Caius couldn't help but be concerned by Celes' demeanor as they sat down. It was very unlike her, even if it had been some time since he had seen her last. Was she... Alright? Caius' simple hope had been that Celes would find this place calming, the way the flowers in that garden had before. It had been the right atmosphere for them to speak freely, without stresses bogging them down. Something he had kept note of and hoped to reproduce in some way here, because she really did look like she needed a calm place right now. But Celes' reaction to it was something Caius didn't quite understand, and he couldn't even find the words of which to ask her about it.

Yet, she didn't seem offended at least. So that was... Good, maybe? He wasn't sure if "good" was the word for it. But the "good" didn't last long, either. Not when Caius asked Celes about her so-called "vacation". Because as soon as he opened his mouth to ask, the entire powder keg went off in almost an instant.

Caius listened patiently, eyes zeroed and focused on hers as much as possible while he took in all the information. At some points his gaze wandered away for a few seconds, as if he had felt the irrational urge to tear them away and had to let his gaze "rest" before shooting back again to make sure she knew he was paying attention. Not from disinterest, no, he just had trouble keeping eye contact for very long. Though honestly? With how she was going, he was pretty sure she wasn't going to notice as to whether he was paying attention or not.

He also, on the side, poured himself some water from the pitcher. He was getting dehydrated just listening to this. Yeah, "awful" was one way to put how the "working vacation" had gone, by the sounds of it. Caius knew some of it already from letters and reports, but Celes was either being thorough or just straight up venting with no filter, and he was patient enough to be fine with either. While Celes had informed him prior about the clinic, he visibly frowned as she went into the more gritty details. It was one thing to hear about it objectively, but...

It was definitely a far cry from the clinic he had seen when he had checked on Yuna earlier. But Caius had been so wrapped up in what he couldn't do to help at the clinic while he was there, what Celes and Yuna could do that he wasn't anywhere remotely able to -- that he hadn't considered the possibility Celes had felt the same way about her abilities in relation to Yuna. That she could "only cast an esuna and a few curas here and there", which to Caius was more than he could do, was to her nothing compared to what she wanted to be able to do. All those people who were suffering, and she felt helpless in the face of it.

Now he understood why she stayed. She couldn't help the way she wanted, she couldn't be in the thick of it, not like Yuna -- but she could help in other ways. And she did it all while being bogged down by Alex of all people.

"I-"

Caius had opened his mouth to try and vocalize this fact, as if it might provide some level of comfort. But he couldn't find the words.

"I think you did a wonderful thing. Those you gave relief to, those helped by any healers you brought in, I'm sure they're grateful. I know Yuna is, too. She told me such," he reasoned, managing a sheepish smile. It didn't do justice to Celes' struggles, but that was the best that came out. Once he did, the rest began to flow a little more naturally. "I'm glad you went there, and that we put in the funding. Yuna's done an incredible job, I think it was worth it."

'There is more than one way to accomplish our mission', that was what he had told Yuna. And it was clear Celes believed the same. However, he visibly cringed when she brought up Yuffie. Uh oh. "Oh..." Caius let echo, mouth agape, as the sinking realization of what happened crashed on him very quickly while Celes detailed the ninja's antics. Damnit Yuffie, he hadn't been gone that long! He could almost swear he had written up something for Celes in the letters, something that would give her some warning, since even if he had spoken to Yuffie about her attitude, even he wasn't completely certain if she would behave. But apparently, no, he had not. It seemed it had gotten lost in the hundreds of things he had going on. “I agree, I should have prepared you ahead about Yuffie. My apologies. I thought that was sorted, both with her and in report, but..."

Ooooof. And posing as their leader too, seriously? He didn't want to imagine what Celes had done in regards to that. But it was his duty to find out. Of course, then there was all this Valisthea business. He shook his head to indicate he hadn't heard of it, only seen the papers that had been all but shoved into his hands the second he stepped into the country. Had there been casualties? The print he had read on the way here had mentioned injuries and “the heroic Dragonblade Celes Chere” preventing further harm. Celes had been on the field, so surely she would know, but even she had also said that the man was more confused than hostile. Regardless, it looked like things had gotten heated in Torensten while he was gone, to say the least. And now this would-be crystal smasher was in their custody. Fantastic. Another problem to add to the plate. At least this one seemed salvageable with diplomacy.

Though he didn't like the looks they were getting as Celes went into full rant when it came to the King of Torensten. Caius greeted the onlookers with an uneasy smile as he tried to quietly curtail a potential situation, before looking back to Celes and continuing to listen.

At the end of it all though, Caius wasn't sure if "awful" quite described it. Or even started to. That was... That was...

A lot.

Even Caius had to take a deep breath by the end of it, as Celes finally wrapped up her rant and then asked how his life had been. He didn't know where to start, especially not after all of that. “Where do I start?” Caius answered with a nervous laugh, still trying to process everything Celes had just gone through while also trying to remember all of, well, everything. He didn't realize it until now, but his own business had been... Quite varied. Very, very varied. “Well. On the subject of King Hremit. They asked me to sign on as a military officer while you were gone," Caius decided to pick now to bring up. “I told them my home was here, though I understand their reasons. With the ramping threats, recruiting offworlders isn’t a bad idea objectively. They can’t always rely on us... Though I admit, any governing power having sway over an army of powerful people is a terrifying thought.”

Caius liked King Hremit. He really did, the man saw outworlders in ways that not many did. There was a reason he had been a beloved symbol for Torensten and its culture for so long, and Caius respected how wholeheartedly he had embraced their traditions and culture, adapting to the times and new circumstances. His example kept Torensten strong and spirited no matter how often the city came under threat. But he was still a politician, nor was he the only one in power. There was the Council, as well. And Caius didn't trust them as much as he did Hremit. If Hremit's fellowship with the outworlders built up a force of them, and then he were to die... What would happen? Caius had grown up within the result of what happened when a powerful military force decided to expand...

"As for everything else in my life? I don't know if it's been as exciting as yours, but it's been... Back and forth. Very -- very back and forth" was probably the understatement of the entire last year. A magic glyph appeared on the table, which when Caius tapped would materialize glowing writing on the table detailing drink options. Fancy. Caius considered said options as he began to recount everything.

“Well. As you know, I ran into your friend, Terra. She seems… Nice. Even if her previous inability to control her Esper abilities concerns me. As reported, I hired another for our admin staff, Yuki, at Tomoe’s recommendation. Very dedicated, though I think she and Tomoe are closer than initially thought when she gave the recommendation. Regardless, Tomoe’s well-earned the right to give that recommendation and the new hire’s done well. I think we could afford a bit more in admin staff, with how much work’s poured in since the Kraken. We don’t want to overwork those two and any shifts neither of them can do, one of us usually has to stay and cover to prevent paperwork overflow.”

Which for the last year, had been him. So he knew that very well. He looked up at Celes, then. “Honestly not sure how you managed the paperwork all this time on your own. I found out pretty quickly that even before the Kraken, you were a bonafide miracle worker" Caius admitted with a nervous chuckle. Another understatement, really. How had she managed this paperwork disaster by herself? It was almost more impressive than her combat capabilities, and those were already really impressive. This woman was scary efficient.

“A behemoth came too close to Torensten, so I had to handle that. I’m not sure what, but something’s been attracting beasts here more often than usual lately. Was also where I brought Serah into the Dragonblades, after she helped us out. A giant fish monster attacked Torensten’s harbor. Vordun and I dispatched it, alongside a young man named Nick. They asked to join the Dragonblades soon after. Another set of monsters then led me to a rescue operation for a theater trope. Met one of their actors, she was sweet. I’ve never seen a play before, but went to go see it. It was nice. Chalking that one up as a positive experience.”

Probably best to start with the easy stuff. Or what seemed easy to him, anyway. A behemoth near town was not anywhere even remotely close to "simple" or "easy", but Caius was so desensitized to combat at this point that it didn't seem to phase him. Caius tapped his finger on the table a bit in thought as he read over the options while considering what else there was in the "easy" parts. “Kid from Torensten’s orphanage went missing, I offered to investigate. Found him in some cave, sprained ankle, having been trying to emulate us. Had already been rescued by an elven woman named Laurelin. Good soul, though she was about to attack Vordun on sight before I intervened. It’s easy to forget not everyone in Torensten has been able to see a dragon as a potential friend… But considering she seemed to be having the time of her life atop Vordun’s back on the flight home, it’s not a lost cause either.”

“There was a fire in Torensten’s residential district after a magic accident. Child got stuck behind some debris and efforts weren’t fast enough, so I stepped in with my warping magic. I ran into this lady, Renitra, who you apparently rescued from bandits that had mistaken her for you. She wants to join the Dragonblades, so I brought her here. Since you have seen her in action, I thought you would be a good judge as to whether she’s a fit. She’s very… Overwhelming. But otherwise seems well-intentioned and fits with the kind of people we like to work with. They finished that statue. I had no idea they were planning to do that until you dropped the rest of the process with me when you left, that was… Scary. Seeing it is terrifying. It’s a fine statue, or it looks like it anyway, I'm not really experienced in what good art is. But it freaks me out to look at.”

Not the scariest thing he had dealt with, however. That was soon to come. “I was trying to restock the Rest’s groceries when the most ungodly screeching leads me to someone who looks and sounds almost exactly like you, yelling at the owner of a restaurant for kicking her out over the strongest, most repugnant perfume I’ve ever experienced. Kicked, screamed and made an absolute nutcase of herself in the street. Didn’t want the news to report “Celes Chere arrested for public disturbance” so I brought her to the nearest outdoor establishment to calm her down. Which ended up being here. If I’m being honest she was overwhelming, overpowering and actually scares me. Got pulled into a philosophical debate, an opera, and for some reason they were very intent on going with me to shop for something to wear to it. After the opera, their trope moved to the next town over and I haven’t heard any scandalous rumors about you so I assume things are ok.”

“Then our door was almost literally kicked down by an obnoxious ninja child who loudly shouted their intentions to join the Dragonblades and indirectly cost me my beard in the process.”

Thankfully, it grew back.

“I was hesitant to bring in a child, but I remembered what you told me about the difference between a child and one who has experience. So I put Yuffie through testing, and she’s solid in a fight, but I wasn’t sure about her ability to represent us. While discussing the next steps, we came to find out someone from her world was in Provo, so I took a job out there to test how she would represent us on the field. I took the time to learn more about her, and found out she’s from the same world as Cloud and Sephiroth. Fought alongside the group that prevented Sephiroth from destroying their world. While she tested well on the job, we had a conversation about her attitude. I thought that conversation stuck, but… Clearly, I was wrong. I shudder to ask, but after you caught her – how did... That... Go?"

He really didn't want to know, but for duty's sake...

“While I was in Provo, I went to check for you and Yuna, but you had stepped out. I ended up locating and questioning Sephiroth’s accomplice in the Provo incident, Angeal. Who claims Sephiroth has no memory of the atrocities he had committed in his world, though I have my doubts. Angeal seems like a good, honorable person… But puts too much stock in his old friendships. As much as I hate to say it, it wouldn’t surprise me if he turns up dead.”

Caius' expression turned to a much more somber, harder frown as he diverted his gaze a bit when coming to the next point.

“Before I left, I was approached by a worried mother looking for her missing child. After some investigation, I found that they, and other children, had been kidnapped by a man looking for kids with magic inclination for his experiments. I was… Unfortunately only able to save her son. The others had turned into monsters long before I’d arrived. The kidnapper was killed during the fight, and I found documents indicating he had been previously working in conjunction with that Original Sin officer you killed back in that village. I left a report, if...-If you want to review it later.”

The last of that was delivered quietly, weakly even. He had relayed that professionally casual, but as calm as he kept it, it would probably be clear as day to Celes of all people he was blaming himself for not getting there sooner. There was little chance he could have gotten there in time, but the horrific fates of those children were... Hard, for him to process. He couldn't verbalize that he'd watched the deformed, demonic monsters those kids had been transformed into, be eviscerated in an explosion during the fight. It had been included in the report, but he couldn't bring himself to say it again. In his eyes, he had failed. Failed to save kids that had been hurt, desperately crying for help, like his own family had been.

Caius realized he had folded his hands together tightly at some point, and took a deep breath as he tried to relax. This was just a catch-up report, he reminded himself, nothing more. Sure, Celes had turned the faucet and gone full rant, and that had loosened his tongue a little bit maybe. But that didn't mean he should allow himself to fall apart in front of his best friend, after all this time, right? Fortunately, he had a moment to collect himself, as a young lady would arrive at the table with a notepad in hand.

"Hi folks, is there anything I can get you to drink, to start you off today?"

Previously, Caius had been rotating between looking at the drink names, and looking to Celes (as was polite) while telling the stories, until some point in the story when he had forgotten about the drinks and focused entirely on the stories being told. Up until the point he had heard the waitresses' footsteps coming their way, where he had managed to quickly pivot and force a cheery smile in greeting.

"Of course. I'm... Thinking this one here, miss" Caius spoke up as he then tried, and failed, to properly pronounce the name of the drink he was pointing to. Something that got a laugh out of the waitress but was only corrected before she had written it down and turned to Celes to get hers. What Caius did know, however? Was that the more he thought about what he had just told Celes, and what he was about to tell her, made his drink pick much easier. So he trailed his finger across the words of what he knew to be something decently strong. Not too much, he didn't want to get entirely drunk right now, nor order anything too expensive. But that was a tough subject he had just brought up, and considering they still had Alex to talk about? He wasn't detailing that without at least one drink of something stiff.

Caius took the chance to recompose himself while Celes ordered her own. While he had done his best to deliver that story as casual and professional as possible, he had left out the part where he had found himself a horrific mess of sobbing that night. It wasn't very often that he had ever allowed himself to cry, but alone in a room at Provo's inn, he gave himself just enough solace to let it out. How it impacted him wasn't a detail Celes needed to know.

"I'll be back with your drinks soon, let me know if you're hungry too!" chirped the waitress once Celes had given her drink order. "If you're looking for food, touch the glyph again for our dinner menu!"

"Thank you, we'll take a look" Caius replied politely with a slight dip of his head. Military habit, he never quite kicked that. Once the waitress left, Caius cleared his throat, and took a deep breath. If Celes had any commentary on the previous stories, this was probably the best point for them. Otherwise, once that was sorted, he continued.

“Right, uh. I met a Queen from another world, the same one as Kuja from our watch list. Found out he literally destroyed his own home planet, and almost did the same to theirs. Which… Is a problem now that he’s here. I’m working with her to capture him, but the only place with enough anti-magic power to contain him is Sonora. I took her with me on my trip, as she hired the Dragonblades to escort her. I’ve been keeping tabs since."

And finally? The main event. What had taken over his life for much of this last year and a half-ish. How Caius was going to summarize all of this, he didn't know. But he would try. Celes knew bits and pieces of some of it, mainly on a need to know basis. But they hadn't had the chance to really get into it. She knew absolutely nothing of the context behind anything regarding the Farron family, he realized, aside from his request for the Dragonblades to keep an eye on them while he was gone. A request that fell through the minute he then had to pivot to keeping tabs on Lumina and the parasite in Sonora.

“This girl I saved from bombs while trying to damage control the Sephiroth incident, moved to Torensten. Found her playing hooky from school. She has three sisters, one of which immediately tried to kill me because a “Caius” tried to raze her world to the ground. Two of which the young one set me up with. On dates. Two days in a row, respectively.”

“First one was nice, even if my nerves caused me to summon a fishing rod instead of an umbrella when it rained. But she made a good friend, platonically, and she gave good relationship advice. She works at the local orphanage, I’ve been visiting in my spare time to entertain the kids. The second was… Eventful?"

For a moment, his expression lit up at the thought of Lumina. But Caius took a breath and allowed himself to try and keep his calm. If he got too worked up in regards to Lumina, he would word vomit about her for a century. And his budding relationship wasn't something he was quite yet ready to discuss with Celes of all people. So he kept it objective, mostly. "She wanted to go to the square. I really didn’t with the statue there. Seemed awkward for a date. Tried to avoid it, but it caught her attention eventually. Then something I said to her counteracted part of the magic from some parasite that’s taken hold in her, one I mentioned in my letters. I’ve grown close with the family, but… The girl, Lumina. She’s running out of time. And in a cruel twist of fate the only magic I know exists in this world that has any impact on that parasite belongs to myself, and my world’s King. I’ve been sticking by her partly to keep it at bay, but…”

Yeah, partly indeed. The professional tone was starting to lose its edge. This? This was hard. This was very hard. He had referenced some of this to Celes in the reports and letters, sure, but he had only told this story, even partly, to Noctis and Prompto in Sonora. And it hadn't gotten any easier since.

“The only way to take out that parasite permanently before it can fully bloom and slaughter thousands as it did once before, is to separate it from its host and defeat it. If the host is... Is-is killed, it just moves to a new one and starts over. Unfortunately, I lacked the power to handle it alone. And while I did meet someone who may be the deceased Oracle from my world… She has amnesia, and probably can’t use her power, so she can’t help. So I got in contact with Noctis, the man I mentioned before you left, the younger version of my world's King. He was in Sonora, about to undergo something dangerous. Which is why I had to leave so suddenly. He was searching for his royal retinue, and one…”

And there was the kicker. Why he had needed to drop everything and go. And also why he suddenly dropped his voice because he didn't want this part to be eavesdropped on.

“… Was in a Sonoran gulag. Making any aid I gave tricky, as I couldn’t make it known without risking harm to the Dragonblades. Had to help from the background, less traceable. Wasn't happy about not being able to do much, but the guild's safety comes first. So I was there to discuss that, and Lumina, when of all people to be involved was your friend — Alexander Sorel.”

He used 'friend' sarcastically, obviously. But as much as he had been trying to keep things calm and professional, it wasn't quite happening so easily anymore.

“Selfish, headstrong, rude and malicious bastard he is. Made things harder than they had to be, and I wound up several drinks deep just to get through it. I try to leave to book a room and rest off my headache, and am approached by someone trying to draw business for some sleazy bathhouse. They offer a trial bath for two if I can find another, but I just want to sleep. Once again? Comes Alexander Sorel, putting on an act so he can get in on a free bath. I roll with this absolutely ridiculous farce because I can't easily get out of it, and just take the opportunity to smooth things over. And while I’m sketchy on the details as I wasn’t entirely sober at the time thanks to Alex's stupidity -- after he, by the way, had previously tried to cast a sleep spell on a woman Noctis knew when she walked in on the conversation -- it seems to work out. Until he drops his intention to kill the Astrals of this world, including the one Yuna summons.”

Ok, he sounded a bit frustrated in that one. He did not intend to turn this into a vent, but the subject of Alex, mixed with all that was already happening, was...

“In his words, he intends to force Yuna to summon it, kill it, and failing that, kill her. I also, in this process, learned the aforementioned bluster and bravado may partly be an act. By what I've heard during the meeting with the king, or prince in this case — and from the encounter after the fact, he has a long history behind him. Considers himself a hero where he comes from, who's done enough for the world and now does things as his own selfish whims desire. But something about him changed when he mentioned the Astrals, it’s that sudden change in demeanor, body language, he just… Switched off, just like that. With the ease of someone whose done it plenty before, which tells me he isn’t as inept, and is more dangerous, than he seems.”

"Though I can say he’s just as egotistical as he seems… More egotistical, actually. He considers working with people like you and I in a potential crisis, to be beneath him. I assume the difference between us and his Stones, is that he thinks he can corral them to his whims like cattle, the arrogant shit he is. I can say one thing remains for sure, however. Spite. He was there for part of my briefing to Noctis regarding Lumina's situation. The bastard, without knowing he probably couldn't, claimed he could save her -- But went out of his way to say he won't, because he doesn't want to."

For perhaps the first time in a very, very long time. A flicker of genuine anger crossed Caius' expression. While the mercenary still kept his calm, not since long ago in that daemon-infested cave, had he in her presence shown even a hint. But there it was -- a glimmer of rage in those eyes that made it clear that what Alex said really had bothered him. That he would throw that in his face, when it was clear how much Lumina meant to him... It made him sick. What he said would never be forgotten. Nor forgave.

Unlike Celes, who had thrown everything to the wind in an instant — Caius had seemingly kept calm even during the difficult topics. If he had been emotionally flaring the same way Celes had through some of this recounting, he had been mostly hiding it. He had wavered at points, especially as he got more into this part of the discussion, but... In that moment, not even Caius could keep it at bay. He despised Alex. He hated the situation he was in with Lumina and desperately wanted to save her, so for that bastard to say what he had? For no reason other than to spite him? He was disgusting, and Caius hoped he knew that.

He couldn't hide it all that well anymore. Even Caius knew that. But he did try to stay on business.

“Regardless of my absolute zero respect for the bastard, I consider him to be a threat. Considering the fact he has Sephiroth, one of the ones who leveled Provo, in his employ with the Stones. That could be a problem if they come after Yuna. I’ve already been in to see her, given her warning, and taken precautions to ensure we’ll be alerted if Alex and his Stones make a move on her. Of course, Yuna wants to confront him herself.”

There it was. That loathing seeped through, and even Caius knew he wasn't fully in control anymore. What he had said regarding Lumina, on top of what he had done to Prompto, and now what he intended to do to Yuna? Caius couldn't contain his disdain for the man, and he didn't even know if he wanted to anymore.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think I can stop her. This is Yuna we’re talking about. But I asked her to ensure she has backup if she initiates a confrontation, preferably you or me. As I arrived ahead of Noctis, Alex and the others, we have some time before they get there. I’ve made arrangements for Noctis to send his injured retinue to the clinic after they arrive, for treatment, meaning we’ll know the minute Alex is in town. I intend to double back to Provo here and there by airship if I can, just in case.”

Oh, and of course there's more bad news too. And Caius let out sigh as even he seemed to realize how far he was stretching himself thin.

“While I was in Sonora, I ran into Lumina. Who relocated to Mount Hotan when the parasite worsened and attempted to spread the starscourge to civilians.”

That was another big problem. How far had the scourge spread before Lumina had done so? Caius tugged on his hair a bit as he struggled to parse through everything going on at once.

“I’ll have to meet with officials here on possible spread. But until Noctis and his retinue recover, I’m going to have to keep an eye on her, and use my magic to keep it at bay and prevent further damage for as long as I can. I pushed the parasite back as far as I could before I left, and hopefully she’ll be back in Provo soon so I can monitor her there. But I can't let it spread further, nor can I allow it to overtake Lumina until we're ready. If I don't, people are going to die."

A lot of people. The parasite's previous rise to maturation had led to a serial killing of hundreds across Torensten. So many lives were on the line here, and Caius had a responsibility to do something.

"For whatever reason, the boon I received when I defeated the Lich has been protecting me from the dark parasite, so I might be the only one who can do this. Once Noctis is ready, I intend to convene at a remote location and combine our magic to force the parasite out. I expect it will have gained a great deal of power and will probably attack, so I’m expecting a fight. And that's just if we're lucky to pull this off in time."

If not, he'd have to kill Lumina himself. And it would be all for nothing because the parasite would just move to another and start the process over again.

"So, yeah. That's been my life" Caius finished, and just in time too as their drinks arrived. To say Caius looked shaken was an understatement. He thanked the waitress with a half-hearted smile, ordered some bread, and took a long swig.

Maybe it was him who needed the calming environment.

---

Notes: Everything has been on fire since the minute she left and Caius had to grow ten arms to put them all out at once. Sometimes literal fires. He has crossed the entire continent just to deal with the absolute mountain of bullshit that has been thrown at him and his candle is burnt at both ends.