FFXII: Reins of History
Title: Reins of History
Rating: PG (genfic)
Summary: Vaan and Penelo play catch up with two sky pirates, one of whom is a leading man quite unwilling to act anymore.
Characters: Balthier, Fran, Vaan, Penelo, splitsecond appearance by Boobsy Woman Elza.
1536 words. First part (prelude, really!) to a planned series revolving around Balthier, because the boy won't shut up even when gagged. He'd probably enjoy it, too.
Admittedly, it took Vaan and Penelo a little longer than they would've liked to find the two of them. It wasn't as though they were in any rush, but with the Coronation looming just around the corner, there was only so much time that they could slice off to go hunting for sky pirates.
It started out a fairly simple exercise.
'He won't be there,' Vaan said, rolling out a leathery map and pointing at Paramina. 'Too cold. He won't be here,' he said, pointing at Eruyt and Golmore. 'Too close to home. So he won't be at Archades either.'
Muttering to himself, Vaan listed a whole series of reasons why Balthier and Fran would not be anywhere where they'd care to look. Too easy, too obvious, too crowded, too out of the way. Penelo crossed her arms. 'So, where is he going to be? Hiding in a small cave in the Tchita uplands?'
'How about here?' Vaan asked, indicating Balfonheim. 'After he finds out that we took the Jagd skystone out for a few... repairs, he's going to need to service the Strahl back up to his own standards.'
Penelo paused, and then she smiled. 'So that's why you wanted to do risk suicide and fiddle with the Strahl?'
'Balthier said to take care of her,' Vaan shrugged, trying very hard to hide the smug smile on his face (because he was learning to be sly, but not yet how to be suave). 'I took care of her.'
That was how it was supposed to go, anyway. Turned out that when they landed at the pirate port, the first thing that they received were a bunch of odd looks and a few smothered grins. Vaan finally cracked and asked a shipyard hand what, exactly, was so funny about the two of them, they were sky pirates and weren't sky pirates supposed to stick together? They got pointed to a small tavern with a hunt board that had a notice with "WANTED: TWO THIEVING, MEDDLING FOOLS" written in Balthier's fluid hand.
'Okay,' Vaan said, tugging it down and scrunching it up. 'Do you think we're in trouble?'
'I don't know,' Penelo said, rolling her eyes and plucking the notice out of his hands. 'What do you think?'
Balthier must have paid off half the port for this, because everyone they asked came up with lies, and everywhere they looked came up with nothing. It was around the third night that they took a slightly unwilling look towards the Reddas Manse - now occupied by... Someone, they supposed. Reddas must have left a successor behind, he looked the sort to plan for that kind of thing. Maybe they could help.
The Manse was lit when they arrived, and looked well kept. No guards, though, which was a strange change from Reddas's usual, slightly paranoid way of working. 'Hello?' Penelo called out as they stepped into the main hall. 'Is anyone here?'
'Hey, look,' Vaan said, pointing up the stairs. 'Do you hear something?'
It was more than a little "something". They crept upstairs to where the door to Reddas's study lay faintly ajar, and looked in.
Balthier, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and arms coated with what looked like engine grease, was leaning back against the table with a disinterested expression on his face. Fran, folded up on the seat by the window, was typically silent.
One of Reddas's old team - Elza, whom time had not changed in any way, including both her dress sense and her cleavage - was yelling. Vaan felt Penelo step on his foot when he stared at her impressive figure for too long. 'Concentrate,' she hissed at him.
'It was what Master Reddas would have wanted, and in any case, you're the only one who's got enough decency and brains to take over the port, you pig headed, obstinate, self-centred dandy,' she snarled at Balthier, who raised his eyebrows.
'Funny how insulting me seems to be your method of complimenting my abilities,' he said, unmoved. 'And thank you, but no. I've better things to do with my time than paperwork.'
'When Reddas warned that you'd be stubborn, I didn't think that he meant as stubborn as this,' Elza snapped. 'This port needs a master. Are you going to just let it flounder? Then Reddas would have done everything for nothing, you small-time bastard. Don't let him have died in vain.'
'All right, that's enough,' Balthier cut in, his voice hard. He pushed himself off from the table, and wiped his hands on a rag. 'I don't take well to blackmail,' he said, crossing his arms. 'And it's about time you left. I'm only in Balfonheim to refit the Strahl. You can take your orders for lordship and magisterial duty to somebody else, and preferably to somebody who cares.'
Elza looked too stunned to reply. In the sudden, silent gap, Fran's ears twitched. 'Come in Vaan,' she said, beckoning at the door with one hand. 'Penelo. You've watched long enough, and Balthier'll want better company.'
Sheepishly, Vaan and Penelo pushed open the door and entered. Elza, now recovered, was bristling. 'Mark my words,' she said, shaking a finger at Balthier. 'This won't be the last you hear of me. And when I come back again, the Manse had better not be in a wreck!'
The door slammed behind her, to the tune of several very inventive curses about the ego of men and the long suffering duty of subordinates.
'Lively girl,' Balthier commented dryly, but he seemed glad to have her gone. 'So, our two thieves return to the stage.' He gave them a nod, and started moving. Fran followed from behind, turning to give them a look that was filled with both welcome and a little bit of laughter. Typical of them not to stop and do any meeting or greeting.
The younger duo trailed after the sound of Balthier's voice as the man walked easily down the stairs and through to the Manse's private shipyard. 'You looked after her well, Vaan, if we ignore your slight accident about the skystone.' Balthier put a hand on the Strahl, which gleamed with new polish. 'You can keep it,' he said, giving them a nod. 'Consider that payment for her upkeep.'
Vaan grinned. 'Good planning on my part, huh?'
'Straightforward and transparent, more like,' Fran said. 'But not bad, for two new fledglings just taking wing.'
'Did you hear that, children?' Balthier chuckled as he pulled open the hatch above the Strahl's engine. 'A compliment.' Greasing his hands, Balthier set about skinning wires and injecting oil, easing a new skystone into place. It set with a small click, and when Fran ran the engine it purred with the comforting whirr of gears and magick. Balthier nodded in satisfaction.
'How'd you do that?' Vaan asked, hopping over and attempting to stare over Balthier's shoulder. He'd grown a little in the past year - but not enough. 'It took me two hours to get the thing out and a new one put in!'
'It's called skill and practice,' Balthier said. 'And proficiency. Give me an engine over paperwork - I'll oil my hands quicker than I'll blot my fingers with ink.'
'But weren't you a judge, before you were a pirate?' Vaan asked, tactful as usual. Fran made a small noise that could've been a sigh, but Balthier only laughed.
'Why do you think I left?' the Archadian said, shrugging. It'd take a sharper man than Vaan to see the flash in Balthier's eyes that sparked memories of a lot of things: of his father, of the Akademy, of too many days exiled to the books of law and treaty - and then too few, after Cid came back from the Jagd determined to build all the machinery that nethicite would let him, and even more determined to have his son help. 'It's a long story. Not one I'll act out for you today.'
Vaan looked hard at Balthier. 'But you'll tell us someday, right? When you come for the Coronation?'
'If I come for the Coronation,' Balthier corrected him. 'Now, have you asked all your questions? Or do you have more before you want to take the Strahl out to test her new rings?'
Vaan ran into the cockpit before the words had quite left Balthier's mouth.
'Sorry,' Penelo said, following after him at a slower pace. 'He's still quite stupid, sometimes.'
'He'll learn,' Balthier said, motioning her in. 'And bring her back to me intact, this time!'
The ship took off in a controlled glide, sliding into the sky almost soundlessly. Balthier watched it until the eaves of the shipyard's roof closed firmly shut. 'Children,' he sighed. It could have meant them, or it could have meant himself. Doctor Cid was still too recently dead.
'They don't know who Ffamran is,' Fran nodded, coming to stand by his side. She put a hand on his shoulder. The viera smelled of engine grease and metal and skin. A beautiful smell. Balthier breathed deep, exhaled again.
'Very few people do,' Balthier agreed, turning to slide an arm around her waist. The past was dead, now - properly dead. 'And I'm damned glad of it.'
Rating: PG (genfic)
Summary: Vaan and Penelo play catch up with two sky pirates, one of whom is a leading man quite unwilling to act anymore.
Characters: Balthier, Fran, Vaan, Penelo, splitsecond appearance by Boobsy Woman Elza.
1536 words. First part (prelude, really!) to a planned series revolving around Balthier, because the boy won't shut up even when gagged. He'd probably enjoy it, too.
Admittedly, it took Vaan and Penelo a little longer than they would've liked to find the two of them. It wasn't as though they were in any rush, but with the Coronation looming just around the corner, there was only so much time that they could slice off to go hunting for sky pirates.
It started out a fairly simple exercise.
'He won't be there,' Vaan said, rolling out a leathery map and pointing at Paramina. 'Too cold. He won't be here,' he said, pointing at Eruyt and Golmore. 'Too close to home. So he won't be at Archades either.'
Muttering to himself, Vaan listed a whole series of reasons why Balthier and Fran would not be anywhere where they'd care to look. Too easy, too obvious, too crowded, too out of the way. Penelo crossed her arms. 'So, where is he going to be? Hiding in a small cave in the Tchita uplands?'
'How about here?' Vaan asked, indicating Balfonheim. 'After he finds out that we took the Jagd skystone out for a few... repairs, he's going to need to service the Strahl back up to his own standards.'
Penelo paused, and then she smiled. 'So that's why you wanted to do risk suicide and fiddle with the Strahl?'
'Balthier said to take care of her,' Vaan shrugged, trying very hard to hide the smug smile on his face (because he was learning to be sly, but not yet how to be suave). 'I took care of her.'
That was how it was supposed to go, anyway. Turned out that when they landed at the pirate port, the first thing that they received were a bunch of odd looks and a few smothered grins. Vaan finally cracked and asked a shipyard hand what, exactly, was so funny about the two of them, they were sky pirates and weren't sky pirates supposed to stick together? They got pointed to a small tavern with a hunt board that had a notice with "WANTED: TWO THIEVING, MEDDLING FOOLS" written in Balthier's fluid hand.
'Okay,' Vaan said, tugging it down and scrunching it up. 'Do you think we're in trouble?'
'I don't know,' Penelo said, rolling her eyes and plucking the notice out of his hands. 'What do you think?'
Balthier must have paid off half the port for this, because everyone they asked came up with lies, and everywhere they looked came up with nothing. It was around the third night that they took a slightly unwilling look towards the Reddas Manse - now occupied by... Someone, they supposed. Reddas must have left a successor behind, he looked the sort to plan for that kind of thing. Maybe they could help.
The Manse was lit when they arrived, and looked well kept. No guards, though, which was a strange change from Reddas's usual, slightly paranoid way of working. 'Hello?' Penelo called out as they stepped into the main hall. 'Is anyone here?'
'Hey, look,' Vaan said, pointing up the stairs. 'Do you hear something?'
It was more than a little "something". They crept upstairs to where the door to Reddas's study lay faintly ajar, and looked in.
Balthier, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and arms coated with what looked like engine grease, was leaning back against the table with a disinterested expression on his face. Fran, folded up on the seat by the window, was typically silent.
One of Reddas's old team - Elza, whom time had not changed in any way, including both her dress sense and her cleavage - was yelling. Vaan felt Penelo step on his foot when he stared at her impressive figure for too long. 'Concentrate,' she hissed at him.
'It was what Master Reddas would have wanted, and in any case, you're the only one who's got enough decency and brains to take over the port, you pig headed, obstinate, self-centred dandy,' she snarled at Balthier, who raised his eyebrows.
'Funny how insulting me seems to be your method of complimenting my abilities,' he said, unmoved. 'And thank you, but no. I've better things to do with my time than paperwork.'
'When Reddas warned that you'd be stubborn, I didn't think that he meant as stubborn as this,' Elza snapped. 'This port needs a master. Are you going to just let it flounder? Then Reddas would have done everything for nothing, you small-time bastard. Don't let him have died in vain.'
'All right, that's enough,' Balthier cut in, his voice hard. He pushed himself off from the table, and wiped his hands on a rag. 'I don't take well to blackmail,' he said, crossing his arms. 'And it's about time you left. I'm only in Balfonheim to refit the Strahl. You can take your orders for lordship and magisterial duty to somebody else, and preferably to somebody who cares.'
Elza looked too stunned to reply. In the sudden, silent gap, Fran's ears twitched. 'Come in Vaan,' she said, beckoning at the door with one hand. 'Penelo. You've watched long enough, and Balthier'll want better company.'
Sheepishly, Vaan and Penelo pushed open the door and entered. Elza, now recovered, was bristling. 'Mark my words,' she said, shaking a finger at Balthier. 'This won't be the last you hear of me. And when I come back again, the Manse had better not be in a wreck!'
The door slammed behind her, to the tune of several very inventive curses about the ego of men and the long suffering duty of subordinates.
'Lively girl,' Balthier commented dryly, but he seemed glad to have her gone. 'So, our two thieves return to the stage.' He gave them a nod, and started moving. Fran followed from behind, turning to give them a look that was filled with both welcome and a little bit of laughter. Typical of them not to stop and do any meeting or greeting.
The younger duo trailed after the sound of Balthier's voice as the man walked easily down the stairs and through to the Manse's private shipyard. 'You looked after her well, Vaan, if we ignore your slight accident about the skystone.' Balthier put a hand on the Strahl, which gleamed with new polish. 'You can keep it,' he said, giving them a nod. 'Consider that payment for her upkeep.'
Vaan grinned. 'Good planning on my part, huh?'
'Straightforward and transparent, more like,' Fran said. 'But not bad, for two new fledglings just taking wing.'
'Did you hear that, children?' Balthier chuckled as he pulled open the hatch above the Strahl's engine. 'A compliment.' Greasing his hands, Balthier set about skinning wires and injecting oil, easing a new skystone into place. It set with a small click, and when Fran ran the engine it purred with the comforting whirr of gears and magick. Balthier nodded in satisfaction.
'How'd you do that?' Vaan asked, hopping over and attempting to stare over Balthier's shoulder. He'd grown a little in the past year - but not enough. 'It took me two hours to get the thing out and a new one put in!'
'It's called skill and practice,' Balthier said. 'And proficiency. Give me an engine over paperwork - I'll oil my hands quicker than I'll blot my fingers with ink.'
'But weren't you a judge, before you were a pirate?' Vaan asked, tactful as usual. Fran made a small noise that could've been a sigh, but Balthier only laughed.
'Why do you think I left?' the Archadian said, shrugging. It'd take a sharper man than Vaan to see the flash in Balthier's eyes that sparked memories of a lot of things: of his father, of the Akademy, of too many days exiled to the books of law and treaty - and then too few, after Cid came back from the Jagd determined to build all the machinery that nethicite would let him, and even more determined to have his son help. 'It's a long story. Not one I'll act out for you today.'
Vaan looked hard at Balthier. 'But you'll tell us someday, right? When you come for the Coronation?'
'If I come for the Coronation,' Balthier corrected him. 'Now, have you asked all your questions? Or do you have more before you want to take the Strahl out to test her new rings?'
Vaan ran into the cockpit before the words had quite left Balthier's mouth.
'Sorry,' Penelo said, following after him at a slower pace. 'He's still quite stupid, sometimes.'
'He'll learn,' Balthier said, motioning her in. 'And bring her back to me intact, this time!'
The ship took off in a controlled glide, sliding into the sky almost soundlessly. Balthier watched it until the eaves of the shipyard's roof closed firmly shut. 'Children,' he sighed. It could have meant them, or it could have meant himself. Doctor Cid was still too recently dead.
'They don't know who Ffamran is,' Fran nodded, coming to stand by his side. She put a hand on his shoulder. The viera smelled of engine grease and metal and skin. A beautiful smell. Balthier breathed deep, exhaled again.
'Very few people do,' Balthier agreed, turning to slide an arm around her waist. The past was dead, now - properly dead. 'And I'm damned glad of it.'