Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of the Abyss.

Chapter 14

Sylphday, Gnome-Decan 42, ND2019 – 10:20am local time (Tataroo Valley)

The Albiore hovered over the east end of Tataroo Valley as Noelle searched for a safe landing place. Tear gripped her staff tightly. She had changed back into her everyday melodist's uniform, to prevent damage to her best clothes. Thanks to Noelle's advice, no one in Sheridan had given her any trouble about being an Oracle Knight, although she had attracted some whistles and catcalls.

Looking out over the valley, she remembered the first time she had been there. This is where it began, she thought. This is where Luke and I started our journey. How strange that we're on a new journey now, beginning here again, but without Luke...

"Florian," said Anise, startling Tear from her reminiscing. She was wearing her tabard again, but the small dagger she usually carried was missing from her waist.

"Yes, Anise?" Florian asked cautiously.

"Here... take this," Anise said, handing Florian her dagger in its sheath.

Tear winced. Obviously, Anise wanted Florian to be able to defend himself – which was sensible enough – but it was common knowledge that a woman giving a man a knife symbolized cutting off relations with him. Hopefully Florian didn't know that...

Evidently he did, because his eyes widened and his lip began to quiver. "Anise? Are... a-are you sure?" he stammered.

Anise blushed. "Don't look at me like that! It's just a loan, okay? Just until we can find the right weapon for you, that's all."

"O-Okay. Sure." Florian still looked hurt.

Anise rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean it that way. I just want you to be able to protect yourself from monsters. I... well... just take it, will you?"

Florian seemed uncertain, but he accepted the knife. "Okay, Anise. Um... thank you."

"So, you've decided to bring him with us into the valley? I'm surprised, Anise," said Jade.

"I don't really want to," Anise replied, shuffling her feet and looking at the floor. "But Tear told me that most of the daytime monsters are pretty weak."

Guy nodded. "It'll be a good training opportunity. He'll be fine, Anise."

"Yes," Natalia agreed. "I am certain that we can keep him safe."

The Albiore made its landing, and Noelle turned in her seat to face the group. "All right, everyone, here we are. Good luck!"

"Thanks, Noelle," Guy said cheerily. "Everybody ready?"

Tear, Anise, Florian, Jade, and Natalia all nodded. One by one, they descended the narrow staircase to the hold.

It was a sunny, warm day in the valley. A light breeze stirred the tree branches and the tallest plants; overhead, a few fluffy white clouds drifted across the sky. Birds chirped, insects hummed, and small animals scurried about. Spring flowers were everywhere. Florian stared all around, looking awestruck. Tear smiled as she watched Florian pause to smell one of the flowers close to the path.

"Nothing appears to be out of the ordinary," Natalia remarked as they crossed a small brook.

"Yeah," said Guy. "The weather seems normal, and we haven't run into any monsters so far."

"Nevertheless, stay alert," Jade said sternly. "The tornado that hit Third Division came up very suddenly. We had no time to prepare. Even our weather officer was taken by surprise."

"Wow, Colonel," said Anise. "So, what should we do if we see a tornado coming?"

"The cliffs surrounding this area are full of caves," Jade replied, "as we know from our previous visit. We should take shelter in one of those caves... if we can find one fast enough."

"What if we can't find one?" Anise asked nervously.

"Then I expect we'll die," Jade said with a shrug.

Anise gave him a dirty look. "Ugh... Colonel, you sure are in a bad mood today."

"Oh? Shall I apologize for being honest?" Jade inquired acidly.

Tear decided it was time to intervene. "If a tornado comes, we'll deal with it then. Now, drop it, you two."

"Indeed. Enough worst-case scenarios," said Natalia. "We should enjoy this nice weather while we can. Not that we should be careless," she added hastily, "but there's no point in such excess negativity."

"Heads up!" Guy warned. "Monsters incoming!"

Three small Filifolia bounced toward the group, waving their leafy antennae. Guy already had his sword out. Natalia nocked an arrow to her bow, Anise activated Tokunaga, and Tear and Jade took casting stances. Florian drew a sharp breath and pulled Anise's dagger out of its sheath.

"Florian, stay at the back!" Anise shouted as she jumped onto Tokunaga.

"But then, how am I going to learn to fight?" Florian asked plaintively.

"Just watch us at first!"

"But...!"

"Florian, stay close to me," Tear ordered. "You can start learning by observation. Since you have a dagger at the moment, watch Guy and see how he uses his sword."

"Okay..."

Guy shot a quick grin over his shoulder at Tear and Florian. "I'm in the spotlight, huh? All right... Demon Fang!"

The wave of energy from Guy's attack hit one of the Filifolia, killing it instantly. Another Filifolia met an arrow from Natalia, with the same result. The third one was dispatched by Anise with a swing of Tokunaga's arm.

"All right! We won!" Anise cheered.

"Cool!" exclaimed Florian. "But Guy, how did you do that...that thing you did?"

"Oh," said Guy. "Uh..."

"That was an arte," said Tear. "Guy, perhaps you should demonstrate basic attacks first." Florian may not be strong enough to use artes, she refrained from saying aloud.

"Er, right," said Guy. "Sorry about that, Florian. I got a little carried away, I guess."

"I don't mind," Florian replied cheerfully. "I want to learn to use artes, too!"

"I'll teach you some artes after you've got the hang of normal attacks," Guy promised. "Let's keep going."

They followed the path uphill, stopping occasionally to deal with monsters. Tear kept an eye on Florian during the battles, but to her relief he seemed satisfied to watch Guy slash and stab at enemies.

At the top of the hill, Tear paused. "Excuse me..." she said hesitantly.

"What is it, Tear?" Natalia asked.

"If you all don't mind, I'd like to make a short detour – just to the selenia field. Florian has never seen it before. And..." she faltered. Even though Luke isn't with us, I want to visit the place where our journey began. Just...because.

Jade shook his head. "We should get to the Sephiroth as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence."

"Can we stop for lunch, at least?" Florian asked. "I'm starving."

"Me too," said Anise, "and the selenia field is the perfect place for a picnic lunch!"

"I think we could all do with a bit of rest, as well as something to eat," said Natalia.

Guy nodded. "Let's visit the selenia field and take a break there. We have a bunch of ingredients in the item bag," he said, hitching up the knapsack he was carrying. "Sandwiches are pretty fast to fix. We won't take too long, Jade."

"If we stop now—" Jade began to argue.

"Sorry, old man, you're outvoted five to one," Guy overrode him. "Come on, gang, let's have some lunch!"

The selenia field was as serene as always, and Tear let out a small, wistful sigh. In the distance, beyond the wide expanse of tall grass and flowers, the ruins of Eldrant were visible.

Luke, she thought, when will you come home?

Guy set down the knapsack and said, "I'll have these sandwiches put together in no time. Get some R and R, everyone. Especially you, Jade."

"R and R?" Florian asked. "What does that mean?"

"Rest and relaxation," Natalia clarified.

"Oh, okay," said Florian, looking all around. "Tear, this place is beautiful! I've never seen so many flowers before!"

Tear smiled. "Selenias are my favorite flower. Right now, they're barely more than buds because it's the middle of the day. They bloom at night."

"What do they look like when they're blooming? Can we come back here at night?"

"No," Tear said regretfully. "It's too dangerous. Monsters are more active at night here. But perhaps the next time you visit Yulia City, I can show you some selenias in bloom there. I have a small garden of them at home. They were the only flower that could grow in the Qliphoth."

"Oh, yes, I remember now," said Florian. "Yulia City used to be underground, before the land was lowered."

"That's right," said Tear. "Did you learn about that while you were there?"

Florian shook his head. "No, it was in my lessons in Daath."

"I see."

They were both silent for a few minutes, admiring the view.

"Food's ready!" Guy called. "Come and get it!"

The sandwiches were delicious, and conversation was set aside for a while. When the group had finished eating and packed up, Tear took one last look down the valley at Eldrant.

Luke... Come back to us. I'll be waiting... always...

Guy noticed her hesitation. "Hey, Tear," he said, "don't worry. He'll come back. He promised he would, remember?"

"How did you read my mind like that?" Tear asked, embarrassed.

"It must be because we're all thinking the same thing," said Natalia. "I miss Luke...and Asch." She swallowed hard. "I want to believe that Luke will return. Truly, I do. But sometimes..." she trailed off.

Anise nodded. "I wonder sometimes, too. But I believe in Luke. Don't you, Colonel?"

No answer.

Anise looked around. So did Tear, Guy, and Natalia. There was no sign of Jade.

"Where did he go?" Tear asked uneasily. "Did he leave without us?"

Guy frowned. "Hey... where's Florian?"