Melody No. 9 ~ The Dragon King comes to town. (Backdated to Saturday)

[thelittlecanary]

[There's no doubt about it - she's incredibly wary of the package when the postman first hands it to her with a tip of the hat and a saucy wink. After her ordeal in his office downtown, she's half convinced to take it out with the rest of the garbage and forget it was ever delivered. She leaves the box, which is hardly bigger than her fist,

Comments

[thelittlecanary]

[Bahamut's massive breaths ruffle Garnet's hair in a steady rhythm, and she can smell the magic on each exhalation. Her entire demeanor has changed from one minute to the next. Not only is there a king before Jecht, but a queen too, one now fully capable of standing her own ground, who only appears to be weak. The restoration of her summoning magic has washed away her insecurities; she feels complete with Bahamut beside her.

Her hand, still lit with the afterglow of summoning, rests upon one of the horns protruding from the side of Bahamut's head. The dragon leans into her touch with a crooning rumble, drawing a smile to her lips. Their constant physical contact is enough to convey how sorely they missed one another.

Jecht's strange salutation prompts a raised eyebrow from Garnet. Was it a custom of his world, a special greeting perhaps? It seems to catch Bahamut's interest, for he cranes his neck forward to sniff Jecht. She wont interrupt them, in any case, satisfied with watching them interact instead. She can sense the approval that Bahamut feels, but is confused when he implies that he recognizes Jecht as well.] He says you are...one of them. You have his gratitude.

[Jecht's compliment leaves her short of breath and smiling gratefully, especially when Bahamut only resonates with agreement.] But I must thank you both...for I would not be who I am without either of you by my side.

[child_abuser]

[The unflappable Jecht just smiles in the presence of the great dragon king, until he mentions 'he' and 'his gratitude.' That statement seems to knock him for an almost visible loop, as he raises an eyebrow in confusion.]

"Whoa, whoa, back up. 'He?' You know Braska?"

[thelittlecanary]

[Garnet turns back questioningly to Bahamut, and though she says no words and the only sound the Dragon King makes is a soft, deep crooning, there's no doubt that they're somehow communicating. After a time, she nods, then turns back to Jecht, eyes soft.]

Yes. And he knows you, and an Auron too, because your Lord Braska could also summon Bahamut. He took part in your journey until its end in a city called Zanarkand... [Garnet leans her head against the dragon with a nearly inaudible sigh, and the rest of what he tells her, no doubt the conclusion to their story, is something she isn't strong enough to voice.] ...At any rate, Bahamut was a companion of your summoner on his journey...and so he can vouch for him personally. Lord Braska truly cherished you as his guardian.

[She gives Jecht time to absorb this before going on.] Bahamut would also like to thank you for looking after me when he and my other Eidolons could not.

[child_abuser]

[Jecht's posture slumps a little when Garnet mentions Zanarkand. He's sure she's just heard how the journey ends when he finally goes to fight Sin along with Braska. Of course he'd been planning to tell her that the Summoner and the Final Aeon sacrifice themselves to beat Sin, but he didn't really know how. Too late now. It's something he'll have to talk with her about later. For now, he just scratches at the back of his head for a moment, nodding back to the dragon.]

"Braska was a hell of a guy. Auron too. I'd do the whole thing over again if I had to, no question."

[Glances to Garnet again, mustering a smile.]

"And you can be damn sure I'm gonna keep protecting Garnet as long as I'm here, too."

[thelittlecanary]

...I understand. [Garnet still seems shaken by what she has learned. From the looks of it, she's going to need that talk soon, because she still can't reconcile the fact that Jecht is essentially doomed and beyond her abilities to save. Still, now that she has Bahamut back, she stands strong against the sorrow that recedes to the corners of her mind.

Bahamut shifts beside her with a rolling growl, drawing her attention yet again. From the dragon, the queen can sense a heady restlessness. She knows it isn't customary to call on the Eidolons unless they are needed, and the great beast is restless as a result. He longs to take flight, and she wouldn't dare keep him.

They say their goodbyes briskly, for they are now reconnected no matter what physical distance lays between them, and the dragon takes off as she steps away. Bahamut ascends quickly, as if he's no heavier than a feather, flying higher and higher until he is a speck in the blue sky above.

For a time, she simply stares up at the sky, regardless of how dazzlingly bright it is. Then, the considerably windswept summoner rejoins her guardian, a bittersweet smile framing her lips. With a confidence that she's hardly displayed but suits her perfectly, Garnet takes his arm in hers.]

I would like to learn about them; about Lord Braska, and Sir Auron. Won't you tell me their story?

[child_abuser]

[Jecht uncomfortably averts his eyes from Garnet as the great dragon king ascends into the skies, his gaze lingering there as he thinks about what he's going to say to her later. When she takes his arm, he very nearly flinches away, but instead he gently places his hand over her own, nodding and taking a deep breath.]

"...Okay. The first time I met Braska, I was rottin' away in a prison cell. I'd run into Sin while I was out at sea training for blitz, and I got shipwrecked somewhere I'd never seen before. When I mentioned I was from Zanarkand, people thought I was crazy, and I started a fight with a priest. I, uh... I was probably a little drunk at the time."

[thelittlecanary]

[Garnet feels a twinge of unease when Jecht seems to tense at her touch. His typical reaction to anything that displeases him is anger; she's never seen anything faze him like this. Keeping her touch gentle, she coaxes her guardian down onto the grassy knoll where they are standing, sitting beside him with her legs folded beneath her.

Her expression is unreadable as she listens to his story, though one of her hands strays from her lap and tangles itself in the grass sprouting beside her. All at once, she's feeling a potent mess of admiration and grief, but she keeps a brave face, even hinting at a smile when he mentions he engaged a priest in a drunken brawl.] Why did nobody believe you when you told them that you were from Zanarkand?

[child_abuser]

[Laughs, shaking his head and shrugging.]

"At the time, I had no idea. They all said Zanarkand had been destroyed in the Summoner War a thousand years ago. I told 'em all that was impossible, 'cause I'd just been there playin' blitzball the day before! They thought I was crazy. That's right around when I started that fight and got tossed in jail."

[thelittlecanary]

[Garnet has to admit that his story would sound rather far-fetched to a stranger, but she would never doubt him.] But then...were they telling the truth? Had Zanarkand been destroyed a millennium before?...

[child_abuser]

[Leans back to relax on the grass, hands folded behind his head as he stares up at the sky.]

"Nope, they were right. I dunno how, and I didn't find out 'till the end of the Pilgrimage, but Zanarkand was a total shithole by the time we got there. Nothing but rubble. We walked through the ruins of the same blitzball stadium I played in back home."

[Cuts off the next question before Garnet gets to ask it, because he knows it's coming.]

"...Don't ask me how. I still don't know. Dunno if it was time travel or magic or what. But I knew as soon as I saw that place that I could never go back home."

[thelittlecanary]

[Though she feels that she shouldn't (regardless of the fact that she knows the grass will be back perfectly manicured and green by tomorrow morning), Garnet has begun to tear up the blades of grass caught between her fingers. She has a decent-sized mound going by the time he mentions the blitzball stadium, and she purses her lips with a raise eyebrow when he intercepts what was going to be her next question.] So you never saw your son again...I'm sorry.

[child_abuser]

"...Yeah."

[And that small confirmation is all Garnet's going to get, at least for the time being. Jecht's family is one of his most sensitive buttons, so he usually tries to breeze past any discussion of it. This conversation is no exception.]

"So, Braska and Auron. I'm sittin' there in the jail cell, yellin' and makin' an ass of myself, when this guy in fancy robes and another guy with a sword strapped to his side come walkin' up. They ask to talk to me, and the guards let 'em in. Braska, for whatever reason, decides to believe my story - or at least to humor me, I guess. And then he asks me to come with him on the Pilgrimage."

[Smirks a little, chuckling to himself.]

"He was a pretty straight-laced guy compared to me, but I guess he was kind of a renegade to the other priests. An outcast, just like me. They didn't like the woman he married - she was from some kinda foreign tribe or somethin'. And Auron pissed off the wrong people too, so he got tossed out of his temple. Braska thought it'd be hilarious if an outcast priest, a disgraced warrior monk, and a guy claiming to be from Zanarkand defeated Sin. He wanted to stick it to the world, and show up everybody who laughed at him. And it was that or jail, so I told him to sign me up."