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year 5, quarter 3
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Provo was beginning to become a little too packed for Bartz' taste. Although it had been a nice enough sanctuary to explore after wandering the wilderness after leaving Sonora, it seemed more and more people were packing into the main city everyday. It was when Bartz had to squeeze through people shoulder to shoulder on the main street that he finally asked what the deal was. Farmers and their families from the surrounding hamlets and villages were coming to sell their wares for a farmer's market with their bounty and harvests. Well, he figured, if everyone was coming here than those little towns were bound to be a little less packed, and so with a shrug of his shoulders he left the city to go explore.
Thankfully his hunch had been right. Bartz bumbled his way from small village to small village enjoying the sights and foods of the locals. Everything seemed so peaceful and relaxed. Children played in the streets as the smell of spices floated through the air one particular night as Bartz made his way into another small hamlet. Bartz followed his nose and the rumblings of his stomach so a small tavern where the smell was coming from. Bartz opened the door, and the smell overwhelmed him as it seemed to call him to take a seat at the empty bar. A moment later an older woman came bustling through the door with her arms full of decorations and a pleasant smile on her face
Her mouth rounded in an 'O' as she noticed him. "Aye, sorry there." she said popping the tinsil and banners on the bar as she bustled over. "Didn't think there'd be any business with everyone up in Provo." Bartz was about to speak but the woman cut him off. "Right then, you're gonna have to be quick about it. There's a hen party to prepare for and what not, and it ain't easy doing it all by myself you see." Bartz couldn't really comprehend why there would be a party for a hen, but maybe it was the hen's birthday or something. Either way, he couldn't in good conscious sit there and eat while he watched this woman stuggle by herself. "Do you need some help?"
An hour or so later the two of them were done setting up all the decorations and getting things done and finishing up a bowl of stew they had shared. "Now no mean to rush, but the hens'll be here any moment and we can't have a stag running around now can we?" She laughed at her own little joke before shooing him to the door. She pointed to a small house down the way, "Right down there's a bed and breakfast. Now you tell Linda that Verna sent you. She'll take care of you." Bartz, seeing no reason not to stay the night, followed the woman's instructions and found himself with a free room for the night. Even though the sun was still in the sky, Bartz was exhausted from traveling and passed out almost as soon as his head hit the pillow
Bartz awoke sometime in the middle of the night. There was no way to tell exactly what time it was, but when he looked out the window the moon was high in the sky. Bartz lay back down for a few minutes before sighing in futility. There was no way he was gonna be able to get back to sleep. Bartz dressed quietly as to not wake anyone else in the house, and made his way outside hoping that a night time stroll would be enough to dull his senses back into tiredness
The night was nice although the few gusts of wind stung at his exposed skin. There really wasn't much to see or do as the whole town seemed asleep aside from him. The only sounds were the wind and his own footsteps which is why the sound of crying startled Bartz out of his own thoughts. A little hesitant to figure out what was going on, Bartz almost just kept walking, but he felt a nagging that he had to stop and help. He knew Boko would have bee lined straight to the noise, and so he relented and turned down the alleyway anyway
A few strides down Bartz found the source of the crying. A girl was sitting outside an open door looking toward the ground a bottle of beer in hand. Bartz still couldn't figure out what to say, but decided that he should say something before she looked up and just saw someone standing over her. "Um,"he started, "you ok?"
"Oh yeah," the black haired girl replied wiping at her tears visibly startled at Bartz' approach."Just came out to get some air. Everything's fine."
"In my experience people who are crying in the middle of alleyways in the middle of the night aren't fine," he gave a supportive laugh before sitting down by the wall across the alleyway. "So what gives?
The girl took a swig of her bottle as she eyed him suspiciously. Bartz found this totally fair as he was just some stranger who had decided to question her in an alleyway. Probably not the best way to approach things, but he was here now and determined to make her feel better. Still thankfully she seemed to trust him well enough as she finished off her bottle. "It's this whole stupid hen party," she complained as Bartz leaned in closer to figure out why a bunch of hens would make someone so upset, "All of my girl friends in there living it up, and I'm the one who has to marry that man tomorrow."
Bartz took a minute to process what she was saying. Seemed like this wasn't about hens after all. "Do you not want to?" he finally asked tilting his head to the girl.
"It's not that entirely. It's just he's the only person I've ever dated, and it seems like a perfect match, but I don't know. I've never even explored the country yet, and everyone's been pressuring us to do this. I just don't know if this is what I want to do right now." The girl went to take another drink and found her bottle empty tossing it to the side.
Bartz knew how he felt almost immediately, "That's something you're gonna have to decided tonight. It's your life, no one else should make you feel pressured to do anything. If you need the time and adventure to find yourself do it! Just follow your heart and it's gonna point you in the right direction." Bartz beamed a smile across the way. "Name's Bartz by the way."
Before they could discuss things further another young woman bustled from the door. "There you are!" she yelled as she grabbed her friend. "Come on now, the night's still young and so are we!" She almost had her friend back inside before noticing Bartz with wide eyes before slamming the door closed quickly. Well that was that he assumed. Bartz stood brushing off the dirt from his pants before making his way back to his room and falling back to sleep
Bartz slept in the next day feeling a tiredness that he hadn't felt the day before. Lazily he plotted out his day hoping to get directions to any interesting sights or haunts nearby to explore before setting out. First thing though was breakfast, but as he made his way downstairs he found no one in sight including Linda. Thinking he must slept through the meal, Bartz figured he could get something for the road before heading outside. The street was empty for just a moment before a voice cried from the end of it, "That's him! He was outside with her last night."
"Who me?" Bartz questioned groggily after hearing the woman yell. It was the woman who had came for the girl last night in the alleyway. Behind her was a throng of men and women including Verna and Linda and more people than had been in town the day prior. "Where is she? What have you done with Greta?" one of the men yelled a pitchfork rising in the air. "Kidnapped her most likely for a ransom!" another voice piped up from the crowd. "A secret lover?" another cried. Bartz still hadn't quite woken up when the first rock hit his forehead. "Hey what the!" he whined rubbing at the spot on his head as the villagers approached.
"I don't know who you're talking about," he tried to explain holding his hands out hoping the mob would stop its approach. "Liar!" the girl called once more. More rocks came his way as a couple of burly looking men came towards the front of the crowd weapons in head. Bartz began to back away from them turning to sprint, but found a second crowd closing in on him. He gulped as the crowd pressed him against the wall of a building ready to skewer him it seemed like.
After the events in the hospital in Provo, Yuna hadn’t felt the same. Everywhere she turned, she imagined that she saw the red-haired man leering at her or lying in wait to kill her. Sometimes at night she still heard the screech of the infected person that he’d set on her, and she spent a lot of time thinking about the blue-haired man that he’d reminded her of. Who was he? Was this another memory? If so, then the mysterious man from her past must have been dangerous if he was anything like the man from the hospital had been. How could she have forgotten something so important?
It was frustrating, but nothing was more frustrating than the state of her aeons. Shiva had answered her call when she had been in danger, but that shouldn’t have been possible. Yuna had never even been to Macalania Temple, let alone completed Shiva’s trial. Valefor should have been her only companion right now, but he refused to answer her call. Yuna had spent countless hours outside, waving her staff and begging for him to come, but all to no avail. She couldn’t feel any of the aeons here. Only Shiva.
Yuna decided that what she really needed was some time away from Provo. She didn’t want to go too far. She wasn’t planning to run from the red-haired man—she still wanted to send him after all—but she knew that if she faced him again right now, then he’d get the better of her. She was afraid of him, and she didn’t want to be. She needed some time to clear her head and maybe to regain a few more of her memories before she’d ever be able to defeat him.
In the meantime, Yuna wanted to do what she could to reverse the damage that he was doing to the world. The sickness that he had spread in Provo was starting to infect people in the small towns just outside of it. It was the perfect way to help while also serving as a distraction, so Yuna spent the next few weeks wandering the countryside and offering her services as a healer when needed. She wasn’t able to help the most far-gone of the infected, and every single person that she watched succumb and turn into a monster just renewed Yuna’s determination. She was going to stop the red-haired man or die trying.
Yuna had spent the past few days staying in a small hamlet just south of Provo. It was a lovely, small town that reminded her a little of Besaid, and she was relieved to find that the plague hadn’t left its mark here yet. She really shouldn’t have lingered as long as she had when they had no need for her here, but the close-knit community just reminded her so much of home that she couldn’t resist. Every moment here was a treasure. She loved visiting the marketplace. She loved the smell of the wild grass that grew nearby. And she had to fight a smile as the innkeeper gushed to her about a large wedding going on soon. She might not have been able to live in a small town anymore, but she could enjoy it while she could.
The town was generally quiet, so Yuna was surprised to hear a commotion as she made her way out of the inn one morning. Frowning, she made her way down the winding road towards the marketplace and eventually found herself at the back of a shouting group of people. “What’s going on?” She asked in confusion, but her voice was lost in the din of the crowd. Straining to stand on her tip-toes so that she could see, Yuna stared at the boy trapped between two angry mobs. He had a slightly horrified look on his face, and a slight trickle of blood was making its way down his face. Yuna could immediately see why as people in the crowd launched rocks at him, and that instantly infuriated her.
“Stop! Whatever he’s done, this isn’t right!” She tried to grab the first man in front of her to make him listen, but he quickly shook her off him. Steeling herself, Yuna gripped her staff and waved it towards the front of the crowd. “Protect!” She cried out, and a blue shield in a hexagon pattern formed in front of the boy. The next set of rocks that people had thrown bounced off the shield and were flung back into the crowd. There were cries of surprise, and some people near the front of the group faltered. Yuna took the chance to push through and run towards him.
“Hurry! We need to get you out of here,” Yuna said, extending a hand towards the boy and holding her staff in front of both of them. Biting her lip, she eyed the crowd surrounding them. The last thing that she wanted to do was hurt anyone, but she could never tolerate a group bullying one person like that.
Caius had been expecting walking through Provo with a dragon in tow would be harder. But the fact of the matter was, who in this town had seen a baby dragon? Sure, they'd probably seen photos of the full grown ones, and maybe some had full blown attacked their villages and such, but who lived long enough to see a baby dragon in the flesh? Not many, and most certainly not most people here. So this had been... Easier, than Caius had expected. Caius had dreaded the day Vordun would graduate from jacket duty and would need to walk the streets with him, but here they were. And it wasn't so bad. Most people mistook Vordun for some kind of dog. Considering he wasn't that much bigger than a corgi, it wasn't all that far off of an assumption either. But so long as Vordun had remained harmless, nobody had really asked many questions. It wasn't like seeing people tow around scaly pets was anything new. Weird pets seemed to be common in this world when you got used to people roaming the streets on giant yellow chickens.
The same seemed to apply to the smaller villages as well. Just coming back from a job, Caius had decided to stop by one to restock on supplies there instead of having to suffer through moving his way through endless lines. And giving local businesses some extra gil wasn't a bad idea either. While he was there, he'd decided to stay the night. In the morning, he decided, he'd take Vordun hunting. He had already sent a letter to Celes to let her know that he would be back before long, but he figured he could spare some time to continue teaching the dragon as well as replenishing their stock. He was sure she'd understand. Celes was a practical girl, of course she would. Yet, he had a difficult time convincing even himself to be away from her for too long. For one reason or another. It was strange, having this kind of attachment to someone. Not wanting to be bereft of their company for too long.
Caius had woken up in the morning and as Vordun was still sleeping snug on the bed, had decided to take a walk to wake himself proper. After a half-assed job at brushing his magnificent mess of bed-head that he told himself he'd do properly after a shower, he would mosey down the stairs half asleep as he would pull his glaive jacket on. He barely got it on as he stepped outside, before a commotion would catch his attention. Curiosity wracked him as he made his way forward, overhearing some of the words being yelled. But when he got there, the one in the center of the two angry mobs had that look of innocent terror that told Caius that he had done no harm - at least on purpose. But it was when Yuna of all people would suddenly make her entrance, protecting him and trying to pull him away that Caius made up his mind.
"FIRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
Caius screamed the words at the top of his lungs - intending to terrify and scare off the crowd with the resounding roar that sounded from his lips - as he held out his hands, a ball of fire charging between them before he would launch it near one side of the angry mob. It wasn't close enough to actually hurt anybody, but the threat that he was serious about doing so if they didn't scatter was one made very clear.
Cold, frigid brown eyes bore into every member of the crowd he made eye contact with as he would stride forward, hoping to send every member of this angry mob possible scattering and fleeing to give Yuna and this kid a chance to run. While the kid's innocence was still something he was unsure of... Yuna had chosen to trust him. Thus, he would as well.
"Yikes!" Bartz commented to no one in particular as his back hit up against the wooden wall of the building behind. He looked up hoping for maybe a easily reachable perch or something to scramble up, but the thought of having to get on the roof to escape these crazed people made his stomach more than the fear of being beaten in the streets. Well if this what this what it he supposed, as he held up his hands to block the stones still being sent his way. "Oh man, Boko, what have I gotten myself into this time?" he asked his feathered friend who wasn't there to ferry him away on his back and out of harms. Bartz felt behind him trying for a window or a door as he ducked the next stone sent his way.
And then suddenly there was a flash of blue light in front of him and a rock that had his name on it merely reflected when it got to close to him. "What?" he asked in befuddlement at the disappearing lights and the rock on the ground. Bartz curious about what had happened knocked against the air but felt nothing but air and tilted his head as another rock came careening towards him but also bouncing away at the last minute. "That's weird?" he commented again until he saw a woman running towards him. He flinched reflectively as the woman extended her arm to him, but her words calmed him a bit. "Hey, thanks lady!" he said reaching for her outstretched hand.
Still before he could ask anything a large ball of fire came careening towards the two of them. A yell escaped him as he broke the connection with his savior as he jumped in fear. Still as the fireball hit the ground it bounced hitting the back of Bartz's cape. Almost instantly the thing blew up in flames as Bartz's screams pierced the air as he wrestled to throw the fast spreading cape inferno off himself. Once it was it a pyre on the stone pavement, Bartz stamped at it repeatedly as the magic to die down and left his beautiful crimson cape browned and ragged filled with holes. "My cape!" he lamented as he held the pitiful thing up from the ashes.
The fists that held his beloved cape began to tremble as fear and nerves and loss bubbled over into a frothy anger. "WHAT'S GOING ON?" he yelled tossing his head from side to side looking at the mobs. "I don't know who you're talking about or why you're trying to hurt me!" he yelled his voice gaining another note higher with every word.
Tears welled in his eyes as someone approached from the crowd from where the fireball had come from. "Was that you!?" he asked his fists still shaking as emotion overcame him. "This whole town is made out of WOOD what were you thinking! What if your aim at me was worse and it hit a building?!" Even Bartz knew fire and wood wouldn't go well together. "I'm tired and confused and this lady is the only one who isn't trying to kill me." he screamed in her direction before his emotions caused his knees to buckle and he cried against what remained of his cape. "My cape!" he whimpered as he cried into his once cape in the middle of the street as the two crowds stood awkwardly at the sight of him having a fit.
Yuna smiled at the boy, trying to convey reassurance as she offered him a hand so they could flee the crowd. She hadn’t been called ‘lady’ in quite a while, and it called to mind the people of Besaid who would bow to her and call her ‘Lady Yuna’ after she’d become a summoner. It made her like the boy instantly, and she was more determined than ever to help him escape.
As she scanned the crowd for an opening, a familiar voice cut through the din, and her lips parted slightly in surprise at the word ‘Fira.’ Someone in the crowd was a talented black mage. But was the man attacking them or attacking the crowd? As Yuna stepped back to survey the group, her eyes locked with a large brown pair near the back, and she jolted in surprise. She knew that long blond hair and the slight bulge in his jacket that hid a dragon.
“Caius!” She cried out, surprised but also a bit relieved to see him. She knew that he was a kind man who was unlikely to ever attack civilians, but his intimidating appearance suggested otherwise. She hoped that maybe his bluff would be a big help in scattering the crowd away from the boy.
Unfortunately, his bluff seemed to work a little too well as the brunette boy next to her bolted a few steps away just as Caius threw his spell. “Wait!” She cried out, throwing out a hand without knowing if she was talking to Caius or the boy. Either way, she was too late. The ball of fire crashed to the ground near them before bouncing back up and hitting the scared boy in the back.
Yuna cried out in fear for him, holding her staff in front of her and getting ready to summon Shiva to put out the fire. It was the last thing she wanted to do in a crowd of people where it could be dangerous for them, but she refused to let him burn.
Thankfully, the fire seemed to have just hit the boy’s cape, and he managed to yank it off of himself before stamping it out on the ground. Yuna let out a sigh of relief and lowered her staff, but it was short-lived when the boy suddenly burst into tears, screaming his confusion at the crowd before curling up on the ground with the remains of his cape. Yuna gave Caius a concerned glance before hesitantly approaching the boy and kneeling on the ground next to him.
“It’s okay,” she murmured, clasping her hands on her knees. “My name’s Yuna. Why don’t we figure out what’s going on together? We won’t let them attack you again.” She hesitated, glancing up at the blond man who had approached them from the crowd. “And this is Caius. I know him. He didn’t mean to hurt you. His aim was just a little…off.” Her lips twitched slightly into a smile as she turned away from the brown-haired boy to look up at her friend. “He feels terrible though. And we would love to help you replace your cape. Won’t we, Caius?” She gave him a slightly reproachful look as if daring him to disagree before scanning the crowd a little hesitantly. She’d almost forgotten about them in the boy’s distress.
“Can…we talk about this please?” She asked, finally rising to her feet. “What has he done to you?”
"Wait, stop!" Caius called out to the boy as Bartz would take off at a run... Right toward where he had fired the spell. Weren't people supposed to run away from the blast range? He wasn't even aiming at him, and sure he was a little new to using Fira - he had only used it over Fire for intimidation's sake - but Caius had been extra careful not to hit any civilians. Now this doof had run right past the crowds and nearly got himself roasted like a hot plate of chocobo. Caius let out an audible groan as he would watch the doof's cape get caught on fire. "Oh for fu-" He muttered, letting out several inaudible curses under his breath as he would stride forward, shoving aside any who hadn't run from the fire.
"Yuney? Do you have any water spells-Oh nevermind he's stamping it" Caius had called out to Yuna, but it didn't seem like they were going to be saving his fragile cape. The thing was pretty burnt when Caius would get there, and the poor fool would let out a screaming tantrum, lamenting over his cape as he would stride over. Caius just stared at him as he would scream at him next over his use of Fira.
"I wasn't aiming at you. But usually people get out of the way when someone's throwing fire around" He responded bluntly. Of course his fellow Dragonblade clearly wasn't happy with him, but the whole thing had been an accident, there wasn't much he could do besides replace the cape. "I'll replace your cape. But we'd best handle this first."
He let Yuna do the talking. The crowd seemed to be pretty angry at the boy, but Caius didn't think he seemed the type that would hurt a fly. There had to be some misunderstanding. He couldn't help but glare toward the crowd though. Willing to lynch and stone a kid like that, he didn't have any regrets over having likely scared the pants off of any of them. Just the kid.
Bartz was still sobbing as the woman approached him. He winced as she knelt down beside him, but listened to her calming voice as he patted away his tears with his frayed and charred cape. "Promise?" he asked his voice a little shaky still. Bartz studied her for a moment noticing how fancy she was dressed. He bet that getting hit by her staff would probably smart too. Bartz gave a shy smile as he looked into her eyes one like the depths of the ocean and the other bright like the grasslands. "You've got very pretty eyes," he commented before scuttling back at Caius approach putting Yuna between him and the man.
Bartz peeked out from behind Yuna's shoulders as she introduced the man reprimanding him. He huffed and crossed his arms at this. "Fire's scary, man just like heights." Still he wouldn't say more just in case another fireball would head his way. "Really?" he whispered to Yuna when she said they should trust the man. Well, being behind the person playing with fire was probably better than standing in front of him, so Bartz gave Yuna a small nod. He gave a wide smile as they promised him a new cape as well, his eyes lit with joy. "Promise?" he said holding out his pinky to seal the deal.
"How can your protect a kidnapper and thief?" the woman's voice made Bartz turn to see Linda, the barkeeper, and the girl who had dragged her friend from the night before. "Sally, here, told me you and Greta were talking in the alleyway last night when she brought her back into the bar. Now this morning Greta is gone and so is one of our Chocobos as well. Where did you take them and why?"
"Hey!" Bartz said standing up finally and stomping his foot and stepping forward, "I would never steal a chocobo from someone. You don't break bonds like that!" Bartz frowned at the idea of anyone ever trying to nab Boko from him, but still he continued on. "And that girl last night probably left on her own." The little not oft used light bulb flickered in his mind. "Oh," he began a sheepish smile thrown to Yuna and Caius. "So, I may or may not have told this girl that if she wasn't sure about getting married she should take time to figure herself out. Guess she did, good for her!" Bartz placed his hands on his hips and tilted his chin up in victory at solving the little mystery.
"You did what!" The crowd murmured in agitation again and Bartz quickly darted behind Yuna again. A man stepped from the crowd looking more sorrowful than angry. "Greta's never left the village before. What is. my daughter is lost or worse accosted by thieves or monsters?" The man began to weep. Bartz groaned uncomfortably as he looked at Yuna and Caius for answers.
"I can find her. Never been a chocobo I couldn't hunt down." Bartz offered wishing his conscious hadn't jumped in. Cleaning up his own messes seemed like a kit if work, but he knew Boko would want him to help. Bartz turned with two thumbs up to Yuna and Caius, "You guys'll help, right? Gotta make sure I stick with you so I can get my cape back."
Yuna smiled at the boy as her words seemed to calm him down. He gave her a small smile in return before commenting that her eyes were pretty. Yuna immediately felt her cheeks warm a bit as she cast her eyes to the side. “Oh! Ah...well thank you.” Yuna found herself a little tongue-tied at the compliment. People normally shied away from commenting on her eyes since they marked her heritage as half an Al-Bhed. But maybe that didn't matter here.
Collecting herself, she blinked slightly as the brown-haired boy hid behind her while Caius approached. Caius didn’t seem overly happy with the boy--maybe he was worried for what could have happened if the fire had reached more than just his clothes. But to her relief, he did agree in a gruff voice that they could replace his cape, so she shot her friend a grateful smile. The promise seemed to make the brown-haired boy feel better too, because his face lit up with joy as he held out his raised pinky finger.
Yuna stared at his hand in confusion, glancing at Caius briefly to see if he had any thoughts on what it meant. Was this some kind of custom in Zephon?
“Um...Yes.” She wasn’t sure what to do with his outstretched pinky, so she brought her hands together into the traditional Yevon prayer and bowed to him instead. “We promise. It was our fault after all.”
“How can you protect a kidnapper and thief?"
Yuna frowned as she turned to consider the crowd. She couldn’t picture the boy doing any of those things, but she let him do the talking as he and a few people in the crowd went back and forth. Gradually, she started to piece together the story. It seemed that he had told a girl that if she wasn’t ready to get married, then she should take the time to find herself until she was ready, so she had taken his advice and stolen a chocobo to run away.
Yuna frowned slightly, the townspeople’s attitudes prickling at her. She wasn’t sure why, but it bothered her. There was a flash of a veil in front of her eyes, and Yuna suddenly clenched her fingers tighter around her staff. “No one should ever be forced to get married,” she said more vehemently than she had meant to, before blanching and pressing a hand to her mouth. Where had that come from?
Yuna didn’t have time to dwell on it, because the girl’s father started to weep in fear for his daughter, and Yuna blinked at him slowly before glancing at Caius.
“People in this village certainly cry a lot. Do you think it’s a custom?” She whispered to Caius before turning back to the boy as he immediately volunteered to go find her. That was brave of him. He seemed like he had a good heart, and Yuna smiled at him again when he asked for their help.
“Of course.” Holding her staff down by her waist, she gave him a short bow again. “We do owe you a cape. And if she’s alone, then we should find her somewhere safe.” Somewhere safe might not be here if the villagers were so quick to push her into marriage. But Yuna left that unspoken.
Caius couldn't help but laugh heartily when Bartz would comment on Yuna's eyes. He'd read in his books about this kind of thing. Where there was some kind of blunt compliment that counted as flirtation in hopes of courting the person. Apparently history told that it was solidly practical when it came to courting tactics. Caius wondered for a moment if courting was like fighting, where one had to rely on tactics, ability, and a bit of luck. Maybe he'd ask Celes later, if the subject wasn't too awkward to broach after the last time they had talked about it. But Bartz had pulled off, judging by Yuna's reaction, what the books called a smooth flirt. And successfully, at that.
"I like this kid" He joked between laughter. "I do have to agree with the kid though, your eyes are certainly striking" He then joked toward Yuna, shooting her a grin. It wasn't meant to be a flirt of his own, of course. He just thought it would be funny to tease her a bit regarding her initial reaction. At the least, the kid wasn't crying anymore and they could move on. He would ask for reaffirmation of their promise, holding out his pinky. Yuna didn't seem to know what it was, but Caius did. Holding out his pinky and wrapping it around, he nodded his head. "Pinky swear. Just try not to bug us too much about it... I might get you a devilish black cape like all the bad guys if you do" Caius joked softly in turn.
They were rudely interrupted by the villagers that had been stoning the kid, and he listened as the back and forth between Bartz and the villagers gave Caius a bit of background. It sounded as though Bartz had encouraged her to make her own choices, so she left this shithole. Considering how quickly the villagers were to stone people, he couldn't blame her in the slightest. But the fact that this was all it took for them to physically attack a kid? The vaguest of assumptions? Caius' brows would lower into a deep scowl, with a dark look in his eyes - one that indicated he was not happy in the slightest. Yuna would lash out regarding the whole marriage pressure thing, but Caius kept quiet until Bartz would volunteer them to go and find her.
Caius had cared little for the father's blubbering. But Yuna did comment, and Caius turned to her and shook his head. He didn't want to tell them what he thought of the villagers. Instead, he would turn to Bartz and answer him regarding their aid in finding her.
"Our usual rate will apply. We are mercenaries, after all, and it is a job that may risk our lives" Caius spoke calmly, being as gentle as possible with his tone. "But you will not be paying it, you are not at fault. They will be" He spoke, pointing to the villagers as he turned to stare them down with a look that indicated they were very lucky he wasn't deciding to take further action over their physically assaulting a kid over a vague assumption. Normally, Caius would have been much kinder about this, considering the circumstances he would offer a discount - or maybe not bother about payment at all. Yuna knew this, she knew by now how he tended to handle these kinds of things. But these people did not deserve that kindness. If Caius wasn't concerned for the girl's safety himself, he would have told them to stick it.
Of course, Caius had full intentions of taking the girl with him should she wish it, once they brought her back and claimed their pay. Should she desire safe passage to the city and away from these maniacs, he would ensure it and he would do it for free.
At this point, Vordun had caught up to them, having been roused by the noise. Carrying Caius' pack in his jaws, Caius would smile brightly as he would pick it up - giving Vordun a grateful pat. Once he was settled, he would motion for Bartz to lead the way. Perhaps he had an idea of where she might have gone?
Bartz couldn't help but to smile as his two new pals decided to help him out. "Sweet," he said running a hand through his hair his eyes closed slightly. "We'll find this gal in no time!" He threw the pair a pair of thumbs up before turning to give the same to the townsfolk. The townspeople didn't smile back, and Bartz gave a hesitant laugh before backing up behind Yuna once more in case they decided to turn against him again. "Well, better get going. The sooner we find her the sooner I can get my cape back." He gave a warm smile and gave a slight whistle as he walked past Yuna and Caius in a random direction when all of a sudden..
"WOAH!" Bartz yelled stopping dead in his tracks as he noticed the tiny dragon. An odd sense of deja vu overwhelmed him as his looked at the creature and odd sense of fear and companionship flooded him. Had he seen this little guy before? He gave a nervous laugh as he couldn't put his finger on the odd memory that hovered like a chocobo's feather in the wind before the sensation and memory fleeted away. Bartz crouched down to the dragon's eye level, "who are you, little guy?" Bartz gave him a few scratched behind the ear before getting back giving the little dragon a two finger salute before carrying on.
"I say we ask where she went from the other chocobos," Bartz declared as he lead the way to where he could smell chocobo stench. Approaching the very unguarded pen Bartz put his hands to mouth, "Kweh, kweh," he called to the other chocobo there and it trotted over. "Kweh?" "Kweh kweh kweh! Kweh?" Bartz questioned and nodded solemenly before turning to his companions. "They only left before sunup! They shouldn't be too far, hopefully. I know Boko would be tuckered out by now if he was running for a couple hours." Bartz ran his hand through his hair as he explained. Bartz held a finger to his temple, "We just have to think like a chocobo and a free spirit. Well better get going." Bartz started walking towards the edge of town. "So what are you two doing out here in the great wide somewhere?" he asked cupping the back of his head in his palms as he walked.
