel any pity towards her.

"Go." I called.

"But- Fran!"

"Now!" I yelled, as one the female bangaa peeled away to pursue him. Nono gasped, and bounded off to the exit. They turned back to me.

"As ever, you viera are too annoying to keep alive."

"Ba'Gamnan!" The female cried suddenly. "We could…use her."

"Hmm…Well, humes do not take a fancy to having their vieras misplaced, do they?" A trill of laugher echoed around the group as they enjoyed an inside joke.

"You are mistaken." I clarified. "That hume and I have no relationship. He would not waste his time looking for me."

"Should we just kill ye' then? Is that it?" I was quiet. "Besides, he'll come if we have his airship."

One of them jerked the bow out of my hands.

My airship. Why must everyone else insist otherwise?