Jasper Bloodstone & Jan Saur in Eorzea
Chapter 2
Upon arriving in Ul'dah, Jan took her to a place that Jasper owned and that he had a key to. As soon as they found a bed, they were asleep instantly. It had been a long night. Jan had been made drowsy by the constant downing of booze. In fact, half way through the night he'd been drifting. The rest of the time he had been working on adrenaline alone. Maybe it was because he was getting older, but late nights weren't something he could really pull of anymore unless there was a good reason—doing it for the hell of it just because it's the weekend?—he'd fail every time. Dinah, on the other hand, was used to her level of activity. She didn't even have to end the day with sex. This was, by far, the easier route. It also felt surreal. Never did she think any man would take her under his wing—not in the manner that Jan had. While she was tired by her toils earlier that night, it wasn't beyond normal. She woke up at a reasonable time the next day.
Upon waking, Dinah sat up in bed. Since there was sunlight flowing through the windows, she could finally make out what kind of room she was in. She could tell that it was quite highbrow—it didn't exactly seem like a place Jan would own. Or maybe he did. She almost didn't notice his snores beside her—she'd been privy to a lot worse. At least she'd be able to tell right off the bat if he was there and alive. She turned to him then. He was still asleep so he wouldn't notice if she climbed on top of him which she did at the moment. As would soon become a habit of hers, she checked his cock and found that it was indeed hard.
"Why yes, Jan, I'll have sex with you," she said quietly to herself and then laughed—none of which woke him.
Never once had she had sex with the man which was beyond ironic and somehow quite endearing to her. The time just hadn't been right. After what he had said last night, she doubted he'd ever feel like it was the right time. Somehow he'd decided that she must have been tired of such things, that after being forced into sex for so many years, she'd immediately want to stop doing such things as soon as she had the chance. And that simply wasn't true. It was clear that he was easily aroused by her and that turned her on instantly. Now how to convince him of that fact? Then she shook her head. She'd cross that bridge when she got there. Right now, he was asleep and she was hungry. She ran her backhand down the side of his face and deftly climbed off him as she tired of her fantasizing.
She left the room in search of the kitchen and decided that it must at least be on the first floor. She found the stairs and searched around until she finally ran into the dining room. When she stepped in, she saw an Elezen at the table drinking what she sniffed to be some sort of tea parsing through a heavy tome and there was a small plate near him with a tasty looking pastry on it. Elezens—they were quite a pompous lot in her opinion. Always so prim and proper. Always thought they knew better than you and overall superior to you. Of course an Elezen wouldn't be reading a proper newspaper in the morning; he had to be reading some really old text about stuff you don't know about. And, look, he wore his hair in a ponytail instead of simply just cutting it off. But Dinah would have to give him the benefit of the doubt; he was probably the "friend" Jan had spoken to her at length about. He fit the description. In fact, it was obvious that he must have owned the house they were crashing at and Jan seemed completely at ease with this.
"Well, are you going to stand there all day?"
Dinah jumped a bit when he acknowledged her, but he hadn't even once turned to look and he continued to read his book as if the situation hadn't changed in the least.
"You knew I was here?"
"I may have bad eyes, but my hearing is just as good as it's always been. Are you hungry?"
Dinah stepped forth now so that she could finally get a good look at the man's face. He wore spectacles which were odd for an Elezen and he wore a very neutral expression (which wasn't odd for an Elezen). She couldn't tell if he was angry or happy that she was there.
"Didn't think anyone would be up so early. And, yes, I am hungry—what do you have in there?" she asked indicating the kitchen.
"I'm always up at the crack of dawn if I can help it. Must have been a late night for Jan, you won't see him up again until the afternoons. There are some pastries in the oven."
"That long?" Dinah asked referring to how long Jan slept.
"He doesn't do well with late nights."
"I'll have to remember that. So what, you still have some tea brewing?"
"I doubt you'd want to try any. There's some orange juice in the refrigerator—nice and cold."
"You think Mi'quote's don't like tea or something?" said Dinah becoming slightly defensive.
"It's an acquired taste, trust me. But if you insist, you can still find some in the kettle. Glasses in the shelf above it."
"I think I will try it."
Jasper had returned to his reading not giving the other a second glance. She stared at him a while longer and then finally walked into the kitchen and grabbed three pastries and poured herself quite a bit of tea. Jasper sat at the head of table and Dinah decided she'd sit to the right of him one seat down. It seemed like an obscenely long table. If Jasper lived here by himself, then such a table served little purpose, but he seemed unconcerned with such things. Dinah took a sip and then made a face.
"What is this? Grass water?" Dinah complained.
"Not exactly," he replied not taking his eyes away from the text.
"Well, what is it?"
"Dill and fennel."
"You're talking in a foreign language."
"They're herbs and not very common here."
"But they grow in Gridania, I bet."
"Yes."
Dinah could have sworn she'd heard a bit of exasperation in his voice. "And what about these pastries?"
Jasper looked up at her wearily.
"What? They're really good. I never tasted anything like it. Besides…it's much too quiet in here."
"I made them myself, but I'd rather not go in detail about the recipe."
"Ooo, homemade," Dinah said with a grin. "At least tell me the secret ingredient."
"Raspberry."
"Duh, anyone could taste that—it's no secret."
"If you really must know; cinnamon."
"Hm, I can taste it, now that you mentioned it. But homemade pastries in the morning? That's a lot work to do so early."
"I don't always do as much. But it takes less time than you think if you prepare ahead of time."
"Oh, I get it—you knew you were having guests over. Thought you might do something special."
"Something like that."
"But…milk goes better with sweet stuff, not orange juice."
"I'll keep that in mind next time. Was there anything else you wanted know?"
"Are you getting terribly annoyed with me?"
"I've been debating whether I should ignore you altogether, but since you're my guest—I thought it'd be rude."
"What's that book you're reading?"
"It's a book on thaumaturgy and I've yet to make it past the first chapter."
"Sorry," she said with genuine concern.
"No, it's not you. I couldn't even concentrate in a library for ten whole hours and thus I'm stuck on this one chapter."
"Tell me this, are you really interested in thaumaturgy?"
"Yes. It seems useful—a logical next step for me."
"Well then maybe you just need a break."
"I did that yesterday. I did that for two days. Only to find myself in the same rut," he replied this time taking off his glasses.
"You're done?"
"For today," he said closing the large exhausting book.
"I mean, I don't get it. Do you even like reading? That looks painful just looking at it."
"I liked reading in the past. I remember being able to run through books so quickly. I was motivated then."
"And what about now? Are you not motivated?"
"I suppose not. Not like before."
Dinah felt his eyes on her as she ate and she didn't exactly like being watched doing such a mundane activity. She was finishing up the last pastry wishing that she had more and her tea had grown cold. She looked back at him when she tired of his gaze, but when she did she realized that he hadn't been watching her eat, but he was looking at her in a way that made her feel not only uncomfortable but vulnerable. It was like he was evaluating her, sizing her up physically.
"Will you stop? You're starting to freak me out."
His eyes flicked back up to her face. "You've been through a lot, haven't you?"
Concern sounded odd coming from him in her opinion. She could only blink at him.
"So much scarring and bruising. Certainly, you must feel uncomfortable in your own skin."
"You're making me feel uncomfortable."
"Is that so? I'll have to work on that. I cannot bear to see someone so physically impaired if I can help it. When you're done with your food, allow me to heal you."
"Heal me? Oh, that's right. Jan mentioned that you could do things like that. And if he trusts you…"
"Am I not trusting enough? If I wanted to harm you, I would have done something less obvious like poison the food."
"You know how to poison food?"
"I do work with a lot of herbs and spices. The right dosage can be quite lethal."
"This isn't helping your case."
"Would you rather I keep such things a secret?"
Dinah sighed. "I'm putting my trust in Jan. Now, I'm finished eating."
"Then follow me," Jasper said standing up.
Dinah did as he requested. "Didn't know that there was so much ceremony. Just do one of your spells."
"In your case, it's a bit different. I'd rather do a more thorough job with you."
They came to what seemed to be a living room and stepped over to a long couch.
"Lie down," Jasper said steadily.
Dinah gave him a hard look, but then did just as he asked. "No funny business."
"I wouldn't dream of it."
"Do I have to take off my clothes?"
"Maybe if I was a novice, but I've been at it for a long time."
"Do I need to turn over and stuff?"
"Nope, just lie still."
Dinah was sure she heard exasperation in his voice this time and somehow this satisfied her. She watched as his hands began to glow and as he very slowly ran his hovering hands down the entirety of her body.
"You mean you're not going to use a wand?"
He simply shook his head no.
"But why not?"
This time he didn't answer, but he seemed to be fully concentrated on his work so she did not push the issue. Besides, she didn't want to be responsible for him messing something up so she finally kept her mouth closed. And then she began to feel it. He was relieving more than just the constant throbbing pain in her body that she had grown accustomed to. There was also the alleviation of stress and tension in her bones and muscles. She began to relax under his care and she began to feel drowsy. She wondered if that was a side effect. She felt she was getting worked over quite gently and thoroughly. His hands ran down her body many times and she found that she did not want him to stop. It was like spending a day at the spa. At some point, his hands stayed hovered at one point over her body and the glow seemed to flow over the entirety of her. She felt as if she was being bathed in the most salubrious of waters. For some reason, she couldn't keep her eyes open as the warm light became more intense. Eventually, she did fall asleep, but not for very long.
It felt like a moment had past when she finally opened her eyes and Jasper was nowhere to be found. When she sat up, she felt she had a boundless amount of energy; energy she thought she'd lost with age. She saw things clearer; she could smell things more sharply than before. She felt like a new person. She also felt very clean. She ran her hand through her long, dark purple hair and felt that it was quite soft and pliable even more soft than she remembered. Excited, she ran about the house for a bathroom so that she could look at herself.
She was startled by what she saw. She looked younger, less worn out. She touched her face to make sure it was real and then she smiled.
"This is incredible," Dinah whispered in wonderment. "Now if only I could find that old Elezen and thank him."
She walked out of the bathroom and meticulously began her search for Jasper. She had so much energy now, she didn't mind the activity. Eventually, she came upon a closed door. She tried to open it, but it was locked. There was no keyhole so it must have been locked from behind. Obviously someone was inside and obviously it had to be Jasper. She placed her ears closer to the door and stalled her breathing for a moment to listen to any movement behind it. Eventually she was able to hear deep, slumbering breathing.
"Ah, I see," she said quietly. "Sweet dreams."
Growing bored, she made her way upstairs again to check on Jan. When she got back to the room, she found him already getting dressed.
"So there you are," Jan said upon her entering.
"You won't believe what just happened to me," Dinah said in an excited tone. "Jasper, he worked his little magic on me and I feel like a new woman."
"You look like a new woman."
Dinah ran up to him and hugged him. Her tail was certainly quite spry and curled upward. "And here I thought he didn't like me."
"You'll get used to him."
"How did you?"
"Wow," he said thoughtfully, "I don't know, it's been so long. I'll get back to you on that one."
"That doesn't sound very reassuring."
Since they were so close together, she felt for his cock once again only to find that it was not hard. This time he didn't even pay much attention to it.
"I'm glad you're feeling better," he said as he moved back a little to take her in fully.
"And, now, what are we going to do today?" she asked.
"The real question is, what do you want to do today?"
"Well, I guess the sensible thing to do would be to go back over to my apartment and grab my clothes…but you dragged me all the way out here to this strange city. I want to explore too."
"Pick one and we'll do the other the next day."
"Okay, explore then."
"And since you'll have nothing to wear tomorrow, the most sensible thing for me to do is buy you some clothes."
"Do I get to choose?"
"Of course."
Dinah was so pumped she wanted to go right then in that instant, but Jan wanted to get some food first before going. The large house was filled with more laughter and excitement than was customary. When the two left for their outing, the place quieted twofold. It wasn't until many hours later that Jasper awoke from his exhaustion. He was completely disoriented for a bit, but quickly regained his bearings. The technique he had performed on Dinah wasn't something he did often; only to people he thought truly needed it. He'd never done it on Jan or any of his relatives—they'd never been in the kind of state he had seen Dinah. There was a lifetime worth of neglected healing. Everything had seemed old, worn, and used up—a show girl who'd performed too much and given away far too much of herself—that's what he saw and he felt compelled to do something about it. And, of course, any woman that could make Jan happy, made him happy. He wasn't sure if he had expressed as much to her, but he supposed he'd have other chances.
He unlocked his door and went back to the old tome sitting on the table. On second thought, he took the book and brought it with him to the den where he might feel comfortable. For some reason, as he opened the book once again, he could read it and pay attention.
/
Dinah found herself wanting to learn more about Jan. He was quite open about himself so it was easy, but when it came to Jasper it was as if he had amnesia. It appeared as if they had always been friends and that there was no explanation for it. In fact, even she began to believe this, but she knew it was ludicrous. There had to be some point when they met, some point when they decided that they just clicked and decided to hang out together.
From what Dinah could find out, he came from a broken home and at the tender age of 10 found himself completely homeless. There wasn't much options left to him so when someone took him in, he did all he could to please his benefactor, even become his apprentice. He was trained to fight from an early age and he became a pugilist when he was of age. Dinah wondered how he could provide for himself just being that, but he told her there were plenty of people in the world who would pay money for him to rough up a few people. That and the fact that he had joined the local Grand Company—in his case The Immortal Flames.
They spent most of the day roaming the city and Jan seemed to know where everything was—even the secret places that not too many people knew about. There were all kinds of nooks and crannies and Dinah, so full of energy, didn't want the adventure to end. They didn't actually get back to the house until late in the night. Due to curiosity, they went to check on Jasper.
They found him eventually in the den with a dim lamp reading that tome of his. Unlike last time when Jan had found him like this, he was not dozing off. He seemed genuinely interested in what he was reading.
"Please don't tell me you were here this whole day reading that thing," Jan said upon entering the room.
Jasper looked up at him a little dazed; almost confused that he should be interrupted from his study, but when he realized who it was he began to grin.
"Let me show you something." Jasper closed his book, placed it on the ground and stood out of his relaxed sitting position. "I need a wider space," he said walking passed the two of them.
And Jan could tell from his tone alone that he was quite excited and in a rare good mood. Jan looked to Dinah and she appeared worried.
"He's not going to destroy half the building, is he?" Dinah asked.
Jasper heard and answered before Jan could. "Well that would be pretty inconvenient, wouldn't it?"
It wasn't as if he'd denied that he could do it in the first place so it did little to relieve her concern.
"I need something easily breakable," Jasper said at once.
Jan glanced over at a vase beside him and Jasper noticed this.
"That will do," Jasper said.
"But I thought you said you liked this vase."
"I did?"
"Yeah. I remember the day you got it."
"Well, it looks rather garish now. At least it'll finally be put to good use."
"You sure about this? I don't want to hear later that you regretted destroying it forever."
"Oh, don't be so dramatic. Put it there on the ground."
With a shrug, Jan finally did as he was asked. Dinah positioned herself behind Jan. Whatever was going to happen, at least Jan could protect her. Jasper stood across the room. Dinah expected him to warn them when he was going to do something, but he flicked his hand—a very quick motion—and the vase became enveloped in flames and vanished altogether. Dinah couldn't stop herself from gasping and jumping all at once. Jan was clearly impressed. There was no longer a vase there, not even a burn mark.
"That was incredible," Jan exclaimed.
"There's more where that came from. Grab another vase."
"Another one? Are you sure?" Jan asked.
"Yes, I'm sure," he said with exasperation.
Jan placed another vase on the ground and this time without doing anything at all, it became enveloped in ice and dissipated. Dinah gasped once again and Jan was equally as impressed.
"Wow, you learned all that from just reading a book?
"It looks impressive now, but I'll need some sort of wand or scepter to do any real damage."
"Wasn't that damage enough?" Dinah asked erupting in shock. "You completely annihilated that vase without even moving. How much more effective do you need to become?"
"Dinah," Jasper said looking directly at her. "The fire that you just saw, the ice that you just saw are all of a supernatural nature. In a sense, it couldn't be called real…or natural. I can only direct such an attack on one thing. Concentrating on a small inanimate object doesn't require much strength or prowess. On an actual living breathing creature—such magic will need to be ten times as powerful to actually be effective. In fact, if the same flames that destroyed that vase were inflicted on you, you'd feel absolutely nothing."
"Is that supposed to comfort me?" Dinah asked exasperatedly. "Great, now you can kill people in their sleep."
"I think most people with half a brain would find that to be a simple task."
"Are you calling me stupid?"
"Before this escalates any more, I'd like to say that you've progressed quite well in your thaumaturgy."
"Thank you."
"But make sure that it doesn't get out of hand—I think that's all Dinah is worried about."
"Well, of course I won't. Control is the very foundation of any brand of magic."
Jan looked over to Dinah and she nodded at him grudgingly.
"I think I'll call it day, boys," Dinah said as she began to make her way to the stairwell, but before she actually climbed it, she turned back to Jasper. "And thank you for that…healing thing you did for me. I understand it took a lot out of you to do it."
"Anytime," Jasper replied.
"Really? Anytime?"
"Anytime it is necessary, if you want to be painfully specific."
Dinah gave him an annoyed looked and then continued upstairs. Jan waited until he thought she was gone before he spoke to Jasper.
"Seriously? Must you rub everyone the wrong way?" Jan asked.
"It's not everyone. And I don't mean to," Jasper said turning to Jan.
"I know," Jan said with a sigh referring to his last sentence. "Some people just don't know how to talk to others. You have to remember, Jasper, she doesn't know you at all—she doesn't know what to expect from you. Time and time again, I keep reminding you about first impressions. They're extremely important and I'm pretty sure if anyone was grading this one, they'd say you failed miserably."
"You're preaching to the choir."
Jan grinned at him. "You sure that expression fits there? If I were 'preaching to the choir', you'd completely understand where I was coming from and you don't—that's why I wasted my breath saying it."
"I suppose there's nothing convenient for me to say there. I'll have plenty of time to make up. You'll be around, won't you?"
"This place is pretty big, too big for one person and it's nice that I can stay here with you, but…"
"Eventually, you'll want to move out. You'll want privacy with your woman," Jasper finished.
"You knew that already. But it shouldn't change things for us. I mean, this city is where I live—you're welcome to stay."
"I said I was going back to Gridania."
"And what then?"
"I'm sure my family would be quite thrilled to see me again. I could show them all the things I've learned in this world. There's always the family business."
"Yes, because you ran away from home only to go back and do exactly the things you didn't want to do."
"If that's how the cookie crumbles."
"That actually fits there."
"Thanks, I rather like that expression."
"There's…also something I've been meaning to give you."
"A gift? What's the occasion?" Jasper asked with genuine surprise.
"The fact that we finally get to hang out again for a little while after so many years. Just stay there, I'll get it for you."
Jan had hid the present somewhere in the house always hesitating to actually give it to his friend. It was something he had made for him and he was slightly embarrassed. Jan quickly came back to Jasper's waiting form and handed him a medium sized box.
"Ooo, it has a nice a weight to it."
"Oh just open it already," Jan said suddenly becoming bashful.
Jasper caught on to Jan's mood fairly quickly and knew that it had to be something handmade. Jasper knew his friend to become quite embarrassed whenever he did anything that he perceived was very feminine. But long ago, Jasper had told the other that his weaving skills were quite impressive. Jasper had received such gifts in the past so this was not a complete surprise. When he carefully open it, he beheld a Dalamud red Cotton Cowl.
"It's very protective," Jan managed to say through his shyness.
"I see. It's quite beautifully made—thank you, Jan. You know this is my favorite color. Now I can look even more mysterious when I'm casting magic." Jasper was grinning now amused at his friend's reddened face.
"I'm glad you like it. Now I'm going off to bed."
Jan practically fled the room leaving behind a very amused Jasper shaking his head. Jan nearly tripped over Dinah's crouching form on the top of the stairwell.
"Geez!" Jan exclaimed when he realized who it was. "Were you there that whole time?"
"Oh, I just couldn't help it! You're always so closemouthed when it comes to Jasper. You two are so cute together. Ah, look, you're blushing!"
"Tell the whole world, will ya?"
"And that's how you really made money, wasn't it?"
"Alright, you caught me red handed. You might could skate by with roughing up a few people, but you can make a living making custom clothing. People pay a ridiculous amount of money for it."
"And you just so happened to be good at it," Dinah said with a smile.
"Oh you're just enjoying yourself, aren't you? I don't particularly like blushing so could you drop the subject already?"
"Fine," she said standing up. "C'mon, let's go to bed."
Dinah took his hand and led the way. That night they spoke about everything besides weaving and eventually they fell asleep.
/
Dinah woke up once again to Jan's snores and smiled to herself. She could get used to this. After washing herself, she climbed down the steps to the kitchen to find Jasper in the dining room reading that huge book and sipping on his tea. It seemed to be a ritual of his.
"Bagels in the oven. Raspberry jam on the cutting board," Jasper said before she even began to approach him.
Startled, she calmed herself before she responded. "You must love raspberry."
"I happen to have a lot of them on hand—I'd rather use them before they go bad."
"Let me guess, you made the bagels and the jam."
Jasper snorted which was something Dinah thought she'd never catch him dead doing. "Bagels are a bit above my skill level—they have a very specific form. No, I just had some in the freezer, defrosted them in the oven. Bought the jam from a small shop I really like."
"Huh, I guess you're partially normal then."
Dinah walked into the kitchen and grabbed three bagels and spread a copious amount of jam on all of them.
"And you buttered them," Dinah said as she sat down with her plate. "What do you have to drink?"
"Still have orange juice. Also, bought some milk for your benefit."
"You did?" Dinah was back in the kitchen quickly to fill herself a nice tall glass of milk. "Nothing like ice cold milk in the morning." She couldn't stop herself from purring at the prospects of tasting it.
Jasper gave her an amused glance and took another sip of his "grass" tea.
"Do you not like milk?" Dinah asked.
"It tastes fine. Just not something I would break my neck buying."
"Then you won't mind if I pour myself a second glass."
"Drink all of it if you want."
"But then there won't be some for tomorrow."
"I'll buy another jug of milk."
"Ahhh, you'd do that for me?" Dinah said pleasantly surprised.
"Of course. I would hate to deprive you of your milk."
"You're really a nice guy, aren't you?"
"I…don't know how to respond to that."
"Yes or no," Dinah said simply.
"Hm, no," he said returning to his reading.
"What do you mean no? Do you consider yourself bad?"
"I don't see how you can simplify things to that degree. What manner of nice are you referring to? We're all flawed in at least one way or another."
"Why do you have to complicate things? You're a nice guy plain and simple."
"Fine, then I'm a 'nice' guy."
Dinah sighed, "You're an annoying guy."
"I'm an annoying guy."
"You don't have to agree with me. You're supposed to put up more of a fight."
"Maybe if I agree with you, you might quiet down and let me read."
"Alright, I'll shut-up."
There was quiet for a while as Dinah crunched on her toasty bagel.
"But I did learn some new tricks, would you like a demonstration?" Jasper asked.
"Quite frankly, no. I don't get it. What are you even going to do with these skills? Why are you teaching yourself how to kill people?"
"You mean: 'how to defend myself'."
"Defend yourself from what?"
"You never know what could come up. You know as well as I do; we live in a dangerous world. We can't always wait for someone to rescue us."
Dinah's expression became stony. "Is that a crack at me?"
"A strong woman such as yourself should know how to defend herself."
"Well, I don't."
"Perhaps you should learn."
"I don't need to anymore."
"You think Jan will somehow conveniently always be there when something goes wrong? And what if he alone isn't enough to protect you? You're left defenseless. You're deadweight."
"You're really trying to scare me right now," Dinah said with an amazed tone. "You call me a strong woman and then a deadweight."
"It's quite possible to be both at the same time. You're a good example."
"I can't believe this!" Dinah said standing up. She gulped down the rest of her milk and stamped off to a different room. "I can't stand that guy."
It took her a bit to cool down and she was glad when Jan was finally awake and they could leave the stifling place. The only person that could ever get along with Jasper was Jan; Dinah was now convinced of this.
They decided yesterday that today they would go back to her place to pick up some things. Dinah carried extra bags with her, but she realized that she couldn't take a lot back with her. She'd settled on clothes and make-up and other odds and ends things. She felt safe riding on the chocobo holding on tightly to her savior. He was good company as always and he managed to bring a smile to her face without trying very hard. She was everything she wanted him to be. He was rugged but not to the point where he was rude and undisciplined. He was kind and understanding and he always made her feel secure. He was her safety blanket. He was also, in her opinion, quite handsome for a Hyur. He was simply a nice guy—a complete change of pace from the guys she pleasured on a daily basis.
After a few hours, they arrived and Dinah climbed off the chocobo. She waited for Jan to secure the large bird before going towards her place, but Jan's firm hand stopped her when he grabbed her shoulder. She looked back concerned. There was something different in his eyes, something she had not seen before. He quickly pulled her behind him. She looked to where Jan was looking and saw a man emerging from the trees, but very soon there was more than just one man, but almost twenty of them. They became surrounded fairly quickly.
"What is this?" Jan asked to no one in particular.
"I know these men," Dinah said quietly.
Jan hadn't turned to her but he was listening. "What do they want?" he asked.
"I thought I could…escape this life. You made it sound so easy. But, Jan, I was in deep…very deep. I dealt with questionable people. There are those who'd rather see me dead than risk having me expose the kind of secrets I know…or might know."
"There's too many of them for me to take. If you stay close behind me, I'll make a way out for you."
"…because I'm deadweight."
This time, Jan did turn to her. "No, you're not—you just have to get to safety," he said this as he held her shoulders reassuringly.
She shook her head. "Face it…if I knew how to fight, we could've taken them, couldn't we?"
"You don't know that and it doesn't matter. I must make sure that you're safe. We don't have time to discuss this—stay behind me and bolt when I tell you."
The advancing men were close now and Jan pounced on the closest one. Dinah was quite surprised. His punches were quite vicious and kicks quite brutal. Right before her eyes, he'd transformed into a fighter no longer the concerned lover.
"Go!" he shouted with urgency.
She hesitated and that cost her the time she needed to escape. She tried to run but someone grabbed her and she was knocked out easily.
/
Dinah groaned when she sat up and she felt quite dizzy.
"Where….? Jan."
Her eyes, though blurry, searched for Jan but she didn't have far to look. He lay sprawled beside her and quite done in. His clothes were ripped and blood ran freely from open wounds.
"Oh no," she breathed.
Despite herself, she crawled over to him and checked his pulse. He was still alive at least. With a sigh, she laid her head upon his chest and closed her eyes. After a moment, when she regained her bearings a bit, she looked around at her surroundings. She was in a prison cell one that sported a dirt ground and metal bars. She had no clue where their kidnappers had taken them, but nothing good could come from this. There was no way to escape and her savior was incapacitated. She curled up near him waiting for him to wake. It felt like hours before she felt movement beneath her.
"Jan!" Dinah exclaimed.
She waited for him to recognize her. He reached her hand out to her and she bent down a little to allow him to touch her face. One of his eyes was swollen shut, she could only imagine how well he could see her.
"Di…nah," he managed through a cracked voice.
"Shhhh, don't talk. Conserve your energy. I don't know what all happened, but we're in a prison—there's no way out of here."
"Ja…sper."
Dinah shook her head. "He can't help us. He doesn't even know where we are. Besides, I bet this place is pretty well guarded—he'd have no chance in hell saving us."
"Ja…sper," he repeated.
"No, Jan, he's not coming."
"He…"
But Dinah pressed a finger against his split lips before he could continue and shook her head. "No. Conserve your energy."
Before he could attempt to say anything more, his eyes rolled back and he passed out. Dinah bit her nails staring at his injured form. When she thought about the men who had done this to him, she became beyond angry. It had been one against at least 18 men. Why did they feel the need to gang up on one man like they did? It was completely unnecessary. Dinah checked his pulse and found that it was still pumping so she laid her head back on his chest.
Dinah couldn't say how long she'd been there watching Jan slip in and out of unconsciousness, but it felt like days. She was madly hungry and she knew that if Jan didn't get medical attention soon, he'd die of his wounds.
"Those bastards," Dinah said with gritted teeth. "Can't even bandage people. Are we supposed to die in here?"
"That would be the point."
Dinah gasped when she heard that voice. Her head whipped around towards the voice and lo and behold there was Jasper. He had a key somehow and he opened the cell quite easily and stepped in smoothly.
"How did you—
"Keep your voice down," Jasper said at once when he noticed her giddiness. "And give him some space; I'm sure your lying on his chest made it so much more easier for him to breathe."
Dinah made a face, but did as she was told. At the moment, she couldn't complain about him. He was coming to their rescue after all. He held his hand over Jan's body and she watched in amazement as Jan began to heal right before her eyes. Jasper was a healer, Dinah reminded herself, this was the miraculous work he was capable of. That he was also a bit eccentric came with the territory.
"Welcome back, Jan."
"Jasper, I never had a doubt," Jan said.
Dinah watched as the other stood up with not even a scratch on him. He was as good as new.
"Amazing!" Dinah exclaimed.
Dinah was caught off guard by the peeved looked Jasper gave her.
"Do I have to keep reminding you to keep your voice down?"
Dinah placed a hand over her mouth, "Sorry."
And as she said this, she felt her headache disappearing and she felt her energy increase twofold. She looked over at Jasper with a surprised expression—he'd healed her without even a second thought and with little effort on his part.
"You're going to have to explain yourself when we get out of here," Dinah said in low tones to the other.
"If we make it out of here. From what I saw, it won't be easy almost impossible getting out of here," Jasper said.
"Can't we go the same way you came in?" Dinah asked.
"Unless you two can turn yourself invisible, I doubt it."
"Wha…?"
"Dinah," Jan finally spoke up, "You'll have to stay behind me whatever you do."
Dinah nodded to him obediently. Just as she did, she jumped when she saw a translucent blue shell wrap around her and out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the same happened to the other two. Then a brown, hard looking skin encased her for a split second and then Jan and then Jasper. Rather than ask a bunch of questions, she simply stayed behind Jan. She did, at the very least, feel safe there.
"On second thought," Jan said as they stepped out of the prison cell. "You better stay close to Jasper. He's really the safest position you can be."
But Dinah stubbornly followed close to Jan. There was no way Jasper was the safest place to be. When two guards came into view, Jan rushed them and left Dinah behind. She found herself standing near Jasper who seemed more concentrated on Jan. The guards were brutal, but Dinah could have sworn that every time that drew blood, the scar disappeared instantly. She looked over at Jasper and she could finally see it—the green swirling light that seemed to encircle him every so often. He was healing the other, Dinah realized. The whole situation just seemed far too miraculous for words. She felt a cool wind about him and it played with her hair a bit.
When Jan was done with the guards, Jasper resumed his position in front of Jan since he knew the route. Whenever there were enemies, Jan would take them, no questions asked. Dinah watched them and saw that this certainly wasn't something new to them. They hadn't said a word to each other and this had become their strategy—like a well-greased machine. What she had seen Jan do at her place was reserved compared to how fiercely he took on the guards now. Dinah suspected that now he didn't have to worry so much about injury. He could do as he pleased and Jasper would always be there to heal him. There was no way they couldn't make it out of here at this point if this kept up.
They were lightly jogging now all of them sensing that if they didn't make it out of there soon, there would be reinforcements, but Jasper stopped abruptly when they came to an opening in the narrow passages they had been trudging through thus far.
"Jan, do you sense that? They have something big waiting for us if we try to go through there."
Jan looked at the other. "Is there any other way out?"
"No."
"Then we'll just have to do our best. I'll try to keep everyone on me," Jan said.
"You can't, you'll get knocked out far too quickly. You'll be taking on far more damage than I could heal."
"But you wouldn't be able to heal anyone if you're getting attacked. And you can't also attack if you're also the one healing."
"We'll have to see just how intense this battle is," Jasper said. "I may be able to do just that. Let's go."
Dinah felt a bit left out in their discussion, but seeing as they didn't tell her to do anything different, she stayed close to Jasper.
As soon as they stepped in, a wall shot up behind them barring their way back. It was all or nothing.
A large, muscular man who wore the same attire as the guards came through the same passage they'd have to make their way through if they were to escape. The floor rumbled with each step he took. Dinah became frozen with fear. How the hell were they supposed to take this guy? Why in the world did she find herself in this position? Jan didn't hold back. He seemed to be fighting on a completely different level. The ground shook with each damaging punch and he dodged all the slow hits the man threw at him. The large man was stumbling back now.
"We may have a chance," Jasper said with eyes aglow with excitement.
Dinah looked over to him and then back to Jan's fight. It did seem that way. He was doing better here than against the guards. The large guard shouted something unintelligible when he was finally thrown to the ground with one of Jan's intense lunges. Then guards began to flow in through the passage. Some even had weapons. Dinah felt Jasper grab one of her hands. As soon as the guards came at them, Jasper was pulling Dinah along as he began to run. She took a chance and glanced behind herself and saw that there were at least ten guards coming after them.
"What are we playing tag?" Dinah asked "We gotta' fight them."
"As soon as I start fighting them, it'll be game over for Jan and then for us."
Jasper would pause every so often to heal Jan and then resumed his running, but the guards were gaining on them and Jan was engaged with too many guards not to mention that the large one had found his footing again and was advancing on Jan.
"We havta' do something!" Dinah cried out as she saw Jan's desperate situation.
"We are," Jasper replied quickly as he paused once again to heal him. "Shit," he said under his breath.
"Shit, what?" Dinah asked not liking the worried look in his eyes.
"He can't take them all."
Just then, more guards were filing out of the passage. They were going to be overwhelmed and it was going to happen fairly quickly. Jasper stopped healing Jan when he fell. All the guards' attentions were on them now and instead of continuing to run, he stopped and pulled Dinah close to him. The earth rumbled and shot up from the ground throwing many of them back, but even after doing this, it wasn't enough to stop them, they kept coming. Dinah had the feeling that Jasper's attacks were far less useful than they looked. He fought fiercely even knowing that they didn't have a chance. He dispatched one of the lances and began attacking with this and he did upset quite a few guards, but their sheer number finally overcame Jasper and Dinah as well.
/
Dinah woke up and felt her energy severely drained. She could tell without having to look that they were imprisoned once again. She struggled to sit up and found Jan just as ravished as before. He was quite unconscious and bloodied. She looked around for Jasper and found that he was chained quite thoroughly to a chair with his hands tied painfully tight behind him. He looked worse for wear almost as bad as Jan, but he was awake. She crawled over to him and ripped off the tape that was across his mouth. He was bent over a bit so she could reach his mouth a lot easier from her position.
"You healed me again, didn't you?" Dinah asked.
He simply nodded. "Jan would require something more, but I haven't the energy for it now. They must have drugged us."
"I don't get it, why are you strapped to a chair?"
Jasper shrugged. "I have no idea who these people are."
"I'm starting to think I don't either."
Jasper looked at her with slight interest. "And who did you think they were?"
"I'd been dealing with the wrong crowd for years. I just thought they wanted to clear up loose ends. But they haven't even killed me. I thought for sure they would have."
"I doubt they'd have any problem killing you. Perhaps they just have something else planned."
Just then, a guard came to their cell. "Aw, the healer has awoken. The master wants a word with you."
"Tell him he'd be wasting his breath," Jasper said immediately.
"Jasper!" Dinah said surprised that he could so rashly piss off a guard who could easily finish them off.
Jasper gave her a look that shut her up quickly. The guard ripped the door open and marched over to the man with a small dagger and pointed it at his throat.
"You'll have an audience with the master like it or not."
"I'd rather die."
"I will kill you."
"Then kill me," Jasper snarled back. "I'll not speak with your wretched master. After what he did to my friends, I won't have audience with him."
"Jasper!" Dinah said again. "Don't piss him off anymore."
"You have a lot of balls, healer—
"Thank you, I get that a lot."
This time the dagger pierced his skin and Dinah gasped.
"Give him what he wants," Dinah pleaded with the hard-headed Jasper.
"You should listen to your friend," the guard said.
"And you should go throw yourself off a cliff."
"Silly old man. You have no idea the kind of danger you're in. The master will see you."
The guard knocked the other out with the butt of his blade and Jasper fell unconscious. Dinah watched as the guard unchained him and then threw the tall man over his shoulder.
"Damn it, Jasper, why are you acting so stupid!" Dinah said even though she was sure Jasper wouldn't hear.
The guard grunted and locked the prison cell back up. She came to the bars and watched Jasper being carried away for as long as she could before they disappeared from sight.
"That idiot," she spat under her breath.
She came back over to Jan's side just as he began to move once again. Dinah helped him sit up against the wall behind him.
"We're right back where we started," Dinah said to the slightly dazed Jan.
He nodded to her. "I noticed…Where's Jasper?"
"That idiot couldn't keep his mouth shut when a guard came in to take him to some 'master'. Got himself knocked out again. I have no idea where he is. Tell me this is part of some sort of elaborate plan I'm not privy to."
Jan shook his head no. "I'm afraid…that's just Jasper being a fool."
"And he probably still had the key. They might have brought him back if he'd kept his mouth shut."
"We can't…dwell on spilled milk."
"But I'm so annoyed! Can't he think about anyone besides himself? Seems like a smart guy, but that was a very dumb move."
Jan used the wall to climb back to his feet. "Jasper doesn't like to see people hurt and if he feels powerless to aid them, he acts out."
He took a chance and left the support of the wall to make his way over to the bars.
"That sounds really inconvenient," Dinah said.
"Well, it's not something that happens often. We rarely come to a fight unprepared."
"It's me, isn't it? I'm the 'deadweight'. I'm pulling you guys down."
"Why do you keep saying that? You're not. There was no way you could have predicted any of this would happen. We need to focus on getting out of here."
"What are you doing?" Dinah asked as he began tinkering with the keyhole on the other side of the bars.
"Picking a lock."
"You can do that?"
"I can try. If it's not too complex…" Then suddenly the door popped open. "And that was incredibly simple. Not a lot of security around here."
Dinah climbed to her feet and followed Jan out of the cell.
"Did you see which way they took him," Jan asked Dinah referring to Jasper.
"This way," Dinah said as she began to lead the way.
Dinah slowed her pace when she realized Jan was having trouble keeping up.
"I saw them go into so entryway to the left and they disappeared." Dinah kept looking to the left until she found a set of steps. "This might be it."
She worried for Jan as she climbed the steps, but when she looked back to check on him, he seemed to be making good progress. The stairs didn't go on for too long. They eventually stepped into a small room that had only one door for them to go through and they took it. Suddenly, two guards were coming for them. Dinah stepped out of the way and Jan dispatched them easily. The small room contained a row of makeshift beds and Jasper happened to be in one of them barred and chained. He appeared unconscious.
"We could have made it out of here already if it wasn't for his stubbornness," Dinah declared.
"You don't know that," Jan said as he came over to the bed to evaluate the chains. "At the very least, we'd still be in that cell had he not come for us. I may have died were it not for him."
Instead of responding she became thoughtful.
"He still has the keys," Jan said finding them in one of his pockets, "Let's see if they work here."
The chains came falling off instantly when he used the keys much to Jan's satisfaction.
"Great, so what do we do now? Carry him?" Dinah asked watching the scene.
Jan began to shake the other to wakefulness, but he wasn't immediately responsive. Dinah stepped closer when curiosity got the better of her. He seemed completely out of it. When he opened his eyes they were unfocused and he didn't seem to know that anyone was there.
"Jasper, what did they do to you?"
But, of course, he couldn't answer him. Jan tried to get the other's attention, but he simply couldn't get it. He seemed to be in some kind of drunken stupor.
"See if he can stand," Dinah said.
Jan gave her a look and Dinah just shrugged. "He won't be walking anytime soon."
"Well, what's wrong with him?"
Jan lifted the other off the bed and hoisted him on his back. "I don't know, but we won't leave him."
"Do you really think it's a good idea to be carrying a full grown man around in your condition?" Dinah asked.
"We won't leave him," Jan said in a tone that suggested he didn't want to argue about it.
They went back in the same way they came. Jan was able to remember the route Jasper took to get out of there, but after the big room, they had no idea where to go and Jasper was more or less asleep. Not to mention the fact that Jan was beginning to falter under the weight. Dinah just wanted them to find the exit so they could just take a break. There was no convincing Jan to simply leave Jasper behind and come back for him later. Jasper had to come with them now and they couldn't take any breaks. But they were painfully vulnerable. Any guard could dispatch them easily. Dinah couldn't fight to save her life and Jan was too tired to be effective. They traveled aimlessly now. How large could this place be? And were they even going in the right direction?
The passages narrowed, but then they widened once again. They found themselves walking down elaborate looking halls—a far cry from what it had been before. It could be that they were getting closer to the entrance or a lot further away from it.
"Eternal…" Jasper said in a raspy voice.
Jan stopped. "What is it, Jasper?"
"E…ternal…"
"Umm…Jan, I think we have company," Dinah said as she looked behind them.
A robed figure walked towards them. Jan had turned to behold the new person.
"Who are you?" Jan asked to the approaching figure.
"That is none of your concern," a woman's voice said emitting from the dark hole of her hood. "You have something that belongs to me."
"And what would that be?"
"That man on your back. You stole him from me at a very crucial moment. I'll need him back."
"What for?" Jan further questioned.
"None of your concern. If you hand him over, I'll allow you free passage out of here."
"You haven't answered my question. What do you need him for?"
"Oh fine if it will help my case. I need his power."
"Looks like you've already drained him pretty dry."
"But that's not what I wanted—it was a necessary step to make him more manageable. I want his power—in other words, his knowledge. Experienced conjurers are hard to come by, don't you think?"
Jan gave her a confused look. "Why don't you just read a book? There's no need to do this."
"You wouldn't understand. There's no other way for me. I must steal what I need."
Jan shook his head. "If it's just knowledge that you want, then I know someone who would be willing to help you and you won't have to steal or harm anyone for it. It would be free of charge and best of all it could be something distinctly your own."
"My own? But you speak in riddles."
"Jasper would be more than willing to teach you."
Dinah looked over at Jan with disbelief. She doubted Jasper would be so willing to help someone who for all intents and purposes had tried to kill him.
"I've tried that route before. I cannot be taught."
"Why is that?" Jan asked.
"I cannot be taught," she said stolidly.
Jan stepped a little closer to the woman. "What happened?"
The woman remained quiet for a while before she spoke. "I…the person who tried to teach me…he…It's not important!" The woman said regaining her composure.
"Do you think it's right what you're doing here? Are you willing to kill a man to get what you want?"
"I'm sorry…but I have to. And you're standing in my way."
She held up her hand and Jan fell to his knees in sudden exhaustion. Dinah ran to his side.
"Stop it!" Dinah yelled out frantically. "You don't have to kill him! Please!"
The woman put her hand down and Jan was left gasping for his breath. Jasper had fallen off the other's back and lay sprawled muttering something unintelligible.
"I must finish the process," the woman said.
She stalked over to them and without a second thought kicked Jan's face in so hard that his nose started bleeding. She already had her hand up this time hovering over Jasper and suddenly the Elezen started yelling out in pain. Dinah couldn't stand to see anyone subject to such a thing and despite herself tackled the robed woman into the ground. She started punching her over and over again in the face until she felt someone stop her. Jan had gotten back to his feet and took a hold of her arm.
"Alright, you got her—it's done."
Dinah looked up at him with teary eyes. "Sorry, I got carried away. What about Jasper? I don't think…" but the words became choked and she stopped talking altogether.
Jan squatted down beside her and put his arms around her. "We have no idea what kind of damage has been done. Now let's get out of here."
Jan lifted Jasper once again and per Jan's request, Dinah grudgingly lifted the strange woman who was quite slight and easy to carry.
/
Jasper fell back to sleep after hours of spouting complete and utter nonsense. They made it back to his house in Ul'dah without much incidence. Jan bandaged the woman and watched her closely for when she recovered enough from Dinah's beat down. As for Dinah, she thought the entire situation was crazy. They should have left that woman to rot, but Jan reminded her that she may be the only person who could fix Jasper. While Jan kept an eye on the woman, Dinah checked in on Jasper from time to time, but his condition did not improve. When he was awake, he made no sense—there was nothing she could say to get through to him. While Dinah happened to sit in his room, Jan entered with the strange woman from before and Dinah was immediately on guard. She was a petite Elezen with long white hair and light green eyes. And if Dinah didn't know any better she seemed a bit withdrawn. Jan had her securely by the shoulders as he guided her forth.
"Only you can help him," Jan encouraged the woman. "What you have is not yours."
They waited for what felt like an eternity before she lifted her hand over Jasper. Dinah watched Jasper's reaction closely. It was as if a strong current of lightening was going through his body. He didn't seem in pain, but he did seem uncomfortable. He had been asleep, but he was awake now. His hands gripped the sheets hard and he began to sweat and it continued this way for almost half an hour. Both Dinah and Jan were holding their breaths. It seemed exhausting just watching. Finally, she let her hand drop and she stumbled forward a little but Jan caught her and told her to sit down.
"Jasper?" Jan asked as he watched his cloudy eyes begin to clear up.
"Jan…I had the strangest dream…"
"I bet you did, friend."
"Wait, I thought…" Jasper's eyes traveled to the woman who sat down a little ways from him. "You. What in the world did you do to me?"
She turned away with a reddened face.
"Jasper, don't be mad with her. She was confused and desperate and she saw no other way out of the situation she was in."
"I don't care," Jasper said still looking at the woman though she was turned from him. "I still don't really know what you were trying to do to me. Will you look at me, at least? Explain yourself."
Dinah didn't think the woman would do anything, but she turned to Jasper suddenly and then ran over to him as if in a panic startling Jasper a bit.
"I'm sorry what I did to you, but please could you teach me?"
"Teach you what, child?"
"Your magic. Teach me your magic."
/
AN: Oh snap, do I see another party member? Stay tuned.