ext_62578 (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
breyzyyin.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
moogle_workshop2012-01-30 11:57 pm
breyzyyin.livejournal.com) wrote in moogle_workshop2012-01-30 11:57 pm
{Fan Fic} Soldier Advice
Username: Yin (of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
breyzyyin)
Class: White Mage
Title: Soldier Advice
Summary: Luso, Cloud, and Meliadoul have a talk after a particularly brutal battle.
Characters/Pairings: Luso, Cloud, and Meliadoul. Ramza, Isilud, and Clan Gully are also mentioned.
Word count: 1,497
Rating/warnings: PG/PG-13 depending on your view on battle scenes and depictions. Spoilers for Final Fantasy Tactics.
----Legal Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy Tactics A2, Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters from those games. They are the rightful property of Square-Enix.----
----Note: This was originally meant to be a gift exchange piece for the Holy Swords Gift Exchange forcrescent_dreams...but it went in a completely different direction than I'd originally intended it to go (I'm really sorry, crescent_dreams...I shall have the actual story I meant to write for you up sometime in the next game, I promise! ♥). XD----
The scent of blood recently spilled lingered in the air still, despite the fact that he'd been forcibly moved a good distance away from the battlefield. The air was thick and heavy with it: he could almost imagine the coppery taste of it on his own tongue if he swallowed.
And with that idea still rooted firmly in his head, Luso Clemens bent forward over the tree root he'd been resting on and retched again--burning bile erasing the scent and sensations he had been experiencing moments before, the contents of his stomach long since having been emptied on the forest floor.
"...Doing any better?"
He stood upright once the heaving spasms of his body stopped, wiping his mouth with his fist.
The scent's presence, its sensational memory...still lingered, but it seemed much more contained now. His knees were still shaking, and his stomach threatened to rebel again...but it seemed a lot more manageable at the moment.
They'd been caught off-guard while trying to return to Ramza's camp after getting supplies. The battle had been pretty savage, as all of the battles in this future Ivalice seemed to be. He still couldn't believe the difference in the level of fighting between this time and his own...a part of him yearned for his friends and Clan Gully constantly because of that--he missed just having an adventure in a way (oddly enough, sometimes even the classroom seemed welcome in comparison to this place!).
The enemies, Hume fighters trying to earn recognition and valor by killing "heretics," had been unrelenting. They'd managed to dispose of them all as that was really the only thing you could do when it was a question of your life being on the line, save one knight who had managed to trip Luso over a rocky outcropping in the terrain.
As the young Game Hunter struggled to pick himself up, the knight's weapon had arced towards him in a flash of metal and he knew he'd never be able to see his friends again or complain about school ever...
And then there was a warm spray of crimson coating his face, getting into his eyes and coating his gaped-open mouth. The knight stood over him lifelessly, Meliadoul's golden-colored blade sticking through his chest (he'd almost forgotten her armor-piercing skills) for a few seconds before she'd pulled it out--more blood cascading like a torrent from the dead man's wound as he fell on top of the teenager.
He'd started convulsing and retching at that instant, the somber Cloud having to drag him to the spot where he was now.
He turned to face the warrior, a person such as himself who had somehow accidentally been transported to Ramza's world and time. His cheeks, under the dried, flaking splotches of red...were burning in embarrassment. Compared to everyone else here, Luso was an inexperienced baby still...and while he tried his best, he always felt very self-conscious of that fact.
But remembering the dead knight's lifeless eyes, the cold light that had been in them earlier when he'd raised his blade over his head...a shudder went through his body.
He expected Cloud to want to yell at him for his mistake...for falling into such a shocked state after the fact, but he was surprised to see Cloud staring at him in the more off-handed way that he normally did. A wet rag was in one of his hands, and he held it out to Luso silently.
"Thanks." Luso walked over on shaking legs and grasped the rag, hastily wiping his face. He noticed grimly that the white rag turned a muddy red after only a few swipes--he still didn't feel clean at all.
Cloud shrugged, the only indication he'd heard Luso's words of gratitude. The two remained silent for a really long time as Luso continued to absent-mindedly wipe ineffectively at his face.
"...There's a steam nearby too. If you want to wash off more before heading back to camp." The SOLDIER finally commented, "Ramza and some of the others might get upset if you come back looking like that."
"...Good point." With everything that the group was facing currently, the boy didn't want to add anymore stress to an already very tense situation. Ramza was kind-hearted, and he would probably worry about having put the youth in that position. Considering how it had been Luso's decision to tag along in the first place out of gratitude for Ramza saving his life when he first got stuck in this strange Ivalice, he didn't want him to feel guilty at all.
"Does it ever..." he paused, unsure of how to voice his question properly. The cloying scent of dried blood and the rancid stench of his earlier sickness still filled his nostrils as he and the older blond-haired man started walking, "...Get any easier to deal with?"
Cloud stopped walking and turned to regard his younger companion with an unreadable look in his strangely glowing blue eyes, "No, it never does."
His response was brutal, but honest. Luso blinked, unsure of why the nervous, wretched pit that had been gnawing at his stomach now seemed to suddenly fill his heart with sadness. His vision was starting to get blurry, and he knew if he wiped at his eyes now there would be a streak of wetness on his fist.
"...You would have even more problems if it did ever get easier, I imagine."
Meliadoul had joined them while Luso had been focused on trying to cover up the fact that he'd been crying. Her voice had a harsh, commanding tone to it...but the words she spoke seemed tinged with understanding. A thin, slight smile was on her face as she added, "That was something my brother Isilud believed as well."
The Divine Knight tossed another wet rag over Luso's grimy, blood-matted hair and patted his shoulder in a comradely fashion before giving the youth a gentle push on his shoulder blades to coax him forward, "The stream's this way. We'll hopefully have time to get you cleaned up and back to camp before nightfall if we make enough haste."
He nodded, swallowing hard as he tried keeping up with her steady stride and he mentally noted how it was amazing how effortlessly she moved in that heavy-looking armor, "Thanks...and thank you as well about before." his thoughts flashed back to that time, remembering the motion of the knight's blade once more and his own realization of his impending death, "You saved my life."
A shrug of her shoulders, "It was nothing. You're an ally in this fight. I'd expect you to do the same for me."
"Of course!" Luso was surprised by how emphatic he sounded, how sure. He'd thought of his friends in the Ivalice he knew, of his friends in his own world, and of the companions he'd made here...and despite everything, all of his doubts had vanished in a single instance at her words.
Even if the thought of how dangerous these battles were terrified him...he would never run from an ally in need. That thought, that realization, seemed to help him walk forward on legs that were much more sturdy now.
Meliadoul saw this and smiled knowingly, but chose to say nothing further. His resolve was back, and she was glad of it...though she hadn't admitted it earlier, his reaction after the fight had worried her somewhat--though she knew from personal experience it was a wall every warrior had to cross over at some point.
A gloved hand clasped Luso's shoulder for a moment as Cloud rejoined the two of them in their walk. It was a brotherly gesture, and one that was over as quickly as it began--his hand dropping away quickly.
"It doesn't ever get any easier...but you learn to keep moving forward if you have something you need to accomplish."
Luso blinked, surprised in a way because that was probably the most conversation he'd ever gotten out of the twenty-one-year-old before. He wondered if the SOLDIER was talking from his own personal experience, but knew that he'd never tell Luso even if he asked. Cloud was a private and guarded person, as was Meliadoul in a way...so getting to have this much conversation and advice from them both was a surprise.
"You're right." he smiled slightly, gratefully, "Thanks, Cloud."
He doubted he'd ever properly be able to talk about this day in his journal, but Luso didn't really care at the moment.
All that mattered was that they were all alive and here to experience it in the first place.
He would do his best in his small role in this Ivalice's history pages to make sure that continued to be the case...even if he'd need comfort from friends every once in awhile to keep moving forward on shaky legs, with a queasy stomach, and a heavy heart afterwards.
He wanted to make sure they'd all be around to have good stories to tell to their friends too once the fighting was finally over.
breyzyyin)Class: White Mage
Title: Soldier Advice
Summary: Luso, Cloud, and Meliadoul have a talk after a particularly brutal battle.
Characters/Pairings: Luso, Cloud, and Meliadoul. Ramza, Isilud, and Clan Gully are also mentioned.
Word count: 1,497
Rating/warnings: PG/PG-13 depending on your view on battle scenes and depictions. Spoilers for Final Fantasy Tactics.
----Legal Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy Tactics A2, Final Fantasy VII, or any of the characters from those games. They are the rightful property of Square-Enix.----
----Note: This was originally meant to be a gift exchange piece for the Holy Swords Gift Exchange for
crescent_dreams...but it went in a completely different direction than I'd originally intended it to go (I'm really sorry, crescent_dreams...I shall have the actual story I meant to write for you up sometime in the next game, I promise! ♥). XD----The scent of blood recently spilled lingered in the air still, despite the fact that he'd been forcibly moved a good distance away from the battlefield. The air was thick and heavy with it: he could almost imagine the coppery taste of it on his own tongue if he swallowed.
And with that idea still rooted firmly in his head, Luso Clemens bent forward over the tree root he'd been resting on and retched again--burning bile erasing the scent and sensations he had been experiencing moments before, the contents of his stomach long since having been emptied on the forest floor.
"...Doing any better?"
He stood upright once the heaving spasms of his body stopped, wiping his mouth with his fist.
The scent's presence, its sensational memory...still lingered, but it seemed much more contained now. His knees were still shaking, and his stomach threatened to rebel again...but it seemed a lot more manageable at the moment.
They'd been caught off-guard while trying to return to Ramza's camp after getting supplies. The battle had been pretty savage, as all of the battles in this future Ivalice seemed to be. He still couldn't believe the difference in the level of fighting between this time and his own...a part of him yearned for his friends and Clan Gully constantly because of that--he missed just having an adventure in a way (oddly enough, sometimes even the classroom seemed welcome in comparison to this place!).
The enemies, Hume fighters trying to earn recognition and valor by killing "heretics," had been unrelenting. They'd managed to dispose of them all as that was really the only thing you could do when it was a question of your life being on the line, save one knight who had managed to trip Luso over a rocky outcropping in the terrain.
As the young Game Hunter struggled to pick himself up, the knight's weapon had arced towards him in a flash of metal and he knew he'd never be able to see his friends again or complain about school ever...
And then there was a warm spray of crimson coating his face, getting into his eyes and coating his gaped-open mouth. The knight stood over him lifelessly, Meliadoul's golden-colored blade sticking through his chest (he'd almost forgotten her armor-piercing skills) for a few seconds before she'd pulled it out--more blood cascading like a torrent from the dead man's wound as he fell on top of the teenager.
He'd started convulsing and retching at that instant, the somber Cloud having to drag him to the spot where he was now.
He turned to face the warrior, a person such as himself who had somehow accidentally been transported to Ramza's world and time. His cheeks, under the dried, flaking splotches of red...were burning in embarrassment. Compared to everyone else here, Luso was an inexperienced baby still...and while he tried his best, he always felt very self-conscious of that fact.
But remembering the dead knight's lifeless eyes, the cold light that had been in them earlier when he'd raised his blade over his head...a shudder went through his body.
He expected Cloud to want to yell at him for his mistake...for falling into such a shocked state after the fact, but he was surprised to see Cloud staring at him in the more off-handed way that he normally did. A wet rag was in one of his hands, and he held it out to Luso silently.
"Thanks." Luso walked over on shaking legs and grasped the rag, hastily wiping his face. He noticed grimly that the white rag turned a muddy red after only a few swipes--he still didn't feel clean at all.
Cloud shrugged, the only indication he'd heard Luso's words of gratitude. The two remained silent for a really long time as Luso continued to absent-mindedly wipe ineffectively at his face.
"...There's a steam nearby too. If you want to wash off more before heading back to camp." The SOLDIER finally commented, "Ramza and some of the others might get upset if you come back looking like that."
"...Good point." With everything that the group was facing currently, the boy didn't want to add anymore stress to an already very tense situation. Ramza was kind-hearted, and he would probably worry about having put the youth in that position. Considering how it had been Luso's decision to tag along in the first place out of gratitude for Ramza saving his life when he first got stuck in this strange Ivalice, he didn't want him to feel guilty at all.
"Does it ever..." he paused, unsure of how to voice his question properly. The cloying scent of dried blood and the rancid stench of his earlier sickness still filled his nostrils as he and the older blond-haired man started walking, "...Get any easier to deal with?"
Cloud stopped walking and turned to regard his younger companion with an unreadable look in his strangely glowing blue eyes, "No, it never does."
His response was brutal, but honest. Luso blinked, unsure of why the nervous, wretched pit that had been gnawing at his stomach now seemed to suddenly fill his heart with sadness. His vision was starting to get blurry, and he knew if he wiped at his eyes now there would be a streak of wetness on his fist.
"...You would have even more problems if it did ever get easier, I imagine."
Meliadoul had joined them while Luso had been focused on trying to cover up the fact that he'd been crying. Her voice had a harsh, commanding tone to it...but the words she spoke seemed tinged with understanding. A thin, slight smile was on her face as she added, "That was something my brother Isilud believed as well."
The Divine Knight tossed another wet rag over Luso's grimy, blood-matted hair and patted his shoulder in a comradely fashion before giving the youth a gentle push on his shoulder blades to coax him forward, "The stream's this way. We'll hopefully have time to get you cleaned up and back to camp before nightfall if we make enough haste."
He nodded, swallowing hard as he tried keeping up with her steady stride and he mentally noted how it was amazing how effortlessly she moved in that heavy-looking armor, "Thanks...and thank you as well about before." his thoughts flashed back to that time, remembering the motion of the knight's blade once more and his own realization of his impending death, "You saved my life."
A shrug of her shoulders, "It was nothing. You're an ally in this fight. I'd expect you to do the same for me."
"Of course!" Luso was surprised by how emphatic he sounded, how sure. He'd thought of his friends in the Ivalice he knew, of his friends in his own world, and of the companions he'd made here...and despite everything, all of his doubts had vanished in a single instance at her words.
Even if the thought of how dangerous these battles were terrified him...he would never run from an ally in need. That thought, that realization, seemed to help him walk forward on legs that were much more sturdy now.
Meliadoul saw this and smiled knowingly, but chose to say nothing further. His resolve was back, and she was glad of it...though she hadn't admitted it earlier, his reaction after the fight had worried her somewhat--though she knew from personal experience it was a wall every warrior had to cross over at some point.
A gloved hand clasped Luso's shoulder for a moment as Cloud rejoined the two of them in their walk. It was a brotherly gesture, and one that was over as quickly as it began--his hand dropping away quickly.
"It doesn't ever get any easier...but you learn to keep moving forward if you have something you need to accomplish."
Luso blinked, surprised in a way because that was probably the most conversation he'd ever gotten out of the twenty-one-year-old before. He wondered if the SOLDIER was talking from his own personal experience, but knew that he'd never tell Luso even if he asked. Cloud was a private and guarded person, as was Meliadoul in a way...so getting to have this much conversation and advice from them both was a surprise.
"You're right." he smiled slightly, gratefully, "Thanks, Cloud."
He doubted he'd ever properly be able to talk about this day in his journal, but Luso didn't really care at the moment.
All that mattered was that they were all alive and here to experience it in the first place.
He would do his best in his small role in this Ivalice's history pages to make sure that continued to be the case...even if he'd need comfort from friends every once in awhile to keep moving forward on shaky legs, with a queasy stomach, and a heavy heart afterwards.
He wanted to make sure they'd all be around to have good stories to tell to their friends too once the fighting was finally over.