Time and Tides Archives

Noah had been pacing somewhat restlessly, and all sorts of doubts were beginning to fill his mind. This was hardly the most ideal circumstance to meet under. Or perhaps it was, and which lead Noah into much more dour possibilities as to how this whole meeting could play out.

Just as he turned to make another lap around his designated worry area, he caught sight of his brother, and with a second's hesitation raised a hand whistled low to try and catch Basch's attention.

He truly hoped that this could go smoothly. For all that he'd been healed and rested, he was bone-tired. Tired of this animosity between them that rotted and chipped away at the foundational togetherness of their youth, tired of constantly being on his guard to feed his resentment before reason could get a chance to wriggle through stronger passions and shut him down with the full reality of what he'd done. And just plain tired that he couldn't share a silent look with his brother and embrace as they quietly chased fears and demons from the other's mind.

He couldn't resist a bitter smile at that, knowing that most of the demons that haunted his brother now were of is his making. Oh brother, comfort me from the thought of all the horrible crimes I committed against you. He was sure that one was going to fly nicely.

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Even with the hustle and bustle of the Business District around him, the whistle caught Basch's ear. A quick turn in that direction, and his eyes landed on whom he was seeking.

Noah.

Like the last time Noah was here on Gaia, hesitation found its way into Basch's heart. So much had changed between the two men that it was hard to find anything that linked them to being brothers beyond their faces. And yet, even after all that had happened, Basch had forgiven his brother ages ago.

A hand lifted in response, Basch moving through the crowds carefully to reach his destination. Basch was the near splitting image of his brother now - short cropped hair, though the armor was missing. He had opted for something a bit less constricting. The ever-present scruffy beard was present, however. He didn't have enough time to groom himself beforehand.

Basch stops a mere few feet from his brother, silent.

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At Basch's sudden stop, Noah instantly began to panic, figuring that he's done something wrong, again. Or maybe he was right, and there was no rectifying past mistakes.

As he quietly tries to get his fear stamped down and under control and not allow the turmoil to reach his face, he truly stopped to take in his brother. They look very much alike now, not as much as they had before... a lot of things, and he looked well. Better than /he/ himself had been looking for the past few days at any rate.

Someone has to step up, and I figure it's about time I tossed in the gauntlet

Noah looks away and begins to speak quickly and quietly. "I...I sincerely am sorry and I... I fully understand that there truly is not much of me worth anything, and I... I can see that my presence troubles you, so perhaps I should just leave, and we can pretend this never happened. I certainly didn't mean to be a burden to you and I..."

It is little more than nervous babbling, and Noah turns to go.

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The only reason Basch had stopped was because he still carried some sense of decorum while in public. He was used to being formal, using to being stoic when around other people. But this was his brother, his flesh and blood.

The immediate apology was unexpected, and unneeded. As his brother turned to go, Basch's hand went to his shoulder.

"Noah, I-" Really, no words could express what he was feeling right now. There was really only one thing he could do.

He closed the gap in between the two of them, wrapping his arms around Noah. He hadn't embraced his brother like this in some time... years. Nearly twenty years had gone by. This time, he wouldn't leave.

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Noah stiffened at the embrace at first, before returning it with more strength than he should probably be expending and buries his head into Basch's shoulder.

This... this was nice, warm secure. Noah had never felt as alive and whole as he did now. It had been... nearly a score of years since they had been this close, and it wasn't until now that he'd finally let himself admit that he'd missed this terribly.

He steps back a bit, though not breaking the connection and chuckles slightly at the awkwardness of hugging someone in full body armour.

"Swooping in to fix my hurts again, brother?" His voice is soft, light, and a gentle smile is on his face. "Thank you."

He was growing more apparent of the oddness of two fully-grown men hugging each other in public, but for some reason he couldn't quite bring himself to care. "I hope you have been doing well."

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Basch could care less who thought what. That had been the nature of his life for the past couple of years, so he had adopted the philosophy. It wasn't too bad to live by. The hug was tight, and Basch nearly didn't want to let go.

Unfortunately, the armor was uncomfortable. He knew it first hand. "Someone has to."

He nodded to the thank you. "Come... let us find a place to sit."

He motioned for Noah to follow him over to an open bench. "Life has a way of settling down. It has been... quiet."

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Noah followed Basch and sat down on the bench. "Quiet? With you? Now /that/ is surprising. You mean you haven't been gallivanting off on some adventure? Joined Balthier on one of his 'excursions'? You? I can hardly believe it." This of course, was a joke. Basch would never go off and make a scene. At least, he wouldn't unless one of Noah's plots was involved somehow.

Noah shifted about somewhat uncomfortably. "Basch? Do you like it here, this life you've made."

The unspoken question being 'Have I intruded on your happiness?'

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"As much as the pirate has tried to recruit me for his life of pilfering and plundering, I prefer an honest life, Noah."

Basch leaned back on the bench, actually relaxing for once. Had he even relaxed in the time he had been on Gaia? He had watched over Larsa, and now Ceodore and Ursula. Even at the Winterfest Gala he had been on duty.

"You can make a life here as well." Noah's question would go unanswered for now.

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If nothing else, Basch's opinions on 'pilfering and plundering' made him want to get the two of them in some sort of heist. Balthier was already waiting for a call, and any doubts Noah had about the notion were quickly gone now. Seeing his brother relax on the bench only hardened his resolve. He would drag his brother into some sort of fun if it took him all his life.

Regardless, his brother had been distinctly lacking in the answer to his question.

"That is my hope, Basch." He paused for a few minutes, content to lean back and enjoy he silent company of his brother. "Though I admit I have doubts in the undertaking of such a feat. It is difficult for an old dog to learn new tricks."

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"So you care not for old ones?"

What he meant was anything that had previously happened. He knew Ashe and a few others would have concerns with Noah being here. Ashe especially. He half expected the Queen to call him and demand answers.

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Noah gave his brother a sideways glance. "Very few of the skills I've learned over past twenty gears are any good in times of peace and prosperity, and the rest of them I doubt I'd be able to use."

"As much as I enjoyed the day to day work I did in the Ninth," 'The not evil and killing parts' was heavily implied, "I doubt there is such an intelligence organisation here. And even if there were, there are levels of security and trust involved in such groups, background checks and the like, and with my current record I doubt I'll be going anywhere."

Noah looked down at his hands, idly inspecting the small finger-plate of his gauntlets. He chuckled somewhat mirthlessly. "You know, Basch, it's rather ironic. Whenever I'd briefly thought about getting a new chance, a chance out from under the Empire's shackles, I'd never expected to find myself lacking in occupation. I was certain of people who would help settle me away and places I could go-whole plans for how I could restart, and yet now that I have that chance in reality, I haven't the slightest idea of what to do."

True, he could take up his position as Larsa's bodyguard, but it was a temporary fix at best. Eventually, Larsa would grow older and stronger, into a fine statesman (and ruler, if he so chose) and the stigma of 'Gabranth' would do naught but hurt him.

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"Then no one is too old to learn new tricks."

Basch looked toward his brother as he started speaking again. He was surprised at the open confession. Most of the time, Noah was as mum as he was about his feelings. Perhaps it was the fact that they were together now, and on different terms. Things needed to be different if everyone was going to get along. He had duties to both Ashe and Noah, and he did not want to choose between the both of them.

"Come to Narshe with me." He started. "The snow might not suit you, but you would be welcome."

He glanced away after that. "Unless you wish to remain with Larsa, now that he's arrived."

Edited Date: 2011-04-16 03:42 am (UTC)

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Noah let out a quiet, harsh laugh at Basch's comment about new tricks but didn't comment on it.

He glanced over at Basch. "Narshe, eh? With Cecil's son, Ceodore, correct? A mining town, I hear." So, maybe he knew all that because he'd spoken with the kid, but Basch didn't need to know that.

Noah leans back and closes his eyes, as if contemplating, before turning to Basch with a small smile. "That sounds great, brother."

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"Aye, a mining town. It is small, but they make due."

Basch nodded. Things were turning out a hell of a lot better than he had hoped. Hopefully, things would continue to get better. Everyone knew that they deserved it.

"Then it is settled. We will make for Narshe when you are able. Perhaps... we should bring Larsa with?"

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Noah nods in agreement and sutbly glances towards the crowd.

"Lord Larsa is certainly welcome to come along, but I believe he already has his own plans, and I do not wish to add the stigma my name carries onto his new career if I can help it at all."

Noah expects Basch to protest on principle, but he gives that hard look that says its just the truth and nothing more.

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Balthier had taken his time in making his way to the spot where the brothers had chosen to meet, having spent the last hour or so in the Theater District in order to afford the both of them their privacy. He had started for the Business District at an easy, leisurely pace upon receiving Noah's message, but did not hesitate to make his presence known when he reached the appointed place.

"Perhaps it's best, then, that there are far fewer in this world that know your name than in Ivalice. There are some, to be sure, but none so closed-minded as to deny you your chance to redeem yourself. If you so wish," the pirate added with a wink. "Gentleman." He offered a brief nod of his head in the stead of a proper greeting.

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"More than you might think, pirate. I already happened to know Basch's two companions from that dreadful trip down memory lane, and suspect there might be others. Rather, there are others, and I have yet to know if they are here on Gaia or not."

Noah inclined his head towards Balthier in return greeting and acknowledgement before laughing softly. "I was rather on the wrong side in that conflict, too, though there was little choice on my parry in that. Mostly I just spent my time guarding hell and judging the fallen." There was a sardonic smirk on his face. "That had been a rather interesting experience."

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"Well, Gaia has certainly proved to have her share of interesting experiences already. No doubt we will be provided with more."

Basch was thankful that Balthier had shown up after his heartfelt admission to Noah. Family matters were a private issue, much like they were with the pirate. Granted, most of their issues had been laid out for everyone to see...

"Judging the fallen, Noah? They could have given you a more interesting job."

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"Perhaps, but I was already there, and a judge, and a warrior, so I suppose he found it convenient." Noah chuckled lightly. "Besides, I met some very interesting people that way, for it was a neutral position for one who had been typecast on the side of darkness. Helped give me a perspective."

It wasn't awful, truly, hough fighting the child knight had bothered him a bit, even if it was later resolved. Also, it was nice to personally know the madman behind all of this, as well as some other things to look out for.

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Balthier offered both knights a dismissive gesture before straightening his cuffs. "All work and no play with the both of you," he said in jest, "Forever the same, even in conversation. As I'm to be ferrying the both of you, I thought it fair to come and warn you that I'll be taking off shortly in order to claim the bounty on a particularly lucrative hunt. You're both welcome to join, by all means."

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Noah scoffed, and gave Balthier /that/ look. "You mean to inform me that you are actually capable of accomplishing such a thing? I'd simply believed it was nothing but Zecht and his tendency towards overembellishment and flattery."

Noah leaned back against the bench and crossed his arms. "I am afraid I simply don't believe you, Bunansa."

Subtle as an anvil to the head, though just because Balthier could be subtle, it didn'tesn he would strive to be so. Still it might be feasible after all.

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Basch, on the other hand, sighed. He was always the more practical ~~and boring~~ of the bunch.

"As much as I would be so honored to gallivant around the expanse of Gaia, I have duties to attend to back in Narshe. Larsa also mentioned wanting to stay there until he was settled in."

Basch's work was never done, clearly.

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Balthier merely shot Noah a challenging look, arms firmly crossed over his chest as he tilted his head to one side, causing his earrings to jangle. "Come along and see, if you like. There's quite a bit of gil on the line, and I'm not about to let it slip through my fingers."

Basch's mention of Narshe was enough to make the pirate cluck his tongue, shaking his head to show that he disagreed. "I'll get you back to Narshe in good time, Captain, but here is the delicate nature of my situation. I'm a bit pressed for time, you see. If I dally, my opponent will snipe the mark before I'm able, and I'm out several thousand gil. We can't have that. Just a quick jaunt to the Sunleth Waterscape, I assure you."

He hadn't been expecting for Noah to summon him so soon, and had made the bet with Celes with the intention of having a somewhat freer schedule, but this suited his purposes just fine. It was the perfect way to crowbar Basch away from his duties, at least for a day, and if the open sky agreed with him, Balthier and Noah might keep him airborne a bit longer than that.

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Noah wanted to go. Noah wanted to go very, very much, and it was subtly present inherent expression on his face. He turned to Basch, eyes subconsciously pleading, even as he inclined his head.

"It is your decision, Basch. I will follow it."

Yes, part of it was to get Basch to relax, and to have the satisfaction of saying that he'd managed to wrangle his brother in a heist, but a real part of it was just to go and do something. Something good, something that didn't have halfthe world riding on it.

To enjoy the easy camaraderie between two vrothers that had seemed more like a fantasy with every day since the fall of Landis. And upwards on 7,350 days was a very long time.

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Basch looked to Noah for the longest time. He then closed his eyes, letting his head fall forward.

"We will go."

If only to keep his brother and Balthier out of trouble. He had a horrible feeling something would happen if he wasn't there. With his luck, something would.

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"You needn't act so put upon," Balthier chastised the Captain in a most good-natured manner. He turned to walk towards the airport, beckoning over his shoulders for both brothers to follow him. "You might actually enjoy yourself, if it's not too bold of me to say so."

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Noah chuckled as he stood up to follow Balthier. "I fear you underestimate my brother's capacity to remain stubborn on the finer points of what actually qualifies as theft." Like, say, picking up fallen apples from another's orchard or taking treasures belonging to those long-past. "And if he feels so strongly, I doubt that he'll remember how to have any fun at all." It is a playful jibe, made all the clearer by the wide smile and soft expression on Noah's face.

His smile stretches a bit farther with a slight tightness as he pulls a muscle that is not quite healed, yet, a subtle reminder that he needs to take care. He covers it quickly and ignore the tinge without too kuh trouble. One hint of pain and Basch would be like a stick in the mud to make sure he is completely healed.

When they return to the ship, Noah plans to consider stripping his heavy armour and leaving it behind, as to lessen the strain of the weight on his weary body.

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