"You're not even as attractive as I thought you'd be..."

[for_cosmos]

Characters:  The Warrior of Light, Matoya.
Progress:  Incomplete
Summary:  A meeting of the FF1 cast in its current entirety.
Location:  Matoya's Cave.
Date:  October 1st.
Warnings: ...Matoya?

Comments

[tidesnpcs]

As usual, Matoya was seated with her crystal eye, hunkered down over it in fact. Of all the people to come and go from her cave, this one she knew the best. She'd watched over him and his companions from afar, seen their coming before they were born.

And as for his comment, she finished it off for him by raising her voice. "... is no different than the last time you were here. You're no better looking than you were then either."

[tidesnpcs]

"He will not come back whole. Part of his soul will remain with this world."

Matoya sighed and waved a hand towards the fire. "If you're going to stay, make yourself useful and fetch that tea. I'm getting too old for entertaining."

There was a wealth of information she was still willing to share, but not without tea to fortify herself.

[for_cosmos]

"Part of his soul?" he asked, even as he rose to his feet. He watched her even as he went to the fire to get the kettle and pour the tea, not out of suspicion, but respect, and curiosity. When he came back to the table, he was carrying two cups of tea- his questions had not gotten him kicked out of her cave yet, and it seemed that he would not be removed in the near future.

"Please, explain." he said, setting the cup down on the table in front of her with a gentle thump, and waiting patiently for her reply.

[tidesnpcs]

The moment he placed the cups on the table, an impressive spread of foods appeared on the table around them. Many of the warrior's favorites were among them, and yet Matoya reached for her cup as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. She sipped from it in silence, taking long enough to put out the impression that she had no intent whatsoever of saying another word.

"His soul rightfully belongs to this world's Crystal now. It departed to enrich it with his memories. What does not return with him will linger in the Mist with the remainder of the souls prevented from finding rest. You have already seen this. It manifests differently. Some lose memories, others senses, others still their abilities."

[for_cosmos]

The sudden appearance of the food startled him more than the food itself did. setting his cup down, he took a seat at the table once again. As he waited for Matoya to speak, he began to eat the food offered. Still, she paused so long that he was about to ask his question again when she finally spoke.

"Is there any way to tell what will be lost to the Mist and the crystal?"

Perhaps it was callous of him to pick that out of the information Matoya was giving him, but unless she told him of some way to destroy the Iifa Tree and remove that part of Garland's plan, there was little he could do about the Mist or the crystal taking part of the souls of those who died. He wanted to stop it. Having pieces of one's soul taken away by the Iifa tree was a steep price, even for being returned to life.

[tidesnpcs]

"None whatsoever. Some things truly are the province of the whims of chance. No one can know everything." Not even herself. In this particular case, she did not care to set a precedent of telling anyone the minutia of their life. Why she'd never get a moment's peace! Her blind eyes turned to the direction of the swishing, muttering brooms and reflected that it would provide her more of them. Sometimes it seemed foolish to keep the nags around and yet they made themselves useful after a fashion

[for_cosmos]

"I see." It was the first question that had been left completely unanswered, though at least Matoya had given reason for the lack of an answer. It was more information than was truly needed in the first place, at least. Already, she had told him much of what he had come here wanting to know.

When she spoke once again, he paused, to once again focus his attention more completely on her. "You said that the Iifa tree was a tool in Garland's purpose. I understand that he intends to bring the souls of Terra to this world's crystal, but how does that further the cycle of chaos? When we faced him on Terra, he spoke of that, not of any other plot of his."

[tidesnpcs]

Matoya leveled him a look that said quite clearly she was less than impressed. Difficult to do when she was still entirely blind and yet so she did. "Are you as daft as you are unattractive?"

An annoyed snort escaped her and she set to the business of drinking her tea. For all appearances her interview seemed at an end, yet she had not thrown her guest out, as she was wont to do. After draining half the cup, she deigned to speak. "Will he be allowed to live or will someone seek to end his life? When he dies, he will be reborn Chaos and perpetuate the cycle. You have seen this once before. There is always a need to stop him, always a need to put him closer to the rebirth."

[for_cosmos]

The insult seemed to be an end to the conversation, and he almost rose to his feet to leave, but her next words were not telling him to get out, but rather to continue the conversation. He settled in his seat once again, perhaps the slightest bit disconcerted with the insult. He was a warrior instead of a scholar or a mage for a reason.

"He will not be allowed to live, but I cannot allow him to continue the cycle." the warrior said. "How can he be stopped from being reborn as Chaos?" She could not have been talking about the Conflict on Cosmos's side, and there, Chaos and Garland had been separate, defeated individually. He had faced Garland before, and had faced Chaos before, but the memories still were not clear.

[tidesnpcs]

"He can't."

Short, sweet and painfully to the point. "I told you, the cycle cannot be stopped. He will fall and be reborn. His mastery of time is absolute."

[for_cosmos]

"Surely there must be some way to stop him, or at least remove him from this world," the warrior protested.

[tidesnpcs]

Matoya sighed heavily. More than anything she wished to see an end as well. There was one she had foreseen but it was not now. "You would have to remove the spirit of Chaos from the world. That time has not yet come."

[for_cosmos]

"Then when? I will not simply stand by and wait for that time to come." he said heatedly. The Warrior had sworn to end the cycle for good, and not being able to accomplish that, for any reason, was not an attractive thought to him.

[tidesnpcs]

"You'll know." She frowned at him, motioning to the exit. "Losing your temper won't hasten the day. You have your answers. Now leave."