Chapter 9: Food For Thought
x x x
Giant Doggie and I stared each other down for a few seconds. I was inwardly shrieking at myself don't back down, don't back down, show a sign of weakness and it'll EAT YOU! Its claws flexed a little, as if it were getting ready to pounce. My mental capacities were reduced to something more like white noise as I ripped the dao from my belt and charged.
I held the curving blade in both hands and brought it down through the air in a long, diagonal slash. If I'd been more, well, sane, I'd have berated myself for using a risky move that left me open. However whatever was left of my mind was thinking back to the fight with Gollum. I unconsciously expelled my breath in a steady but forceful stream of air directed straight in front of me, like I do during warm up exercises for Aikido, and imagined my energy was extending beyond the blade.
A thick line of green energy was left in the wake of my dao, cutting into the oversized monster. It reeled back, and snarled at me. For a moment, I couldn't do anything but gape at the sword in my hands.
"Don't get careless!" Yuri came darting in from the side and slashed a smaller doggie that had been about to jump me while I was distracted.
"Sorry, thanks!"
"Now we're even for Halure," he said simply, and then started attacking Giant Doggie while yelling, "Wolf Strike!"
I turned to another of the smaller ones, leaving Yuri to his fun with the really tough monster, and started trying to get a feel for the dao in my hand. It could be used with either one or both hands, and what I could remember from seeing other people using it (aka, Ludwig and martial arts movies) it was good for slashing strikes (that to me looked a bit similar to Yuri's style with a katana) and thrusts if necessary.
I slashed, and used the blade's momentum to spin the blade around in my hand so that it came around in a large circle for another identical strike. If I hadn't been a dork and played around with my umbrella back home just like this, I probably would have dropped the dao. I didn't want to push my luck and go for more than two strikes just yet.
Still, I was rather clumsy with the less familiar weapon, and had been chewed on quite a bit before I killed the smaller doggie. It managed to bite my left hand and break the skin (shitshitshit OWOWOWOW), though when I popped an apple gel into my mouth it healed over with the tattoo perfectly intact. The killing blow was a less impressive reproduction of the green-line-slash thing I did before. Do rabies exist in this world? Damn, am I gonna have to get a shot, or will I turn into a monster once the moon is full...
Panting heavily, I looked back at the others. All the smaller doggies were dead, some heavily scorched but most were heavily cut and chopped, and it seemed the rest of the group was concentrating on Giant Doggie. Karol had intelligently been throwing pollen from the Billybally leaf Rita had introduced him to earlier into the monster's face.
I gripped my dao and took a step forward to join them, when suddenly I was hit by a wave of vertigo and a pressure that felt liked it gripped my lungs.
"Aagh..." I dropped to my knees and gasped desperately. "Dammit, it's-it's worse than last time..." Hadn't my attacks been getting better? The dao clattered on the ground as it fell from my hand, and I closed my eyes. I didn't pass out entirely, but the world seemed to fade as if I'd been partly removed from it all.
There were voices, but they were too distant for me to understand. I kinda felt warm...and the voices got a bit clearer. "I've healed her wounds, but there's something else wrong with her." "Maybe she breathed in some of the pollen?" "I don't think so. She wasn't that close to us, and there aren't anymore of those flowers here."
"Should we wait until she's better?" The words finally started making sense to me, and I opened my eyes. I was lying on the ground, with Estelle kneeling next to me. Evidently she'd just finished healing all of my bite wounds. Everyone else was a bit further away, but kept looking over in concern.
"I'm alright, don't worry..." I sat up. Estelle tried to keep me from moving as Yuri turned back and gave me a level stare.
"You weren't 'alright' at all just a minute ago! What was that all about?"
Despite still feeling a bit dizzy I gently brushed off Estelle's hands and stood up. I didn't want to be the reason the group forced an early stop, or let them think I was chronically ill and shouldn't be traveling around. "I really am fine, just need to walk it off and I'll be my strange and random self again."
They didn't look convinced, but the princess conceded to my stubbornness, "If you say so..."
While we were walking again, Karol came up and tugged the sleeve of my jacket. "What's up, Ace?" I think I just found my new nickname for him. Can't call him Captain without feeling like I'm ripping off Yuri.
The boy held up my daggers, already cleaned of any blood. "I picked these up for you." My eyes probably lit up like lamps.
"Thanks, Karol! It would have sucked if I lost this pair too." I slipped them back into place and ruffled his hair with one hand.
"Aww, it's nothing." He hesitated, and then asked, "Hey, Letha, why do you talk like that?"
"Huh? Like what?" I didn't have an accent, right? It's not like anyone I'd met here sounded distinctly different from me (Yeager and Cumore don't count).
"You kind of talk like Yuri." I blinked, what was that? "You're rude sometimes, though you're not as bad as Yuri is, and you swear too." Hmm, I had been trying not to swear as much in front of them but I apparently slipped up a few times.
I might have gaped at him like a fish for a second or two. Then, with a laugh, I ruffled his hair again (dang it, at this rate he'll be one of those people whose hair isn't safe from me...). "I talk differently depending on the people I'm with. If it's someone I think deserves respect, I'm polite. If it's someone I don't respect, I'm sharp tongued and rude, or just ignore them. And 'rude' for me is actually a lot worse than anything you've heard me say yet. The way I've been talking around you guys means I'm comfortable." And that fact really surprises me...
"Really? That's kind of weird..."
"You don't even know the half of it yet, Ace."
x x x
Dog Language
Estelle: Repede's getting really good at handling items, don't you think?
Rita: Yeah. But I don't wanna eat any gels that've been in a dog's mouth!
Repede: *Woof!*
Yuri: He said, "Come on, don't be like that. If things go bad, take it!"
Rita: That's one big mouth he's- Wait a minute... Did he really say that? All I heard him do was bark.
Yuri: Stick around long enough and you'll figure him out. Right, Repede?
Repede: *WOOF!*
Rita: ...
Estelle: You look a little jealous, Rita.
Rita: N-no way!
x x x
The same selection of monsters (birds, hermit monkeys, etc.) occasionally attacked after that, but I stayed on the side lines out of everyone's way. I would have fought, even though I still felt a bit light headed, but Yuri and Estelle both gave me the evil eye when they saw my hands reaching for my weapons. It was kinda scary that the princess could give a look like that while still appearing innocent and polite...
I hadn't been paying attention to where we were going, so it was a surprise when we exited a narrow ravine and found ourselves looking out at the ocean. It wasn't my first time seeing the ocean, but that didn't mean I couldn't appreciate the experience.
Unlike in the game, where it was still the middle of the day when they stood on this cliff, the sun was starting to set. Actually, the view reminded me of watching the sunset on Lake Ontario...oh, no, home sickness... I had to turn away quickly.
"It's beautiful..." breathed Estelle.
"This is..." Even the tough little mage sounded a bit awed.
"Look, Yuri. It's the ocean."
"I can see that. ...The wind feels great."
I walked down the path a bit, leaving all of them to appreciate the view and have their individual moments of new world perspective.
A trifle bitter? Maybe. I was the only one who hadn't the luxury of choosing to be on this journey. And I had to deal with this mysterious health problem on top of everything.
Knowing I couldn't handle any monsters on my own yet, I didn't go too far. I reached Elucifer's grave and stopped there to wait for the others. This probably sounds weird, but the grave comforted me. Back home (my real home, not my school but my hometown,) my house was right next to a cemetery. There was a shallow brook and ravine between, but for as long as I could remember it had been a simple matter to cross over. For me gravestones give a subconscious feeling of homecoming.
I knelt down in front of it, studying how the stone had been worn down by the elements. How many years until it wears away? Will the cliff erode away first, and leave the grave to fall into the ocean? "You gave up your life for your cause ten years ago... I wonder what you'd have to say to me, who knows what's wrong with this world but won't tell anyone..." The wind blew my hair into my eyes, and I took a deep breath of the salty air.
"Letha, why'd you leave?"
I looked over my shoulder at Karol, "Look, I found something."
"What's this supposed to be?"
"Is it a...grave, perhaps?" the princess ventured.
"Looks like."
"A grave?" Yuri walked up. "In a place like this?"
Rita looked at it with her arms crossed. "Actually, this is just the type of place I'd expect to see one."
Karol shifted his attention to her. "What do you mean?"
"You know, like the grave of someone who plotted against the empire...and failed." She elaborated further with, "If you wanted to bury somebody and keep it quiet, you'd want a place like this with no one around."
"But would you bother to mark that place with a grave, if that were the case?" I said thoughtfully. The game led me to assume that Duke had buried Elucifer, but it was possible someone else had done it and he'd just found out it was here.
"Huh, wonder if that's what I've got in store for me." Yuri commented dryly.
Estelle turned on him and said sharply, "Don't say such things...! That isn't funny!"
"I wasn't exactly kidding." He then tried to mollify her by explaining himself. "It's just a fact of life that some folks from the lower quarter never get a funeral or a proper burial."
"What happens to them, then?" asked our little Guild Ace.
"They get cremated and have their ashes scattered over a river or a field, usually."
"Are you telling the truth...?" the sheltered princess asked, as if thinking he was playing another prank.
"...How did we get started talking about this, anyway?" broke in Rita impatiently.
Karol turned back to the grave. "Cause we're trying to figure what a lone grave is doing in a place like this."
I stood up, brushing off my pants, and turned away from them all. "I can think of another reason. If this was that person's favorite place to be when alive, someone might bury them here to watch the ocean forever." I don't know if that was right, and I doubt I'll ever even dare to ask Duke, but it was a thought.
"Huh, that's possible. So, just who does it belong to..?" Yuri directed the question at me, probably because I'd been the one to draw their collective attention to it. I just shrugged.
"Dunno, and if there was ever a name on it, it's been worn away." I turned away from the grave and the ocean again. "Let's go then?"
x x x
A Great View
Estelle: Letha, you didn't seem very impressed by the ocean earlier. Do you not like water?
Letha: What makes you think that?
Estelle: Well, you looked kind of upset when you first saw it, and you left before us...
Karol: Oh, maybe she was afraid of the water! Don't you know how to swim, Letha?
Letha: *cough* Wh-why are you jumping to conclusions like that! I've known how to swim almost as long as I can remember, and I'm certainly not afraid of the water. I love it actually.
Estelle: Then what was wrong? Are you still feeling sick? I can heal you some more!
Letha: Ack, Estelle, no! I'm fine! Just I've seen it before and was reminded of some things!
Karol: Like what?
Letha: Oh my, Karol you really shouldn't ask about a girl's secrets that easily. Though that reminds me, maybe Nan would like it if you took her to see that view.
Karol: Wha? No, that's-that's-!
Estelle: That's a great idea!
We'd finally reached the end of the beast trail, which was only a little ways uphill from where the wrecked blastia lay smoldering. I noticed Rita looking that way murmuring "poor Ekaterine." Yeah, she named that blastia in the, what was it?, five minutes she'd had to look at it.
We'd taken only a few steps when she nearly tripped over something lying on the roadside. "What's this?" she bent over to look at it. Huh, the tent is here...maybe it was dropped by one of the knights earlier.
"Oh, that's a camping set!" and Karol launched into his explanation about tents and their pseudo barriers that kept monsters away with smells. Seeing as it was late and we were all tired, we found a good spot off the road to set up camp for the night.
We were all very hungry. But Estelle was still new to the cooking business, and Rita's sense of cooking was suspect (worse than a college student living off ramen noodles and slightly moldy bread, she just didn't care enough to put more effort in). Karol was setting up the tent, so he was exempt.
So that left dinner to either Yuri or me.
He glanced at me, clearly wondering if I'd survived on my own cooking while supposedly living in the forest with my uncle. Maybe he was even having an internal debate whether to brave my unknown skills just so he wouldn't have to cook for once. I'm sure his experience with Flynn makes him wary of every unfamiliar new chef.
"What ingredients do we have, anyway?" I figured this was the best way to decide. Cooking would be impossible for me if we didn't have ingredients for anything I was familiar with. "And do we even have anything like pots and pans?" I knew a few things I would make at home, though they weren't all feasible in Terca Lumireis, but I'd also picked up a few recipes staying with Ludwig. I'd wanted to make sure I wouldn't starve... Once, Wonder Chef showed up and showed me how to make noodles from scratch. I can't even put into words how awesome that was. After Ludwig and I got over the whole "how the flip did you get into the house?" thing.
It turned out I was cooking that night after all. We had chicken (which surprised me) and we had rice so I jumped at the chance to make one of my favorite meals, which I think I'd have to try pretty hard to screw up. Don't ask me how he managed to carry it all, but Karol kept some collapsible cooking utensils in his bag. Nifty stuff I'd bet my Dad would love to use when camping.
While we were eating (and nobody started spitting my food back out, so mission success) I sat a little apart from the others. Why? I just like eating by myself sometimes. Most of the time, actually, but normally when I'm already with other people I can eat together with them just fine. But tonight I wanted to be alone with my thoughts.
So far there haven't been any nasty surprises other than falling through the Shaikos Ruins' floor. It's probably safe to believe that nothing major in the game was changed by me being here. Not yet at least. But what about later on? It was entirely possible I had changed something important without even knowing it, or that I eventually would.
And is there anything I want to actively try and change? Like Belius and Don Whitehorse dying, Estelle getting kidnapped, or Yuri getting stabbed... I don't remember right now if there's any huge massacre like in some of the other Tales games...but if there is, can I do something? Should I do something and risk changing the "happy" ending?
I've always thought messing with the past was a bad idea, and I wonder if this counts...
Yuri came over and sat next to me, and somehow the first thought in my mind was Time for round two. Sooner than I expected. "I'm surprised. You don't strike me as the domestic type."
I swallowed a mouthful of rice, "I dabble in some things. For example; I taught myself to sew when I was a kid, and I'm pretty good at it." Took another bite, chewed, and swallowed, "Though you're kinda right. I don't cook often. But it's hard to mess up a simple recipe if you just follow the instructions."
"Some people can't seem to even do that..." Poor Yuri, growing up with Flynn and his nonexistent sense of taste. I resolved that if I ever ended up traveling with Flynn and it was his turn to cook, I'd force him out of the kitchen and make dinner myself. Even if I had to say straight to his face that I didn't trust him with my food.
Swallowed again, then I put my plate aside so I could turn and look the swordsman directly in the eyes. "You didn't come to talk about the fine art of cooking. We both know it. So what do you really want to ask?" He eyed me, maybe reassessing his measure of how intelligent I was. I hoped he was raising it, instead of lowering it. "For some reason, you don't trust me. I'm sure you have your reasons, but instead of fishing like this you could just ask me about whatever's bugging you."
"And you'd tell me, just like that?"
I hesitated. There's a lot of questions I can't answer truthfully. But still, "Well that depends on what you want to ask me, now doesn't it?" I fixed him with what I hoped was a stern eye. "Of course I'm not going to answer personal questions you have no business knowing, but if it's related to any of you, then yes, I will answer."
Expecting this to be the moment of truth I waited as he considered me with narrowed eyes. He seemed to be about to say something, but then he shook his head and stood up. "You're not going to hurt any of us. I trust you that much." And he walked away.
I stared after him. Then what the HELL was that about?
x x x
The next day was a long day. A long day of walking and fighting and odd conversations about hair. ...Yuri was the one who woke me up in the morning, and I started pestering him about his "chick magnet hair" while I was still half asleep. I blame whoever wrote that fanfiction starring a drunk Estelle.
After that I spent most of the time just humming to myself between fights (I tried practicing with the dao a few more times, but mostly stuck with my daggers) and denying both my weird hair comment and the humming whenever one of the others asked. Estelle had started to give me speculative looks...I was afraid to ask what that was about.
We made it to Capua Nor that evening, and surprise, surprise, it was raining. I like the rain, I really do, but my hair doesn't. Daydreaming about new clothes with a hood and waterproofed boots, I hadn't paid much attention to the conversation the others were having. I tuned back in when Karol was about to explain the reason Nor Harbor was such a downer. "Nor Harbor is... It's all because of the empire."
Before he could continue we heard voices across the street. "I told you what would happen to that little brat if you didn't have our money!"
"Please, sir! Not that! Please, give me back my son!" Right, the poor family victimized by a corrupt system. "With this awful weather the last few months, we haven't been able to launch the boats." The man was Teagle, if I remembered correctly. "Surely you realize sir, we can't hope to pay our taxes like this."
"You'd better hurry up and capture that Rhybgaro beast then, shouldn't you?" Sneered the hired thug, not the least impressed by Teagle's speech.
"That's right. If you sell his horn, you'll never have to worry about taxes again. How many times do we have to tell you?" Teagle bowed his head, despairing, as the two thugs swaggered off.
"Savages..." fumed Rita.
"Is that the sort of scum you were talking about, Karol?" There was a hard tone to Yuri's voice. It reminded me of a comment I'd seen on Youtube when watching the playthrough. "When Judith goes for a walk, something explodes. When Yuri goes for a walk, someone dies."
"Yeah, the empire's influence is really strong here. I heard things got even worse with the new magistrate. He's some imperial big shot who does whatever he wants."
"Which means there's no one to complain to if his henchmen act like that." Rita crossed her arms and glared in the direction the men had left.
Yuri growled a bit, clenching his hands as if imagining he had them around the necks of the thugs or the corrupt official.
"But how can that be...?" questioned our naïve princess.
Yuri walked down the street towards the poor couple. He walked with purpose in his step, engaging operation do a good deed by pretending to be a jerk! Husband and wife were arguing, she was trying to get him to wait until he was recovered before monster hunting, but he ran in our direction (aka, the city gate) and was tripped by Yuri.
"Oww... What are you trying to do?" Teagle snapped.
Yuri turned away and (with poor acting in my opinion) said, "Oh, sorry about that. Didn't see you there."
"Yuri!" Estelle scolded as she ran over. She knelt next to the bandaged man, "My apologies, sir. Let me take care of that." Operation success! I thought as Estelle used her artes to heal him.
"B-but I... I can't afford this treatment..." protested his wife, who's name I can't remember.
"Don't you have something else to say?" cut in Yuri impatiently.
"Huh...?" she looked up at him in confusion.
"Jeez... You guys been robbed of your manners along with your money?"
Understanding now, she stood and bowed to Estelle. "...I-I'm sorry. Thank you most kindly." She helped Teagle stand up.
"Huh..? Yuri?" Karol was looking around. I blinked and looked back where the swordsman had been leaning against the wall just a second before. Damn, take your eyes off him for one second and he's gone. I guess he saw the Red-eyes in the alley.
"He must have something he needed to do." I shrugged, and then started walking away, "As have I, actually. I'll see you guys later at the inn over there." I pointed at a sign that said "Pollux Inn."
Right about now, Yuri should be fighting the Red-eyes, and Flynn should show up to lend him a hand. I wanted to swing by and make sure that was really happening, but was afraid that if either of them saw me they'd ask why I didn't help. And I didn't want to risk changing that particular scene, it somehow struck me that that could have bad consequences.
So I began the process of combing town to test the glowing properties of my hand (hope that bite the other day didn't break my personal lightning bug ability). I also kept an eye open for any stores selling clothes. I should finally have some time to pick out more travel minded clothing. During my search, I found a board with various notices posted on it. I couldn't help but smile when I saw Yuri's wanted poster, which had indeed doubled to ten thousand gald.
The description only says a man with black hair and black clothes...wouldn't it be fun to convince a bunch of people to dress like Yuri and run around with black wigs on? Drive the knights crazy...
Turning another corner, I was looking from building to building when I heard a door crash open behind me. Before I even turned around to see what the commotion was, a pair of hands landed on my shoulders and spun me around. Startled as I was, I would have lashed out at whoever it was if not for the name he shouted.
"Sophia!"
x x x
Letha made sooo many mistakes here. Anyone care to count them all? Heck, I think I need to make a list to keep track of all the things she's done in the story that could tip someone off.
The random part about Yuri's hair? I checked and the fic I referenced was written by Kairikiani. Veeery funny.
Almost forgot...the bit about how Letha and Yuri talk? In the Vesperia fanfiction I've read, I had the impression that people make him swear a lot more (and a lot worse) than he does in the game. In this, I'm calling it as I see it. He swears, but not like a sailor. Letha's not being as bad as she could be. Partly because of current company, partly because no one's made her the right type of angry yet.