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year 5, quarter 3
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Post by Midadol Telamon on Aug 8, 2023 15:25:05 GMT -6
"Still busy savin' the world, then?"
Engineering Prodigy
It didn't take a genius, which Mid was, of course, to realise that Celes might not have been hanging on her every word on the trip to the jail. But that didn't matter. It was good enough having her there to sound out her ideas. Her mind was alive with thoughts of airships and cogs and gears and ballasts and how to make the damn thing fly that yes, she had missed trivial details like nearly being run over by a chocobo carriage twice, but that hardly mattered, did it?
In fact, she had been so absorbed in her theorising that the excitement of why they were at the jail had almost entirely been forgotten, but now they were there, and she was back in the moment, she couldn't help but wear a big smirk on her face as she followed Celes through the building, letting her fill out the few forms that she needed to.
And then, there he was. Clive Rosfield. Looking almost exactly as he did the last time she had seen him. Staying in a jail might have been rough, but Clive had made 'looking rough' an art form since before she had met him. She wasn't convinced the man had ever seen a comb or a hair brush in his life. Which, yes, might have sounded like a 'girly' thought and the type of thing Mid usually avoided, particularly saying out loud, but her hair took a lot of care. And it NEEDED it because the last thing she wanted was to get her hair caught in something she was working on at the length it was. Of course, she could just get it cut, but that wasn't going to happen.
Her instinct was to run and hug him. Because she had truly thought he was dead and she wouldn't ever see him again. But she didn't. Mostly because there was still a jail cell in the way, but also because she didn't really want to show THAT much genuine emotion. Not in front of Celes who still barely knew her. Or Clive himself, really, for that reason. So instead, she cocked her hips to the side, one hand resting on them, elbow out, but anybody who knew her would notice her smile was just a tiny bit more genuine and a tiny bit less wry than usual. "Awright, Clive," she said with a nod and a smirk. "Keepin' well, are you? Sounds like you only been 'ere five minutes an' you're already banged up. That's gotta be a record, even fer you," she said with teasing sarcasm.
"'bout a week, I reckon," she answered Clive's question about how long. "As fer the 'ows and the whys? 'aven't the foggiest. One second we're all waitin' fer you, Joshua, and Dion to come back, an' then Origin starts explodin', then I were 'ere. 'ad this theory it had somethin' to do with Ultima's big spell. You said 'e wanted to create a new world, right? Well, looks like 'e may have succeeded. Only, what I don't get, is why we're the only ones 'ere from Valisthea. Take Celes 'ere, for example," she nodded in the direction of Celes. "She's not from this world, but she ain't from ours either. It's well weird," she said with a simple nod.
"Still, won't do nowt worryin' 'bout it now, will it? Let's get you outta 'ere first, then we can start to figure it out," Mid explained. "Honest to Greagor? If the others made it through, an' are just spread out 'ere somewhere, not sure we wanna go back. I mean, no blight 'ere that I can see. No Akashic. An' what we think of as Bearers? Not only they treated equal 'ere, but there's no crystal's curse neither. You can use magic 'til the chocobos come 'ome, and there's no ill effects," Mid went on.
"Also, they got flyin' airships, which I'm tryin' not to be too jealous of. 'course, my design I were workin' on was better, but what they got, it's not 'alf bad. You're gonna 'ave to see it for yourself," Mid went on. And then she paused for a moment, finally stopping talking.
For a moment, her eyes sought the concrete ground where her feet were planted, and her usual confidence seemed to falter. "'Ere, I ain't one for soppy shit, so, I'm jus' gonna say this and be done with it," she said quickly. "...I'm glad you ain't dead. I... were dead worried for a moment," she explained. "Be jus' like you, it would. Runnin' off an dyin' an' an' leavin' me-" she hesitated. Just like him. By which she meant, just like her newest father figure (not that she'd tell Clive that). She lost her birth Dad. She lost Cid. And now it felt like she had lost Clive too. Except she hadn't. He was alright. "-I mean, us, all alone again," she said quickly to correct. "The Hideaway I mean. I mean, you can't leave Gav to run the place, right?" she quickly stammered out, to cover for any trace of actual admittance of feeling.
[attr=class,bulk] As soon as Celes set eyes on Clive, she knew two things for certain. First, he had indeed had quite the “rough night.” It looked like he’d gotten about as much sleep as she had. He was disheveled, sullen, and generally looked like he could use a few hours in the bath. Secondly, she knew at once that her hunch had been right.
Recognition lit the man’s eyes as they found Mid, and hers lit up in return. His were disbelieving. Hers were almost amused.
Celes couldn’t help a tired smile. Despite everything, she was glad she’d been able to reunite the two. Mid talked with such a playful familiarity that it was hard not to be.
She crossed her arms and let them speak, nodding as Mid mentioned her and her situation and tried to explain it to Clive. It was, indeed, “well weird.”
Mid went on, and as her emotions took over, Celes tried her hardest to not intrude on what was clearly a heartfelt reunion. Not intruding proved rather difficult when they were in a dimly lit prison hallway, but she tried anyway, pointedly looking away to try to give Mid some semblance of privacy. Celes was tired – exhausted actually – but that didn’t mean that she couldn’t at least try to be polite. She was about to ask that Clive be released when echoing footsteps down the hall stopped her short.
A prison guard approached, had a quick muttered word with the one who had escorted them down here, and then turned to Celes. ”I heard you were here. You’re a Dragonblade, right?”
Part of Celes, the part that had managed about three hours of sleep, wanted to bristle at him. Was she a Dragonblade? Oh, it was hard to say after she’d co-founded them. Instead, she swallowed back her frustrations and said merely, ”I am.”
”We wanted your opinion on something if you wouldn’t mind taking a look.”
If she wouldn’t mind. As though she wasn’t already busy cleaning up the city’s messes. Celes pinched her nose and sighed. ”Of course.”
She didn’t want to leave Clive behind bars any longer than was necessary. She didn’t want to stay here longer than they had to in the first place, but if they were calling on her personally then it must have been important. She turned to Clive and Mid and gave them an apologetic look. ”This won’t take long,” she said even though she had absolutely no way of knowing that. ”You two can catch up in the meantime. Here.” She rummaged through her pocket until she found one of the ridiculous little booklets titled, ’So You’ve Been Transported to Zephon.’
In hindsight, maybe they should have taken the title a little more seriously.
”I meant to give this to him on the way back, but it might help you answer his questions in the meantime.” She handed it to Mid then looked at Clive. ”We’ll get you out soon. I promise,” she said before turning, nodding to the guard, and following him down the hall, her heels clicking with the echo of her own footsteps.
There was always another fire to put out, and she was just the one to do it apparently.
Post by Clive Rosfield on Aug 9, 2023 6:41:35 GMT -6
THE OUTLAW
Clive was still processing that Mid was standing in front of him. Part of him was convinced that he was just having another nightmare and very soon Ultima would show up too. When she started talking, it still didn’t help convince him. Both because he’d heard her rambling in his nightmares already and because it just felt too convenient. Mid, his predecessor’s daughter and someone he was greatly protective of, just happened to wind up in the custody of this Lady Chere?
But did she say a week? Clive frowned at that statement. “Strange. To me, we only left for Origin yesterday morning.”
How long had he been out after the Eikons had saved him from the curse? If he’d been unconscious for a week, he should have starved. This was all so strange, and a bit unbelievable. At the least, it sounded like he had succeeded in destroying Origin. But Joshua, what of Joshua? If Mid was still waiting for them to return, then…
A pit formed in Clive’s stomach. While it had almost cost him his life, he had still failed in bringing Joshua back. Even if he could never see him again, Clive would have at least felt better knowing Joshua was happy somewhere. That he could go and put down the sword, and be a historian or something. Settle down with Jote, or someone, and just… Be happy. Get to live the life that he deserved. But he didn’t even get to have that. Because Clive had failed.
Mid started talking about the idea that the others might have made it as well, and for a moment his eyes lit up with hope. Torgal, Jill, Gav, Tarja, Otto, Blackthorn, Goetz, Viv, Charon, the idea they were here brought light back to Clive’s eyes that had been gone since Celes had told him he was in a new world.
But the light soon faded again as his thoughts went once more to Joshua. Even the prospect of a new world where his loved ones could live in peace felt hollow when Joshua should have joined them. But for a moment he broke from his stupor as Mid actually grew emotional, in her own way. Clive’s gaze softened, a touch more open to the idea that maybe this wasn’t a dream after all.
She tried to hide her thoughts but even Clive knew what she meant.
“I’m not leaving again, Mid. No matter where this road takes me, I will always come back.”
It was the least he could do to comfort her after all she had been through. Lady Chere was called on business, but promised to free him soon.
“Worry not, Lady Chere. This fireproofed cell almost feels like home already” came a touch of cheek that confirmed Mid’s presence had at least a little bit brought Clive’s truer personality back to the fore. Where he was more than just Cid the Outlaw, but Clive.
But something continued to tug at his heart. And deep down, he knew it was best that Mid should know the truth. So as Celes began marching away, Clive turned to Mid.
“Mid, before we turn to the future. You should know what happened” Clive spoke up, then. Perhaps it had been obvious that he didn’t seem as excited about potentially reuniting with the others as he could have been, he didn’t know. But it was best Mid knew why. He wasn’t exactly subtle that something had been bothering him, and talking about potentially reuniting with the others made it impossible for him to ignore this any longer.
“Ultima had clones of himself planted in the mothercrystals, absorbing aether. We succeeded in killing Ultima and his clones, but…”
He found himself averting his eyes unconsciously as what he was about to admit had already reopened the wound just bringing it to his tongue to say.
“… Joshua’s gone. Dion, as well.”
And there it was. The very thing that had spurred him to immediate action here in Torensten. Why he so desperately had sought Ultima’s final annihilation. He truly thought Ultima was still alive, within that crystal.
But even in death, Ultima had stolen away part of Clive that could never be recovered. He’d taken Joshua from him, and Clive would have to live with that hole in his heart for however long he still lived.
Post by Midadol Telamon on Aug 9, 2023 14:54:00 GMT -6
"Still busy savin' the world, then?"
Engineering Prodigy
"Well, if were on that thing when it blew up, make sense you'd only wake up later. Must be nursin' the hangover from Hell," Mid replied when Clive stated about the oddity in time difference. However, the truth was that she was already considering the other possibilities. Absent mindedly, her hand made its way into her satchel, removing the crumpled pamphlet Celes had given her. "Nah, I'm only jokin'. Celes gave met his little booklet. Says that loads of people show up 'ere, without proper memories, an' at different times. Like I said, well weird," she explained with a shrug. Would it require further investigation? Absolutely. Was now the time for it? Probably not.
"Well, that in't what I 'eard," she shot back when he promised to never leave again. "I 'eard the first thing you did after survivin' a miracle explosion was run off on your own skivvy an' try to blow up the first crystal you saw. You better not be goin' doin' that again! We're a team, Clive!" Mid insisted. "An' clearly you need some supervision from someone who knows what's what," she added, obviously referring to herself. Now that the others weren't around to help.
However, Mid's smile faded a little when Clive began to say he had to tell her what had happened. She could tell that it was bad news. But she listened closely regardless. Bad news might be one thing, but somehow, she had still not been expecting 'the evil god I was fighting had multiple clones hiding inside each crystal'. She supposed that explained some things. After all, the strange crystal in Joshua's chest was supposed to be containing Ultima, and yet, he seemed to walk free too. There being more than one of him made a surprising amount of logical sense. In fact, she was almost annoyed that she hadn't thought of it.
She didn't dwell on it for long though, as Clive confirmed the worse. Joshua, and Dion, were dead. She was aware that she moved her hand to cover her mouth, and turned away from Clive for a moment so that he wouldn't see her emotional reaction. She had known it was a possibility. Of course she had. When they had left the Hideaway for the last time, it had truly felt like the last time. Something had told her they weren't coming back. But still, she had hoped. She had really hoped.
Maybe if she hadn't messed up the Enterprise. Got the airship working instead of losing her nerve. They wouldn't of had to fly up there. Maybe they'd have had a chance. If she had just figured out the problem. But just like when the Mythril engine had stumped her, and she'd needed old work of her Dad's to solve it, she hadn't been able to do it on her own. She was meant to be a genius, but she'd been so useless.
She realised she had scrunched up the pamphlet in her hands in her reaction, and then slowly she looked down at it. Suddenly, she span around, her face lighting up. "Wait! Clive! That's it!" she said excitedly. "The pamphlet! It says people come 'ere from all over their timelines. So people long dead show up an' sometimes people can show up you've not met yet but they know you n' stuff," she explained. "If we can figure out 'ow it's workin', we can pull Joshua an' Dion 'ere from any time we choose. Before Origin! And then Bob's your Uncle, Fanny's your Aunt, we're back in business!" she beamed. "We jus' gotta figure out 'ow this 'ole place is workin'. Which might be easier said than done, but if anyone can do it, it's the two of us, right?" Her tone was almost manic with unhinged optimism, because frankly, it was her only choice. That or face the fact yet more people had died in senseless fighting.
Post by Clive Rosfield on Aug 11, 2023 15:08:26 GMT -6
THE OUTLAW
After Mid made her jokes, she corrected that apparently this was the norm. People from other worlds were waking up here at times that didn't make sense. Clive didn't really get how that was possible, but there were more important things to worry about right now. Like how apparently Lady Chere had wrote up a booklet for offworlders. He brieftly wondered...
"Perhaps she should sell those in stores, considering she appears to have a funding problem. Lady Chere quite literally screamed as such at me" Clive mused aloud. "Complains about the bearers working here making more than her, but refuses to take high-paying jobs from the local government. Not out of lack of interest in enforcing their laws either, considering where we're going. Interesting operation they have."
Even Clive the perpetual flag bearer of "break everything in government", found that puzzling. You needed to use the resources at your disposal if you wanted to meet your goals. And in his goals, he had oftentimes had to join hands with the people and forces of Sanbreque -- despite how much he despised them. Like it or not, if he was to bring the peace he desired, he had to play nice sometimes.
Only when they weren't aware that he was Cid The Outlaw, of course.
Mid baked him for going after the crystal, and Clive couldn't help a warm, albeit still weak and tired smile.
"I've missed you too, Mid."
Sure, she wasn't thrilled with him for going after the Crystal. He wasn't thrilled with himself either. But he hadn't exactly been without reason. "Far as I knew, you and everyone else were millions of miles away. Only natural I'd want to take out Ultima for good, then try to find a way back to Storm" he did try to justify his line of thinking. Clive had always tried to do everything on his own, take everything on himself. It was force of habit.
And considering taking his brother with him to Origin had led to his death, he wasn't really going to prioritize getting home first, just to put those he loved at risk when he could have finished the job here and now.
Speaking of, Clive wished the bars weren't here so he could give Mid a hug. He knew the news would upset her, and he remained quiet for a time to give her a chance to try and process everything. Clive took a long breath through the nose as he closed his eyes. It felt like admitting Joshua was dead to her was admitting it to himself as well. Giving up that he was alive. Giving into the fact that he had failed.
The last thing he had expected was for Mid to suddenly turn around, full of hope, spew a bunch of nonsense and claim she would somehow control the fabric of this universe to bring back Dion and Joshua.
Clive just... Kind of stared at her, the same way he did when Cid had drank a few too many back at the old hideaway.
When Gav did it, the look was more amused. But with Cid, it was just pure bewilderment. That was the look he had for Mid right now.
"I..."
Yeah, he had 'nothin. He got almost none of that, and her proposition sounded completely ludicrous. But in the end, he emitted a long sigh.
"Well. If anyone can take control of an entire universe. I suppose it would be you, Mid."
But in the midst of Mid's looney ramblings, Clive had caught one specific detail. The fact that apparently people were being pulled from different points in time on their own, without interference. Was it possible...?
He lightly tapped himself on the face to stop that line of thinking. No, he couldn't obsess over a hope and prayer that Joshua would return to him. It just sounded too good to be true, and a hundred people could be sent from different worlds and timelines before any of them happened to be Joshua.
Still, even as he squashed it, he couldn't help but hold out the faintest hope that he would be reunited with his brother one day. He didn't care what Joshua it was, he just wanted to see him again. They had lost so many years together, and he desperately wanted to spend the rest of his days making up for lost time.
Little by little, Clive felt his sense of purpose coming back. He knew he shouldn't, but if there was any chance Joshua would return to him... He would wait until he himself was old and grey if he had to.
Post by Midadol Telamon on Aug 14, 2023 7:23:12 GMT -6
"Still busy savin' the world, then?"
Engineering Prodigy
"Yeah, well weird that," Mid replied, grinning. "I mean, who would run a group that operates on its own and don't follow any of the governments around, while doin' their own thing and takin' nowt in return. Probably the same kinda person who'd end up recruitin' the literal prince of one of those kingdoms he was meant to be fightin' 'gainst. Can't imagine a fella like that, can you, Clive?" she asked, sarcasm dripping off of every word as she made her point clear.
He tried to defend his thought process in attacking the crystal, and she just gave Clive a sceptical look. "Right. You did, didja?" she asked sceptically. "Showed up in a whole new world, not a clue 'ow you got there, an' first thing you thought ta do was try an' kill God. Alone. Again?" she repeated. She sighed. The sort of sigh a little sister might give her older brother when she realised she had to be the responsible one. "Are we gonna hafta tie you down to stop you from makin' stupid decisions? 'cause, I'm pretty sure me Dad considered back in the day, and 'alf the Hideaway now, for that matter..." she said.
She heard Clive's sigh, and how he seemed to think she was being stupid. She sometimes got that reaction when she had a particularly 'out there' idea about something. But she usually proved them wrong in the end. "'ey! Don't give me that look!" she protested. "End of the day, it's simple science, in't it? I mean, think about it, right? We know people been turnin' up here from other worlds, includin' ours. We know the people who DO turn up don't come from the same point in time. Why some people remember stuff an' some don't, and 'ow some people who were dead ain't dead any more, right?" she explained. "That's 'appenin'. That's a fact," she nodded. "So somethin', or someone's, gotta be makin' it happen. It can't jus' be 'appenin' all natural like. So, all we gotta do is figure it out. Find out what the heck is happenin', an 'ow we can use it to our advantage. There's gotta be a way. I ain't sayin' it's gonna be easy. Who knows 'ow it's happenin'? But there's gotta be somethin' causing it. And it ain't like we ever took the easy path. You jus' got back from flyin' to a floatin' island to twat God in the face. If you can do that, we can do a little thing like figure this mystery out,"Mid explained enthusiastically.
"Anyway, c'mon, let's get you outta that jail cell an' back to the Rest. You can see where we're based. An' I can get you gatherin' up some bits for me. It's gonna take both of us if I'm gonna figure out this 'ole mystery, you realise?" she said, gesturing for him to come to the door and waving for the nearby guard to release him.
[attr=class,bulk] ”You’ll need me for that, I’m afraid.”
Celes heard their voices echoing from down the hall. Or rather, she heard Mid’s, eager to finally free her friend. Celes didn’t know what “mystery” she was talking about though if she meant to figure out exactly why any of this had happened, Celes wished her luck. And then silently hoped that she very much failed. If they knew why it was happening then it might just be possible to reverse it all, and that was not something that Celes was eager to see happen.
Regardless, as Celes approached, she nodded at the guard to do as Mid said, and one click of a key later, the cell door creaked open. It sounded like it could really do with some oiled hinges, but what did Celes know about running a jail block?
”Sorry about that. I hope you weren’t kept waiting for long.” Celes shook her head. ”There was an issue in the back. They wanted my advice seeing as I was the one to capture it, and-...”
Oh dear, she wasn’t making sense, was she? Celes sighed and started from the beginning.
”You weren’t the only one to break into the castle last night,” she said, stifling a yawn at the very mention of the events the night before. ”There was a monster. It must have come in through the gates you left wide open. Anyway, while the guards were busy being assaulted by you, it found its way inside and started causing havoc. I found it cornered and managed to capture it alive.”
It certainly hadn’t made her task easy. But then, that was animal instinct for you. They didn’t particularly like being surrounded by men with pikes as it happened.
”It looks like it might have been someone’s pet, but even if we found the owner, the guards aren’t exactly keen on giving it back after it broke loose inside the castle. They’ll probably have to put the poor thing down. Which would really be a shame.” She’d seen something in its bright blue eyes. Desperation. Sadness. If it really was someone’s pet then it wasn’t its fault, what had happened. A sudden thought struck her and she eyed Clive suspiciously.
”It isn’t yours by any chance, is it?” she asked. ”Wolf the size of a bear? Golden cuff on its arm? Can turn into an ice demon at will?”
They had both broken through the castle defenses at once, after all. It wouldn’t be so strange for him to have sent a beast to distract the guards.
Post by Clive Rosfield on Aug 15, 2023 9:54:07 GMT -6
THE OUTLAW
“While they didn’t know who I was, I’ve unfortunately taken money from many sources for different reasons. Some were even government, rewarding a helpful sellsword in preventing the city from imploding on itself. Considering our situation, I couldn’t exactly be picky” Clive did point out, knowing it made their outlet look a little less “cool” so to speak, but that was reality. “We’ve also received hundreds of anonymous donations, some were incredibly generous to the point you know somebody up there in the ranks is opening their purse strings for one reason or another.”
He smirked slightly as an amendment came to mind. “Even if those were only after we stopped destroying crystals and started dealing with the akashic.”
It had been a strange turn, going from being the scourge of storm to some actually welcoming the cursebreakers. Not all, of course. But their reception had definitely warmed when their actions shifted to something that people knew was to benefit them.
“I wouldn’t say we… Recruited Dion” Clive remarked, leaning against the bars, starting to get antsy as that “homely” feeling for this prison quickly evaporated with Mid here. “Tarja tended to him. He left. Then he returned of his own accord.”
He had hated Dion at first. He was the poster child of everything that had destroyed his life and made him miserable for so long. But after absorbing his power and seeing what had turned him mad, Clive instead began to regard Dion as a victim of Sanbreque’s corruption. And the machinations of his mother. Just as he was.
“You probably won’t have to worry about me acting alone without input again, now that you’re here” Clive remarked pointedly. He really would rather not be locked up again. But while he said he would take her input… He couldn’t promise he wouldn’t still act alone. She wasn’t a fighter, after all.
Mid said a lot of stuff he didn’t quite understand, but apparently she thought someone was sending them here. Another god.
“Well. I certainly hope this god doesn’t come down to possess you and turn us akashic” Clive snarked. “I think I’ve had enough divine intervention for one lifetime.”
Clive rolled his eyes with a low groan when Mid brought up “gathering bits” for her. He knew it. He knew this was coming. He just figured she’d wait until he was out of the cell first. Then came Celes, who let him out. While a bit wobbly-legged, Clive stepped out and wrapped an arm around Mid in a short half-hug. He was happy to see her, believe it or not, but he didn’t want to damage that Telamon pride of hers unless she chose to initiate.
But then Celes brought up the monster. And that monster was…
She hadn’t even finished describing the beast before Clive’s eyes had widened, “Torgal” had left his lips and he began tearing down the hall with reckless abandon and zero regard for how it would look. Nor to the fact he wasn’t fully recovered and his legs felt like jelly.
Sure, he’d just said he PROBABLY wouldn’t run off on his own without input. But considering what they had just heard, it was hard to blame him really.
He’d heard the dog last night, he had an idea of where it was. “Torgal?!” Clive called out, and to his surprise, frantic barking and scratching against a cage soon began to sound from deeper in the prison which directed Clive towards where they were held. He knew that bark, it WAS Torgal! He had figured the beast wasn’t as harmful as they had thought, but to know that Torgal had been here all this time…
And might be killed…
Maybe Celes shouldn’t have mentioned “putting it down”.
Unfortunately, Clive didn't get far. His second wind had long passed, and the truth of the matter was that Clive had neglected to mention his own injuries to his jailers. Clive knew his body was giving out, but he still tried to push forwards until the moment he felt his body hit the ground. But he was too stubborn to stop, even then. Clive inched himself towards the wall, trying to use it to support himself to get back up. The truth was, he needed a healer pretty badly. But he didn't trust these people, not like he would Tarja, and even she scarcely got visits to the infirmary for his own injuries.
But right now, he didn't care. He could think only of Torgal, and what Celes had said.
He wouldn't let them hurt Torgal.
It wouldn't take much for Celes and Mid to catch up. If they did, they would find him muttering "Don't worry Torgal, I'm coming..." to himself before he caught sight of them. Clive grit his teeth as he pushed his shoulder harder against the stone walls, pushing away the pain of every wound he'd incurred in the last day, and every inch of exhaustion that his body was now dealing with the ramifications of. While he had slept a little bit, the truth was his body needed serious rest. He had pushed and pushed, and now it was beginning to take its toll. That frantic run had used just about everything he had left.
"Don't... Don't hurt Torgal..." he practically pleaded to Celes with what strength he did have left. He didn't have much hope that she'd actually help him, but he was running out of options. "Please... He was looking... For me. Felt my magic... Thought I was in trouble..."
He didn't know what he'd do if she refused. He wasn't leaving without Torgal and he refused to let them kill him. He'd probably die if he tried to fight them off now, and he didn't want to hurt anyone either, but... They wouldn't be leaving him with much choice. At least it might buy some time for Mid to take Torgal and escape. An inconvenience for her, and he would feel bad. But he also knew Mid wouldn't let them hurt Torgal either. Torgal had belonged to her father at one point. If it came to it, he'd put his faith in her to keep Torgal safe.
Post by Midadol Telamon on Aug 18, 2023 15:36:41 GMT -6
"Still busy savin' the world, then?"
Engineering Prodigy
Mid just gave Clive her usual smirk when he mentioned that they had, in fact, been paid for various services in the Hideaway, and had practically run on donations. "Yeah, an' Celes 'ere takes donations an' payment too. Dragonblades ain't a charity, it's a business. You two are more alike than you realise,"Mid explained, before pausing. "Though, 'ey, did you know, Celes actually pays me. Dead serious. I invent stuff, I get paid. Never 'ad that before,"she said, her tone teasing, since Clive knew she had never asked for money. What would she have done with it anyway? She had her tuition sponsored, until she walked away, and after that, she had everything she needed in the Hideaway.
"You know it were your brother, right?" Mid asked, her tone half playful, but aware that Joshua wasn't around. "What asked Dion to come wiv us. I swear, you lot need to talk to each other more often," she said, and then she paused. Realising that both Joshua and Dion were dead, and that was insensitive. She paused. "....Sorry. It'll be alright, though. Like I told you. We're gonna get 'em both back. An' everyone else we lost too. If we can figure this out, sky's the limit, really. Could bring back me Dad! Might 'ave a bit of 'splainin' to do when we do, of course, but it's gotta be worth it,"Mid's eyes were lighting up with the possibilities again.
When he mentioned another God, Mid just smirked. "'o said it were a God?"she asked. "Could be anythin'. Could be magic. Or jus' science. The Fallen used to have all kinds of stuff we din't understand. 'O's to say it in't like that?"she suggested.
Mid couldn't help but wince as Celes began to explain about the other intruder, immediately realising who it was, and watching as Clive rushed off like, well, a little boy eager to reunite with his puppy. Which, she supposed was accurate. "Oh boy, you've done it now," she said to Celes with a sigh. "That'd be Torgul. Clive's dog. Two of 'em are inseparable. 'E might 'ave you all convinced with this broodin' dark stuff, but 'e's just a big puppy dog really,"Mid explained. And then she paused. "Well, I mean, I suppose Torgul is meant to be the puppy, but it din't 'xactly work out that way,"she grinned. "Anyway, point is, 'e's been mates with that dog since before I was born. You gonna put it down? It'll make what 'e tried to do to the crystal look like 'e was jus' playin' with a wooden sword," Mid warned. "Best let Torgul go. 'e won't do any 'arm. Best behaved dog this side o' Ash. Or that side o' Ash. Which I realise would mean more if you 'ad any idea where Ash was," Mid added after a moment.
[attr=class,bulk] Clive’s eyes lit with recognition before Celes had even finished her sentence. He said something that made no sense to her and then…
Began sprinting down the hallway.
Celes was so taken aback by the absolute sudden audacity of it all that for a moment she could only stand there, stunned as she watched him charge down the prison halls like an enraged bull.
”Oh boy, you’ve done it now,” Mid commented as though Clive were an unruly child and not a prisoner currently under watch for assault on a holy object.”That’d be Torgal. Clive’s dog. Two of ‘em are inseparable. ‘E might ‘ave you all convinced with this broodin’ dark stuff, but ‘e’s just a big puppy dog really.”
And that was all Celes heard before she cursed loudly and started down the hallway after him.
Mid was still talking, following her most likely, but Celes wasn’t listening anymore. Because Clive, a man being judged at every moment for an upcoming court case, had been under her jurisdiction for less than sixty seconds and he was already making an escape into a restricted area of the city jail with the obvious intention of releasing a monster come hell or high water.
”Damn it all!”
Clive had a head start. He also had the clear advantage in strength. Even if Celes hadn’t been absolutely exhausted by the night before, she would have been at a disadvantage in a foot race for the simple fact that she was dressed as a civilian. No sword and more importantly wearing shoes with heels that were not conducive for running in the best of times. With her legs already sore and her feet blistered, these were hardly the best of times.
It was hardly a wonder that Mid with her sensible boots and a good night’s rest was able to keep up with her, more or less.
Celes had absolutely no hope of reaching him before he did something so incomprehensibly stupid that he’d be locked in that jail cell until the unfortunate day of his trial. Not in these circumstances. Not unless he simply keeled over or something…
Which was exactly what he did, as it happened.
Celes slowed to a stop, panting as she found him leaned against a wall, still staggering forward at a snail’s pace looking very much like he was about to fall unconscious.
”You…idiot!” she hissed between gasping breaths. Clive was muttering pathetically to himself about coming for the creature which apparently had a name. He looked at her pleadingly, speaking through his own labored breathing.
It was an absolutely pitiful sight. It was also entirely unnecessary.
”No one’s hurting your dog!” she yelled as she leaned over onto her knees, cursing again through her gritted teeth. ”He’s being well taken care of! And if you’d stopped to ask me instead of running off like a lunatic, I would have told you that they’re more interested in finding the owner and figuring out what in the goddess’ names happened than blindly killing the thing!”
Celes was tired. She was sleep-deprived. She was stressed. And she had just about had it with Clive Rosfield.
”You do realize that this, all of this, is an evaluation, don’t you?” Celes ignored the stitch in her side in order to straighten herself and fix him with an icy look. ”They’re taking notes! I’m supposed to be the primary witness! For your trial. Because, believe it or not, us off-worlders are here as refugees! Extremely powerful, potentially dangerous refugees! And most places don’t take kindly to us as it is!”
She took a threatening step forward, fist clenched at her side. ”The Dragonblades were formed to help people. We train local mercenaries. We do disaster relief. We help other off-worlders get back on their feet. But you know what else we do? We make a good name for ourselves! We show people that not all of us are power-crazed monsters because you? Me? Mid? We’re not the only ones coming through! Whatever’s happening can bring anyone, dead or alive, including the most bloodthirsty monsters of men you can imagine! We fight them off! We’ve made Torensten a haven for people like us, and I’m not letting you ruin that for everyone!”
It had been a long time since Celes had really gone off like this. It felt good in its own cathartic way. It did almost nothing to quell her frustrations, but it did make her feel even the slightest bit better.
”No one thinks that you’re evil,” she went on. ”What they do think is that you’re impulsive and too strong for your own good. Your job – your only job – is to prove that you can stop and think before you go running off and getting people hurt! Congratulations. I’ve never seen someone fail a test so quickly.”
Celes let out a bitter laugh before she shook her head. ”I can take you to your dog. You can see that he’s doing fine. And I’m sure that if you behave for the next few months then the judge will give him back to you safe and sound. But, as the woman responsible for keeping you in line, you might understand why I don’t want to give you a demon wolf on top of everything else.
”Here.” Celes put her hands together, muttered a short incantation, and cast a low level cure spell on the obviously injured man. It wouldn’t be enough for him to fight her off. It wouldn’t rejuvenate his exhaustion. But it would at least be enough to get him back on his feet, she hoped at least.
”Now apologize. I don’t think that Mid deserves such reckless behavior when she was so happy to see you alive.”
