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moogle_workshop2011-06-07 02:22 pm
breyzyyin.livejournal.com) wrote in moogle_workshop2011-06-07 02:22 pm
{Fan Fic} Something To Be Grateful For
Username: Yin (of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
breyzyyin)
Class: White Mage
Title: Something To Be Grateful For
Summary: A fic for the "balance" prompt over at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
airship_lounge. Torn between her two older sisters' paths of life, Mjrn is still undecided over which direction she herself will inevitably go. A meeting with a traveler to The Wood and a surprising gift helps ease her mind somewhat.
Characters/Pairings: Mjrn is the main focus of the story, with Jote and Larsa both showing up and having dialogue in the fic. Heavy mentions of Fran and Chit the Cockatrice as well. Icarus is actually a minor character in FFXII (he's the wounded Imperial soldier you have to give a Potion to before entering the Henne Mines), I just gave him a name and elaborated on his background/personality. AND Boco the Chocobo (who is fond of showing up in Ivalice games, it seems! ♥) makes an appearance too.
Word count: 8,020Haha, no wonder it took me so long to get this posted! XD
Rating/warnings: G. Spoilers for Final Fantasy XII.
----Legal Disclaimer: I do not own either FFXII or any of those titles' characters. They are the rightful property of Square-Enix.----
...This pretty much confirmed it, he decided grimly. What his friend had jested with him earlier was undoubtedly true now: he really did seem to have rotten luck, especially where this area of Ivalice was concerned.
Hopelessly lost despite the detailed map he'd been given, he stood in the middle of a vast dark-looking forest. Plant-life practically choked him from all sides. Considering the more industrialized Archades he had grown up in as a child and the other Hume-built cities he'd been on tour in...this humid environment was stifling, full of creatures wanting nothing more than to tear him limb-from-limb that he'd never see creeping up on him until it was far too late.
To top it all off, the last time he'd been in this vicinity he'd been viciously attacked by a monster and critically wounded. This was supposed to be his first mission now that he'd fully recovered.
...The irony was not lost on him.
"Well," he said out loud to his feathered mount standing faithfully next to him, "At least I made it INTO the jungle this time, right, Boco?"
The Chocobo turned his head to the side, refusing to look the soldier in the eye. Clearly, Boco was far from impressed by the accomplishment.
The young man glared at the yellow bird in return, inwardly wondering if he could do a trade the next time he saw that Moogle who ran the Chocobo ranch in Rabanastre.
*****
Eruyt Village, the home of the Viera who chose to dwell within Golmore Jungle, was a quiet, peaceful, and secluded spot. Completely cut off from the creatures who chose to enshroud themselves in iron and cut out the voice of The Wood from their minds.
It was a place that she at once considered hauntingly beautiful in its changing pace...but also insanely suffocating at the same time.
In a way, her viewpoints of Eruyt Village mirrored the conflicting sides of Mjrn's warring viewpoints in her mind.
It had started when her older sister, Fran, had made her choice to live outside of the forest a little over fifty years ago. It had not been an easy decision for her to make, she knew...doing so had meant that Fran was forever cut off from her true heritage: the voice of nature--of The Wood she had once called home in particular, fell silent on her ears. Those she grew up with who remained at Eruyt Village or the other forest villages the Viera chose to dwell in would only recognize her as an exile, a contaminated specimen that they should limit contact with lest they too should lose the ability to hear The Wood.
...It had been their eldest sister, Jote, who had handed down that decree as the leader of their people.
Though Jote still cared for her sister in her own way (though with her stoic mannerisms it was often hard to tell, but Mjrn was able to pick up on the subtle changes that came into Jote's eyes or body language when she was thinking of the past)--she had seen it as her duty, as it had been the duty of all of the elders of their people when it came to preserving their traditions and the Voice of Nature.
She never once relished having to banish any of her people as there had been several others from time to time who also made that very hard choice as well, let alone her own sister...and there was a somber air that hung about her amber-colored eyes in close connection with her serious manner ever since. Though Jote's pride and her position as bastion of all that the forest-dwelling Viera stood for never allowed her to show this more visibly, Mjrn herself knew that she would not even voice such thoughts out loud: especially not to her, her only living kin still in the sanctity of their homeland...and one that Jote was secretly terrified would perhaps make the same decision as Fran did--she was even more adamant of not wanting to discuss the outside whenever Mjrn was within earshot than normal.
Still, Fran never once seemed to harbor any ill feelings towards Jote. Despite being on opposite sides of the spectrum when it came to their viewpoints...there was an understanding between the two of them that even their forced separation couldn't seem to completely destroy.
...One elder sister who served as the leader of the Viera and a guardian of their ability to communicate with The Wood, the other a master of man-made weapons who had forsaken her birthright in order to travel the world.
It was no wonder that Mjrn, the youngest of the three siblings, often felt so conflicted. She respected Jote and their traditions greatly...but she did not believe the world outside their jungle home was wholly evil and ignorant either.
Even after that one horrible incident involving the Archadian Empire and the Henne Mines, a part of her still wanted to travel Ivalice as Fran did. She felt pulled in two very different directions.
And the outcome of any final choice would perhaps be too hard for her to bear. Both of her sisters, after the last time the two spoke face to face after Fran's group had rescued her from her abduction, had begged her to think long and hard on the consequences of her eventual choice.
They had both been harsh about it in their own way, but it had come from a good place: for all of their differences, the one thing both Fran and Jote always seemed to want was what they felt would best make their baby sister happy. It had been that way ever since she could remember.
...Now if only she could figure out what that would truly be for herself.
Mjrn let out a soft sigh, feeling a familiar sense of loneliness and discontentment fall about her shoulders like a shawl. How long had she been contemplating these things in her head? It seemed impossibly long, and nowhere close to stopping. It was enough to almost make her want to scream out at the top of her lungs--something she hadn't done since the day Fran had been banished. Neither Fran or Jote had spoken a word to her that day, making an already intense situation that much more volatile to her young mind.
...Something's here.
The thought had come to her so unbidden that she gasped, startled. She glanced quickly around her, noting that nothing seemed out of place in the Viera stronghold.
And yet...
Seizing on that sense she'd had, Mjrn closed her eyes and stretched her thoughts, her very essence outwards--past the boundaries that kept the site hidden from prying eyes, into the outer layers of Golmore Jungle.
Sure enough, aside from the familiar denizens of the forest who called the place home--there were two foreign presences as well: a Hume (she could recognize them more readily now thanks to her more recent experiences) and a strange animal of some kind...perhaps one of the domesticated species they used from time-to-time. Her thoughts traveled to her friend Chit, the Cockatrice that had been taken to the stronghold and whose presence had comforted her somewhat after Fran had left that second time: she hoped that Chit was well now and that she been reunited with her friends and the young Hume girl who had been desperately searching for her.
Their presences lingered in the same spot for quite some time--unlike the other non-Viera travelers who sometimes traversed through the outside areas of Golmore Jungle but quickly moved on to what they felt were more "civilized" parts of the world (in their views of what counted as "civilized," which was usually relegated to what was familiar to them...it often struck Mjrn as rather ironic that the forest-dwelling Viera and the other residents of Ivalice both held that view of their own areas and nothing else).
Perhaps they were searching for something? Or maybe they were lost?
She frowned, the last thought not a comforting one. There were many monsters that could be fairly aggressive in the forest--especially to those not familiar with the area and the monsters' behavior patterns. Even a seasoned fighter would not stand long against a whole group of the tougher ones.
"...Mjrn?"
For the second time in a few moments, the young woman was startled out of her thoughts. She jumped slightly and turned, her eyes meeting the regard of her sister's cool gaze.
"Something troubles you?" the question wasn't much of one at all, rather it had the air of a statement to it instead. Jote was wise and able to read expressions quite easily...she already knew there had been something swimming through her younger sister's thoughts before she even approached her.
...Mjrn wondered if Jote had sensed them too. Jote's sense of the forest, of the voice of The Wood, was stronger than her own: indeed, it was stronger than most Viera's, so it would not surprise her if she had already known of the outsiders' presence the moment they had stepped into the boundaries of the forest.
On the other hand though, Jote often focused her thoughts inward--to the heart of The Wood. She was not concerned with much else. Even if she had sensed them, she would probably not say anything: whether or not the visitors traversed Golmore Jungle safely was of no concern to her so long as it did not endanger the Viera. And she certainly would not mention it to Mjrn, of that she had no doubt.
"N--no, sister...nothing is wrong!" Mjrn smiled weakly in combination with her stammering, giving a slight bow afterwards as a show of respect to her sister.
"..." though she doubted Jote believed her, the older Viera's face remained impassive. She regarded Mjrn for a few more moments with eyes that seemed far too knowing for her appearance as a gorgeous young woman...but when Mjrn did nothing save look away from her gaze briefly, she seemed to have enough.
"Very well. Remember to attend the evening meal today--there was concern when you did not show up last night."
"Yes, sister, of course!"
And with one last look in Mjrn's direction, Jote moved away with a graceful poise that only Fran ever seemed able to match.
Mjrn watched her sister leave as silently as she had come--knowing that was her way of showing concern for Mjrn's penchant for losing track of time when alone with her thoughts. A feeling of guilt went through her: she did not mean to cause Jote or anyone else to worry, but...
The two foreign presences were wandering further into the forest now. Biting her lip and assuring her doubting mind that it would be all right so long as she came back quickly, Mjrn began to head for the entryway--her curiosity getting the better of her.
She was too wrapped up in her own concerns to notice that Jote was standing a few feet away still...an unknowable expression crossing over her amber-colored eyes as she watched her younger sister leave. She knew that this had to do with the presences Mjrn had felt only moments ago.
...Jote also knew that eventually Mjrn was bound to make her choice as to where she belonged. Her older sister silently prayed that she would have a little more time before having to face her sister's choice--for both of their sakes.
*****
Golmore Jungle was, at first glance, a truly imposing place once you left the barriers that sheltered the Viera's home.
Mjrn remembered clutching both Fran's and Jote's hands tightly as a child when they had first taken her outside: how they'd smiled reassuringly at her and talked in soothing voices as they'd shown the frightened girl the secrets of The Wood--what to do and what not to do in certain situations, what were the pathways that would allow the Viera to travel safely from area to area.
Later on, Jote no longer had any interest in the outskirts of the forest and rarely left Eruyt Village. Despite her initial fear of leaving the village, Mjrn ended up becoming one of the most adept Viera at traversing the realm beyond the Wood-Warders once Fran, who had always possessed a natural affinity for such things, had gone to travel the rest of Ivalice.
Briefly, she thought of Fran again: wondering if she was not only traveling Ivalice at this very moment but its skies as well with her Hume sky pirate. Her sister had visited her at times throughout her journey with the Dalmascan princess ever since that one incident, but reunions were brief and tense due to the other Viera. Mjrn understood why the visits had become less and less, though she still treasured the rare times they occurred and hoped that they would not stop entirely now that things had settled down in terms of the situation with the Archadian Empire.
As she neared the spot where she had felt the Hume before Mjrn's steps slowed from their hurried pace to a slower one before stopping altogether.
What if this Hume was like the Imperial ones that had taken her before? The thought made her heart pound heavily in her chest and her blood run cold as unwanted memories flooded to the surface of her mind unbidden.
There didn't seem to be a malign energy in this person's presence, however...and she was better able to sense that this deep in the forest. She'd been on the outskirts of the area before, unused to venturing that far out of the Viera's territory and had been caught unawares because of it when the armed men had snuck up on her. It had been easy enough to sense their intentions at that point--so having this clear a sense of the outsider's general intent was a good sign. The Wood didn't seem to think they were a point of alarm either and her voice (as the Viera viewed The Wood as being a "she") did not seem to protest Mjrn going to see what they were about--another good sign.
Besides, even if it turned out that the Hume was just incredibly good at masking his true manner or goal (something she doubted considering the wisdom and insight of The Wood, her own abilities notwithstanding)...there was only one of him as opposed to an entire group. And she was forest-born and knew every corner of this confusing place: giving her an unmistakable advantage.
If she deemed the situation too perilous, she could easily lose him in the jungle or, if she deemed the situation warranted it if the person did in fact mean to harm her home or people, lead him straight into a pack of some of the more unpleasant denizens of Golmore Jungle. That wasn't something she would want to do, but it was something that was still a viable final solution if things did get too problematic.
Nodding to herself in silent confirmation of her earlier resolve, Mjrn began to walk forward again with a determined gait.
*****
She found the animal companion first: a gigantic yellow bird, saddled with packs bulging with supplies and an empty saddle for its rider. A bridle's reins were hanging down from its head near towards the ground...as if perhaps the bird had either been tied to something at one point or had been led by hand through the denser parts of the foliage.
The Chocobo had been attempting to graze on some wild Greens growing near the side of the narrow path it had been standing on when she approached. At the sound of her footsteps, it lifted its head and gazed at her with large, dark eyes.
There was a surprisingly calm mannerism to its body language and gaze...Mjrn wondered briefly if the "fight or flight" instinct that was still apparently existing in its wilder cousins had been bred out of the domesticated version entirely--or if this particular Chocobo was just a rather docile animal in general.
She had recalled a few of the other Chocobos she'd met that one time near the Henne Mines to still be rather jumpy in their responses, though that could have just been due to what had been going on around them at the time...but she hadn't really been around them for that long anyways.
The bird titled its head to the side, a soft "Kweh" sound emanating from its beak. It seemed more curious about her presence than anything else.
Mjrn, not wanting to startle the animal with any sudden movements, held her hands out in front of her...approaching slowly. Instead of running in the opposite direction down the path away from her, the creature surprised her by walking forward a few gaping strides and meeting her head on. "Kweh"-ing more vocally now in a way that almost resembled a deep-throated purr...the Chocobo rubbed its beak into one of her open palms in a friendly fashion.
Resisting the urge to krinkle her nose somewhat as Chocobos had an odd odor about them (...their favorite food, Greens, dissipates it and most other species can't smell the odor afterwards, but Viera have sensitive senses of smell and can still detect traces of the odor--though thankfully a Green-heavy diet makes it tolerable even for them), Mjrn smiled at the surprisingly affectionate display in open delight--her hands finding their way to the bird's head and neck in an unconscious petting motion that seemed to soothe the animal immensely. A content shimmer glistened in its giant eyes in response to the attention it was now being lavished with.
She'd always had an interest in animals, and being this close to a Chocobo was a delight.
"...What happened then?" she said out loud to the bird, "Where is your rider?"
The Chocobo seemed wholly unconcerned at her questions, the very definition of pleased and without a care in the world.
The young Viera sighed and began glancing around, wondering where the Hume had wandered off to.
*****
...And to top off having gotten himself lost in Golmore Jungle, Boco had apparently found his adventuring spirit and wandered off the very second he'd let go of his reins to check on a movement he'd seen out of the corner of his eye.
The soldier let out a small sigh, though at least a tiny part of him was inwardly amused that the Chocobo, who seemed vastly uninterested in doing much of anything that required even the least amount of effort most of the time, had suddenly found a spark of curiosity--enough even to get out of his line of sight that quickly.
'Maybe he knew I was thinking of trading him in once we got to Rabanastre.' he thought wryly.
For all of Boco's eccentricities, of which there were admittedly quite a few, the last thing Icarus wanted was to have the animal's death at the hands of a monster who found giant yellow birds extremely tasty on his conscience. He could be a pain, yes...but he was still his partner in this venture.
...Not to mention there was also the fact that the item he was supposed to be delivering was stowed safely away in Boco's saddlebags.
He just couldn't find a break today, it seemed.
Sighing, the soldier continued his search.
*****
Reins in hand, Mjrn walked her new friend in the direction where she was sensing the Hume's presence still. The Chocobo seemed familiar with the area, happily trotting by her side without any sense of hesitancy.
It wasn't too long before a glint of movement caught her eye...armor, the reflective surface of which caught what little light came down from the dense, dark treetops above them and made it glean.
'A lone Imperial soldier here?' Curiosity mingled with fear for a few seconds, causing Mjrn's stomach to lurch. The bird noticed this and "Kweh"-ed nervously, nudging her shoulder encouragingly with its beak.
She turned her head slightly to smile at the creature, "Well, if he's your friend...I can't imagine he's all that bad."
No sooner had the words escaped her lips than she noticed the writhing green mass of mossy tentacles heading through the forest at an unhurried pace. A Malboro was heading directly towards the soldier...though from its relaxed pace and manner, it didn't seem as if it had spotted the jungle intruder yet.
Still, it would only take a second for things to change: for either the soldier to notice the monster and panic, making things worse for himself (never a good thing to do in those situations)...or for the creature to figure out that a Hume had stumbled into its territory unawares and decided it had easy prey.
Letting go of the Chocobo's reins and haphazardly motioning for the bird to stay put, Mjrn raced forward--covering the still rather large space between her and the Archadian soldier in a matter of moments thanks to her agile speed and the fact that she knew the footholds of the area remarkably well.
She didn't even wait for the shock of seeing a Viera suddenly appearing right next to him to register on the man's face.
"Get down!" she hissed under her breath, jerking the soldier downward forcibly by clutching his gauntleted hand and pulling him through the motion...silently hoping he'd follow without complaint as she did so.
At first he seemed reluctant to follow her instructions due to how fast everything had happened...but one glance at the mass of mossy green ahead of them caused him to reconsider just as quickly. He dropped so suddenly to the forest floor that it almost caught Mjrn off-guard--though she was thankful for his quick response moments later with the Malboro creeping near to where they'd just been standing.
The stench of the monster was enough to give anyone pause or cause them to gag inwardly--though thankfully there was a myriad collection of trees and shrubbery that kept the two of them concealed from its sight now that they were hunched close to the ground as they were.
The towering monster only paused nearby where they were hiding for a few seconds, as if it had perhaps sensed something but was unable to figure out what it was now...with one last shake of its numerous tentacles as it decided everything was in order, it disappeared from sight once more without any fuss.
Letting out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, though perhaps that was more survival instinct than anything else with a Malboro around...Mjrn turned to look at the soldier up close for the very first time.
*****
Icarus blinked slowly, his mind taking a few more seconds to process what had just happened than was probably necessary--the girl that had just helped him avoid the Malboro's detection stared at the blank expression plastered on his face with a perplexed one of her own.
But...a Viera! The kind that dwelled in forests were widely known to be incredibly reclusive. He'd seen a few in the more populated areas of Ivalice--though it was more or less common knowledge that many of the Viera who chose to live among outsiders instead of adhering to their traditional way of life were ostracized from their communities...so only those who had made that painful decision and their offspring were the only Viera living in those areas. There wasn't a lot known about the ones who still lived in seclusion--and the Viera who lived in the cities remained quiet on that front as a whole in order to still show respect to their heritage.
...Truthfully, the last Viera he'd encountered relatively close-by and not just having passed on the street was that one Viera with the group of Humes who had been traveling through the Ozmone Plain all those months ago--the very same group that had likely saved his life by giving him some urgent medical care after the monster attack that had left him incapacitated for quite some time afterwards. He was still immensely grateful both to them and his friend who had stayed with him after he'd been injured and had asked the group for aid...if not for all of them, he was quite positive he wouldn't have survived through that day at all. Even now, the scars on his chest and back ached with the recollection of that painful time.
Oddly enough, this Viera sort of brought to mind the one that had been in his group of rescuers, though he hoped that wasn't because of the stereotype he'd heard a few of his fellow soldiers say of how "All Viera look the same" or something or other...he'd always made it a point to not get involved in that kind of talk. Both had white fur around their long ears, which went into snow-white hair (while the one Viera's hair had been long and wavy, this Viera's hair was bobbed short to her face)...though that was hardly a surprise: most Viera had white-colored hair or, failing that, pale blond or reddish hair--and there were even a few of the Viera who dwelled in cities who dyed their hair darker colors such as brown or black too. And they both had the same mesmerizing amber-colored eyes that were synonymous with the Viera as well, along with the darker skin coloring and long nails that were trademarks of their people.
But even more than that...Icarus could swear there was perhaps some kind of other resemblance between the two. This Viera looked somewhat younger than the other. Though who could tell? The lifespan of the average Viera was much longer than a Hume's...it wouldn't shock him at all if this Viera, who resembled either a girl in her late teens or someone who was around his own age of twenty-two, was actually much older than him by far. But their facial shape and structure seemed oddly similar.
Perhaps there was a familial connection between the two? Icarus, for not the first time since his recovery, cursed the fact that he hadn't thought to ask for names from his rescuers. Though to be fair, he had been falling in and out of consciousness due to the pain from his injuries at the time...he was lucky just to have been cognizant enough to recall their faces, as his friend often stated. Being a rather curious fellow, he would love to ask this Viera if she knew of the group he'd met.
Instead, all he could do was blush in embarrassment for having nearly gotten attacked by a monster yet again.
"T--thank you." He heard himself manage to stammer out somehow, looking anywhere aside from her face and eyes.
The girl seemed to recover her thoughts more quickly, her expression and voice firm as she stood up...surprisingly offering him her hand in order to help him do the same.
"I don't know for what reason you and your mount came into this jungle, but it's far too dangerous for you to stay. You need to leave for both of your sakes...now."
There was a note of finality to her tone that surprised Icarus, though her grip on his hand as she helped him to stand in his bulky armor was surprisingly gentle. Once he was steady and back on his feet, she turned around to disappear back into the forest growth.
Almost having forgotten his reasoning for coming here due to all of the excitement, Icarus had a moment of panic when the Viera was about to leave...after all, this was the exact opportunity he'd been hoping for even if he'd thought the chances of it happening before now had been slim to nil.
"Wait!"
The Viera paused at this and turned back to stare at him with a questioning look in her eyes. Behind her, he could make out a movement of yellow feathers--so that's where Boco had gone. He still honestly wasn't sure if he wanted to throttle the bird's scrawny neck for wandering off or hug him for giving him this small opportunity to possibly make his mission easier.
'Day's still young.' he surmised.
"I'm looking for someone." He rushed his words out and hoped that they at least made some kind of sense, "A forest-dweller named Mjrn. Do you know her?"
Open shock crossed the Viera's dark features at this and she turned to stare at him in bewilderment, "...I'm Mjrn."
Icarus couldn't help but grin at this turn of events. He had to resist the urge to kiss Boco right on the beak.
*****
The soldier, a youngish Hume male--attractive enough by Hume standards, she surmised, with his red hair cut short to his skull (as was customary among most Imperial soldiers) and muddy brown eyes, motioned for her to follow him as he made his way back towards his Chocobo partner.
Mjrn moved out of his way quickly and followed a few cautionary steps behind...just in case.
Truthfully, she was unsure of what to make of the situation. Though the young Hume knew her name, it was obvious he had no idea who she was...and she was certain now that he was not one of the soldiers who had abducted her for their manufactured Nethicite testing--so he was a complete stranger to her as well. Why he would be looking for someone he didn't even know was beyond her.
But...her initial impression of him seemed correct, as he didn't seem to have any malign intent in his mannerisms. The voice of The Wood was still not saying anything in warning to her about either the soldier himself or of her being in contact with him, which was a pretty positive sign for his character as well. The only other times she recalled that having happened was with a few other harmless travelers, Chit, or Fran's companions when they had visited. If anything, he seemed overly polite and friendly for a soldier-type.
"Boco! So this is where you wandered off to, huh?" he patted the side of the Chocobo's head playfully and smiled, "You had me worried, you silly bird."
Boco "Kweh"-ed and turned his head, clearly not concerned with any worry the Hume had felt on his behalf during his pleasant meandering through Golmore Jungle.
"So you found him too?" the soldier looked over at her for confirmation. Mjrn nodded, and a grateful look came over his features, "You have my gratitude for helping both of us out then. Thank you."
The bird, Boco as he had been called, tilted his head towards her and she smiled...reaching out to rub his feathers a bit.
It had been a pleasant diversion to help this friendly creature at least. The latter...still remained to be seen.
As if sensing her thoughts, the soldier moved to one of the saddlebags at Boco's side.
"I'm Icarus, by the way." He told her as he began sifting through the bag's contents while she and Boco patiently waited.
"...And you're from Archades?" she finally got the nerve to ask, already knowing the answer before he nodded his confirmation. She knew their armor very well after what had happened, even if Icarus had taken off the helm due to the stifling and humid heat of the jungle.
"...Why were you searching The Wood for me?" her eyes narrowed, "The last time I met with Imperial soldiers wasn't pleasant for anyone involved...but I doubt they bothered to find out my name." As far as she had gathered, they'd just been searching for any random Viera to test out their theories due to their sensitivity to spirits and nature.
Her voice must have sounded harsher than she'd intended, for Icarus shot her an apologetic glance before returning to his rummaging, "I'd heard about that before...and I'm sorry that happened. It sounds like it was a pretty terrible experience."
...That caught her curiosity.
"How did you hear about it?" she asked, truly puzzled now.
The man looked sheepish and blushed in embarrassment, "I kind of...asked about who you were when I was given this assignment."
"...Assignment?" she echoed the word, trying to piece together what it was that he was rambling about.
"I was attacked by a monster out on the plain near this jungle some time ago, actually my partner and I were just getting relieved from our duty over at the Henne Mines." He shot her another quick glance, "It happened before they brought you in, I think. My friend and I...we probably wouldn't have agreed to doing something like that, so I think they were moving us out before they started searching for Viera."
She nodded her head somewhat, believing that he was speaking the truth, as neither herself nor the voice of The Wood found any lie embedded in his words, and figuring it was best to simply let him continue talking at this point. She was curious to see where his talk was going in response to her question.
"I ended up sitting out the last hectic battles with The Resistance forces in a recovery bed in Archades. If it hadn't been for my friend waving down a group of travelers who happened to have some really potent medicine on hand after the attack happened, I probably wouldn't have even made it back home."
Absentmindedly, he craned his neck so that she could get a good view of two rather nasty scars snaking their way from his neck down his shoulder before his armor obstructed the rest of the view, "See? I still have scars all over my body from it."
Mjrn nodded, priding herself inwardly on not showing the wince she'd almost made visible...she imagined the monster assault must have been pretty brutal from the look of things. It was admirable in a way that he had been able to come back to this area at all afterwards.
Icarus continued on with his story, "But just as I was back on duty finally, I was approached by none other than our very own Emperor for a special mission he was looking for volunteers to take on for him. I'm a pretty low-level soldier in rank, so being given a private audience with the Emperor is something I never once dreamed of--especially when he began it inquiring about my health!"
"..." Mjrn was nodding her head every so often to his talk now and smiling somewhat. She was definitely listening to the soldier's talk because she wanted to figure out what he was doing here searching for her...but it sounded as if Icarus, having been wandering in the forest with only Boco for company for quite some time, seemed to be enjoying just having someone else to talk to at this point.
"I was even more surprised to figure out that I'd met the young Emperor before he even became such--I'd never seen him up close before, always in marches and such, so I'd not recognized him then. He'd been traveling with the very same group of people I've been indebted to for saving my life!"
That was a pretty big coincidence. Though Mjrn herself placed no real importance on Hume leaders, she could understand why Icarus had been so excited by the discovery. The Archadian Empire had a huge reach from what little she knew of the rest of Ivalice, easily able to burn down the entirety of Golmore Jungle if they had so desired over-and-over again with their military power...and the political leaders of nations such as that were often held in very high reverence by those beneath them.
Finding out that the new Emperor was actually one of the people who had helped save his life was news that would cause any loyal Hume to become secretly (or not-so-secretly) thrilled.
They'd vaguely heard talk of the outcome of that last conflict here...Mjrn worrying about whether or not Fran had been involved. Jote had even uncharacteristically told her younger sister in her determined, authoritative way not to worry on that matter though: Fran was surely alive and traveling the skies with her sky pirate...she would expect no less from her tenacious sibling, and Mjrn was doing her a disservice by being afraid otherwise. It had been the only time Jote had ever felt the need to talk of Fran or the outside world directly to Mjrn...and the girl knew it was her way of trying to soothe her sister's fears. Taking it also as another indication Jote still cared for her exiled sister as well despite her usual coolness, Mjrn had been comforted by the words and knew in her heart that Jote was indeed probably right given how strong Fran was.
Still, the connection with his story to her and why Icarus had been looking for her specifically was lost on her. While she knew of the new Emperor, those words and identity meant little to a Viera living in Eruyt Village.
"The mission the young lord asked me to go on was one he thought was of grave importance...at least to him personally, he said. He told me that he had met a young Viera who had been mistreated by some of our forces during the fighting," Icarus continued on, "He doubted she knew who he was, but that she was a sister to a Viera that had assisted him greatly through his own travels and he wanted to at least somehow put things right."
Icarus finally seemed to find what he was looking for, a triumphant grin lighting up his face as he pulled out what appeared to be a tome bound in leather, "So he wanted someone to bring this gift to Mjrn of Eruyt Village. I was so ecstatic at even talking to him that I volunteered without given it too much thought!"
He handed the book over to Mjrn, a sheepish smile and embarrassed blush forming on his face once he had squeaked out the last part he'd said of his rather lengthy and rambling monologue.
...But Mjrn hadn't even noticed that, her hands running over the hard outer binding of the book. It was heavy, the pages inside were thickly compiled but were still a bit larger than the breadth of her palm altogether. In a way, it almost looked like an expensive journal--as she opened up to the pages she saw handwritten scrawl throughout...elegant and gorgeous to look at, but somewhat foreign to her (though looking at the text for a few moments helped her to understand what was being said--written text was rarely used in Eruyt Village, but she could read it if she took her time doing so).
And accompanying every small portion of text was an illustration of some kind: mostly beautiful landscapes in ink though a few rough sketches of various species that called Ivalice home and articles of clothing showed up from time to time too. A map comprised the first two pages of what she assumed was Ivalice (looking at it in such a way...how small the world seemed!).
Following the map was a letter addressed to her. It was a small one, but very polite and well-spoken. The writer addressed himself as a companion of Fran's, and that they were sorry they had met before under very harsh circumstances. He went on further to say that the book was something he had compiled for her in what he hoped would at least partially make amends for how she'd been treated by some Archadian citizens.
"...'May you remain in good health always. Sincerely, Larsa Ferrinas Solidor.'" she read out loud, the first name in particular ringing familiar to her.
'Larsa...wasn't he the child Hume that had been with Fran and the others on their first visit to The Wood?' She had almost forgotten about the brown-haired youth with the polite and diplomatic air about him since he had only been with the group that one instance and she'd been more concerned with what had just happened and Fran's later words to her at the time--though she recalled being somewhat surprised at the maturity that had hung about his person despite his age. Vaguely, she recalled him having mentioned at least some connection to the Empire.
"Larsa is the Emperor of Archadia now?" she asked in disbelief, her eyes finally peeling away from the book to regard Icarus carefully.
Icarus nodded his head somberly, "Aye. After the conspiracy involving the Senate and Regent Vayne's falling in battle, Lord Larsa was elected Emperor almost unanimously following the fighting's end. Everyone holds his diplomatic endeavors in high esteem...even at his young age, he's made a fine leader."
There was a tone of awe in the solder's voice...and Mjrn could understand why. Larsa was much younger than she was and she was still something of a youth by Viera standards...and Jote had been much older than either of them when she became leader of the forest-dwelling Viera. To think that he was able to be so respected and hold such a loft position at that age was astounding.
At some point during her perusal of the book, Mjrn had sat down on the ground beside Boco to get more comfortable, her own senses and The Wood herself seeming to indicate that it was all right to do so at the moment. Icarus had joined her, though he stayed a respectable distance away...his curiosity evident as he craned his neck to see what the book's contents were: he'd been carrying it this whole time, so it was only natural that he'd be curious himself.
Not wanting the Hume to get a neck cramp, Mjrn held the book out in the space between them so he could see it more clearly. Every so often, she would turn a page.
"I'm surprised he would have given me this much thought." She heard herself admitting, though her voice sounded far away to her ears as she was more engrossed in the pages before her. Her eyes were drawn to a page detailing life on the Giza Plains--a flock of Cockatrice looking quite content with their Hume companions at on the bottom of it. Again, her thoughts went warmly to Chit.
"From what I gathered, I think he felt bad about what had happened to you earlier. That's just the type of person Lord Larsa is. It was one of the reasons he sought me out after he was made Emperor as well." The tone of admiration was still evident in his voice.
The book, truthfully, was an incredibly thoughtful and detailed gift. Larsa knew about the culture of the Viera having been to the settlement itself and meeting Fran. He had even been there during Mjrn's emotional outburst when she'd expressed her desire to be with Fran and travel the world...the gentle refusal Fran had given in response as she told Mjrn that she should think long and hard about just what such decision would mean for her life.
"'This way, as you're still deciding on the path you wish to follow...you can learn about the places your sister has been to. Even if you choose to remain in The Wood, you will have a better understanding of the world you live in and are a part of.'"
That was the main portion of the note Larsa had written in the book for her. Considering how long it must have taken for him to compile the book...it was a truly touching gesture.
She couldn't help but smile somewhat: it felt as if she had been given a window to the rest of Ivalice in a way. It wasn't the same as traveling it as Fran did...but she could imagine and understand things better now. It would be something she'd treasure regardless of what she ultimately decided to do.
...While Jote might frown on the outside world, she doubted that even her older sister would deny her such a lovely gift--if she was firm with wanting to keep it, at any rate. The Wood gave no sound of alarm at the idea, something that the young Viera took to be a good sign.
She wanted to thank Larsa somehow as well, it seemed like the right thing to do. Again, The Wood remained silent at her thoughts...though she could still feel her presence in her heart.
"...What's this?" she pointed out a picture of a Viera wearing clothes she'd never seen before.
Icarus stared at the picture a moment, squinting, "I think that's about fashion styles now in Dalmasca." He shrugged, "Not really my cup of tea."
"...And this?" she pointed to a picture of what appeared to be a city floating amidst the clouds.
"The Skycity of Bhujerba." Icarus looked at it thoughtfully, "I haven't been there in awhile."
Mjrn nodded absentmindedly, already glancing through more of the pictures in the book. Icarus watched her for a few moments, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth at the excited, curious gleam in the girl's eyes.
"...I'm supposed to be coming through this area every couple of months on patrol rounds." He heard himself say, not sure of what had possessed him to do so, "If you want...I could bring you more books or news about other places if you're curious."
Considering how excited she had gotten over one book and how she'd just saved his life, Icarus figured coming to Golmore Jungle every once in a while wasn't such a bad notion.
"Boco would probably like that too." He mentioned, as the Chocobo took a moment away from his busy grazing schedule to run both of the backs of their heads with his cheek affectionately--as if afraid they'd forgotten his presence.
Mjrn smiled, excited about her gift still and surprised by the kind offer: it might be nice having someone outside of the other Viera to talk to in Golmore Jungle from time-to-time, she decided...thinking about Fran's companions and Chit.
A pleasant breeze swept through the jungle at that very instance...a comforting note coming from the voice of The Wood. It seemed as if she herself did not mind having the visitor travel here occasionally to meet with Mjrn either. Perhaps in a way, The Wood reasoned that having a Hume that meant no harm come to the jungle at times was better than a Viera choosing to leave and no longer be able to hear her voice entirely--mayhap she would reason the same to Jote later on when she spoke to The Wood herself about the issue.
Patting Boco's cheek, she regarded Icarus warmly, "I'd...like that." She admitted shyly, her own cheeks warming slightly in embarrassment when she noticed Icarus' face reddening. The young soldier would later on admit to her after his next few visits to Golmore Jungle once the two had become friends of sorts that he had been afraid of overstepping some unknown cultural boundary by asking her if he could visit again at that point...thus the reasoning for his nervous blush back then.
"Could you maybe help with something before you leave though?" she worked up the nerve to ask, only continuing when Icarus nodded his head in agreement, "I want to write a thank you letter."
...She still wasn't sure of which sister's path she wanted to follow--but Mjrn did feel thankful for what had happened today. The book's heaviness in her hand seemed like a steadying weight somehow: it was strange to think of how an Imperial soldier's quest and a surprising gesture of kindness from a person who was little more than an acquaintance of hers had helped to make her feel more grounded and put her thoughts into a different perspective.
The nervous anxiety she'd been feeling constantly seemed to lessen somewhat: she didn't have to make her decision right away, after all...and, at the moment, at least she felt as though she could have a sense of balance between the two extremes warring inside her now while she thought about what she truly wanted to do.
For that, she couldn't help but feel immensely grateful.
breyzyyin)Class: White Mage
Title: Something To Be Grateful For
Summary: A fic for the "balance" prompt over at
airship_lounge. Torn between her two older sisters' paths of life, Mjrn is still undecided over which direction she herself will inevitably go. A meeting with a traveler to The Wood and a surprising gift helps ease her mind somewhat.Characters/Pairings: Mjrn is the main focus of the story, with Jote and Larsa both showing up and having dialogue in the fic. Heavy mentions of Fran and Chit the Cockatrice as well. Icarus is actually a minor character in FFXII (he's the wounded Imperial soldier you have to give a Potion to before entering the Henne Mines), I just gave him a name and elaborated on his background/personality. AND Boco the Chocobo (who is fond of showing up in Ivalice games, it seems! ♥) makes an appearance too.
Word count: 8,020
Rating/warnings: G. Spoilers for Final Fantasy XII.
----Legal Disclaimer: I do not own either FFXII or any of those titles' characters. They are the rightful property of Square-Enix.----
...This pretty much confirmed it, he decided grimly. What his friend had jested with him earlier was undoubtedly true now: he really did seem to have rotten luck, especially where this area of Ivalice was concerned.
Hopelessly lost despite the detailed map he'd been given, he stood in the middle of a vast dark-looking forest. Plant-life practically choked him from all sides. Considering the more industrialized Archades he had grown up in as a child and the other Hume-built cities he'd been on tour in...this humid environment was stifling, full of creatures wanting nothing more than to tear him limb-from-limb that he'd never see creeping up on him until it was far too late.
To top it all off, the last time he'd been in this vicinity he'd been viciously attacked by a monster and critically wounded. This was supposed to be his first mission now that he'd fully recovered.
...The irony was not lost on him.
"Well," he said out loud to his feathered mount standing faithfully next to him, "At least I made it INTO the jungle this time, right, Boco?"
The Chocobo turned his head to the side, refusing to look the soldier in the eye. Clearly, Boco was far from impressed by the accomplishment.
The young man glared at the yellow bird in return, inwardly wondering if he could do a trade the next time he saw that Moogle who ran the Chocobo ranch in Rabanastre.
Eruyt Village, the home of the Viera who chose to dwell within Golmore Jungle, was a quiet, peaceful, and secluded spot. Completely cut off from the creatures who chose to enshroud themselves in iron and cut out the voice of The Wood from their minds.
It was a place that she at once considered hauntingly beautiful in its changing pace...but also insanely suffocating at the same time.
In a way, her viewpoints of Eruyt Village mirrored the conflicting sides of Mjrn's warring viewpoints in her mind.
It had started when her older sister, Fran, had made her choice to live outside of the forest a little over fifty years ago. It had not been an easy decision for her to make, she knew...doing so had meant that Fran was forever cut off from her true heritage: the voice of nature--of The Wood she had once called home in particular, fell silent on her ears. Those she grew up with who remained at Eruyt Village or the other forest villages the Viera chose to dwell in would only recognize her as an exile, a contaminated specimen that they should limit contact with lest they too should lose the ability to hear The Wood.
...It had been their eldest sister, Jote, who had handed down that decree as the leader of their people.
Though Jote still cared for her sister in her own way (though with her stoic mannerisms it was often hard to tell, but Mjrn was able to pick up on the subtle changes that came into Jote's eyes or body language when she was thinking of the past)--she had seen it as her duty, as it had been the duty of all of the elders of their people when it came to preserving their traditions and the Voice of Nature.
She never once relished having to banish any of her people as there had been several others from time to time who also made that very hard choice as well, let alone her own sister...and there was a somber air that hung about her amber-colored eyes in close connection with her serious manner ever since. Though Jote's pride and her position as bastion of all that the forest-dwelling Viera stood for never allowed her to show this more visibly, Mjrn herself knew that she would not even voice such thoughts out loud: especially not to her, her only living kin still in the sanctity of their homeland...and one that Jote was secretly terrified would perhaps make the same decision as Fran did--she was even more adamant of not wanting to discuss the outside whenever Mjrn was within earshot than normal.
Still, Fran never once seemed to harbor any ill feelings towards Jote. Despite being on opposite sides of the spectrum when it came to their viewpoints...there was an understanding between the two of them that even their forced separation couldn't seem to completely destroy.
...One elder sister who served as the leader of the Viera and a guardian of their ability to communicate with The Wood, the other a master of man-made weapons who had forsaken her birthright in order to travel the world.
It was no wonder that Mjrn, the youngest of the three siblings, often felt so conflicted. She respected Jote and their traditions greatly...but she did not believe the world outside their jungle home was wholly evil and ignorant either.
Even after that one horrible incident involving the Archadian Empire and the Henne Mines, a part of her still wanted to travel Ivalice as Fran did. She felt pulled in two very different directions.
And the outcome of any final choice would perhaps be too hard for her to bear. Both of her sisters, after the last time the two spoke face to face after Fran's group had rescued her from her abduction, had begged her to think long and hard on the consequences of her eventual choice.
They had both been harsh about it in their own way, but it had come from a good place: for all of their differences, the one thing both Fran and Jote always seemed to want was what they felt would best make their baby sister happy. It had been that way ever since she could remember.
...Now if only she could figure out what that would truly be for herself.
Mjrn let out a soft sigh, feeling a familiar sense of loneliness and discontentment fall about her shoulders like a shawl. How long had she been contemplating these things in her head? It seemed impossibly long, and nowhere close to stopping. It was enough to almost make her want to scream out at the top of her lungs--something she hadn't done since the day Fran had been banished. Neither Fran or Jote had spoken a word to her that day, making an already intense situation that much more volatile to her young mind.
...Something's here.
The thought had come to her so unbidden that she gasped, startled. She glanced quickly around her, noting that nothing seemed out of place in the Viera stronghold.
And yet...
Seizing on that sense she'd had, Mjrn closed her eyes and stretched her thoughts, her very essence outwards--past the boundaries that kept the site hidden from prying eyes, into the outer layers of Golmore Jungle.
Sure enough, aside from the familiar denizens of the forest who called the place home--there were two foreign presences as well: a Hume (she could recognize them more readily now thanks to her more recent experiences) and a strange animal of some kind...perhaps one of the domesticated species they used from time-to-time. Her thoughts traveled to her friend Chit, the Cockatrice that had been taken to the stronghold and whose presence had comforted her somewhat after Fran had left that second time: she hoped that Chit was well now and that she been reunited with her friends and the young Hume girl who had been desperately searching for her.
Their presences lingered in the same spot for quite some time--unlike the other non-Viera travelers who sometimes traversed through the outside areas of Golmore Jungle but quickly moved on to what they felt were more "civilized" parts of the world (in their views of what counted as "civilized," which was usually relegated to what was familiar to them...it often struck Mjrn as rather ironic that the forest-dwelling Viera and the other residents of Ivalice both held that view of their own areas and nothing else).
Perhaps they were searching for something? Or maybe they were lost?
She frowned, the last thought not a comforting one. There were many monsters that could be fairly aggressive in the forest--especially to those not familiar with the area and the monsters' behavior patterns. Even a seasoned fighter would not stand long against a whole group of the tougher ones.
"...Mjrn?"
For the second time in a few moments, the young woman was startled out of her thoughts. She jumped slightly and turned, her eyes meeting the regard of her sister's cool gaze.
"Something troubles you?" the question wasn't much of one at all, rather it had the air of a statement to it instead. Jote was wise and able to read expressions quite easily...she already knew there had been something swimming through her younger sister's thoughts before she even approached her.
...Mjrn wondered if Jote had sensed them too. Jote's sense of the forest, of the voice of The Wood, was stronger than her own: indeed, it was stronger than most Viera's, so it would not surprise her if she had already known of the outsiders' presence the moment they had stepped into the boundaries of the forest.
On the other hand though, Jote often focused her thoughts inward--to the heart of The Wood. She was not concerned with much else. Even if she had sensed them, she would probably not say anything: whether or not the visitors traversed Golmore Jungle safely was of no concern to her so long as it did not endanger the Viera. And she certainly would not mention it to Mjrn, of that she had no doubt.
"N--no, sister...nothing is wrong!" Mjrn smiled weakly in combination with her stammering, giving a slight bow afterwards as a show of respect to her sister.
"..." though she doubted Jote believed her, the older Viera's face remained impassive. She regarded Mjrn for a few more moments with eyes that seemed far too knowing for her appearance as a gorgeous young woman...but when Mjrn did nothing save look away from her gaze briefly, she seemed to have enough.
"Very well. Remember to attend the evening meal today--there was concern when you did not show up last night."
"Yes, sister, of course!"
And with one last look in Mjrn's direction, Jote moved away with a graceful poise that only Fran ever seemed able to match.
Mjrn watched her sister leave as silently as she had come--knowing that was her way of showing concern for Mjrn's penchant for losing track of time when alone with her thoughts. A feeling of guilt went through her: she did not mean to cause Jote or anyone else to worry, but...
The two foreign presences were wandering further into the forest now. Biting her lip and assuring her doubting mind that it would be all right so long as she came back quickly, Mjrn began to head for the entryway--her curiosity getting the better of her.
She was too wrapped up in her own concerns to notice that Jote was standing a few feet away still...an unknowable expression crossing over her amber-colored eyes as she watched her younger sister leave. She knew that this had to do with the presences Mjrn had felt only moments ago.
...Jote also knew that eventually Mjrn was bound to make her choice as to where she belonged. Her older sister silently prayed that she would have a little more time before having to face her sister's choice--for both of their sakes.
Golmore Jungle was, at first glance, a truly imposing place once you left the barriers that sheltered the Viera's home.
Mjrn remembered clutching both Fran's and Jote's hands tightly as a child when they had first taken her outside: how they'd smiled reassuringly at her and talked in soothing voices as they'd shown the frightened girl the secrets of The Wood--what to do and what not to do in certain situations, what were the pathways that would allow the Viera to travel safely from area to area.
Later on, Jote no longer had any interest in the outskirts of the forest and rarely left Eruyt Village. Despite her initial fear of leaving the village, Mjrn ended up becoming one of the most adept Viera at traversing the realm beyond the Wood-Warders once Fran, who had always possessed a natural affinity for such things, had gone to travel the rest of Ivalice.
Briefly, she thought of Fran again: wondering if she was not only traveling Ivalice at this very moment but its skies as well with her Hume sky pirate. Her sister had visited her at times throughout her journey with the Dalmascan princess ever since that one incident, but reunions were brief and tense due to the other Viera. Mjrn understood why the visits had become less and less, though she still treasured the rare times they occurred and hoped that they would not stop entirely now that things had settled down in terms of the situation with the Archadian Empire.
As she neared the spot where she had felt the Hume before Mjrn's steps slowed from their hurried pace to a slower one before stopping altogether.
What if this Hume was like the Imperial ones that had taken her before? The thought made her heart pound heavily in her chest and her blood run cold as unwanted memories flooded to the surface of her mind unbidden.
There didn't seem to be a malign energy in this person's presence, however...and she was better able to sense that this deep in the forest. She'd been on the outskirts of the area before, unused to venturing that far out of the Viera's territory and had been caught unawares because of it when the armed men had snuck up on her. It had been easy enough to sense their intentions at that point--so having this clear a sense of the outsider's general intent was a good sign. The Wood didn't seem to think they were a point of alarm either and her voice (as the Viera viewed The Wood as being a "she") did not seem to protest Mjrn going to see what they were about--another good sign.
Besides, even if it turned out that the Hume was just incredibly good at masking his true manner or goal (something she doubted considering the wisdom and insight of The Wood, her own abilities notwithstanding)...there was only one of him as opposed to an entire group. And she was forest-born and knew every corner of this confusing place: giving her an unmistakable advantage.
If she deemed the situation too perilous, she could easily lose him in the jungle or, if she deemed the situation warranted it if the person did in fact mean to harm her home or people, lead him straight into a pack of some of the more unpleasant denizens of Golmore Jungle. That wasn't something she would want to do, but it was something that was still a viable final solution if things did get too problematic.
Nodding to herself in silent confirmation of her earlier resolve, Mjrn began to walk forward again with a determined gait.
She found the animal companion first: a gigantic yellow bird, saddled with packs bulging with supplies and an empty saddle for its rider. A bridle's reins were hanging down from its head near towards the ground...as if perhaps the bird had either been tied to something at one point or had been led by hand through the denser parts of the foliage.
The Chocobo had been attempting to graze on some wild Greens growing near the side of the narrow path it had been standing on when she approached. At the sound of her footsteps, it lifted its head and gazed at her with large, dark eyes.
There was a surprisingly calm mannerism to its body language and gaze...Mjrn wondered briefly if the "fight or flight" instinct that was still apparently existing in its wilder cousins had been bred out of the domesticated version entirely--or if this particular Chocobo was just a rather docile animal in general.
She had recalled a few of the other Chocobos she'd met that one time near the Henne Mines to still be rather jumpy in their responses, though that could have just been due to what had been going on around them at the time...but she hadn't really been around them for that long anyways.
The bird titled its head to the side, a soft "Kweh" sound emanating from its beak. It seemed more curious about her presence than anything else.
Mjrn, not wanting to startle the animal with any sudden movements, held her hands out in front of her...approaching slowly. Instead of running in the opposite direction down the path away from her, the creature surprised her by walking forward a few gaping strides and meeting her head on. "Kweh"-ing more vocally now in a way that almost resembled a deep-throated purr...the Chocobo rubbed its beak into one of her open palms in a friendly fashion.
Resisting the urge to krinkle her nose somewhat as Chocobos had an odd odor about them (...their favorite food, Greens, dissipates it and most other species can't smell the odor afterwards, but Viera have sensitive senses of smell and can still detect traces of the odor--though thankfully a Green-heavy diet makes it tolerable even for them), Mjrn smiled at the surprisingly affectionate display in open delight--her hands finding their way to the bird's head and neck in an unconscious petting motion that seemed to soothe the animal immensely. A content shimmer glistened in its giant eyes in response to the attention it was now being lavished with.
She'd always had an interest in animals, and being this close to a Chocobo was a delight.
"...What happened then?" she said out loud to the bird, "Where is your rider?"
The Chocobo seemed wholly unconcerned at her questions, the very definition of pleased and without a care in the world.
The young Viera sighed and began glancing around, wondering where the Hume had wandered off to.
...And to top off having gotten himself lost in Golmore Jungle, Boco had apparently found his adventuring spirit and wandered off the very second he'd let go of his reins to check on a movement he'd seen out of the corner of his eye.
The soldier let out a small sigh, though at least a tiny part of him was inwardly amused that the Chocobo, who seemed vastly uninterested in doing much of anything that required even the least amount of effort most of the time, had suddenly found a spark of curiosity--enough even to get out of his line of sight that quickly.
'Maybe he knew I was thinking of trading him in once we got to Rabanastre.' he thought wryly.
For all of Boco's eccentricities, of which there were admittedly quite a few, the last thing Icarus wanted was to have the animal's death at the hands of a monster who found giant yellow birds extremely tasty on his conscience. He could be a pain, yes...but he was still his partner in this venture.
...Not to mention there was also the fact that the item he was supposed to be delivering was stowed safely away in Boco's saddlebags.
He just couldn't find a break today, it seemed.
Sighing, the soldier continued his search.
Reins in hand, Mjrn walked her new friend in the direction where she was sensing the Hume's presence still. The Chocobo seemed familiar with the area, happily trotting by her side without any sense of hesitancy.
It wasn't too long before a glint of movement caught her eye...armor, the reflective surface of which caught what little light came down from the dense, dark treetops above them and made it glean.
'A lone Imperial soldier here?' Curiosity mingled with fear for a few seconds, causing Mjrn's stomach to lurch. The bird noticed this and "Kweh"-ed nervously, nudging her shoulder encouragingly with its beak.
She turned her head slightly to smile at the creature, "Well, if he's your friend...I can't imagine he's all that bad."
No sooner had the words escaped her lips than she noticed the writhing green mass of mossy tentacles heading through the forest at an unhurried pace. A Malboro was heading directly towards the soldier...though from its relaxed pace and manner, it didn't seem as if it had spotted the jungle intruder yet.
Still, it would only take a second for things to change: for either the soldier to notice the monster and panic, making things worse for himself (never a good thing to do in those situations)...or for the creature to figure out that a Hume had stumbled into its territory unawares and decided it had easy prey.
Letting go of the Chocobo's reins and haphazardly motioning for the bird to stay put, Mjrn raced forward--covering the still rather large space between her and the Archadian soldier in a matter of moments thanks to her agile speed and the fact that she knew the footholds of the area remarkably well.
She didn't even wait for the shock of seeing a Viera suddenly appearing right next to him to register on the man's face.
"Get down!" she hissed under her breath, jerking the soldier downward forcibly by clutching his gauntleted hand and pulling him through the motion...silently hoping he'd follow without complaint as she did so.
At first he seemed reluctant to follow her instructions due to how fast everything had happened...but one glance at the mass of mossy green ahead of them caused him to reconsider just as quickly. He dropped so suddenly to the forest floor that it almost caught Mjrn off-guard--though she was thankful for his quick response moments later with the Malboro creeping near to where they'd just been standing.
The stench of the monster was enough to give anyone pause or cause them to gag inwardly--though thankfully there was a myriad collection of trees and shrubbery that kept the two of them concealed from its sight now that they were hunched close to the ground as they were.
The towering monster only paused nearby where they were hiding for a few seconds, as if it had perhaps sensed something but was unable to figure out what it was now...with one last shake of its numerous tentacles as it decided everything was in order, it disappeared from sight once more without any fuss.
Letting out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding, though perhaps that was more survival instinct than anything else with a Malboro around...Mjrn turned to look at the soldier up close for the very first time.
Icarus blinked slowly, his mind taking a few more seconds to process what had just happened than was probably necessary--the girl that had just helped him avoid the Malboro's detection stared at the blank expression plastered on his face with a perplexed one of her own.
But...a Viera! The kind that dwelled in forests were widely known to be incredibly reclusive. He'd seen a few in the more populated areas of Ivalice--though it was more or less common knowledge that many of the Viera who chose to live among outsiders instead of adhering to their traditional way of life were ostracized from their communities...so only those who had made that painful decision and their offspring were the only Viera living in those areas. There wasn't a lot known about the ones who still lived in seclusion--and the Viera who lived in the cities remained quiet on that front as a whole in order to still show respect to their heritage.
...Truthfully, the last Viera he'd encountered relatively close-by and not just having passed on the street was that one Viera with the group of Humes who had been traveling through the Ozmone Plain all those months ago--the very same group that had likely saved his life by giving him some urgent medical care after the monster attack that had left him incapacitated for quite some time afterwards. He was still immensely grateful both to them and his friend who had stayed with him after he'd been injured and had asked the group for aid...if not for all of them, he was quite positive he wouldn't have survived through that day at all. Even now, the scars on his chest and back ached with the recollection of that painful time.
Oddly enough, this Viera sort of brought to mind the one that had been in his group of rescuers, though he hoped that wasn't because of the stereotype he'd heard a few of his fellow soldiers say of how "All Viera look the same" or something or other...he'd always made it a point to not get involved in that kind of talk. Both had white fur around their long ears, which went into snow-white hair (while the one Viera's hair had been long and wavy, this Viera's hair was bobbed short to her face)...though that was hardly a surprise: most Viera had white-colored hair or, failing that, pale blond or reddish hair--and there were even a few of the Viera who dwelled in cities who dyed their hair darker colors such as brown or black too. And they both had the same mesmerizing amber-colored eyes that were synonymous with the Viera as well, along with the darker skin coloring and long nails that were trademarks of their people.
But even more than that...Icarus could swear there was perhaps some kind of other resemblance between the two. This Viera looked somewhat younger than the other. Though who could tell? The lifespan of the average Viera was much longer than a Hume's...it wouldn't shock him at all if this Viera, who resembled either a girl in her late teens or someone who was around his own age of twenty-two, was actually much older than him by far. But their facial shape and structure seemed oddly similar.
Perhaps there was a familial connection between the two? Icarus, for not the first time since his recovery, cursed the fact that he hadn't thought to ask for names from his rescuers. Though to be fair, he had been falling in and out of consciousness due to the pain from his injuries at the time...he was lucky just to have been cognizant enough to recall their faces, as his friend often stated. Being a rather curious fellow, he would love to ask this Viera if she knew of the group he'd met.
Instead, all he could do was blush in embarrassment for having nearly gotten attacked by a monster yet again.
"T--thank you." He heard himself manage to stammer out somehow, looking anywhere aside from her face and eyes.
The girl seemed to recover her thoughts more quickly, her expression and voice firm as she stood up...surprisingly offering him her hand in order to help him do the same.
"I don't know for what reason you and your mount came into this jungle, but it's far too dangerous for you to stay. You need to leave for both of your sakes...now."
There was a note of finality to her tone that surprised Icarus, though her grip on his hand as she helped him to stand in his bulky armor was surprisingly gentle. Once he was steady and back on his feet, she turned around to disappear back into the forest growth.
Almost having forgotten his reasoning for coming here due to all of the excitement, Icarus had a moment of panic when the Viera was about to leave...after all, this was the exact opportunity he'd been hoping for even if he'd thought the chances of it happening before now had been slim to nil.
"Wait!"
The Viera paused at this and turned back to stare at him with a questioning look in her eyes. Behind her, he could make out a movement of yellow feathers--so that's where Boco had gone. He still honestly wasn't sure if he wanted to throttle the bird's scrawny neck for wandering off or hug him for giving him this small opportunity to possibly make his mission easier.
'Day's still young.' he surmised.
"I'm looking for someone." He rushed his words out and hoped that they at least made some kind of sense, "A forest-dweller named Mjrn. Do you know her?"
Open shock crossed the Viera's dark features at this and she turned to stare at him in bewilderment, "...I'm Mjrn."
Icarus couldn't help but grin at this turn of events. He had to resist the urge to kiss Boco right on the beak.
The soldier, a youngish Hume male--attractive enough by Hume standards, she surmised, with his red hair cut short to his skull (as was customary among most Imperial soldiers) and muddy brown eyes, motioned for her to follow him as he made his way back towards his Chocobo partner.
Mjrn moved out of his way quickly and followed a few cautionary steps behind...just in case.
Truthfully, she was unsure of what to make of the situation. Though the young Hume knew her name, it was obvious he had no idea who she was...and she was certain now that he was not one of the soldiers who had abducted her for their manufactured Nethicite testing--so he was a complete stranger to her as well. Why he would be looking for someone he didn't even know was beyond her.
But...her initial impression of him seemed correct, as he didn't seem to have any malign intent in his mannerisms. The voice of The Wood was still not saying anything in warning to her about either the soldier himself or of her being in contact with him, which was a pretty positive sign for his character as well. The only other times she recalled that having happened was with a few other harmless travelers, Chit, or Fran's companions when they had visited. If anything, he seemed overly polite and friendly for a soldier-type.
"Boco! So this is where you wandered off to, huh?" he patted the side of the Chocobo's head playfully and smiled, "You had me worried, you silly bird."
Boco "Kweh"-ed and turned his head, clearly not concerned with any worry the Hume had felt on his behalf during his pleasant meandering through Golmore Jungle.
"So you found him too?" the soldier looked over at her for confirmation. Mjrn nodded, and a grateful look came over his features, "You have my gratitude for helping both of us out then. Thank you."
The bird, Boco as he had been called, tilted his head towards her and she smiled...reaching out to rub his feathers a bit.
It had been a pleasant diversion to help this friendly creature at least. The latter...still remained to be seen.
As if sensing her thoughts, the soldier moved to one of the saddlebags at Boco's side.
"I'm Icarus, by the way." He told her as he began sifting through the bag's contents while she and Boco patiently waited.
"...And you're from Archades?" she finally got the nerve to ask, already knowing the answer before he nodded his confirmation. She knew their armor very well after what had happened, even if Icarus had taken off the helm due to the stifling and humid heat of the jungle.
"...Why were you searching The Wood for me?" her eyes narrowed, "The last time I met with Imperial soldiers wasn't pleasant for anyone involved...but I doubt they bothered to find out my name." As far as she had gathered, they'd just been searching for any random Viera to test out their theories due to their sensitivity to spirits and nature.
Her voice must have sounded harsher than she'd intended, for Icarus shot her an apologetic glance before returning to his rummaging, "I'd heard about that before...and I'm sorry that happened. It sounds like it was a pretty terrible experience."
...That caught her curiosity.
"How did you hear about it?" she asked, truly puzzled now.
The man looked sheepish and blushed in embarrassment, "I kind of...asked about who you were when I was given this assignment."
"...Assignment?" she echoed the word, trying to piece together what it was that he was rambling about.
"I was attacked by a monster out on the plain near this jungle some time ago, actually my partner and I were just getting relieved from our duty over at the Henne Mines." He shot her another quick glance, "It happened before they brought you in, I think. My friend and I...we probably wouldn't have agreed to doing something like that, so I think they were moving us out before they started searching for Viera."
She nodded her head somewhat, believing that he was speaking the truth, as neither herself nor the voice of The Wood found any lie embedded in his words, and figuring it was best to simply let him continue talking at this point. She was curious to see where his talk was going in response to her question.
"I ended up sitting out the last hectic battles with The Resistance forces in a recovery bed in Archades. If it hadn't been for my friend waving down a group of travelers who happened to have some really potent medicine on hand after the attack happened, I probably wouldn't have even made it back home."
Absentmindedly, he craned his neck so that she could get a good view of two rather nasty scars snaking their way from his neck down his shoulder before his armor obstructed the rest of the view, "See? I still have scars all over my body from it."
Mjrn nodded, priding herself inwardly on not showing the wince she'd almost made visible...she imagined the monster assault must have been pretty brutal from the look of things. It was admirable in a way that he had been able to come back to this area at all afterwards.
Icarus continued on with his story, "But just as I was back on duty finally, I was approached by none other than our very own Emperor for a special mission he was looking for volunteers to take on for him. I'm a pretty low-level soldier in rank, so being given a private audience with the Emperor is something I never once dreamed of--especially when he began it inquiring about my health!"
"..." Mjrn was nodding her head every so often to his talk now and smiling somewhat. She was definitely listening to the soldier's talk because she wanted to figure out what he was doing here searching for her...but it sounded as if Icarus, having been wandering in the forest with only Boco for company for quite some time, seemed to be enjoying just having someone else to talk to at this point.
"I was even more surprised to figure out that I'd met the young Emperor before he even became such--I'd never seen him up close before, always in marches and such, so I'd not recognized him then. He'd been traveling with the very same group of people I've been indebted to for saving my life!"
That was a pretty big coincidence. Though Mjrn herself placed no real importance on Hume leaders, she could understand why Icarus had been so excited by the discovery. The Archadian Empire had a huge reach from what little she knew of the rest of Ivalice, easily able to burn down the entirety of Golmore Jungle if they had so desired over-and-over again with their military power...and the political leaders of nations such as that were often held in very high reverence by those beneath them.
Finding out that the new Emperor was actually one of the people who had helped save his life was news that would cause any loyal Hume to become secretly (or not-so-secretly) thrilled.
They'd vaguely heard talk of the outcome of that last conflict here...Mjrn worrying about whether or not Fran had been involved. Jote had even uncharacteristically told her younger sister in her determined, authoritative way not to worry on that matter though: Fran was surely alive and traveling the skies with her sky pirate...she would expect no less from her tenacious sibling, and Mjrn was doing her a disservice by being afraid otherwise. It had been the only time Jote had ever felt the need to talk of Fran or the outside world directly to Mjrn...and the girl knew it was her way of trying to soothe her sister's fears. Taking it also as another indication Jote still cared for her exiled sister as well despite her usual coolness, Mjrn had been comforted by the words and knew in her heart that Jote was indeed probably right given how strong Fran was.
Still, the connection with his story to her and why Icarus had been looking for her specifically was lost on her. While she knew of the new Emperor, those words and identity meant little to a Viera living in Eruyt Village.
"The mission the young lord asked me to go on was one he thought was of grave importance...at least to him personally, he said. He told me that he had met a young Viera who had been mistreated by some of our forces during the fighting," Icarus continued on, "He doubted she knew who he was, but that she was a sister to a Viera that had assisted him greatly through his own travels and he wanted to at least somehow put things right."
Icarus finally seemed to find what he was looking for, a triumphant grin lighting up his face as he pulled out what appeared to be a tome bound in leather, "So he wanted someone to bring this gift to Mjrn of Eruyt Village. I was so ecstatic at even talking to him that I volunteered without given it too much thought!"
He handed the book over to Mjrn, a sheepish smile and embarrassed blush forming on his face once he had squeaked out the last part he'd said of his rather lengthy and rambling monologue.
...But Mjrn hadn't even noticed that, her hands running over the hard outer binding of the book. It was heavy, the pages inside were thickly compiled but were still a bit larger than the breadth of her palm altogether. In a way, it almost looked like an expensive journal--as she opened up to the pages she saw handwritten scrawl throughout...elegant and gorgeous to look at, but somewhat foreign to her (though looking at the text for a few moments helped her to understand what was being said--written text was rarely used in Eruyt Village, but she could read it if she took her time doing so).
And accompanying every small portion of text was an illustration of some kind: mostly beautiful landscapes in ink though a few rough sketches of various species that called Ivalice home and articles of clothing showed up from time to time too. A map comprised the first two pages of what she assumed was Ivalice (looking at it in such a way...how small the world seemed!).
Following the map was a letter addressed to her. It was a small one, but very polite and well-spoken. The writer addressed himself as a companion of Fran's, and that they were sorry they had met before under very harsh circumstances. He went on further to say that the book was something he had compiled for her in what he hoped would at least partially make amends for how she'd been treated by some Archadian citizens.
"...'May you remain in good health always. Sincerely, Larsa Ferrinas Solidor.'" she read out loud, the first name in particular ringing familiar to her.
'Larsa...wasn't he the child Hume that had been with Fran and the others on their first visit to The Wood?' She had almost forgotten about the brown-haired youth with the polite and diplomatic air about him since he had only been with the group that one instance and she'd been more concerned with what had just happened and Fran's later words to her at the time--though she recalled being somewhat surprised at the maturity that had hung about his person despite his age. Vaguely, she recalled him having mentioned at least some connection to the Empire.
"Larsa is the Emperor of Archadia now?" she asked in disbelief, her eyes finally peeling away from the book to regard Icarus carefully.
Icarus nodded his head somberly, "Aye. After the conspiracy involving the Senate and Regent Vayne's falling in battle, Lord Larsa was elected Emperor almost unanimously following the fighting's end. Everyone holds his diplomatic endeavors in high esteem...even at his young age, he's made a fine leader."
There was a tone of awe in the solder's voice...and Mjrn could understand why. Larsa was much younger than she was and she was still something of a youth by Viera standards...and Jote had been much older than either of them when she became leader of the forest-dwelling Viera. To think that he was able to be so respected and hold such a loft position at that age was astounding.
At some point during her perusal of the book, Mjrn had sat down on the ground beside Boco to get more comfortable, her own senses and The Wood herself seeming to indicate that it was all right to do so at the moment. Icarus had joined her, though he stayed a respectable distance away...his curiosity evident as he craned his neck to see what the book's contents were: he'd been carrying it this whole time, so it was only natural that he'd be curious himself.
Not wanting the Hume to get a neck cramp, Mjrn held the book out in the space between them so he could see it more clearly. Every so often, she would turn a page.
"I'm surprised he would have given me this much thought." She heard herself admitting, though her voice sounded far away to her ears as she was more engrossed in the pages before her. Her eyes were drawn to a page detailing life on the Giza Plains--a flock of Cockatrice looking quite content with their Hume companions at on the bottom of it. Again, her thoughts went warmly to Chit.
"From what I gathered, I think he felt bad about what had happened to you earlier. That's just the type of person Lord Larsa is. It was one of the reasons he sought me out after he was made Emperor as well." The tone of admiration was still evident in his voice.
The book, truthfully, was an incredibly thoughtful and detailed gift. Larsa knew about the culture of the Viera having been to the settlement itself and meeting Fran. He had even been there during Mjrn's emotional outburst when she'd expressed her desire to be with Fran and travel the world...the gentle refusal Fran had given in response as she told Mjrn that she should think long and hard about just what such decision would mean for her life.
"'This way, as you're still deciding on the path you wish to follow...you can learn about the places your sister has been to. Even if you choose to remain in The Wood, you will have a better understanding of the world you live in and are a part of.'"
That was the main portion of the note Larsa had written in the book for her. Considering how long it must have taken for him to compile the book...it was a truly touching gesture.
She couldn't help but smile somewhat: it felt as if she had been given a window to the rest of Ivalice in a way. It wasn't the same as traveling it as Fran did...but she could imagine and understand things better now. It would be something she'd treasure regardless of what she ultimately decided to do.
...While Jote might frown on the outside world, she doubted that even her older sister would deny her such a lovely gift--if she was firm with wanting to keep it, at any rate. The Wood gave no sound of alarm at the idea, something that the young Viera took to be a good sign.
She wanted to thank Larsa somehow as well, it seemed like the right thing to do. Again, The Wood remained silent at her thoughts...though she could still feel her presence in her heart.
"...What's this?" she pointed out a picture of a Viera wearing clothes she'd never seen before.
Icarus stared at the picture a moment, squinting, "I think that's about fashion styles now in Dalmasca." He shrugged, "Not really my cup of tea."
"...And this?" she pointed to a picture of what appeared to be a city floating amidst the clouds.
"The Skycity of Bhujerba." Icarus looked at it thoughtfully, "I haven't been there in awhile."
Mjrn nodded absentmindedly, already glancing through more of the pictures in the book. Icarus watched her for a few moments, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth at the excited, curious gleam in the girl's eyes.
"...I'm supposed to be coming through this area every couple of months on patrol rounds." He heard himself say, not sure of what had possessed him to do so, "If you want...I could bring you more books or news about other places if you're curious."
Considering how excited she had gotten over one book and how she'd just saved his life, Icarus figured coming to Golmore Jungle every once in a while wasn't such a bad notion.
"Boco would probably like that too." He mentioned, as the Chocobo took a moment away from his busy grazing schedule to run both of the backs of their heads with his cheek affectionately--as if afraid they'd forgotten his presence.
Mjrn smiled, excited about her gift still and surprised by the kind offer: it might be nice having someone outside of the other Viera to talk to in Golmore Jungle from time-to-time, she decided...thinking about Fran's companions and Chit.
A pleasant breeze swept through the jungle at that very instance...a comforting note coming from the voice of The Wood. It seemed as if she herself did not mind having the visitor travel here occasionally to meet with Mjrn either. Perhaps in a way, The Wood reasoned that having a Hume that meant no harm come to the jungle at times was better than a Viera choosing to leave and no longer be able to hear her voice entirely--mayhap she would reason the same to Jote later on when she spoke to The Wood herself about the issue.
Patting Boco's cheek, she regarded Icarus warmly, "I'd...like that." She admitted shyly, her own cheeks warming slightly in embarrassment when she noticed Icarus' face reddening. The young soldier would later on admit to her after his next few visits to Golmore Jungle once the two had become friends of sorts that he had been afraid of overstepping some unknown cultural boundary by asking her if he could visit again at that point...thus the reasoning for his nervous blush back then.
"Could you maybe help with something before you leave though?" she worked up the nerve to ask, only continuing when Icarus nodded his head in agreement, "I want to write a thank you letter."
...She still wasn't sure of which sister's path she wanted to follow--but Mjrn did feel thankful for what had happened today. The book's heaviness in her hand seemed like a steadying weight somehow: it was strange to think of how an Imperial soldier's quest and a surprising gesture of kindness from a person who was little more than an acquaintance of hers had helped to make her feel more grounded and put her thoughts into a different perspective.
The nervous anxiety she'd been feeling constantly seemed to lessen somewhat: she didn't have to make her decision right away, after all...and, at the moment, at least she felt as though she could have a sense of balance between the two extremes warring inside her now while she thought about what she truly wanted to do.
For that, she couldn't help but feel immensely grateful.
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