Welcome to Adventu, your final fantasy rp haven. adventu focuses on both canon and original characters from different worlds and timelines that have all been pulled to the world of zephon: a familiar final fantasy-styled land where all adventurers will fight, explore, and make new personal connections.
at adventu, we believe that colorful story and plots far outweigh the need for a battle system. rp should be about the writing, the fun, and the creativity. you will see that the only system on our site is the encouragement to create amazing adventures with other members. welcome to adventu... how will you arrive?
year 5, quarter 3
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When Celes snapped at him about the personal nature of the question, Caius would turn his head and stare at her with half-lidded eyes. Eyes that reaffirmed the fact that he meant she could choose whether or not to answer. With that, he shrugged his shoulders and went back to driving the cart in silence. But then she began to formulate an answer to the question, or at least her thoughts on the matter. Caius listened as she would talk about the fact that what she had back there... It was nothing like what they had now. When Celes pointed it out, Caius would turn his head to look around at everything around then, the sounds of the birds chirping, the trees whistling in the wind, the lush landscape...
Perhaps he had been taking it all for granted in his desperation to go back.
His expression fell, and he didn't meet her eyes anymore as she gave what she had for an answer for now. A long silence followed then, but eventually Caius let out a long sigh.
"... I don't know either. Not anymore."
His tone was a bit somber. There was conflict there, even if he did his best to hide it.
"We didn't have this either. I've spent most of my life that I can actually remember living in a world where sunlight no longer existed. Daemons infested the world, driving everyone out of their homes and slaughtering all in their wake. Those who escaped were eventually driven to the final settlements that could sustain light to keep them away. You'd think that this would drive humanity together, but while it was there to an extent out of necessity in that stronghold... That wasn't always the case. Many kept out of the remaining city and formed groups of looters who waylaid people looking for supplies. They kidnapped people to coerce their families into giving them any resources or food they had, they killed without prejudice, and would strongarm people into joining their ranks with threat to their lives or that of their families."
Caius knew that last part all too well. But he didn't get into the personal nature of it all. Only told a story, as he'd grown accustomed to doing as of late.
"Wasn't anything we could do, except listen to these prophetic types talk about a Chosen King who would deliver us. But that was one day down the road, and this was now. Every moment was a fight to survive. Every moment you had to keep looking over your shoulder. You spent your days trying to find food or shelter, or contributing to keeping the daemons out of the last remaining settlement. That was ten years. Ten whole years before the Chosen King arrived. Ten years of absolute hell.
But... While we were trying to rebuild, I don't know if we'll ever see a world that's like this one" Caius would admit softly. "Economy is in shambles, people are still without proper homes, still without food and drink. I don't have a home here, either... But as cruel as this sounds, I'm far better off here than I was there. I don't have to worry about where my next meal is coming from. I don't have to worry about if the lights will fail one day and the daemons will come back and fall upon us in our sleep. I do the same type of work I did back then, but where before it only barely made enough for me to survive on the tiniest of rations... Here I can actually live. And even just... The little things. The little things like the whistling of the trees, the chirping of the birds, the sounds and atmosphere of the lakes and the rivers and nature in general. It's been so long since I've seen these things, I got so used to not having them that I think I took them for granted. But I know I'd miss them too. I'd miss them greatly.
I guess I just never really thought of how much I had here until your own world reminded me of where I came from."
He scratched his head. He'd opened up more than he had planned, and he wasn't sure why. But... It was what it was.
"Honestly, if not for the Kingsglaive giving me purpose... I don't think I have any attachment to that world either. I've spent so long desperately trying to get back there, to get back to my purpose. But it's been over a year now. Maybe... Maybe it's time to start appreciating what I have, and making a new purpose and a new life here. I miss the Kingsglaive, and my fellow Glaives. But I don't know if I could give up all of this either. Not again."
The problem was he didn't know where to even start.
But it seemed that the two had come from similar realms, to a degree. Perhaps that was why he had opened up, just a little. Perhaps he almost felt like she might understand at least a little.
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
Caius was...oddly honest with her. Celes didn’t really know what to do as he went on. She’d answered his strangely personal question and he’d agreed with her. He didn’t know whether he’d go back either. But then...Well.
”I've spent most of my life that I can actually remember living in a world where sunlight no longer existed.”
It was said so bluntly that Celes had no idea how to respond. He went on for a long time about how his home was overrun with “demons” and how the surviving population had turned on each other. He talked for so long that Celes felt awkward looking at him and instead took to watching the underbrush as they passed by. Her fingers twisted together as she waited, listening even as uncomfortable as she was. Why would he tell all of this to a relative stranger?
”I guess I just never really thought of how much I had here until your own world reminded me of where I came from."
”Oh. Well…” In truth, what they’d left behind did sound similar to her, but she hadn’t thought she’d been so obvious about it. It wasn’t something that she liked to talk about after all, and it was all so heavy…
It wasn’t exactly the first impression she liked to give.
”I've spent so long desperately trying to get back there, to get back to my purpose. But it's been over a year now. Maybe... Maybe it's time to start appreciating what I have, and making a new purpose and a new life here.”
”I know that feeling,” Celes said because she didn’t want to respond to anything else. ”It’s surreal, isn’t it? Living somewhere new.”
”In truth, I…” Celes paused, letting out a short breath before continuing. Well he’d shared, hadn’t he? It would only be uncomfortable for of them if she didn’t say something.”I know the feeling better than I’d like to admit. The world I left. Well, it’s not exactly what it used to be. A crazed god will do that, I suppose.” She pushed her loose hair behind her ear as she eyed her knees carefully. ”There’s not much to return to. Almost all the cities are gone and what’s left of everything else. Well, like I said. There’s not much.”
”I thought I was crazy when I came here. Maybe I am. But at this point, I don’t really think it matters.”
Celes felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Why was she saying so much? Just talking about it made her fingers dig into the skin of her thighs. No, don’t think about that place. Not the flash of light or the roaring heat. Not the smell of burnt flesh or the cracked earth beneath her. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think-
”How long will it be, by the way? Until we reach it?” She cleared her throat and looked forward towards the road. ”I don't mind if we have to stop somewhere. I’m not exactly inexperienced at camping.”
He supposed he understood a little better now just why he was able to talk to Celes on this when normally he would keep this to himself. Their backgrounds were similar, it seemed. There was a kinship of sorts there, and Caius felt a little more comfortable talking about it when he knew that someone wasn't going to judge for it. There was always comfort in talking on this sort of thing with someone who had walked in those shoes, he supposed...
”I know the feeling better than I’d like to admit. The world I left. Well, it’s not exactly what it used to be. A crazed god will do that, I suppose" She said. "Crazed God, huh" Caius would respond, taking a deep breath as he took in the wind hitting his face and the sights and sounds of all around them. "One man caused it all for us... But whether he was a man, or a god, I'm not sure what he was. I suppose in the end... He might well have been a daemon himself. Harboring all of that darkness, and all of those daemons that scourged our world. I do know he was powerful. And held power beyond even the Astrals - that's our gods, more or less - in our world, could not match without the Chosen King to aid them."
He didn't think it was the time to tell her that this being was here in Zephon, according to Aranea. That seemed like something to keep under his hat. If he owned a hat.
”There’s not much to return to. Almost all the cities are gone and what’s left of everything else. Well, like I said. There’s not much.”
"The more you talk about it, the more I realize it's about the same in my world" Caius would admit. "We have settlements, but... There's pretty much nothing left. It's going to take a long time for people to be comfortable enough to branch out from the Lestallum again, I think. Ten years, with only one city being safe... People will remember this for a long time. Or well... What's left of society, anyway. It's going to be slow, it's going to be awkward, and our world is never going to be the same again. It could be a hundred years before it even vaguely resembles the way it was... And even then, all of the vegetation, all of the nature, all that died... You can't bring that back. It's gone. It's very possible that my people leave the Kingdom of Lucis entirely in search of somewhere they can rebuild with access to more resources... If such a place even exists anymore."
Caius would let out a sigh and shake my head.
"I wonder a lot why I'm here. Am I here to fight something? Was it an accident? Or... Maybe the Astrals just took pity on me. Why me, I don't know. I've never exemplified any qualities that'd get their attention. I'm no Chosen King... I'm no great hero, I'm no great figure of worth. I'm just a face in the crowd. But for whatever reason... Here I am."
Caius had grown accustomed to the fact he was telling this all to Celes, and had accepted it a bit quicker than she had. While he questioned it, he understood that it was what it was and to take it back would be jarring. It was his responsibility to follow through on the path he had set out on.
”How long will it be, by the way? Until we reach it? I don't mind if we have to stop somewhere. I’m not exactly inexperienced at camping.”
"Hmmm..." Caius would muse a moment. "Well, the cart will reduce the travel time, but originally my expectation was to arrive roughly tomorrow afternoon. With the cart... We could be there by the end of the day today, or sometime tonight depending on how smoothly this ride goes. I don't tend to take transportation often enough to get a more accurate reading though, this is sort of a rough thing. Then you have to factor in our actually hunting this beast."
He looked toward her again then. "Are you experienced with fighting beasts? You fight with man fairly well, but I know myself that beasts are a completely different animal... No pun intended."
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
”Hm.” Caius seemed desperate to talk about his past. At every prompting she gave, he spilled his secrets to an almost ridiculous degree. It didn’t matter that she’d veiled her own or that her own replies had been somewhat curt in comparison. It didn’t matter that she very much wished to change the conversation. No, Caius steamrolled ahead on his own agenda regardless of conventional social rules or common sense.
It made Celes wonder if he’d ever had someone to share his trauma with. Did he have friends where he came from and were any of them here? How long had he been alone?
Celes looked anywhere but at him -- out at the passing vegetation, perhaps? -- though she couldn't focus. Her leg tapped out a rhythm with her heel as her nails dug into her skin. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think-
”With the cart... We could be there by the end of the day today, or sometime tonight depending on how smoothly this ride goes.”
Thank whatever gods she didn’t believe in, they were talking about something else!
”Tonight? That’s not terrible.” Her voice sounded hollow. Distracted. It was hard not to when she felt her head spinning.
”Are you experienced with fighting beasts? You fight with man fairly well, but I know myself that beasts are a completely different animal... No pun intended."
”Hm.” It took a few seconds for his words to really reach her, and when they did, she didn’t feel much about them. It was too hard to breathe correctly. ”Oh. Yes. More than men at this point, I’d think. They were everywhere where I came from, and they were absolutely terrible in-”
Terrible where? Celes frowned. She couldn’t remember what she was about to say. Something about magic and cold gunmetal steel.
”In a lot of places. After the catastrophe.” Why did it have to come back to that? Celes let out a slow breath and tried to steady her hand on her thigh but her boot was still tapping. ”They’re different, but a lot more common than men if you don’t have an airship. I can handle myself.”
Post by Caius Dragelion on Nov 23, 2018 18:49:05 GMT -6
Suppose this world isn't so terra-ble.
Celes Chere Word Count: OOC: Boss is going to be fairly DM hands off. I'll throw in some things here and there, but control it as you like. Dialogue Color: 196fd1 Party Sprites Credit
Caius really didn't know why he was talking about it. He usually didn't at all. Nor did he really want to. It was all just painful memories. But something about Celes just... Brought it out. Something about her brought him comfort. Something about her relaxed him, and he just seemed able to loosen up without fear. He didn't know why, he didn't understand it. But perhaps he would someday. Maybe it was just knowing that she understood, in some measure. Maybe his mind was just... Waiting for the right time, and the right person.
The topic turned to Celes' experiences, and Caius was able to better listen to the talk of business. Celes claimed she was more experienced with beasts than men, and he nodded his head. "We have something in common" He spoke calmly, and left it at that.
Either way, Celes seemed confident she could handle herself, and he nodded his head. "I don't doubt that" He responded. "But I would be ready for anything."
------
The two would stop to camp for the night, in order to preserve their energy for the battle ahead. Once they were roused, they would leave the cart where they had camped in order to keep it and the chocobos safe. The known prowling grounds of the beast weren't far, and they would have to pay a hefty replacement fee if the rental was destroyed.
Caius would take a deep breath as he would close his eyes, trying to hear, or smell, traces of the beast... What he could smell was something that made his nostalgic. But also something that alarmed him.
"Damn."
That was all Caius had the chance to say, as a slow rumble sounded from nearby. A Behemoth had found their scent and was charging straight for them... It seems it was meal time.
"Be ready" Caius would remark toward Celes, in a tone very calm and nonchalant considering they were about to be beset upon by a Behemoth. "I have an idea or so in mind on how to take this thing down... But I would appreciate if you had any of your own."
Celes' remarks about coddling and treating her lesser seemed to stick out in his mind. It made him seem fit to remind her that she was his partner on this job, and her input was valuable. Lonoaw would materialize in his hand as he would prepare to meet it's charge...
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
The night was uneventful. After the awkward carriage ride, neither of them seemed to have much left to say, and that was fine by Celes. She’d camped more than enough in her life, and she had no particular need for company. When morning came, Celes awoke quiet and content. It felt good to travel with someone else again, even if she wasn’t certain about the value of his company. She’d never done particularly well by herself.
They left for the beast’s hunting ground without fanfare. Caius might have been as blunt as he was clueless, but he seemed practical enough at least, and Celes didn’t have to deal with any unnecessary small talk. By the time they reached the overgrown farmland they’d been told to search, Celes found herself almost at peace. There was only herself, her blade, and her ally. Those were three things she could understand.
Caius stopped suddenly and Celes followed suit. He was still, attentive, and suddenly alarmed. Celes didn’t need to hear his curse to realize what that meant. He’d sensed something coming closer, and something dangerous at that. Celes stood at attention, following Caius’ gaze to a distant grove of trees. There was a rumble, the creak of falling wood, and then a roar. What came barrelling out of the thicket was as towering as it was monstrous -- a terrible mountain of packed muscle, snarling fangs, and horns the size of oak trees. Celes took a startled step back, staring at it. She’d seen that form before, charging at her through the rocky wastes of an island floating far above the earth.
A behemoth.
”Be ready,” Caius said without taking his eyes off the beast and Celes nodded her assent. She’d dealt with them before and she’d do it again. Even if she’d had three other allies then, she was stronger now than she had been. And she knew its weaknesses.
”I have an idea or so in mind on how to take this thing down,” Caius went on. ”But I would appreciate if you had any of your own."
”They’re weak to ice,” Celes said. ”At least the ones I fought. Give me cover, and I’ll do what I can.” She barely had time to finish before it was on them, charging forward with its horns lowered. Celes’ eyes widened and she cast a quick protect spell on Caius as she backpedaled away, avoiding its horns only by stumbling back so suddenly that she almost fell. The behemoth was strong and it was fast, but it wasn’t particularly agile. It opened its jaws, and Celes was close enough to see the strands of rancid drool that came off those teeth as it batted a massive paw towards Caius on its other side. Celes gritted her teeth, standing her ground as she thrust her hands together.
Why was it that she’d become the mage? It wasn’t that she minded it, but as she muttered her incantations, she couldn’t help but wonder what use a sword was to her at all.
”Blizzaga!” The air chilled in gusts of icy wind. It formed in deep trenches around the behemoth who gave an earth-trembling roar as the ice pierced through its thick hide and then shattered, leaving the grass beneath it stiff with frost. It looked winded now, but not dead. Nowhere near it, in fact, and in its fury it gave another lash of its massive paw, snarling as it whipped itself around to face its attackers. It was then that Celes realized just how close she was, trapped on the other side of this beast from her only ally. Her eyes widened as its tail flew straight at her face, knocking her straight off her feet with the impact. She sprawled on the ground, only barely battered, but as she looked up, she saw its paw sweeping forth and tried desperately to roll to the side.
A wonderful impression she’d made. But what could she expect with only one ally? Celes grit her teeth as behemoth’s haunches stomped beside her, shaking the very earth beneath her. As she struggled back to her feet, she hoped that Caius was managing better than she was.
Throughout the night, Caius mused on the day's events. He pondered on just why, and what about Celes had brought that out of him when no others had been able to. Caius was a reserved man, kept his cards close to his chest... He had been taught in his experiences back in his world that everyone had problems, but unless they could be solved by putting a blade to it, and doing so would be what was good for everybody... Nobody was going to care about your problems. Caius had learned quickly to shut himself away, and while the Glaives had managed to wittle away at this a bit... They hadn't had the chance to break Caius' shell before he was sent here and made to start all over again. More confused than anything on the matter.
This woman... She was special. Somehow, he knew that. Somehow he knew deep down, that she would have an effect on his life down the road.
But he didn't know how. And yet, something about her made him want to ensure that when they hunted their quarry in the morning, she walked out of this alive. It was something he hadn't felt in some time. Like... She was a fellow Glaive and this was just another assignment.
He supposed all he could do was ride this wave... And see where it took him. Maybe for once, riding that wave wouldn't just lead him to more misery than it had already. But he kept making that mistake...
Suppose why stop now, right?
--------------
As the two stood down the Bethemoth, while his tone was nonchalant, his expression the same... There was one thing that slowly began to creep across his face as the adrenaline of battle coursed through him.
A smile.
He loved this. And he knew that he loved this. He wouldn't have this be any other way. Celes would let Caius know that the monster was weak to ice. Not something he knew before now. It was a perk of having allies... Sure, some might hold you back and get in the way, but others were skilled... And others may have access to information that you didn't have before. Other perspectives... They helped, sometimes. Even if Caius still preferred to go it alone.
Celes would request to be given cover so she could make the most of her magic. Having seen her display of magical ability in town before, Caius had no reason to doubt her capabilities. "You'll have it" He promised calmly as he would charge forward to meet the charge of his foe. Drawing his dagger, Caius would toss it into the air as he continued to charge the beast, feeling a barrier close about around him that he had to guess was the doing of Celes. Caius would let out a cry as he would brandish Lonoaw and go for the slash as the monster tried to gore him with it's horn...
And then he disappeared.
Caius would re-appear in the air above the head of the monster, catching the dagger in the air as he would find himself letting out a resounding laugh from the adrenaline of the moment - it'd actually worked! He was just stalling for time so Celes could perform her spells uninhibited, but he knew he'd taken a risk. The risk wearing off just felt... Extraordinary. His heart was pounding in his chest as he would plunge both blades into the flesh of the monster. As it roared and snarled and tried to buck him off, he would take off at a run, digging both blades through the rough mass of skin and bone as far as he could before he hit material he could no longer pierce through. Caius didn't have enough time to form a new plan though, as a large paw would reach up and slam into him full force. Caius would be sent rocketing off the back of the beast, the force that he hit the large rocks that broke his fall completely knocking the wind out of Caius as he tumbled down. The Glaive let out a few pained coughs as he struggled to regain his breath. Had it not been for the Protect spell cast earlier, odds are that would have been a lot more painful. Tough as Caius was, he was still human, and that thing was still massive.
But it was enough.
Celes would unleash the spell, "Blizzaga" she had called it. The massive icy gust would rock the monster like a frozen hurricane, dealing what was clearly a sizeable amount of damage. But the monster wasn't down just yet, and it's tail struck Celes. With her downed, the monster would go for the kill...
Remembering his promise to himself that he had made the night before, Caius would will himself to his feet. "BLIZZARD!" Caius called out as he would cast the spell onto his blades, imbuing them with ice. Remembering Celes' words about the monster being weak to ice, he would toss both blades as hard as he could, piercing the monster's hide before it could reach Celes. Sending himself hurtling forward with the Warp Strike, Caius would grab hold of both blades and rip them out, before calling out to Celes now that he had the monster's attention.
"Attack it while it's stuck between the two of us!" He advised as he would lay into it with a series of strikes from his position... He knew that the advantage would not last long, it would figure them out quickly. But he was going to make the most of the opportunity...
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
As it turned out, Celes hadn’t needed to worry about Caius.
With her spell cast, Caius yelled out a spell of his own (though she didn’t see it hit the creature, oddly) and threw himself towards it bladefirst. Celes couldn’t see him well past the thundering beast, but whatever he was doing seemed effective. She knew the labored cries of a dying monster well enough.
”Attack it while it's stuck between the two of us!” he yelled to her, and she nodded. A pincher attack. She’d used them before when fighting monsters or men, and she backed up to let the monster’s attention go to him. As the behemoth turned on him, she raised her hands and readied her spell.
She’d hit it from straight on from behind. Separating meant they had lowered defenses, but it also meant their target couldn’t focus on both of them at the same time.
Her spell didn’t take long and it didn’t take much. With the behemoth distracted, she cast blizzaga again with no real obstacle, and her magic burst from beneath it without a single icicle out of place. The beast roared, and something she couldn’t see from Caius’ end silenced it quickly. It fell with a deafening thump that made the ground tremble beneath them, and Celes let out a breath.
That was one way to take down a behemoth, she supposed.
Her hands ached with adrenaline. Her arms were scraped where she’d fallen, and the edges of her armor bit into her flesh from all the jostling around. Still, all things considered, the battle had gone well. Alarmingly well. She wondered if she’d ever taken down a beast like that so quickly, and then thrust the thought away. She’d only fought behemoths once on the Floating Island. What happened next wasn’t something she cared to consider.
She sidestepped the behemoth and came around to face him. ”Well then,” she said, smiling wryly as she pushed her hair behind her ear. ”Mission accomplished?”
Well, aside from potentially cracked or broken ribs and a very sore back and spine, Caius was nothing to worry over at the moment. It sounded like his tentative partner had come through though, as once the monster would turn to him, Celes would immediately attack it herself. The monster tried it's best to move and get the two of them, but with it having such a large body and the two of them being so far apart - it created a blind side for the behemoth too large to ignore. As the next Blizzaga hit, Caius knew the beast was about to go down. As it turned to try and take a swipe at Celes, Caius would toss both blades upwards, warping forwards before bringing them both down on the creature's head. The creature let out it's dying roars before it fell, and Caius would be thrown off and hit the ground hard.
As the dust settled and it was clear the creature was dead, Caius would begin to let out a laugh. A genuine laugh. Not one he'd had in a very long time.
"Hahahaha.... Hahahaha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The thrill of the fight had been absolutely exhilarating, adrenaline still ran through his body. It was like old times again, fighting alongside a team of some sort to take on the biggest and the baddest. He had forgotten what that felt like. But it was wonderful. One of the few things now that gave him joy. When he wasn't limping, hobbling away from a fight and painfully scratching his way to where he could recover... It was the funnest thing, that adrenaline throughout the fight, the thrill of victory... This was one of the few times he'd fought something like this where he could actually savor it.
Caius sat up, starting to cough when he did. "Ow, ribs, laughing equals pain" He realized aloud as he looked toward Celes, giving her a wolfish grin. "Well, I suppose it is."
Willing himself to his feet, Caius was a little more cautious as he would take a first few steps. He'd taken a few hard blows, maybe broken a few things but they'd won, yeah?
"We make a pretty good team" Caius would admit, mulling over his next few words for a moment before seeming to have made his decision on something. "Thank you for coming along today. Any chance you'd be interested in doing this again in the future?"
He typically worked alone, but... The girl was good. Very good. And their chemistry that had been formed as quickly as they did was almost alarming. It was about as good as what he'd formed with the Glaives... But that had taken weeks, months, over a year even to form. How well he worked with her so quickly was terrifying. While part of him held their reservations... He found himself also with a morbid curiosity of just what they could accomplish.
Or perhaps he just missed the feeling of companionship deep down and didn't want to admit it? Hard to say.
Final Fantasy VI
22
YEARS
Female
Complicated
Heterosexual
429 POSTS
Fin
Use your own eyes and see for yourself whose side I'm on!
Use your own eyes, and see for yourself which side I'm on.
Caius was laughing.
Celes stopped, almost disarmed by the laugh. It was tired, it was exhilarated, and it was loud. It went on for what felt like far too long as Caius just laid on his back, staring up at the sky and laughing. After a moment, he tried to push himself up, wincing even as he kept laughing. Apparently there was a problem with his ribs.
”I can heal that,” she said. ”If you’re hurt. I still have enough magic.” But Caius was still able to get to his feet at least so it didn’t seem serious. Nothing was broken. Nothing was fractured, and they’d both come out the other side victorious. With all the laughter in the air, Celes couldn’t help a soft one herself. He was just too convincing.
”We make a pretty good team,” he said, and she couldn’t deny it. Despite her reservations and the man’s complete cluelessness in everything social, once their blades had drawn, it was like they’d moved in sync. In action, she could have easily mistaken him for one of the Returners at her side -- and one of the talented ones at that. Like Cyan or Sabin -- someone with a clear heads and the talent to see it through. How long had it been since she’d worked so well with someone else? Since she’d fallen into this insanity at least.
”Thank you for coming along today,” he said and then paused. ”Any chance you'd be interested in doing this again in the future?"
”Oh.” Celes blinked at him, so taken aback that she couldn’t manage the words. Was that an invitation? An invitation to fight with him? It felt odd after all this time and after that disastrous first meeting, and yet she wasn’t opposed to the idea. Hadn’t she just been admiring his battle finesse? No, it wasn’t a terrible idea. It wasn’t one she would have considered herself, but it certainly wasn’t terrible.
So why not? Celes straightened with resolve. What exactly did she have to lose?
”I think I would,” she said. ”I haven’t had that kind of fight in...Well. However long it’s been since I found myself here. I’d prefer if we weren’t always taking down three story behemoths, but I might as well. Sometimes. If you ask.” She smiled faintly to herself, glancing at him with an almost teasing air before she pushed back her hair again.
”I guess it’s time for another wagon ride back. I can heal you once we get started. That ride won’t be over any time soon, that’s for certain.” Celes looked over the beast. They’d need some proof that they’d kill it before they left, but she assumed that part was self-evident. No, for all intents and purposes, this mission was done. She hadn’t known what she’d expected at the outset, but something this satisfying certainly hadn’t been it.
”I enjoyed myself,” she said without looking at him. ”So really. If you have another job in mind...Well. Don’t hesitate.” It was all she could manage without sparking her own embarrassment and so she kept it at that. As she unsheathed her sword to take the beast’s horn, she couldn’t help but wonder at the man beside her.
Caius Dragelion. He was a man with more layers than he let on, it seemed. And as they wrapped up their business and started back to the city, she couldn’t help but wonder what their future would bring.
