FFIV short fics (...hit by plot bunnies munching on my brain...)
Well, I'm power-leveling in FFIV (with Kain being the experience whore and stealing it from everyone else. He always gains the first level boost up before Cecil and Edge, but all the boys are neck-to-neck with Level 75. Recently found out how to cast Holy from his shiny new lance, too. XD). I love my dragoons.
So in the spirit of that, I've had a few bunnies sock me upside the head. Let's get those out of the way, shall we?
Sinister
With the mountain peaks below him and the sky above him, the young dragoon closed his left hand and kept his fingers curled. It was strange how superstition worked against him - always had, always will. Just being born into a respectable family did nothing to stop the whispers or the gossip once it was found that he was left-dominate. He was marked with a curse, bearing the scorn of those considering him spell-shrouded.
He was sinister, unable to change the fact no more than he would cut off his hand at the wrist.
Looking down - down at the verdant foliage and the forests - and then staring up into the bright burning sun wherein hawks and birds glided, free as he could never be, Kain opened his hand and gripped his spear.
Perhaps the rumor-mongers and the fortune tellers were not wrong at all.
Judged Ere His Time
The older man - only five years his elder - barreled into his face, eyes narrow and iced with scorn. His accent was lilted, like a string plucked on some foreign instrument with the note still hanging midair. When they first met, Edge had not taken to him well; neither, he realized, had he. He could not focus on the beauty of the waves beyond or the harsh metallic oddities of the craft they occupied. Angry and contemptuous eyes gazed back at him, cutting even through Rosa and Cecil's forgiveness.
"Are you insane?" The Eblan ninja snapped, his fingers twitching. Kain adjusted his stance, not sure if that implied a signal of impending attack or the mere fact that throttling did not sound welcome at the moment. "You'll just get closer to Zemus! How do we know that you won't fall under his control again?"
His breath echoed harshly, drawn into a sharp, nearly inaudible gasp. He took a step forward, nearly stepping on the other's foot. "If that happens, kill me." The words were out of his mouth before he knew it but since Golbez released his hold on him, it was the one thought that haunted him.
Edge's gaze cut deep, and he resisted flinching at the shame of it. Then, the other man - his elder, he thought, terribly aware of how young he must look to the Eblan - nodded imperceptibly, tapping the hilts of his swords. He knew that Edge would track him, hands around his dual blades; if anything were to go untoward, the steel would be through him, draining blood, tearing muscle and bone and twisting until there was nothing left to heal.
He could feel two pairs of eyes watching their silent exchange. He could sense Cecil's pity and Rosa's concern and suddenly, he could not bear it. After all that he had done, he could not reap the fruits of his friends' love. It was denied to him now.
His spear heavy across his back and his eyes stinging with unshed tears, Kain strode towards the back of the Lunar Whale. Four pairs of eyes followed him, pinning him with the burden of his guilt; and as he nestled himself into the corner, locked tightly within his armor plating as if it could shield him from the world, he let his silent grief carry him through the minutes and the hours that were soon to come.
So in the spirit of that, I've had a few bunnies sock me upside the head. Let's get those out of the way, shall we?
Sinister
With the mountain peaks below him and the sky above him, the young dragoon closed his left hand and kept his fingers curled. It was strange how superstition worked against him - always had, always will. Just being born into a respectable family did nothing to stop the whispers or the gossip once it was found that he was left-dominate. He was marked with a curse, bearing the scorn of those considering him spell-shrouded.
He was sinister, unable to change the fact no more than he would cut off his hand at the wrist.
Looking down - down at the verdant foliage and the forests - and then staring up into the bright burning sun wherein hawks and birds glided, free as he could never be, Kain opened his hand and gripped his spear.
Perhaps the rumor-mongers and the fortune tellers were not wrong at all.
Judged Ere His Time
The older man - only five years his elder - barreled into his face, eyes narrow and iced with scorn. His accent was lilted, like a string plucked on some foreign instrument with the note still hanging midair. When they first met, Edge had not taken to him well; neither, he realized, had he. He could not focus on the beauty of the waves beyond or the harsh metallic oddities of the craft they occupied. Angry and contemptuous eyes gazed back at him, cutting even through Rosa and Cecil's forgiveness.
"Are you insane?" The Eblan ninja snapped, his fingers twitching. Kain adjusted his stance, not sure if that implied a signal of impending attack or the mere fact that throttling did not sound welcome at the moment. "You'll just get closer to Zemus! How do we know that you won't fall under his control again?"
His breath echoed harshly, drawn into a sharp, nearly inaudible gasp. He took a step forward, nearly stepping on the other's foot. "If that happens, kill me." The words were out of his mouth before he knew it but since Golbez released his hold on him, it was the one thought that haunted him.
Edge's gaze cut deep, and he resisted flinching at the shame of it. Then, the other man - his elder, he thought, terribly aware of how young he must look to the Eblan - nodded imperceptibly, tapping the hilts of his swords. He knew that Edge would track him, hands around his dual blades; if anything were to go untoward, the steel would be through him, draining blood, tearing muscle and bone and twisting until there was nothing left to heal.
He could feel two pairs of eyes watching their silent exchange. He could sense Cecil's pity and Rosa's concern and suddenly, he could not bear it. After all that he had done, he could not reap the fruits of his friends' love. It was denied to him now.
His spear heavy across his back and his eyes stinging with unshed tears, Kain strode towards the back of the Lunar Whale. Four pairs of eyes followed him, pinning him with the burden of his guilt; and as he nestled himself into the corner, locked tightly within his armor plating as if it could shield him from the world, he let his silent grief carry him through the minutes and the hours that were soon to come.