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year 5, quarter 3
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You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
”I wasn’t either.”
Faris felt something touch his hand. He blinked in surprise as Yuna took it in both of hers, holding it tight. She squeezed it reassuringly. ”I don’t think our story ends like this,” she said. ”I think we’ll find out why we’re here someday. Until then it will be hard. But there will be more days like this one too.”
Faris looked at her like he’d never seen anything like her. It was funny, the way she could so effortlessly comfort a man like him. She took to it like a fish to water, no hesitation, only an unwavering optimism even in the worst of times. Just a few words and he was hooked.
She was still holding his hand.
They looked at each other for a long time -- longer than they should have -- before Yuna’s eyes lit up and she looked past him to the horizon. ”Oh,” she said. ”It’s sunset.”
”What?” Faris took his hand back and righted himself to a straightened wade. Between all the swimming and splashing and laughter, he’d almost forgotten what they’d come for, but there it was -- waiting for no man’s attention. Faris grinned. ”Then we’d best get back to the deck, aye?”
He swam to it and hoisted himself up and over the side, turning and offering her a hand to do the same. It was a skill to keep his balance while he was tossing the boat off its own, but it was one he’d had to learn at sea. Then she was up and out, dripping with sea water that weighted down her skirt and folded top. Like this, he could easily see the black shape of the stringed fabric underneath. He pretended not to.
”It’s a sight, isn’t it?” Faris fell onto the bench at the back of the boat, elbow propped on his knee, and chin propped on his hand. It was already beautiful. No matter how many times he saw it, he would always be struck by the sea at sunset. The endless water, stretching out beyond the earth’s curve as it touched the sky. The orange-pink glow that felt almost like a softened plush. The last arc of a fading sun, glittering orange highlights across the waves.
”Wait for just the right moment, and the whole thing will be lit up like gold.” He couldn’t take his eyes off it, that horizon. ”You’ll see.”
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
Faris’ plan worked like a charm. A part of him had hoped that he’d been wrong about the ship’s intentions. Part of him had hoped that maybe they’d be content to fire a few rounds and then be on their own way -- but that was a fool’s part of him. In reality, the ship made a straight course for them, and Faris prepared to jump, readying himself for that exact moment when they boarded and Faris could drop fiery vengeance upon them.
Only he hadn’t accounted for one thing. He’d expected the pirates to pull up alongside them. Instead, they rammed the hull with a vicious speed that nearly knocked him off balance. ”Woh!” Faris threw out his arms, struggling to stay perched on the now bucking mast even with his dragoon’s balance. Then the pirates were coming below him, jumping over the space in droves as they readied their swords and something Faris now knew to be called guns.
He jumped. He’d readied his plan, he had his course of action, and someone needed to do something before they were all left twitching like smashed fish on the deck. So he jumped, and as the air whistled by him, he let out a wild laugh that he felt like a wildfire in his heart. He was in a fight. A real fight. It was a pirate’s duel, winner take all and damn the rest.
How could he not feel alive?
Faris landed with a hard crash of metal on splintered wood. Behind him, he heard the cries of sailors trapped underneath the heavy sails, flailing as they half burned and half suffocated in their tangled prison. There were some that were mid crossing between the ships. Some that were approaching the helpless crew. Still more, he’d taken out on the other side. On the pirate’s own ship. On their…
Wait, he was on the pirate ship now? Faris looked around, slightly alarmed. In his haste, he’d misjudged the jump. With the two ships rammed together, the space between hadn’t been quite what he’d expected. Now he found himself surrounded, a hoard of enemy pirates quickly overcoming their surprise and turning on him. Then there was the sail itself.
Still on fire. Now spread between the old ship and the new. Oh.
Oh.
”Can someone put this thing out?” Faris called over the howling gale and the rain that whipped his cheeks. The rain was a force all its own, but he couldn’t trust it to put out the fire by itself -- not in time to avoid damage to the hull that was. Both ships had already taken cannonfire. They couldn’t afford to slip up even the slightest bit more.
And Faris wasn’t a mage. While he had the crystal’s power to do just about anything he damn well pleased, that didn’t mean he was good at it. There wasn’t a single class he knew well enough to put out a fire like this -- not unless he thought to stab it out. Besides, he had bigger problems to worry about.
”You want to have a go?” Faris spun his spear in his hand, readying it for a fight. There were over a dozen of them. A dozen pirates hardened by battle with a fire in their eye stronger than any sail. Faris didn’t fancy taking them on alone, but he wasn’t just a pirate anymore. He was a Warrior of Light. Savior of two worlds, explorer of the Rift, and the one to put an end to a mad warlock seeking the power of the Void.
Aye, this would do.
He jumped again just as he heard the sound of gunfire popping around him. The bullets whizzed below his feet, and he twisted himself to get a better look below him. There were definitely over a dozen. Maybe a dozen and a half. He spotted the ones with guns (those were the problem) and angled himself in the direction of one in the thick of it. Then he propelled himself down like a rocket, spear first and ready to skewer him straight through.
Which he did. The man was pinned through the chest to the deck which erupted in debris around him, blinding the other men as Faris quickly dislodged his spear, spinning it around to hit them as he thrust it into another man. His plated armor was thick, and he heard another explosion of gunfire that hit him like the tusk of some rampaging beast. The bullet itself glanced off the metal, but he still felt the blow and winced, gritting his teeth as he stumbled from the force.
”Why you slimy, yellow-!” He jumped again, rocketing himself in the air. For the briefest of moment, he was safe from their bullets, moving too fast and too high to be stopped by just about anything. ”-gutless, soft-bellied-!” He spotted him, the one in the right spot to have shot him in the back. He thrust himself down. ”-lily-livered cur!”
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
The queen was unsurprisingly drawn to the rod that gave a boot in magic. It didn’t boost it by much, really, but it was the best they could get for the gil they had. Dagger didn’t really understand the point of the others. She didn’t want to “light anyone on fire,” and she found the cure rod about as funny as Faris did. ’If you could cast white magic then you hardly require the rod to heal people.’ Faris shook his head.
”Aye, that’s the joke of it,” he said. ”It’s for men without much capability, I think. Maybe I should pick one up for myself.” Not that Faris couldn’t cast white magic if he had to. With the crystal’s power, anything was possible, but his cure spells hit like a punch to the gut. They’d knit a man’s skin back together, but he’d feel every stitch.
The queen counted her money then handed it to Faris with a smile. ”I would offer to buy you something in thanks for your help, but I’m afraid my funds are...somewhat limited at the moment.”
Faris shook his head. ”I wouldn’t take it from you if you did,” he said. ”I’ve made my rounds around this place long enough to pick up a pile of gil for myself. I’ll get by.” And he would. Not easily. Not with his coin purse so light and an air-headed mouth to feed, but he’d do it. He’d have to hold up a merchant’s carriage sometime soon. That was about the only living he knew how to make.
He bought the rod, thanked the seller, tested the weight, and then handed it to her. ”Easy as that,” he said. ”What do you think?”
He thought it was a good buy, himself. It wasn’t much -- even he had to admit that -- but it would do in a pinch, and it sounded like a pinch was all she needed. She’d do fine on her own. He knew she would.
”About what you said, lass. I don’t think you’re useless, and I don’t think you’re naive. Pirating and ruling a kingdom, they’re two different skills, that’s all. I’d be about as useless as a fish on the shore if you dropped me on a throne. They put me in a dress and asked me to smile for a night, and I was already itching to leave!”
Faris laughed. ”You’ve got a strong heart and a good head on your shoulders. It’s always good to have friends to help you along and it sounds like you had the best of them, but you’ll stand tall without them. What you know best, it isn’t nothing. Did you see that lout squirm once you got your back straight? There’s not a man alive who wouldn’t shiver at that.”
She didn’t need to toughen herself. Faris was sure about that. What she needed was confidence, and he thought she was worthy of it. She’d already learned to swim in just about the rockiest waters Faris could imagine. That made her worthy of his respect.
”My advice? Don’t try to be someone you’re not. Play to your strengths, and you’ll do fine.”
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
The queen wasn’t lying. She definitely did know her way around her weapons, but it seemed she didn’t know exactly how to buy them. Faris shook his head, hands on his hips. ”Aye, that’s not a surprising thing. I was mostly in charge of the gil while we were journeying about. My sister was like you though she tried to learn what she could. The two lads with me were hopeless. An amnesiac and a wanderer with wind where his brain should’ve been. Then we picked up a girl younger than you. She knew how to handle herself though.”
Lenna, Bartz, Krile, Galuf. All of them lost to the waves. Well, except for Bartz, but with his head emptier than ever, Faris wasn’t quite sure how much that counted. Could he really say he’d gotten back his friend when Bartz didn’t remember a thing?
”Staffs, rods, and rackets,” Faris repeated to himself. ”You’ll want something that boosts your magic if we can get our hands on it. Or something with a bit of a kick. Lenna had a staff that’d light a man on fire if she hit him hard enough!” He laughed. A weapon like that was no laughing matter, but when it came to sweet, good-hearted Lenna, he couldn’t help it. If a lout was vicious enough to get on her bad side then he deserved whatever he got afterwards.
”I’ll do my best. Now stay close to me. Wouldn't want you lost to the crowds.” Faris pushed ahead again, glancing back every now and then to make sure that the less forceful queen kept pace. Faris drifted past the stalls, eyes landing on swords and spears and shields and platemail. Everything except…
”There!” Faris stopped, pointing at them. Lined up on the countertop and along the back wall were rods as good as any. He stepped forward and looked them over with an expert’s eye. He looked for material first and then any kind of fancy engravings. He needed something basic but effective.
”I’m looking for a rod,” he said once he had the merchant’s attention. ”Magic, if you have it. Nothing too fancy.”
Options were listed. Faris narrowed them down to a rod that electrocuted its target with a simple thunder spell, a rod with special properties that slightly enhanced spell-casting, and a cure rod. Faris grinned as he pointed out the last. ”I’ve always found that one funny,” he said. ”You hit a lad with it, and it casts cure. If they want to be healed, you’ve got to knock them upside the head first.” He laughed. That was his kind of white magic.
”And that’s that,” he said. He crossed his arms. ”The best you can get for five hundred gil or less. Though there’s always the basics if you just want a stick to hit something with.”
Is it a smart plan or really dumb? Only the DM can decide.
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
Haste was all that saved them. That beautiful, quick thinking rebel princess gave them exactly the boost that they needed. As the cannons fired, Faris watched in horror as the projectile whistled through the air on a direct course towards their position. Towards the loud young girl to be more specific, and for the moment, she seemed rooted to the spot. Time seemed to slow as Faris saw the events unfold, realized what was about to happen, and had a brief moment of helplessness that he would be too slow to stop it.
Until he remembered Haste. Thank you, Rinoa.
He moved in a flash, acting more on instinct than thought as he threw himself forward, grabbing the girl and thrusting them both sideways. Faris grunted as they toppled to the deck, landing hard on the ground. Behind them was an explosion of dust and debris that showered them in wooden splinters. Faris winced. This ship was lost already.
”That was close.” Faris forced himself upright (an awkward thing when he was in full plate mail) and straightened his armor. The scene was in chaos. All around were sailors bustling in a panic at high speeds (hasted -- how much magic did Rinoa have?) and still the enemy ship was coming. Faris winced as there was another crash and the sails caught fire.
It was one thing after another.
”We’re about to be boarded!” Faris shouted at the others. ”I have a plan! Keep your distance from the pirates!”
With that, Faris jumped towards the mast, landing on the narrow beams. The sails were as useless as the ship when it was about to take on water. Still, if something wasn’t done about them, the fire would quickly spread to their already unstable battle field. Faris thrust his spear into the bottom rigging, hopping up each level and taking out the others before the sails hung by a single set of ropes from the top. The captain was yelling.
”What in the blazes are you doing?”
”I’m taking a stand!” Faris nearly growled. ”Now call off the cannons! Our ship’s lost! There’s nothing to do but commandeer the other!”
”Are you mad?!”
”Do it or it’s your tongue I’m taking next!” Faris stood perched at the top of the mast with the sail hung precariously beneath him. He waited for the boarding party -- for just the right moment to take out the pirates, damned what it did to his own ship.
At the moment, he’d cut the last of the ropes, grab the sails, and jump. The force of his crystal powered jump would be enough (he hoped) to propel the flaming sail with him. Then he’d land on the other side, trapping the pirates beneath a tangle of flames.
’It’s almost an ambush,’ he thought. It would serve them right.
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
Faris tilted his head. Understood how it feels? A town of summoners? He nodded, thoughtful, as she spoke. It seemed an odd coincidence, that was for sure. He was royalty, lost and raised as a pirate. She was a villager, lost and raised as royalty. It was a funny kind of reversal that would have made him laugh if it had been a respectable thing to do. Instead, the girl seemed to take it as a kind of crisis. Faris couldn’t blame her for that.
Faris had known in an instant who he was when it came to it. He’d tossed his past aside and taken what he thought was his true self without much thought about it. But it wasn’t an easy thing to do, and it wasn’t something he’d have expected from everyone.
”The way that I see it, you’re a princess through and through. I don’t put much stock in blood. I wanted my answers and I got them, and I got a sister on top of that. We’re not who we’re born to be. We are who we are, and that’s all there is to it.” He paused. He felt like a liar leaving it at that. ”But, well...I guess I can’t say it’s all nonsense to me.” He’d struggled with the truth for a few nights at least. On those nights when he hadn’t known whether to stay or go.
They were still walking, parting through the crowds like a butter knife. When Faris walked, people knew to get out of the way. He supposed he had that look in his eye.
”Aye. That’s the burden of the throne.” Faris smiled wryly. ”Lenna said the same when I offered to take her around the world. She’d had her adventuring. She’d kept her kingdom standing, and she was needed back at the helm. But if you’re stranded here anyway, you might as well take the time for yourself. Take my word, it won’t be easy charting the way back home.”
He was starting to think that it was impossible, in fact. He decided to keep that little suspicion to himself.
They came across a more open part of the marketplace. The streets opened into a plaza crammed tight with stalls and vendors and people all packed in like schools of fish. There were stands selling crystals from the academy and wheat from Provo and vibrant spices carted in from Aljana. This was the kind of place with a constant hum of conversation as steady as the ocean waves. Somewhere, there was music.
”You’re out for a staff, you said?” Faris stopped, crossing his arms as he looked the place over. ”That’ll be on the far side. The merchants here are a damn sight nicer than that street you were prowling. And I’ve got an eye for weapons myself.” Faris started ahead towards the blacksmiths and the men that served as go-betweens. This time, the crowds couldn’t part for him if they’d wanted to. He had to shoulder his way through, glancing back every now and then to make sure the princess didn’t get lost in the shuffle.
”You might not know the name of the staff you want, but why don’t you tell me the type? And how much gil you’re ready to put on the table.”
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
Yuna yelped as she was dunked underwater, and Faris laughed, watching her. From what he knew, he thought she wouldn’t take it too badly. She was a kind-hearted woman with a good humor and a sense of adventure after all, but as he fell onto his back, floating there in the aftermath, a sudden thought struck him. One he’d forgotten. One that came creeping up below him as though from the depths themselves.
Yuna was scared of the sea.
It was such an obvious point, that thought. So obvious that he could scarcely believe it had slipped his mind. In that moment, he’d thought of nothing more than a bit of good fun, and here he was, grabbing her from below when she’d had a time terrorized by sea monsters. He felt a sudden sense of horror in that long, terrible second before Yuna resurfaced, and then she came up, sputtering and gave him a sharp look, smiling.
Yuna was a brave one, that was for sure. Faris grinned back. ”You’d have knocked me upside the head with it, I’m sure!” he said and laughed. ”I think I could take the blow.”
He liked the way she laughed -- just that light little giggle -- as she splashed him back. She was having fun. It looked like she’d needed that.
A mischievous look touched her eye and she took a deep breath, diving down. It took her about half a second to grab his leg and thrust him underneath with as much force as he’d given her, and could barely gulp in the air before he was dragged under the surface. He tried to keep from laughing underwater. That wouldn’t go well from his experience.
He kicked upwards again, and as she bobbed up beside him, he couldn’t help but admire the way her hair plastered around her cheeks, hanging lightly over her mismatched eyes. The sun shimmered across it in the warm tones of sunset. Her cheeks colored to match.
”Hi,” she said. She smiled at him timidly. ”Should we call it even now?”
Faris laughed again. He was doing that a lot today. ”Aye. That should just about do it.” He shook his head, running a hand back through his hair and flicking it out behind him. His bandanna had been enough to keep it from his eyes, but it was still wild and untamed in the water. He hummed, the taste of salt on his tongue.
”You’re quite the woman,” he said. She was a kind, in fact, that he hadn’t met in some time. The kind to throw herself headfirst into trouble and adventure and anything else that made her heart spin. ”If we were back home, I think the crystals would have taken to you. You’d be a real Warrior of Light!” Now wasn’t that a thought?
Yuna, back in the world of Tycoon and Bal. Yuna, on a ship set to sail the world. He wondered if she’d want that -- a break from the typhoon that had swept her away. He thought she’d deserve it.
He slipped onto his back, floating there as he watched the sky. He liked the feel of the pulsing waves. A cool breeze touched at his skin, and he shivered. ”You know, since I got here, I haven’t had a single stroke of luck.” He felt himself drifting. The clouds drifted with him. ”It’s been a slew of fights and blood and lost friends. It’s like everything I have, it keeps slipping through my fingers.” Faris lifted an arm to look over his hand without interest. There were the callouses from a lifetime of manning the sails. There were the short, rough-edged nails that sprouted from the pruned skin. He glanced over at her.
”I haven’t had a day like this in a while,” he said. ”I wasn’t sure I would again.”
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
”You left the castle on your own?” That was a surprise. Despite his encouragement, she didn’t seem like the type to go wandering about. Of course, Lenna had done the same when it came down to the safety of her father and the wind crystal. Their father, he supposed. And their kingdom while he was at it, but that didn’t have quite as strong an argument.
”A name’s a powerful thing,” he said. ”It sounds to me like you’re both Dagger and the queen, but those are two lives apart from each other. And I couldn’t stand being Sarisa.” Faris made a sour face. It had only taken one night in his rightful place by blood, and he’d just about been ready to break through the stone walls. It was a relief when he’d caught Bartz and Galuf ready to strike out on that meteor.
”I could have been queen,” Faris said. ”But I’ve got a sister, and one who was better trained for it too. I turned it down and left for my ship with hardly a thought on it. It’s not the kind of choice I’d have envied if I’d been in your shoes.”
Then again, she’d have guessed there’d be a whole line of succession thought out already if Faris had been in Dagger’s shoes. They’d thought he’d died at sea afterall.
But it didn’t seem like Dagger was satisfied with only mentions of it. Her eyes lit up and she leaned forward, positively glowing. ”You must tell me your story!” she said and Faris shifted.
”Ah. My story?” Now that was something he didn’t want to bring up when he was trying to empower her. It wasn’t that he didn’t mind talking about it, but if she knew he’d never really been a princess at all…
Well, he wasn’t about to start lying now.
”Well…” he said slowly. ”To start with, I didn’t do much running from it until they tried to crown me queen. When I was young, I fell off a wind drake in the middle of a typhoon. They thought me lost at sea, but I was found by pirates before the waves could take me. If they’d known who I was, they’d have ransomed me off, but they raised me instead. I’m a pirate first. I didn’t know a thing about my blood until I found my sister.”
Until he’d taken her for ransom. Now that was an awkward tale.
Faris paused and reached under the collar of his tunic. He pulled out a gleaming red gem on the end of a chain, showing it to her. ”This was the only clue I had,” he said. ”It’s the royal pendant. It matched hers, and we knew.” He stored the thing away, rearranging his scarf as he did so.
”This disguise isn’t for everyone,” he said. ”I took it because I was tired of being treated like some little girl or a wench they couldn’t keep their eyes off of. Have you ever tried being the only woman on a shipful of pirates?” Faris laughed bitterly. ”Aye, they treated me like one of their own once I looked the part -- after I switched ships, that was. I’ve worn it for so long that most times it’s hard to remember how I started. It feels right, I suppose.”
Call yourself anything long enough, and it became true. It had all gotten a little fuzzy once Lenna started calling him her sister, but a year with his crew was enough to take care of that. He felt better as a man. Stronger. It gave him an edge in dodgier places like this. He wouldn’t give it up to anyone but his closest of friends.
”Now my sister, she was raised in the palace -- a princess through and through. But when her father… er, our father went missing, there wasn’t a wall tall enough to hold her. She ran away on her own searching for him. That’s how we met, and we traveled the world together for a time afterwards. Once it was done, she went back to the palace and took on the throne. If she was here, she’d be fretting just as strong to go back. It was all for Tycoon in the end.”
Faris shook his head. ”But me? I’d choose this in a heartbeat if I had to go back to that castle otherwise. I already chose my own life on the sea. Now if that isn’t selfish, I don’t know what is.”
”You’re free to choose your own life, lass. If this is what you want to do then there’s no use feeling bad about it. You’re stuck here until we find a way out anyway. You can be Dagger all you want.”
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
Faris didn’t see the ship at first. He was too focused on their set course to notice what loomed to the southeast. He didn’t notice, in fact, until there were shouts from the sailors. ”Ship! It’s a ship!” Faris tensed and squinted through the gale. It was hard to make out anything with the rain whipping his eyes, but as he raised a hand to shield himself, he saw it. A dark shadow with a rising mast. His heart sank. What was another ship doing out here? Was it one of the others, turned around by the storm?
But in his heart, he knew. The rest of the fleet would be lit by their fiery spotlight. And there was only one reason to go sailing in this weather.
”Turn course!” he shouted. ”We’ve been spotted by-!”
Boom!
The cannonfire shuddered under the storm, loud as thunder, and then he heard the whistle of the incoming artillery. Faris gave a shout of alarm as it slammed into the deck, wrecking it with a flying mass of splinters and debris. Sailors were crying out in alarm. They scurried about like panicked ants, and still the ship was on them like a shark on a fresh kill.
Faris’ stomach dropped. Pirates.
He cursed, scrambling down the mast as quickly as his feet would take him. ”Change course!” he shouted. ”And turn off that damn flame! We’re like sitting ducks!”
”Man the cannons!” The captain -- the real captain -- bellowed his orders over him. Compared to the roaring beast at the helm, Faris’ words were just whistles on the wind. ”We’ll take the fight to them!”
”Are you daft?!” Faris turned on his heel, aghast. ”Those are pirates! They’ll tear through us in an instant! This ship’s not built for a fight!”
”I’ve faced pirates in my time,” the captain said. ”And this is my ship. Stand down or I’ll have you taken below deck!”
Faris cursed viciously, turning towards the darkened waters. The pirates were gaining ground, and his own cannons wouldn’t be in range until they’d already taken on water. One of the girls they’d brought aboard cast some kind of spell that shot out into the night. Well, it was something.
”Augh! I’ll take them on myself if that’s your word!” Faris felt for his crystal and surged with its power. The ninja class wouldn’t do him a lick of good. A red mage’s spells just weren’t strong enough to reach the ship at this distance. A dragoon it was then. He wasn’t fond of the idea of driving his spear into the deck, but by the time he could jump at anyone, their own ship would be totaled anyway.
Maybe if they lasted until the pirates could be boarded. Maybe if the crystal powered him through a melee fight. Maybe if he could commandeer their ship…
All he had to do was out-pirate the pirates.
”Aye, we’ll play that game then.” Faris felt his armor harden around his tunic. He felt his bandanna disperse to be replaced with a crimson red helm. A spear dropped into his hand, and he ran to the two girls on deck. They were bound to be sensible at least.
”There’s not a thing we can do to stop them,” he said. ”You keep on with your spells. Once they’re in range, we’re taking that vessel for ourselves.” He glanced over at them, nodding appreciatively at Rinoa. It was a funny thing, meeting here of all places after that party. He supposed a rebel princess was exactly the kind of woman he needed at his side.
Faris really cares about Lenna. She's probably the most important person to him.
You've got a lot of brass, or mayhap you're just lacking in brains!
The queen’s reaction was just about what he was expecting. It was the same reaction he always got whenever he revealed his gender -- let alone his blood status. It was a useless status, he thought, but it was one he hoped would put the poor girl at ease. At least just a little bit. In truth, he guessed that they had nothing at all in common, most of all in background, but he wasn’t about to give that away. Not just yet at least.
”Your disguise is...most convincing,” she said after a moment, and Faris laughed. She was still in shock. Understandable.
”It’s not a disguise,” he said. ”I’ve lived like this for years. I’m a sailor by trade.” For years. By that he meant his whole life, but best not to let her know that.
She was cute, trying to talk like a commoner. She had a knack for it too. He could tell she’d been practicing.
”You don’t need to worry about masking your tongue,” he said. ”Not around me, anyway. This lot is another story.” He jerked his thumb towards the monster-hunters, adventurers, and general thugs surrounding them. There was nary a woman in sight. Well, except for the two of them that was.
”They wouldn’t take me seriously,” he said. ”Not as a woman, and a young one at that. They’d always go about hollering, ordering, and the things they’d whistle…” Faris scowled. ”Aye, that was enough for me. I decided I’d be a man from then on. I still don’t have quite the figure, but the muscles don’t matter if you’re fierce enough. But that doesn’t quite feel like you.”
Faris stopped and looked at her. ”My sister’s the queen,” he said. ”And she’s one of the strongest people I know. She didn’t take well to a sword, but she wielded a staff just like you. It was her heart that gave her strength. She cared for just about anyone -- from a man to a moogle to a drake.”
He shook his head. The things they’d done for that for that wind drake!
”You seem like that type,” he said. ”You don’t have to have a fierce eye to have a fire in you.”
