Fandom Final Fantasy: The Age of Ophiuchus [Closed]

[Lucyfer]

At least it was weird to Jagger, as well! Oleander felt some relief at noticing that, it meant he wasn’t going entirely crazy about his own preconceived notions about his sister. He knew he could easily be cast as overprotective, but if Jagger thought it was weird, then it was definitely weird. Especially considering she’d also heard of Sesario, and knew him as a pirate. “Yeah, and apparently a prince, or something,” he waved it off.

He didn’t really know how Rozari functioned.

To be fair, he also didn’t know how Ucantis functioned.

Or Amarum.

He did take note of Jagger whispering to Lilia, who kept that firm expression on her face – but nodded. He wouldn’t question it, he’d just pretend not to notice. “Pretty sure he isn’t her type,” Oleander said, “It’s just politics, apparently, though I know we could be Rozari in a war.”

“But we should try nice things,” Lilia whined, “you’re always in danger otherwise, and you got hurt last time.” She tugged a bit on his tunic, not to stop him, just to get him to look down. And he did.

And sighed.

“That’s ‘cause there was a dragon. No one in Rozari has a dragon. Definitely not Sesario. I’ll be okay next time.” Oleander promised, then looked to Jagger, “If you’re here to tell Zari you couldn’t find the Princeling, she’s out,” he added, “Somewhere in Ibec, for something.” He was very good at knowing things, clearly.

~***~

Shiva vanished as Zariel closed some of the distance, something she wasn’t unhappy to see. Shiva was useful, but not to be used indiscriminately. Shiva could still face harm and attack, and despite not being physically there, Zariel knew there was still a tie to her that Lixue could feel, and could still communicate with her, in a way.

She nodded at his statement, “And you,” it was probably more worrisome about him ending up in more pieces, honestly. He couldn’t hold his own in a fight, and he wasn’t enthused to change that, either. Zariel also wasn’t going to force it on him.

He had his place in all of this.

On the battlefield, he’d always be well-protected.

“I’ll trust you to oversee that process, and let me know of anything notable,” she said, “I’ll stay another day before I need to get back to Ucantis and oversee the transitions,” she trusted Chyou, perhaps more than most would, given the fact many families were more than happy to stab each other in the back for power.

The Virys did not behave in such a way.

Nonetheless, Zariel did have to remain vigilant, just in case. Not to mention there were other matters to finish tidying up back in Ucantis. “Once you’ve finished with your own duties here, I’ll expect you to return to Ucantis, as well.”

He’d get things in order here, but not all would require his personal hand. Much of it could be shrugged off to others, and if he really needed a personal touch – nothing was stopping him from bringing a few viera back with him to Ucantis.

He knew that, though.

 

[Arcanist]

Jagger did chuckle at Lilia’s insistence that they all be nicer to their rivals. If only, but then that would have put her out of a job. And what then? She’d have to get some sort of ‘normal’ job, whatever the hell that was.

“And anyway,” Jagger looked to Lilia again, “your dad came back after fighting that dragon, didn’t he? He’s a strong guy, you know.” She didn’t lie when she said that. Most people would have ended up dead fighting that water dragon thing. Oleander, it had been determined, was not like most other people.

Jagger got off her honkers and stood straight with a grunt. “Didn’t think I’d be so happy to hear that,” she murmured, stretching her arms out. She wasn’t in the mood for a lecture about incompetency or some other shit about not doing her job right. Granted, she wasn’t doing her job right. But it was all for a…well, selfish cause, she’d admit.

“Ibec, huh?” Jagger asked, giving a quizzical stare to Oleander. “What’s she doing the whole way over there? I figured Ucantis was a bigger issue than Ibec.” Maybe something came up in Ibec. Somebody with a marking, perhaps. Tch. Good luck to anyone who they tried to convince to join their merry little band of imperial invaders.

It wasn’t so hard for Jagger, and she didn’t even ask any whys.

~***~

Lixue appreciated Zariel’s own concern about him. They both knew he wasn’t made for the clashes of the battlefield and often he was best utilised elsewhere. It was unfortunate that he had to be forced into fighting, but it meant it could placate Shiva for some time.

Or perhaps that would fail to whet her appetite.

Lixue nodded to her. “Of course. It’ll be done straight away .” It would be a joy to get back to his work. He was sick of looking at this forest, and its plains around it. Returning to his work meant he could feel he was making substantial progress in all of this.

And hopefully something would come of this operation.

Lixue, loyal and unrelenting from that position as ever, nodded to Zariel again. “I’m sure my mother will have quite the report to give to us.” Zariel was brave to put Chyou in charge of sizing up Ucantis’s new governor. Knowing her and her tastes, she would believe he wasn’t up for the job.

But that was the Virys way. Be brutally honest or say nothing at all.

The latter was never an option.

“Leave the viera and that malboro to me. I’ll make sure something comes of this madness,” he resolved. With that, he would give a short bow – purely formalities, what with them being in the public eye of troops and others – before he would go and grab some updates on the current happenings. He wondered, would these viera would divulge information to them so easily?

Or would he have to make them submit first?

 

[Lucyfer]

Given Lilia had grown up with Oleander, she didn’t really understand how different he was. People told her that he was, even Lixue told her that all her dad’s tattoos made him stronger, somehow, but she didn’t understand it the way people like Jagger did. Still, she gave an agreeable hum, even if there was still some doubt in the sound. Oleander gave her a reassuring smile, though, before chuckling at Jagger’s comment.

“I’m sure you’re not out of the water yet,” she’d have to tell Zariel eventually, “I don’t think it’s anything serious, so she’ll probably be back soon.” He’d probably know if it was serious, right? He chuckled, “I, uh, didn’t actually ask what was up in Ibec, but things here are pretty settled.”

Chyou could do that, though.

Chyou was scary, when you weren’t on her good side. Or when you weren’t the Arkidos Family, probably. “Probably something stupid with the Leo Priestess,” he waved it off as a non-issue. It wasn’t an issue, obviously, or he’d know more about it. ‘Would you though? Would you?’ He didn’t know about Sesario.

He wondered if he would have known before the formal engagement.

Probably not.

~***~

Zariel knew the general opinions of Lady Virys, but as with the rest of the Virys family, sans the father, it was what she liked about them. That blunt honesty was among the many reasons they did find their way into high positions, after all. She had enough ass kissers to last multiple lifetimes.

She needed someone to tell her how the governor needed to improve, and what was wrong with him – not that he was the perfect candidate and her judgment was impeccable. “I honestly hope she will,” there was only a hint of a smirk on her lips as she said it. Chyou’s reports were thorough. Just as Lixue’s would be.

And she shouldn’t stay in his way any further.

Not when she needed medical attention.

“I’ll expect an update in at least a week,” even if it wasn’t a full update, she wanted to hear his progress. Until then, she’d let him be…and honestly she would expect to hear sooner. He bowed out, and she turned away from him when he walked off, to find her way towards one of the field medics.

The antidote worked, but she didn’t trust it entirely – this seemed a new strain of poison, after all.

 

[Arcanist]

“Ah,” Jagger waved her hand dismissively at the comment. “I got time to think of a good excuse for her. Should be fine,” she insisted. What was the worse the bitch could do to her? Lock her up? Well, probably, but then however would she bring her Zodiac about then? Without it, she was pretty useless to whatever plans they were cooking up and keeping from her.

“Leo Priestess?” Jagger raised an eyebrow before it clicked. “Oh, you mean those religious nuts. Heh, yeah, they know everything there is to know about the Twelve, I hear.” Juno took a great interest in them when she was there. Their history and culture, and so forth. Jagger was flippant when it came to talk of Twelve. She had a list longer than her arm of curses surrounding the Twelve.

Ironic given she housed one of them.

“Tch, more than I would know about the whole Zodiac gig at least…” Jagger mumbled, rubbing her neck. She’d have to gather more intel for Diddy – or rather, for herself, first of all – if she was going to understand more of what was going on.

Oleander must have known more, being Zariel’s sister, a close comrade of Lixue’s. Though, whether he’d let that tongue of his loosen so easily…

“Listen, when you get back from Escander, how’s about me and you go for a few drinks, eh? I’m gonna need them after the grillin’ I’m gonna get from Zariel…”

 

[Lucyfer]

Oleander just rolled his eyes, even as Lilia chimed, “She’ll understand! Finding people is hard when they don’t wanna be found.” Zariel probably would understand, but that didn’t mean she’d be happy. She’d just be annoyed, and put out more forces through Ucantis, while no doubt figuring out how to get people into Rozari to look.

Where else was he going to run, really?

Still, he wouldn’t comment on any duplicity on Jagger’s part. If she wanted to run the risk of lying to Zariel, that was on her. So he just nodded along with the second part, “Yeah, them,” he’d met the Scorpio Priestess. He’d also tried to sleep with her. He wasn’t as popular in Ibec, or with the priestess, as he’d hoped, even if they didn’t have celibacy vows. “They don’t know nearly enough.”

Or else they’d be involved in this more. As it was, Zariel didn’t seem to care much about them, or their opinion on too much. They couldn’t help her find marked people, and they couldn’t tell her anything about Ophiuchus, or what was coming, so they were pretty much useless to her. “Trust me, I’ve talked with them. They have more prayers memorized than they have brain cells.”

“Daaaaad.”

“Whaaaat?” Oleander whined back, “The Twelve aren’t gonna smite me, they chose me, ‘member?”

Lilia just pouted, “It’s not good to, um…blasphymee.”

Oh god it was too cute, how did she even know that word? He couldn’t help laughing, and that just made her frown deepen. “Who taught you that?”

“Um. Anna?”

More laughter. Damnit Anna!

"Okay, I'll try not to blaspheme again...but yeah, I should be down for drinks, Jagger," he quickly got back on topic.

 

[Arcanist]

Jagger did snort a little at his insult of those religious nuts. Of course, that would have been all they knew. He wondered what the Twelve thought of their prayers. Did they cringe at them? Laugh at them? Bask in the attention they got daily from those prayers? She could imagine there was a backload of prayers that they needed to answer, or that were extremely overdue.

She did, though, laugh audibly at Lilia’s attempt at saying ‘blaspheme’. The kid was smart, smarter than she was, Jagger believed, but she still had a bit of ways to go. At least in pronunciations. She wiped a bit of mirth from her eyes before shaking her head.

“Ah, Lilia…you kill me sometimes, you know?” She chuckled. Jagger glanced to Oleander, the remnants of laughter still playing on her lips as she nodded. “Great. Here’s hoping we get some good news and some progress on this whole…thing.” She waved her hands, reminiscing the situation and their goals, that even sure wasn’t sure of.

She’d be stuck in Ucantis for a bit, so finding out any information here would be a problem. Oleander would be one of the few hopes she had in squeezing something out of him.

 

[Lucyfer]

Lilia was still wearing a pout as Jagger spoke to her, but it was fading. She knew she still had issues saying some words, and names, but she was a little happy it amused people. And a little embarrassed. She tried to focus more on the positive of it, while repeating the word as her dad said it, over and over in her head.

“Yeah, you and me both,” Oleander sighed. This whole thing was indeed, a thing. “Well, I shouldn’t keep you. I need to get on back to Escander, and I guess you should go bother Lady Chyou about where you’re staying, eh?”

A teasing grin.

She’d probably rather deal with Zariel, in that case. Alas, she was now stuck with navigating Lady Virys, and dealing with her until Zariel got back. Oleander didn’t envy her. He hoped she’d get a few stories out of it for their drinks, though.

Assuming it happened, which he honestly wasn’t holding his breath for anytime soon. No doubt Zariel would send Jagger away again to do something, elsewhere.

 

[Arcanist]

Jagger did give Oleander a bit of a grimace at Oleander's suggestion and teasing grin. He was right. She would have rather spoken to Zariel. Hell, even Lixue. Chyou was hard as stone, and she knew by that piercing look over her spectacles at her that she had no tolerance for their mercenary.

"Ugh, yeah...I'm hoping the room is nice at least. Makes it worth it in the end..." She muttered. It better have been a nice fucking room if she had to speak to Lixue's mother to find it.

Then again, she was sure there were plenty of women who would take her in for the night.

"Anyway," Jagger shook her head and smiled at the both of them. "Safe travels." She squatted down in front of Lilia with a smile. "And of course, bring back a souvenir. Or a cool looking postcard, eh?" She teased before patting her head again.

 

[Lucyfer]

The room would be nice, but Oleander wouldn’t confirm that. Even if Chyou didn’t like Jagger, the fact of the matter was, Jagger was among the marked, and hired by Zariel personally. Chyou had to make sure that Jagger was given a room befitting that position, no matter what. And Chyou would oblige, even if she’d make a point of making it clear she did not like obliging Jagger. And might even complain to Zariel.

So Oleander just snickered at the obvious dissatisfaction with this news.

Lilia just hummed a positive sound and nodded, “I’ll find you something great!” She promised, although she didn’t actually know what Jagger might like. Still! She would not be thwarted! She would find the best souvenir in all of Escander! Far better than a postcard, anyways. Although maybe also a postcard, if Jagger liked those.

Plus that would give her an excuse to use the moogles and send it properly!

“See you soon, Jagger,” Oleander said, lifting his hand in something between a salute and a wave, and turning away, “Stay out of trouble,” actually he kind of hoped she would get into trouble, but he wouldn’t actually wish that. Just for the stories.

“Byyyyyye, Jagger!” Lilia moved after Oleander did, waving frantically, before turning to hurry after his long strides

 

[Arcanist]

The bitter taste at the thought of speaking to Chyou was washed away by the promise of a great souvenir by Lilia. She smiled and she whispered, “And make sure it’s expensive. And that your daddy pays for it,” she winked. Might as well push it and get something great out of Escander.

Jagger stood straight again, putting a hand up to wave. “No promises there, Oleander,” she joked, though, she really couldn’t promise it. She hadn’t even painted Ucantis red before. It had to have Jagger’s mark on it, didn’t it?

“Hey, stay safe, Lilia, yeah?” Jagger told her before giving her own wave to both the girl and Oleander. She did stay and watch them walk off for a bit.

She was putting off going to see Chyou. That was why.

~***~

“Hey, Gus. You missed a spot.”

‘Gus’ looked up from the piece of the deck he had been scrubbing. He sighed, leaning on the mop as he looked to the spot to where he apparently ‘missed’. He had two crew members point that out to him. That hadn’t bothered him. That damned name that was chosen for him did. “Again? I’ve scrubbed that spot three times now…” He muttered.

“Oh, yeah, that spot’s the worst to scrub. It’s probably clean. Though, from here it looks kinda dirty…oh, wait,” the sailor squinted before shaking his head, “aye, it’s clean. My mistake.”

Thank the Twelve for that.

Cleon returned to mopping, moving a strand of hair behind his ear as he did so. He was lucky that Kikiti had hair ties, so he could at least keep most of his mane out of the way. He was also grateful for her giving him some pointers on how best to use a mop. It was embarrassing, not really knowing how to use one, or knowing how to scrub or clean any other part of the deck, but the Lalafell was kind and patient enough to show him how it was done. It probably wouldn’t be the last with things that nobles weren’t attuned to doing for themselves.

But over the past few days, he certainly had gotten the hang of this, he believed.

Kikiti, in the meanwhile, had found a nice little box to sit on while sewing up one of the sails that earned one too many holes in it. She was sure the others envied her position but they hadn’t been able to feel the cramps she had been getting in her fingers, and how many times she had pricked her finger. But at least she hadn’t suffered from her sore legs over the course of their journey.

She gave a huge sigh, pausing only to stretch, and glanced over the sea. You would have thought people would have gotten sick of seeing an endless void of blue, but she rather enjoyed the scenery. Though, deep down, she did miss home. She had wondered what her papa and mama were actually doing. Probably worried sick over them or trying to look for her.

She hoped the Empire hadn’t been too harsh on Ucantis. Kikiti glanced to Cleon. She hoped Cleon hadn’t been taking things as hard as he had been before.

“Have you gotten used to the air?” Kikiti asked Cleon with a small smile.

Cleon glanced up as he scrubbed near Kikiti’s box. “Yeah, a lot better, thanks.” The salty air had overcome his senses, and he had spent some of the trip trying not to throw up onboard. It was the last thing he wanted to clean up.

 

[Lucyfer]

Cooking had become Didymus’s thing quick enough, as he did prove to be a superior cook to the one the ship had hired. That didn’t mean he had excess free-time, though. He still had to do a lot of food prep for as many people as there were on the ship, and lots of peeling potatoes – even with the help of other cook. He was definitely getting a new appreciation for mass-cooking, and some useful skills for that.

And even when he ended up having free time?

Well, right then he was helping Reva hang up the clothes to dry, which never seemed to get fully dry in the ocean air. Reva was still keeping a sharp eye on Cleon through all of this, as he adjusted to living like a peasant. Didymus wanted to make more jokes about that, but he refrained. Reva would hear, and Reva would probably smack him. And who could he joke with? Kikiti?

Sometimes she was too nice.

Sometimes she was in the mood.

But they couldn’t risk being overheard by the crew.

The day was beautiful, though. Blue skies, clear seas, nothing seemed too turbulent. Most of their days had been like that, thankfully. He didn’t want to have to deal with a storm. Reva suggested she’d probably know if one was coming, and so far, she hadn’t alerted them to any kind of trouble like that.

“And that’s the last of them,” Didymus muttered as he got the last pants hanging on the clothesline. “I guess we should have tried to do this after Gus was done, huh?”

Reva rolled her eyes, “It would not make much difference,” the deck always needed cleaning, whether from the steps of others walking around, dripping clothes, or waves hitting the deck. Cleon had a never-ending job, just like the rest of them. At least, for the moment, Reva could rest. The clothes were washed, and now drying. She would take them down in a bit, fold them, and deliver them. She’d started to figure out many in the crew, and knew how to find all the owners of the clothes easily enough.

She went over to where Kikiti sat, as Didymus considered also resting…before kicking himself and going below deck to grab another mop to help Cleon out.

He just couldn’t rest where others were working, though Reva seemed to have no problem with it. Not as much, anyways.

 

[Arcanist]

Cleon cringed at his new namesake. He would truly never live it down. At least Kikiti tried not to use it, not unless to try and attract his attention. Didymus seemed adamant to fit his name into every sentence. He was starting to believe he was deriving a sadistic pleasure out of doing so, though, had little evidence to prove that, given them having to work incognito.

Kikiti smiled as Reva approached, and Cleon managed something of his own as well. “I can’t believe how much laundry these guys actually go through,” she said quietly, not wanting her surprise at that to be so widely heard. “They must be changing out of those wet and dingy clothes quite a lot…”

Cleon nodded. “I imagine so. It’s never so good to run around in wet clothes after all.”

“Do you know that from personal experience?” Kikiti teased.

Cleon paused, looked at her, before murmuring a, “No…” and quickly went back to mopping again. He never heard the end of it as a child after he caught a cold, running around after jumping in a pond. His attention shifted to Didymus coming back on deck with a mop and he smiled. “Ah, thanks. Any time I think I have a spot done, something else appears.”

Kikiti’s eyes moved towards the sea. They were a little choppier than usual, hence all the stuff that Cleon had been forced to mop up on deck. She held up part of the sail, examining her handiwork. “Hey, Reva, you think my sewing is improving, right?” She asked. She knew it was improving, but she didn’t want to be the one to come out and just say it, in case she sounded arrogant at her growing skills.

 

[Lucyfer]

Reva knew that Cleon had such experience. It showed in the smile that crossed her lips as he denied it, but she would not say as much and embarrass him more in front of Kikiti and the others. Certainly not as Didymus returned onto the deck with a mop to help Cleon with swabbing the deck. “Of course, Gus,” Didymus was deriving pleasure from this, but he was totally paying it back by helping, right?

Reva paid them little mind, observing the stitches that Kikiti was making once asked. She gave a nod, “They do seem to be getting better,” though she hadn’t paid close attention, she could still tell that the stitches were looking cleaner, and Reva imagined they were strong enough to hold against rough winds.

They’d yet to test them, no need to bring down the main sails and switch them out through this journey just yet. “I am certain the Captain will be very proud of your work,” it might save them quite a bit of money down the line, though Reva didn’t know the cost of sails, or even repairing sails, normally. Still, this had to be saving them money, right?

“Cap’t!” The one in the crow’s nest suddenly shouted out, “Cap’t, I think I see something just off starboard side!” Reva turned her own attention that way. Her hearing and sight were better, but she didn’t have the spyglasses the others had.

She didn’t quite notice much of anything, perhaps the shadow of something, but she couldn’t identify what it was from here.

 

[Arcanist]

Kikiti did try to hide her giggling at Didymus’s insistence of overusing Cleon’s new name. It clearly annoyed Cleon, who often made some sort of scrunched up face as if he caught a whiff of a whole barrel of rotten fish or eggs. She looked back to Reva though as she noted the improvement of her stitches and she gave a proud smile. “Thanks! And I hope so. I guess learning from my Mama was worthwhile after all.”

She knew it was worthwhile. Plus, this help among the ship at least meant they could continue getting safe passage towards Rozari.

Cleon looked up at the call to the Captain, and his eyes shifted to across the waters too. It seemed like a vague outline of a ship now that some of the distance had been closed. Though, something about the activity on the ship ceasing, and the subtle cautiousness of the Captain out of the corner of his eye made him uneasy. It was surely just another passing trading ship, right?

“Pirates,” the Captain announced with a grim visage, pulling down the spyglass, “that’s their Twelve-damned flag alright.” She turned and with a bellow, she announced again, “All hands on deck! Prepare for the incoming attack!”

Of course, it wasn’t another trading ship. That just had to be their kind of luck. Kikiti jumped off the box, abandoning her sails before she groaned, “Oh, I can’t believe this!”

As the deck sprung to life suddenly with crew members starting to prep, and some hesitated before running below deck to spread the word, the Captain handed over control of the ship to her first mate before reaching their four guests on the ship. “You four need to get below deck. It’s gonna get rough up here.

“There’s got to be something that we can do to help?” Cleon asked with concern.

“I’d rather not have your old man wondering if his kids and partners are somewhere at the bottom of the ocean, or worse,” the Captain told them. It was a high possibility at this point. Not many made it out of attacks like this alive, never mind in one piece.

There was shouting, a whistling, and before the Captain or the four could realise what the shouting was about, the ship lurched to the side after a powerful force hit the back of the ship, sending a number of the crew members, Captain, and the four onto the deck with a heavy thud.

“Agh…excuse my language but fuck it. We’re gonna need every bit of help we can get,” the Captain said, jumping onto their feet. By now, most of her own crew members were readying canons of their own. They had always been there, for cases of emergencies like this.

 

[Lucyfer]

Pirates. Reva tensed, as Didymus let out a curse from where he was. Naturally, they hadn’t been expecting to do much fighting on the ship. Kikiti abandoned the sails, and Reva prepped herself – though still went tumbling as they were hit by something at the back of the ship. She managed to catch herself, unlike Didymus who let out a complaint as his head hit the wood. He was still quite conscious, but in no hurry to reclaim his feet as the captain noted they could use help.

Reva climbed back up to her feet and offered a hand to Cleon. “We are capable,” she said. Well, she was.

Kikiti would be.

She wasn’t sure how well Cleon or Didymus would do at this kind of range, but Reva could cast spells, and Kikiti could heal. “Cl—Gus, Idatu, help where you can,” that might be in running for equipment, loading cannons, whatever there was to do.

“Right, right,” Didymus muttered, getting to his feet and putting a hand against his head. “That hurt. Bastards.” His equipment was downstairs. He wasn’t sure the odds of being overrun with pirates, but he wasn’t going to be defenseless if it happened. “I got some things downstairs,” he still needed to restock his bombs, but he’d get there…one day.

Perhaps after this he could talk the pirates into sharing some things with him.

Didymus sprinted towards the stairs that would take him below deck as the cannons began to be secured, and once Cleon was on his feet, Reva would seek a position higher on the deck so she would have a good visual of where to start aiming her spells.

The fact she had Leviathan didn’t immediately cross her mind.

 

[Arcanist]

Cleon wouldn’t refuse the help from Reva and accepted her hand as he was hauled back onto his feet again. When it came to the pirates and giving his aid, well, hiding away on the ship wasn’t going to do any good for anyone. He was more suited to close range. Twelve forbid if it came to that, he would help them from there.

He nodded at Reva’s instructions. “Of course. I need to grab something of my own as well,” he mentioned, though, within the chaos of the ship, it mostly went unheard. He had followed after Didymus below deck. His sword would do no good sitting down there.

Kikiti, in the meanwhile, had started to help with moving equipment and the like as best she could. Even if she was the smallest of the bunch, she’d at least try to do her part. And well, as a healer, there wasn’t much she could do at this moment in time. Not until pirates were in closer range to be hit or if someone got injured.

Diddy’s headwound didn’t quite count at this moment. Maybe when it got worse.

Cleon had stuck below to help out with reloading, though, most of the cannons had already been loaded. The shout came to prepare for the fire from their side. Once most had heard the call, and most who were manning the cannons prepared to shield their ears, a number of shots rung out. The ship ahead had been coming hot and fast, and so evaded a shot or two just narrowly as it was fast approaching. Though, one such cannon shot did hit another one of their cannons, if that was any consolation for the travelling merchants.

Even as reloading begun, there was some turbulence. It was inevitable that the opposing ship, though taking reasonable damage, would close the distance quickly. Even with the Captain of the mercantile ship’s quick manoeuvring, it wasn’t long before the pirate’s ship inevitably began colliding with theirs, tremors rocking the ship.

It wouldn’t be long until they found a way to latch on and to try and board. That was when things would start to get real messy.

 

[Lucyfer]

The turbulence was difficult to keep steady with, but Reva managed it, finding that higher position to start unloading lightning down on the pirates that were coming in. She managed to rip their sail to pieces, for all the good it did – they still caught up, and started to throw over the hooked ropes to steady the connection and begin coming over.

Reva knew she was going to need her own polearm soon; she couldn’t keep using magic indefinitely.

Thankfully, by then, Didymus had returned to the deck with his daggers and bombs, and he made a run for the ropes to try cutting them off, but some had pierced levels below; he’d be unable to get at those easily. The boat was coming alongside them, its bulk starting to slow their own to match now that those attachments had been made.

Reva let out an irritated huff, and moved to go below deck and get her own weapon so she could assist in ousting the pirates from their ship. She noticed land not too far off, an island of sorts, and wondered if the captain had been trying to get them closer to it. If they had to abandon ship…better it be somewhere near land rather than somewhere far from it.

Reva hoped that wouldn’t be the case, though, as she passed Cleon on the way down.

And started to hear shouting above.

Didymus had done what he could to cut ropes as they appeared, but eventually, there were too many of them, and the other ship was too close. The pirates could swing across the gap and land on their ship – albeit, a bit unsteady on that first landing.

Didymus really didn’t care to give them any time to get comfy.

The first one fell to a backstab from the young thief.

He had a feeling he probably didn’t look much like Marden’s son any longer.

 

[Arcanist]

Kikiti had to use some boxes they were travelling with to steady herself as the ship swayed and was tugged along – or rather, how the other ship pulled itself closer to them. Though Reva’s magic had damaged their sails and caused some havoc aboard, frying some of the pirates to a crisp, even that hadn’t been enough to stop them from gaining on them.

By the time she realised where Reva was going, which was to get her weapon, was when she realised she was lacking a weapon. She debilitated on going and grabbing it, whether to stay onboard or not. It wasn’t a necessity, but it usually made things easier to hit, or at least to help cast spells.

She hadn’t much time to decide on that as bodies started landing on the deck. Didymus dealt with one as soon as they landed. Cover was the least of their concerns. It truly was every man – and well, Lalafell – for themselves.

One such pirate landed in front of Kikiti, and she hadn’t a moment longer to waste. She turned, looking down at the Lalafell, clearly confused by the ‘child’ among all these sea dwellers before the pirate was sized down to that of a toad. Already ribbiting and hopping across the deck, Kikiti grabbed it and made the chuck it overboard – only for it to hit another pirate making their way over in the face, and in between the ships below.

That worked scarily well.

Just as Reva had passed Cleon below was when the shouting above had sounded. Knowing that he would be more useful above deck than down here, and so soon arrived on deck to the sight of several pirates swarming the ship and several of their own crew.

Cleon’s eyes landed on one such pirate, who was about to slash at Didymus, and he rushed in to skewer the pirate with his sword. After a pain yell and an uncomfortable squelching as the sword was pulled back out, the pirate fell to the deck, and Cleon looked to Didymus. “Are you alright?” He asked. He had been searching the deck again, mostly at knee level, before asking, “Have you seen Kikiti?”

 

[Lucyfer]

Didymus had been dealing with another pirate when the second approached. He’d been figuring out how to get his second blade to halt the blow that was coming, when Cleon miraculously showed up. He was quite relieved, and pushed back on the other pirate, before his blade ran across the other’s neck, “Just peachy!” The sarcasm was evident in his tone; at least he wasn’t hurt yet, and he stepped closer to Cleon as he asked about Kikiti.

A quick look – closer to the ground, admittedly – and he was able to spot Kikiti standing amidst the chaos. “There,” he gestured, before moving to make sure he was closer to Kikiti and could help cover her. She didn’t seem to have her weapon; not a surprise, she hadn’t joined him and Cleon in running to get theirs. “You okay?” That same stupid question that Cleon had asked him.

The irony hit him a moment later, “Ya know what, dumb question, don’t answer that ‘til later.”


Later would be a bit more interesting than Didymus thought it would be. Reva’s return to the deck – admittedly, scattered with leaving a few bodies that had gone below behind her – caused a brief panic as she took in the size of the other ship, and how many were already on deck, with more coming. They weren’t going to sink their ship, not if they wanted goods, but they were going to do quite a bit of damage.

Until, they did.

There was a terrible blow to the ship from one of the canons, and her ears picked up the pirate captain shrieking about how low the hole was, and that they wanted loot not a pointless fight. ‘Oh no.’ That wasn’t a good sign. A look off at how far the land was, and she wondered if the ship could make it so far.

If everyone could make it so far.

“Seems like a problem.”

The burbling voice was almost laughing, and before Reva could snap into fury, she realized why.

This wasn’t a problem for a sea dragon.

Leviathan wouldn’t bother forming in the air. He formed in the sea beneath them, and rose up right before the pirate ship, letting out a horrific yell that no doubt frightened both the good guys, as well as the bad.

Save perhaps those who knew him, although Reva had yet to truly introduce Kikiti to him.

And Reva wasn’t going to consider how far stories about a viera with a dragon might have gotten.

 

[Arcanist]

Cleon was beginning to think that perhaps asking Didymus, in the middle of a seafaring war with pirates, if he was okay, was not a good idea. Though, he had to say it, for lack of anything else to say. Not long after he had asked for Kikiti did Didymus find her, and Cleon looked relieved as they approached her.

“Oh, there you two are! You know how many frogs I’ve been having to chuck overboard?” Kikiti asked with a pout. Admittedly, not many, but she might as well big up her own achievements in this fight. She opened her mouth to ask Diddy what was up with the stupid question, but he seemed to realise that himself.

The low shot of the canon made the ship tremble once again, though, Cleon managed to catch Kikiti before she could stumble onto her face. This was getting worse by the second. There was only so much they and the crew members could do to hold off this ship. It could stand the test of pirates for a little bit, but ultimately it was a trading ship.

“Where’s R-uh, Javi?” Kikiti asked, looking around on deck. She had only remembered this now, and she cursed herself for it, but this would have been the perfect time to bring Leviathan out to help them. “We need her trump card!”

Cleon’s eyes widened a little. Of course, why hadn’t they thought of that as a solution earlier?! Though, just as he was about to call to Reva, who had arrived on deck, they were witness to the rising figure of Leviathan, and a yell that pierced through the chaos of the fighting.

While most of the pirates either stood and looked up in fear, or yelled, or tried to escape by jumping overboard, Kikiti just looked up in complete awe. Finally, she could see Leviathan!

“This our chance!” Cleon told Didymus and Kikiti, raising his sword once again against what remaining pirates there were onboard.

The Captain, who had been busy trying to direct this ship towards the island as smoothly and quickly as she possibly could, paused among the panicked yells of her crew. “Ifrit’s balls…!” She gripped the wheel tightly. As much as driving this ship alongside this creature, whatever it really was, it was their chance to try and get to the island. “Everyone hold on! It’s gonna be a bumpy one!”

 

[Lucyfer]

Didymus’s eye twitched a bit at the mention of the frogs. Kikiti scared him, just a bit, sometimes. He didn’t ever want to get turned into a frog. How long would it take to turn back? Would he ever turn back? How would he convince Jagger to get him an antidote if she didn’t know he’d been turned into a frog?!

He was relieved to see the beast he’d seen in Ucantis, although not by much. He hadn’t been close to it before. Now he was close, and it was a wonder Oleander survived. At least, he assumed Oleander survived – something told him things would be much worse for them if he hadn’t – and Jagger might not have been so nice about letting them go.

“Heh, yeah, sure,” Didymus figured the pirates would be easy pickings now, but instead of rushing out against them, he shouted first, “HEY! THE DRAGON’S ON OUR SIDE!” To keep any crew from jumping overboard, before he’d rush at one of the pirates who gave him a bewildered look.

They chose to jump overboard before he could do anything.

Not that they’d have anywhere to go.

Leviathan’s first act was to dive, head-first, right through the pirate ship, putting a significant hole all the way through it’s center, breaking the ship in two, and no doubt killing plenty of the pirates who had been on board. His tail lashed through the remains of the mast on his way down, and through the deck before he was gone from sight for a moment.

Reva went up to the first mate, calm, and set her hand on the railing near the wheel. “May Leviathan help us get to land?” It would be rude not to ask, wouldn’t it? The question was loud enough to include the captain.

 

[Arcanist]

Even after Didymus' call that that sea dragon was their friend, not foe, most of the crew had looked at him bewildered, or as if he had the multiple heads of a hydra. Though, in saying that, seeing that Leviathan practically tore through the pirate ship, and decimating the remaining pirates onboard gave the crew a new hope and motivation. Many went back to fighting the pirates, either striking them down, else driving them overboard. Apparently, sea dragons made for great deterrents.

Most of the fighting was over in minutes. The pirates knew rightly they had lost and were defeated, and ran off with their tails in between their legs. Cleon hardly got to lift his sword, though, wouldn't complain about that.

"That...was so cool!" Kikiti cheered, punching a fist in the air, showing a little too much enthusiasm for watching a sea dragon just pop out of the water.

"Hey, Kikiti..." Cleon murmured, turning to her. "Try not to look so excited..." Though, like with his early statement, he learned that it was a little too late to be asking her not to do it.

The first mate looked at Reva, a model of calmness and collection, and was astounded by her words. "Can...huh...?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Leviathan? Did this woman really...know Leviathan? What the hell was she if she was able to even summon a creature of this size?!

"Hey," the Captain chipped in, looking to her first mate, "we don't really have any other choice here. We need all the help we can get." Though she was willing, and no doubt thankful for the help by the look on her face, she did glance over to Reva with a raised eyebrow. "But...who exactly are you?"

Surely no normal accomplice of Marden's could summon Leviathan of all things?

 

[Lucyfer]

“Heh,” Didymus couldn’t help but smirk at Kikiti’s enthusiasm. It was adorable. And a bit contagious, with all the pirates off the deck and into the ocean. Leviathan didn’t seem to care enough to resurface and eat the ones swimming and trying to salvage what they could to get to safety. Didymus didn’t have much sympathy for them.

He did wonder where Leviathan went, until he felt the ship tremble beneath them – and then suddenly start to speed towards the island at a rate Didymus was pretty sure it couldn’t naturally move at. “Woah!” He did reach for something to steady himself, finding Cleon’s shoulder in the process.

Better than Kikiti’s head. “Guess we’re getting a little more help,” he glanced up to Reva, who was nearer to the wheel. He didn’t know how she communicated that to Leviathan, or if he just took the initiative. "Could we have just...ridden Leviathan to Rozari, though? Why didn't we think of that?"



Leviathan, of course, knew what went on in Reva’s head.

So as the captain expressed her thoughts, Reva nodded, and he took action to get underneath the boat, and speed it towards the island through the manipulation of the currents around it. He also did his best to make sure it didn’t fill with water before that time, staying under it, and aware, as he followed beneath the ship.

Reva, for her part, only answered, “It is better if you not know.” She could have continued that lie. Perhaps she even should have, but she felt a bit guilty for it. “You should forget this entirely when you can,” which, of course, they couldn’t…but the meaning would be obvious. Better to pretend they knew nothing about their strange passengers.

For all their sakes.

 

[Arcanist]

When the ship shook once again, the force of the ship pushed up against their feet, even causing Cleon and Kikiti to yell at the sudden motion. Cleon stumbled a bit but caught the bottom of the mast in the process. Didymus grabbed his shoulder to regain his balance and Kikiti had practically fallen into his leg.

"The forewarning would have been helpful though..." Kikiti mumbled, awkwardly pushing herself up from the prince's leg.

Cleon gave the two a sheepish smile before straightening himself up and regaining their balance. When Didymus had made that suggestion, he frowned a little, scratching his head. "That...would have been rather useful..." It would have saved them the trouble of trying to secure their places on this ship, and selling the chocobos, and having to spend more gil.

Kikiti pursed her lips as she looked at the two of them. "And what if people spotted us coming into Rozari with Leviathan? Or worse yet, those pirates out on the sea?" She hardly thought they needed tales about four people riding on the back of such a creature.

The captain and the first mate managed to keep on their feet as Leviathan had helped bear them towards the island. They had a far less chance of drowning at least, something that the woman was rather grateful for. She did raise an eyebrow at Reva's rather vague words, but then, her features softened. "Well, you did pay for passage aboard this ship...and you are helping us get to shore..." She murmured. The logic was infallible. Best to move on and not complain when there was a sea dragon bearing them along.

Most of the crew had been assessing what damage had been done to the ship - at least, as much as they could on deck. Some goods had been strewn about and a few lost in the progress, but better than a massive loss of lives if anything. They could only hope their partners in Rozari thought the same.

Once they made it to shore, that was when the fun started. Some of the crew members had gone ahead and jumped off the side of the boat to assess some further damages. When the captain had started speaking with them from the deck, the others could hear a few curses running from her mouth, before she sighed. She turned to Reva and the others. "Sorry, but the ship's in a state, if you hadn't already noticed," she started, shaking her head. "We're gonna have to take a bit of time to fix it up before we can get back on the path to Rozari."

 

[Lucyfer]

Kikiti probably had a point. Showing up in a Rozari port from the back of a dragon would cause a lot of talk, but also, they’d get there quickly, and possibly head off any Imperials. Not to mention save on gil. He still sighed, relenting the point for now, as they made it to the island without seeming to suffer too much further damage to the ship, or the crew. That Leviathan practically beached their ship was another matter, but that was probably useful for examining it without it sinking.

Not to mention the sea dragon could probably unbeach them easily enough.

Although he was distracted. Reva sensed it, as he coiled up into the air around them, and looked out towards the island, evidently wanting to go darting up, but restrained by his need to stay close to Reva and make sure nothing was wrong here, either. His presence, despite his help, still kept some of the crew on edge.

Reva did not immediately go to him, but rejoined the others to wait what news the captain would bring to them about the situation. It didn’t take long. Didymus sighed.

Reva just nodded, “We understand,” which was true, no matter how disheartening it was to end up stranded for a bit, “We will go make sure the island is safe, it seems Leviathan is…perturbed.”

“Uh, is that…should we be worried?” Someone in the crew overheard, and Didymus was wondering much the same.

Reva hummed, but shook her head, “No, it is not…it is not that I sense.” Just a powerful urging to move, a sense of worry that Leviathan himself could not place, a sense of knowledge that he didn’t know he had. An intuition, what Pisces was always known for.

She did not longer after confirming that, that pressure to move feeling like her own. She went to the edge of the boat, and jumped off into the sand, landing easily.

“Yeah, she, uh, does that,” Didymus shrugged, not sure which of Reva’s behaviors he was trying to explain right then. This wasn’t that normal, actually, and it worried him as he watched her approach the serpent that descended and pressed it’s head into her hand for a moment, before darting off ahead, only to pause and look back.

Clearly, Leviathan was in a hurry.