Filling In The Blanks
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX or any of its characters.
Chapter 117: Footprint
Steiner gave an overwhelming gasp as he spluttered up the rest of the water in his lungs. His eyes were bleary and hazy in the lack of light. Blurred spots of light dotted the navy sky above him.
Panic seemed to evade him as he sat up, the only thought his mind seemed to be able to process was that it was dark out and the stars were shining above them. The cloud that huddled there during the day had broken and dissolved away.
As his eyes finally began coming into focus, he saw Eiko sitting on a rock not too far away, her body calm. Her hair was dry and she seemed relatively calm – perhaps that's why his body refused to panic.
"You're awake," she said, turning towards him. Her eyes were tired.
"How long –"
"It's been about an hour."
"An hour? What about the city? The soldiers? Everyone else?"
She shrugged, wringing her hands in front of her. This was the first sign of nervousness she had displayed, "I dunno. No soldiers have come out of the city and I haven't seen anyone else."
"You haven't?"
She shook out her purple hair and that's when he noticed that the ends were still wet. "You ended up pretty close to the path and we're still pretty close to the city. I didn't want to risk looking for anyone while you were unconscious."
"Oh," he replied lamely, oddly touched that she would do that. What a brave girl.
He watched her for another moment before she slid off of the rock and approached him.
"Are you okay to stand? We should get moving; the Iifa Tree isn't really that far."
"The Iifa Tree," he repeated, almost like he wasn't sure what she was talking about. "Do you think the others made it?"
She nodded, "I feel good about it."
He gripped his right knee with both hands, feeling heavy under the weight of his still-wet armor. He pushed off of his knee and brought himself to a wobbly standing position. Eiko held out a flask of water, "I thought you'd need this."
"Thank you," he said, a genuinely appreciative tone appearing in his voice.
They moved slowly at first. Eiko seemed very at ease and he wondered if it was still an old habit from being so used to walking these paths, whereas to everyone else, it was an unfamiliar place that could call for danger.
In reality, Eiko's mind was lost in thought about the summon. She knew what was coming; she had just enough time to throw a protective bubble around herself before the water swept her away completely. Usually, the bubble was for health regenerating purposes, but since it was technically for protection, and you need oxygen to survive when in a tidal wave, it provided her with the necessary means to stay awake during the entire thing. She guessed the little trick had come from her many days of playing with the moogles in the waters beyond Madain Sari.
But what had her shocked about experiencing the whole thing was the absolute power behind it. She had been particularly sensitive to eidolons since her vision with Bahamut and the whole thing was just freaking her out. The power that had come from Dagger's summon was something she had never experienced before. There was a certain amount of calm that came with the territory – she really felt like the summoning magic was telling her that everything was going to be okay – that she shouldn't worry about the men in the city, and she should be patient in finding her friends along the solemn paths.
She didn't have the heart to turn to Steiner and ruin this faux mood; she knew any sane person would be sick with worry about their friends.
"Do you think soldiers will follow us?"
Eiko thought about it for a moment, pulling herself away from her distracting thoughts. She tried to think honestly, despite the optimistic feeling that wanted to coddle her. Finally giving a curt nod, she replied, "Yes, I do think whoever survived will be after us once the water completely subsides. You couldn't see it in the dark so I didn't bother pointing it out, but the tidal wave is still flushing out of the city. We were lucky, thrown away from the mess."
"Lucky?" he scoffed, though he meant it more rhetorically than directed towards Eiko.
"Once they get their bearings –" he knew she had learned that one from sitting in on meetings with Beatrix and Cid, since she was technically the only one who really knew these lands and all of their secrets, it was a requirement for her to be there, "- they'll come out this way. But I don't think they'll look very far into the Iifa Tree."
"What is this tree like? Why does it have a proper name?"
She puckered her lips and curled her arms around her ribcage, one hand rising to cup her chin. It was a strangely sophisticated action looking goofy on such a little girl. Steiner tried to chastise himself – she was nearly eight after all. After a moment of distracted thought, he chastised himself again – eight years old was still such a child, and it would pay to remember that despite the growing necessity that all children mature much faster in such a war.
"I guess it's just something you have to see for yourself."
"Hm."
Nobody ever talked about their basket runs to the Iifa Tree. In fact, people had such little interest in them that Steiner had never gone on one of those runs. He'd never seen the tree before, and no great story had risen about it, so he was wondering why exactly the tree was so great as to have a name in the first place.
"Can I ask you why you do not seem panicked by what has happened in the slightest bit?"
She sighed. "I'm not even sure I know. I think it has to do with the magic from Madain Sari."
"Of course," he grumbled. "And what is the great magic telling you?"
"I think everyone will be okay. At least, from the summon I don't think anyone was hurt. The soldiers when they finally decide to give chase? That'll be a different story," her tone sounded just like a bossy eight-year-old.
"I hope your confidence is not mistaken foolishness," he retorted in his usual Steiner matter.
She dead panned at him, staring him down with a peculiar look, "I don't know if I should be offended by that or not."
"I guess we'll have to wait and see," he answered back, sighing and staring at the dark road ahead of them.
"Fuck! Do you need to pull so damn hard?!"
Blank had to bite his tongue, clearly irritable. "I will remember all of this wining the next time I find you dangling unconscious in a net of thicket over a ravine. Next time I'll leave you there and leave it up to fate."
"How about I break your one whole side of your rib cage and see who wines more?!"
"Well that," the pronunciation on his T was particularly sharp, "would be a bit counterproductive, don't you think?"
"Have you become even more of an ass hat since you got out of that forest?"
"Have you?" Blank countered icily. "I know your pissed that you have to show weakness because god forbid, but we're on the same team, man."
Amarant let out a huge, melodramatic sigh and let himself lean a little further onto Blank. The height difference was overwhelming and painful to his broken ribs, but the younger redhead was no doubt up to the task. "You're right."
Blank shrugged, figuring it was as close to an apology as he was going to get. He knew what it was like to not want to apologize, and respected Amarant for it.
"I was you last time I was caught in one of Dagger's Leviathan title waves. It was the first time she had ever summoned ever. This one was definitely more powerful though, I'll give you that much."
"You were me? What happened?"
"I had a concussion and a broken arm, dangling from a rotting wooden pillar in the dungeons of the Alexandria Castle. It was a very romanticized setting."
Amarant let out a grunt that sounded kind of like a chortle. "Whether I survive this war or not, the thing I'll miss the least is breaking bones."
Blank was quiet for a moment, remembering suddenly his conversation with Cierradonna in Treno. "What will you do," he began without realizing what he was saying, "when the war is over?"
He shrugged, tensing when he realized even the simplest of gestures was painful. "I'll do what I lost sight of during the war. I'll find my sister."
Blank's breath caught in his throat. He hadn't actually heard it come from Amarant's mouth, directed at him before. "You're sister, huh? What do you know about her?"
"Not a lot. Had reason to believe she's from Treno, like me, but I searched that city high and low for this girl since I was young – couldn't find her. I asked a lot of people, but my pops wasn't exactly a very popular man. Anyone roaming around asking about him was asking for trouble."
"Did you ever come across any information you didn't believe?"
Amarant grunted. "I'm an asshole, but this… this is different. She's the only thing I've ever wanted to be optimistic about. I had to believe there was some part of my family that wasn't a monster."
Blank stopped then, plopping his wounded teammate down on the nearest boulder, dodging the angry, dumbfounded expression on his face. The feeling was going to burst out of him – he had to say something, and now was the only time he'd ever want to intervene in the whole mess.
"Do you remember when Zidane, Vivi and I left the Elites to travel with Tantalus for awhile?"
He nodded with a scoff, "Really was the last interesting thing that happened to us."
He scratched the back of his neck, suddenly intimidated and nervous. "Amarant, we went to Treno."
"What about it?"
"I went looking for Ruby's mom. She used to be a showgirl, and now is a waitress at that same place. Ruby was the only one of our team who didn't join us after being orphaned. She left her mom in Treno to go searching for her dad – last known whereabouts being Lindblum."
Amarant tilted his head, less angry and more confused.
"Cierradonna told me that Ruby's father was a bastard of a man. They lost contact because she didn't want her daughter finding out how horrible this man was, and Ruby didn't understand why her mother wouldn't just tell her."
"Where are you going with this, squirt?"
"She told me the man was a drunk. He was cruel and mean and skipped town just as soon as she told him she was pregnant. His name… his name was Amant Coral. He had a son with hair so red he couldn't fight or steal because anyone would recognize him anywhere, and he got it from his mama."
For a moment, there was no reaction on Amarant's face.
"Amant Coral, you said?" he asked slowly, quietly.
Blank nodded, anticipation making him anxious – more anxious than he had ever been.
"That son of a bitch was my pops, that's for damn sure."
"That son of a bitch is Ruby's father too."
He let out a shallow breath, leaning his hands back on the rock. "All this time. All of these years, wasted, standing right beside the girl I was searching for and never bothering to get to know her –" he choked, unsure what his emotions were.
Blank waited, rocking from his toes to his heels.
"I'll be damned," he muttered shaking his head. "How –"
"You must have been meant to find her in all this mess."
He rubbed at his eyes. "Ruby? Your spitfire girl?"
Blank let out a soft laugh, "That'd be her. Makes sense if you think about it really at all."
"I'll be damned," he said again. He stood from the rock and Blank saw in the strong moonlight that a genuine, non-cocky smile had erupted on Amarant's face. "All the more reason to hurry back then, huh?"
Blank broke into a wide, uncharacteristic grin of his own. "You'll tell her? She'll be shocked, no doubt. She'll have a lot of questions about your family."
"I want her to know," he nodded, "even if… Even if nothing comes of it."
"What does that mean?" Blank said, unsure if he should be offended for Ruby's sake.
Amarant shrugged, his shoulders sagging more than they usually did. He looked tired. "I always had this plan in my mind about finding her. I was so insistent on this part of the plan that I guess I never really thought it would happen. And now it has and now I don't know what to do next."
Blank was quiet as they started off again, hauling forward towards the Iifa Tree. Amarant had mentioned that it had been the destination decided on after the alarms had been set, though was unsure if it was a solid plan. They had decided almost immediately that that would probably be the best place to rule out first, if nothing else.
"Ruby's a great problem solver," he offered up, taking in a hard breath before he spoke, almost awkwardly, "she'll have no problem giving you direction once you tell her."
"You aren't going to tell her?"
The question surprised Blank and even after his initial confusion, it couldn't quite make sense of it. "This is between you and her. Why would I tell her?"
"You instigated this entire discover," Amarant grouched.
Blank had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Look, I know you're maybe nervous –"
"I'm not nervous –"
"Okay, whatever you are then! But you don't have to worry about it. Ruby isn't going to appreciate it coming from me, nor is she going to be happy I went snooping for her mother and actually got information. I think you're going to cancel out all of her hurt and her anger because she's going to find an answer herself, not just be told."
"Hmph."
Blank inwardly sighed. Typical Amarant.
Straightening his back, he cracked his neck before heaving Amarant closer to his body so they could walk faster. He ignored the strain on his neck as they dragged themselves down the path.
Beatrix groaned, rolling slightly to the side and touching her hand to her forehead. Her hair was matted to her face and she felt heavy.
"Sh!" the noise was sharp and angry and before she understood what was happening, a hand was snapped over her mouth. Her eyes fluttered open and her awareness came to her instantly, despite the dizziness she felt when she sat up.
It was dim lighting in the room, but from what she could see, everything was wet. Removing her hand from her forehead and placing it back on the floor, she realized that the once dusty dirt floors of Conde Petie were now muddy.
"Eugh…" She lifted her hand and inspected her muddy glove, pushing the hair from her face with her other hand. "What –"
"Sh!" Freya was sitting on the floor, mud smeared across her face. Her bare arms were dirty and her long fingers were clenching clumps of wet dirt in front of her. Her ears swiveled as she listened to the commotion Beatrix had yet to notice outside.
The ex-knight tried to focus on what he friend was listening to, despite the swimming in her head.
"We have to move now! They're going to get away!"
"There's not enough of us! What if the whole resistance is out there?!"
"We can't do this anymore! Look how many of us are gone!"
"We're going!" a voice boomed over all the rest, loud and strong. A sword unsheathed. "They couldn't have gotten far!"
"Are you kidding, Lani?"
"Lani…" Beatrix mumbled, trying to place the familiarity in her mixed thoughts.
"Can we even get out of the city? This entire place is a dripping pile of mud!"
"The water only reached the outskirts of the city. We can make it. Stop being so ridiculous! We head out in an hour! That's my final order!"
There was some clanking and mumbling and then silence. They held their breath as they waited for what happened next.
"I think Lani is still bitter about Amarant. She's just looking for Kuja's approval."
The prison guard. Of course! Beatrix had to slap a hand over her own mouth to stop herself from gasping. Is that why pursuit was suddenly so strict? If Lani was still upset about Amarant… If she was told he was in the city…
They wouldn't stop.
The voices wandered away as the gears turned inside Beatrix's head. Freya was still holding her breath when Beatrix finally looked up at her, opening her mouth to speak.
"That woman; she was at the prison. She was friends with Amarant."
Beatrix's consensus seemed to dawn on Freya immediately and she shook her head. "We need to get out of here. It will not be long before we are found."
"How do you suppose we do that?" Beatrix asked, rubbing her arms. The humidity now inside the waterlogged den was stifling.
She shook her head, "the first step is successfully leaving this house," the bermecian glanced at Beatrix's forehead and matted hair, "and perhaps find you some medical supplies."
"Medical supplies? I'm fine, I –" she put a hand back to her head where she'd been feeling the migraine earlier as she woke up, but pulled back quickly when she felt the warm liquid pooling beneath her hair. "I didn't even realize…"
"You took quite the blow to the head," she gestured to the door, "there is a broken pillar outside with a heavy bloodstain. My guess is that it was you."
Beatrix nearly blushed. It was definitely a situation only a knight would be embarrassed about.
Freya shucked her jacket, still sopping from the flood, and tucked it underneath her knees. Gripping the sleeves of the jacket like she was about to wring it dry, she yanked, tearing the seam and ripping off the fabric. Making quick work, she rolled up one sleeve and tucked it away in her britches for later use, and with the other, folded it into a wet cloth. She shuffled on her knees over to the other woman and dabbed at her head.
"Where do you think the others are?"
"There have been no alarms sounded in the city since the water has begun to clear," she shrugged, "but they may be hiding, like us."
"I hope they've all made it out," she said. "Because we cannot stay in Conde Petie to look." Her eyes closed dizzily for a moment and she slouched, her voice slipping to a mumble. "I should have never insisted we come here. What a mistake."
"While this is a dangerous inconvenience for us now, it will serve as the experience I believe we all needed."
"I do hope that Zidane is alright. If anything happened to that boy because of all of this –"
"Dagger would not blame you," Freya cut her off, knowing already what she was worried about. "I would not have chosen to come into the city myself," she admitted, "but I see now what you saw prior to this. We need to remember how to work as a team, and how one another operates – especially Zidane. What better way to experiment with these variables than disaster?"
Beatrix gave a breathy laugh and shook her head lightly, her eyes still heavy with motherly worry. "Your bedside manner leaves something to be desired, Freya. And yet, I still find your words vaguely comforting."
"Ah," she started with an uncharacteristically tender tone, "the words of a true knight."
This time the brunette really did laugh, before shooing Freya away mildly. "I'm alright. We have to get moving."
"If it gets any worse, we must stop. Remember, you do not have Dagger's luxurious white magic to rely on anymore. You must be more careful."
She nodded, "Of course."
Freya helped Beatrix to her feet and after a moment of steadying, they crouched and began creeping towards the door. The bad thing about being stuck in Conde Petie with soldiers who also wanted to go out, was that there were two exits of the city – down the tree roots or across the sacred greens and onto the paths leading to Madain Sari and the Iifa Tree. Assuming at least half of the remaining soldiers would go in the direction of the sacred greens, they had a lot they had to look out for. It was a lot easier hiding from enemies who weren't going the same way as you.
The door creaked lightly as they stepped out into the darkness. Torches spotted the path in front of them, but the light was dull. Beatrix exhaled slowly; what the light did show them was the destruction of the dirt-based city.
Mud dripped from the root and wooden wire structure of the city. The rail above them stood strong, and the support beams of the level above them hung bare. The entire path they tried escaping on earlier, with the canal to the bottom level of the city in the middle, was nearly gone. She glanced at her feet and watched how far her boots sunk in. Luckily, the bottom of the city had enough material packed into it that the whole thing wouldn't simply wash away.
It was eerily quiet. Despite the amount of soldiers and all of the dwarves whose home was almost destroyed, there was hardly a sound.
Her heart hurt. The summon was a desperate move that had definitely saved them, but at what cost? Hopefully, these people could forgive them and understand what had happened and more importantly: why.
Freya beckoned her along and they scaled the buildings, careful not to touch anything more than they had to. Luckily, the ground had already been pillaged with footprints, but nobody had touched the walls. They had to make sure they didn't smear anything.
The stars above them were swallowed in the dim glow of the fires dotting what remained of Conde Petie. As Freya and Beatrix moved, quietly and carefully, they were met with very private scenes amongst the watery destruction. They hadn't heard any dwarves because many of the locals were staying out of the way of the soldiers moving about. Many were mourning in private – but just public enough that the two women were able to find them.
Some were in houses with the doors blown off, small, dirtied candles barely able to stay lit casting a faded and shallow light across the floor of the homes. Others were in small alleys – nooks between the buildings, counting loved ones or children. They were all uncharacteristically quiet.
By the time they found a way to the second story of the city, climbing up a woven root frame to the side of a house that had been almost completely washed away, Beatrix was nearly in tears. Her vision swam worse than it had when they started, and her mind was clouded by the scarily neutral faces of the dwarves who usually wore such silly expressions.
"We have to keep moving."
"It'll be nearing an hour now," Freya whispered back, "the soldiers are beginning to gather."
"We cannot be stuck in here – we cannot move behind them in case they choose to turn around unexpectedly," she gestured widely with her hand as she clung, still damp, to the frame, "it's pitch black in the middle of the night and we have no other allies."
The bermecian heaved a sigh. She knew that Beatrix was right. Looking closely enough, she watched the ex-knights one good chestnut eye falling in and out of focus. She would lose her soon enough, there was no doubt. Beatrix had woken once between her knock out and when they had moved and didn't even remember being awake.
"We need to find a stealthy way to do this," Freya nodded, readying herself to swing to the bridge. The white ceremonial bridge was made of stone – one of the only things in the city that was entirely made of rock – and thus, one of the only sturdy places to move quickly.
"Oi!" a voice shouted from below, "Who's that up there on the bridge!"
Both of them froze, eyes wide and afraid. No allies, no backup, no way to escape.
"Show yerself!" he continued, raising his torch, though to no avail. The only thing stopping whatever soldiers were near from attacking was the sheer fact that it was too dark to correctly identify who was on the bridge.
"I bet it be the resistance!" someone shouted from the side; both of their heads whipped in the dark direction of the voice. "They be comin' back lookin' for their friend they so rattishly left behind!"
"Who?!" Beatrix whispered, near hysteria. Her head was spinning.
"Keep quiet," Freya commanded lowly. Her arm was out protectively in front of the brunette, who nearly looked like she was going to fall over.
They had abandoned one of their friends. Though not too long and Beatrix and Freya would be in the same boat.
Her stomach turned while her ears lay flat against her head. Her companion was pale, and they were being lured out by these foolish, soft belly soldiers blabbing on about a captured resistance member. Real? Or a lie?
"We have to trust they can take care of themselves," she said through a slow breath.
"Freya they could die! What if it's Dagger, or Vivi or –"
"it is resistance members!" The voice was far closer than they anticipated and now a torch was being held to them, showcasing the two women off for all wandering eyes to see.
"Fuck," Beatrix murmured, reaching behind her for her sword.
"Buy me five minutes. I have a plan." And with that, she leapt, feeling the wind rush against her cheeks and the world below her disappear.
Beatrix stood, perplexed and afraid as she watched her friend launch away into the sky. It didn't take long to lose sight of the Bermecian, and while she did trust that the dragon knight surely did have a plan, a part of her felt angry – angry that she was so disorientated and left to fend for herself.
Five minutes?
People began shouting below. More people were climbing the wiring to reach the bridge, and she was going to be trapped if she didn't get her head around soon.
It felt like it could be a millennium before Freya came back.
"Well… here we are. The Iifa Tree."
"I imagine it's probably more glamorous during the day."
"Trust me, it's not."
Dagger gave a small smile. She appreciated Zidane's attempts at optimism. It was a nice change seeing him looking both confident and at ease. It made her heart ache for Dali and the days she used to think the resistance was hard, before it truly became a struggle. But on the other hand, look at how much she had learned and how much she had grown. Look where she was – alive, waiting for their friends, and with Zidane.
"What is this giant tree anyways?" He leaned against a rock, trying to ring out his gloves once again. She could see the way his muscles were tensed in his shoulders and arms. He was hurting and trying impressively hard to hide it.
"I was reading some of the scriptures in the Summoner's Cove. The Iifa Tree is where many aspiring summoners began their journey to the four elemental shrines. They believed that while Madain Sari was where the magic was balanced and centered and where it began, the Iifa Tree gives great pulses of magic, feeding from nature and mist and the very air around it for magical power.
"All from a tree?"
"I think just through a plant's life source. Not in a frightening way."
"It seems frightening," he told her. "What's a tree doing this massive anyways? Why hasn't anyone tried use this power?"
"I wonder if they have and we just do not know."
"Hm," he commented, fully sitting on the rock now. "I hope everyone is alright."
Dagger didn't answer, the illusion of his optimism cracking. Instead, she tucked her hands behind her back and paced, every loop bringing her closer to the edge of the cliff towards the weaving vines of the Iifa Tree. It was calm here, and perhaps it was because of the concentrated amount of magic, but it seemed to help in calming her nerves.
The wind tugged at the leaves, creating a wave of shimmering noise on their small overlook into the valley of vines and roots. She wrapped her arms around herself, remembering the power of the summon, and hoping it wasn't enough to destroy the city.
"Dagger," she turned, giving a start when she realized she hadn't even noticed Zidane get up off the rock and walk to her side.
He looked much older. When they first met, his wide eyes and goofy grin always spoke to the care-free side of him that made him seem so young. Perhaps the technical lapse of five years of his life allowed him this persona in the middle of a brutal war, or maybe it was just his personality until he was really in the fray. But whatever it was, there were only hints of it left. That wasn't in such a bad way either it was just… His hair was long and his bangs swept into his eyes, still as piercing and clear blue as the first day she met him. His face was tanned from all the time in the sun, finally with color back in it after so many frightening weeks. Scars peppered his face, but they were still continuing to lighten – she hardly noticed them anymore, but perhaps that was because she spent so much time with him. His jawline was squared off and he stood a little taller than she remembered when she used to take her time to simply look at him.
The most calming feeling of having him by her side was that there was no more immediate threat to his life. Sure, the war still loomed ahead of them, soldiers behind them, weather and strain and fighting and tears and pain laid out in one long line of things they would continue to bump in to, but she didn't have to look at his strained face and wonder if that was the last expression she would ever get to see.
And it felt good.
She smiled up at him, finally giving him a response after he spoke her name. She figured he had learned long ago – after the first tragedy or two with his health and their relationship – to be patient and let her stare at him without giving her a quizzical look, at least for a little bit.
"You know everyone is going to be okay, right? Maybe it doesn't seem like that now, and maybe it won't seem like that when we see who makes it here but… things will be alright. Somehow I feel like our intuition about the Iifa Tree being a meeting spot is going to pay off. Everything will be okay."
She sighed, "You're right. I know you're right it's just…" she trailed, something behind Zidane catching her eye.
He turned when he realized he lost her attention. "What?"
She leaned forward, squinting her eyes like it might help her see better in the dark. "nothing, I just thought I saw something…" she trailed and he figured she must have seen it again.
"Can you just describe it to – oh."
"Right? You saw it, didn't you?" She took another step forward.
He put his arm out, bumping her in the shoulder, "Be careful of the –" there was a splitting noise. They barely had time to look before the ground crackled and gave way, effectively snatching Dagger with it.
She let out a yelp, careful enough not to scream, and grabbed for Zidane. He caught her by the elbows and for a moment they locked eyes like he'd just saved her from a catastrophe. But his knees shook, and his right leg, still bruised and angry gave out on him and he toppled to the side.
Straight down the ledge and into the forest of roots.
A/N: Guys. I know. I'm awful.
Can you believe that I was trying to get this done as a holiday gift to you guys? And now it's February. Let me give you the only excuse that sounds valid enough:
These chapters are tough to write. In the past, I have a knack for skipping a bunch of time when I'm feeling lost in direction, but I'm really fighting the urge to do that with this story. It does not call for a time skip and so, would actually be one big cop out for you guys and that's just not fair.
With that being said, I apologize for things being a little slow. I'm trying to keep a little bit of spice without being boring, but I think everything here will be explained within the next few chapters. My goal is to write out a little plan to follow, because having some sort of structure has helped me breeze through some chapters in the past, instead of just winging each and every chapter because they feel like they are just a little bit all over the place (no need to agree with me lol).
That being said, I think, yes, it probably still will be a little time before the next update, but I promise the waiting will finally start to pay off a little bit here. I am so sorry this is so short, but I wanted to get a little something to you guys so you didn't feel like I was giving up.
Thanks for all of the reminders and constant support! I have simply the best readers!
Curiously, if I ever manage to finish this story, I'm interested in writing another FFIX story. I have a couple of different options I could go and I want a couple of opinions! Part of me wants to do a touch more on Blank – I don't know how or why but I've become enamored with the personality and backstory I've given him in this story and I find it fascinating that if this war didn't happen, he would have been a noble citizen. I kind of want to do a shorter story based around that. Meeting Tantalus as a noble, being the prissy, ritzy kid that he has the personality for despite being a thief. I don't know, I feel like that might be an interesting read, while it would really have nothing to do with anything.
Another direction would be a prequel story revolving around the chaotic past of Beatrix and Steiner. She was in love with his brother, Steiner had a whole big family, there was a war, they were becoming knights? Sound interesting?
The final idea is something I've had in mind for a long time – something that I will probably write eventually anyways that is a more traditional, longer story about Zidane and Dagger. That will take a little planning.
Ramble over. Thoughts? Threats to make me stop thinking about new stories and just get on with this one? You choose
Thanks for everything guys!
-zesty-
