[Thread; Closed]

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

Characters: Eiko, Tifa and Denzel
Progress: Ongoing
Summary: Eiko detours to Madain Sari on the way back to Lindblum and drags the others along.
Location: Madain Sari
Date: January 1804
Warnings: You could die of the cute?

Eiko and Denzel had both fussed and sulked when they found out that Cloud and Shelke left to rescue Nanaki and left them behind. Eiko really more than Denzel. She'd been quite the brat, yelling and stomping. Being treated like a little kid was so annoying to her she just couldn't stand it. So after a fair bit of whining and pleading, she'd finally gotten an agreement to go to Madain Sari so she could pray at the Eidolon Wall. Then home.

The child led the way, winding through the mountain path, stopping to chatter with moogles along the way.  The village came into view and Eiko raced ahead. "That's it! We're home!"

Home for Eiko was a village in crumbles, signs of utter devastation, and not even recently. Still when she strolled into the empty streets, kupos rang out from every direction and a mass of moogles flocked to her side. "Welcome to Madain Sari!" she announced to her traveling friends.

Comments

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Eiko was always surrounded by moogles. It never ceased to amaze Tifa just how many there were. She held Denzel's hand as she looked around the empty village. The place was beautiful, but also desolate. If it weren't for the moogles, it would feel much too quiet.

"This is your home? But it's in ruins..."

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

The Lifestream hadn't managed to cure Denzel, but he was trying not to let it get to him. After all, he had put up with it for this long without dying, so there was no reason he couldn't keep on living with it. But any self-pity and wallowing he had soon vanished when he found out that Cloud had gone off to do hero stuff and Shelke had gone with him. He wasn't too happy at being left behind. He could be a hero too!

Yet, he was secretly glad that Tifa had caved in and taken them to Eiko's home. He held onto Tifa's hand, looking around in wonder. It might be ruins but it was still so beautiful. Nothing like Midgar at all! "Woah..."

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

"Yep! Home to the summoner's tribe." Eiko puffed up with pride at that. She was choosing to ignore the fact that she and Dagger were the only two summoners from that tribe left alive. No point in telling them that either. It was pretty obvious that the only inhabitants left were all the moogles.

"We're going to have company tonight, so you're all going to help me cook!" she informed the moogles. A general groan set up from the winged creatures. They remembered just how well Eiko cooked and it hadn't improved much in the last four years. "Hey! I said you're helping and that's that!"

She whipped around and beckoned for Tifa and Denzel to follow along, chattering the whole way. "The village has been like this since before I was born. Grandpa said that a big storm happened, but Dagger says it was really the Invincible. We'll stay at my house tonight, okay?"

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa followed, smiling at Eiko's chatter. So did that mean that Eiko had been living here all alone? Well, except for the moogles.

"Sure," she replied. "You know, I can cook. I'd be happy to cook for you all tonight."

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

The boy slipped his hand free of Tifa's and jogged ahead, looking around with wonderment. He still couldn't get over the way moogles always flocked to Eiko, it was an amazing sight.

He ran over to Eiko, still looking around. "What's the Invincible?" he asked the girl, following her like a shadow.

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

Some of the moogles flitted ahead towards the seaward side of the village, and Eiko followed after them. "The Invincible is an airship. It used to belong to Kuja, but we used it to escape from Terra when he destroyed it." Naturally her explanations made perfect sense in her mind and she didn't once consider that she was just opening the door for more confusion and questions.

She came to the entrance of a house that was half blown away. From the outside, half of the kitchen and entrance to some basement like area were visible. "This is it! My house!" she chirruped and skipped through the door. "If you want to cook Tifa, the kitchen's this way. I can tell the moogles to get ingredients. Do you want one of them to go fishing?" She'd wanted to show off her elite cooking skills to Denzel and Tifa, but she knew she needed to pray at the Eidolon Wall. So better to let Tifa cook dinner, and she would take over breakfast.

She bounced through the kitchen and down a set of stairs, then curiously, removed the earring she wore, placing it reverently within a treasure box. That sacred duty done, she smiled at the others and invited them to make themselves at home.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

It was good to see Denzel running around. Sometimes his condition got so bad that he couldn't leave his bed. Perhaps Eiko would do him good... A child his own age could cheer him up.

Tifa ducked through the door after Eiko, glad that at least the kitchen seemed intact. Eiko's reply to Denzel only brought up more questions, but she could leave Denzel to ask the obvious ones; it would keep him occupied.

"Sure, fish - why not?" Tifa looked around the kitchen and rubbed her hands. "I can start straight away. You kids have fun, and dinner will be ready in no time."

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

The boy continued to follow Eiko, staying only a couple of steps behind her, becoming less of a shadow and more of a puppy dog. Confusion was evident on his face. "Who's Kuja? Where's Terra?" He wanted to know everything and the questions just seemed to bubble out of him before he could stop them. He watched as Eiko removed her earring and yet more questions came. "What are you doing?"

He watched her for a moment longer before heading back into the main room, noticing some writing on the wall. 'Eiko three years old, Mog three years old, same age!' "Hm? Who's Mog?"

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

Eiko issued orders to the moogles about giving Tifa everything she asked for, and grumbled under her breath about not being a kid, but then, with Denzel's question, she squatted down and looked at her own childish handwriting. "Mog was my best friend," she explained quite seriously, pulling a pink and white ribbon out of her pocket. "She was a moogle, and we were born on the same day. Only she was really an eidolon who became a moogle so she could be with me. You met her already. This was our friendship ribbon. We each had one to wear when we grew up and become fine ladies."

Her face grew more sober, and she added, "She sacrificed herself to save me from Kuja and his goons." The other questions were temporarily forgotten at the opportunity to talk about Mog.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

Tifa busied herself in the kitchen as moogles popped in and out with various ingredients.

"More of that - yeah, do you have...? Wait, am I cooking for all you guys? Just how many of you are there?"

She glanced back occasionally, half-listening to the children's talk. "That's twice now you've mentioned Kuja. Who was he?"

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Denzel crouched down beside Eiko, curling his arm around her. "She musta really loved you to protect you like that." He scrunched up his nose, slipping his free hand into his pocket to pull out a handkerchief with pink flowers on it - far from manly but it was special to him. "I had a friend who sacrificed herself for me. She wasn't my age though, she was an old lady. She took me in and cared for me, and then... she gave her life to protect me."

He pocketed the handkerchief again, tightening his arm around Eiko slightly, resting his head against hers. "If... if she's an eidolon... that's a summon right? So... she's still with you kinda?"

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

Eiko looked at the handkerchief with curiosity, both of them bonding over mementos of friends gone. She gave Denzel a hug and a quick nod. "Yep, she'll always be with me." For a minute she toyed with the idea of showing Denzel the Eidolon Wall, but he wasn't a summoner so she really wasn't supposed to. "Your friend will always be with you too. Right there." And she poked a little finger at Denzel's chest.

Tifa's question was the only thing that broke up the childish sharing going on. "He was the guy who made the black mages and attacked Alexandria and helped Garland try to turn Gaia into Terra." Actually, there was a lot more he'd done, but it was pretty complex and hard for her to explain. "He destroyed Terra and tried to destroy the Crystal."

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

"Terra?" Tifa frowned. "I have a friend called Terra..."

That couldn't be what Eiko meant and Tifa had a nagging suspicion that she'd heard something about this before, but she couldn't think when. But before she could dwell on it, another moogle appeared, this time with a freshly caught fish in tow.

"That's great!" said Tifa, delighted. "Good work."

The moogles worked well together and they all seemed to have taken a liking to Tifa, so in no time the delicious smell of frying fish filled the air.

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Denzel didn't like the sound of this Kuja person once little bit. "Why would he do all those bad things? Didn't he like Gaia and why would he try to destroy the crystal?"

Sniffing the air, Denzel gave a grin and grabbed Eiko's hand once more, dragging her over to the kitchen. He loved to watch Tifa cook. He loved to see her work in the bar too. And he liked to eat the food she cooked even more! "How long 'til dinner, Tifa?"

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

Eiko had to admit that Tifa's cooking smelled pretty good. And her female pride was pricked that it was probably better than hers. She so badly wanted to show them both that she could take care of herself, like she had before.

Ignoring icky topics like Kuja for the moment, Eiko echoed Denzel's question. "Yeah, how long? I still need to pray at the Eidolon Wall." She'd gotten distracted by having company around.

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

"Just a couple of minutes," Tifa promised. "Could you guys set the table?"

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Denzel nodded at Tifa before giving Eiko a 'where's everything kept' kind of look. His stomach gave a loud rumble and he laughed sheepishly, rubbing at it.

He was feeling in good spirits despite not finding a cure and the fact that Cloud had run off to play hero without him. His geostigma attacks seemed less frequent, he felt more energized, the food smelt amazing and he had great company! "Hey... Eiko? What's the Eidolon Wall? Can I come with you?"

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

Eiko broke out into giggles at Denzel's tummy rumbles, then skipped over to where the dishes were stored. Everything was still down low where she could reach it from the time she lived here alone at age six.

"The Eidolon Wall is where the summoners record the eidolons they discover," she explained while pulling out dishes. "We go there to pray every day." Or they did, until they all died and she abandoned the village. "It's only for summoners." Well, it had been. But she had bent every other rule she knew about, from letting Zidane into the Eidolon Wall to leaving the village before she was old enough. "But, I'll make an exception for you."

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

"Ready!" Tifa pronounced.

She served the fish with a helping of steamed vegetables - a simple, relatively quick meal, but filling. There wasn't room for all the moogles around the small table, but they seemed happy to take their portions and eat elsewhere. That left just the three of them to sit and dine together.

"Is the Eidolon Wall close?" she asked, sitting down.

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Denzel took a seat beside Eiko, smiling brightly. "It looks delicious, Tifa!" He couldn't help but watch the moogles flutter off with their food. He had never seen a real moogle until he had come to Gaia, and now they seemed to be everywhere. He was pretty sure Marlene would've loved them!

"Are we going to the Eidolon Wall after dinner?" he asked, stuffing a forkful of fish into his mouth.

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

Eiko dug into the dinner with relish. She was in a hurry to visit the Eidolon Wall, but it was also really good. Darn that Tifa for being a better cook! "It's on the other side of the village. So don't dawdle over dinner."

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

"Don't worry about washing up. I'll sort everything out; you two go and visit the Eidolon Wall."

Tifa had no fear about letting them go there alone - well, she didn't think they would be alone anyway; no doubt they would have a moogle escort, and the village seemed safe enough. This house hadn't been lived in for some time and she wanted to make it ready for them.

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Denzel gobbled down his dinner, trying to be as gentlemanly as he could manage while still eating quickly. He was really excited about seeing the Eidolon Wall and even more so at getting to spend some time alone with Eiko.

Once his plate was empty he pushed it aside. "That was delicious, Tifa, thank you!" With that, he was already making his way towards the door, making the most of his energy before the stigma kicked back in.

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

"Thanks for dinner! We'll be back later!" Eiko called out, as she started running out the door with Denzel. No doubt, she was in a big hurry to get to the wall. But truthfully, she wanted to show off her heritage some more.

Hand in hand, she scampered through the ruins of the village towards a large natural wall with a tall opening. "This is it!" she announced pulling him in the entrance, despite the protests by the guard moogles. "You can look at the murals while I pray."

[heartofheaven.livejournal.com]

"See you!" Tifa called. "Don't be too long! I want you back before it gets dark, you hear?"

When the children had gone, Tifa settled down to finish her meal at a more leisurely pace, and then get started on making this place ready to stay overnight.

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

By the time the children reached the entrance, Denzel was out of breath and laughing slightly at Eiko. "You run too fast." He was teasing, of course.

But then he glanced at the wall with wide eyes. "Woah... It's amazing, Eiko!" The boy knew when it was time to be quiet and he assumed this was one of those times, so he broke away from her hand to go look at the painting so she could pray.

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

Eiko watched Denzel scamper off and she knelt to pray by the ever lit incense. The moogles kept it supplied and burning, all these years the last little summoner was gone. This was a summoner's sacred duty, and inside the stone enclosure, all was silent, save for the eerie song of the fayth that echoed in the air. Privately, Eiko suffered a tiny pang of sadness as she listened. No matter what Seymour told her about it being to comfort people, it just sounded plain sad to her. That opinion was being colored by her childish impression that the actual summon itself was sad. Those chains still bothered her.

Once her prayers were complete, she stood up and padded over to the statue and shared a private conversation with it. Even without a visual response, she could hear the fayth speaking to her. It seemed to Eiko to be plain rude to come in to pray and not bother to at least say hi. Denzel seemed pretty occupied with examining the murals anyway, so she felt she had the time to spare.

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Once Denzel had finished exploring and examining all the murals, he turned to speak with Eiko, but noticing that she was still seemingly occupied with her duties, he moved to sit on the ground near the entrance to wait for her, fishing his marble from his pocket to play with.

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

Finally done, Eiko skipped over to Denzel. "All done! So, what do you think?" She looked around the Wall, puffing up proudly at the sacred space.

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Denzel re-pocketed the marble and stood up, dusting himself off. "It's really amazing, Eiko. I've never seen anything like it in my life!!"

He smiled at the girl and leaned in, pecking her cheek with a kiss. "You're pretty cool."

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

Blink. Blinkblink. Eiko was used to getting hugs from her friends, even Zidane and Dagger, and plenty of kisses from her parents and some of the more affectionate moogles even. But that was her first kiss. She liked it, and it was written all over her face. So was a rampant blush.

Her head dipped and she swayed side to side, hands behind her back. "I like you lots." She looked up at him and announced in her bossy way. "I'm going to marry you."

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Eiko's blush made Denzel blush. He hadn't expected such a reaction, but at least she hadn't slapped him.

His blush darkened at the girl's statement. "You want to marry me?" He scuffed his shoe against the ground for a moment, before nodding. "Okay! But... I think we have to wait until we're like... sixteen or something..."

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

"Yep. Sixteen. So I guess I'll be seventeen, but that's okay." Eiko nodded firmly. Everything was a done deal as far as she was concerned. She grabbed his hand and pulled at him. "C'mon, I want to show you the Eidolons."

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Denzel blinked as he was pulled, tightening his grip on Eiko's hand. "The Eidolons?" He followed her, not that he really had much choice, but he felt rather nervous for some reason.

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

Being the bossy little thing she was, Eiko skipped over to the far east side of the enclosure, pointing. "Yep. These paintings are them. All the research by the summoner tribe. Every time we discover one, we paint it here. That's Shiva, and that one's Bahamut. Phoenix is there, and those are the Sylphs. Oh, the Sylphs are one of Rydia's Eidolons. She let me meet a bunch of hers, so now there's even more here than when I was a little kid."

Yes, she made a distinction for herself not being a child. That stopped happening when her Grandfather died and she was left on her own. Still, the fruits of her labors were in full evidence on the wall, as some of the paint looked far fresher and less weather worn than other murals. Rydia had helped, of course, but still, it was her responsibility to record all the new eidolons.

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Oh, the painting were the Eidolons? It was all so new and quite exciting to the boy.

"Our summons live in little orbs." Well, he wasn't so sure they 'lived' in them, but it was a nice way to think of it. "Summon Materia. I've only seen one summon monster back home though."

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

"Materia?" she asked, head tilting to the side from curiosity. She poked a hand in her pocket and pulled out a handful of summoning gemstones. "Like this?"

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Denzel nodded at the gemstones. "Yeah, kinda like that! All our magic comes from Materia. They say it's the knowledge of the Ancients."

[lastsummoner.livejournal.com]

"These help us strengthen our eidolons," Eiko explained. "Although sometimes they live in secret places or like Phoenix can be summoned from one of his pinions." She reached in her pocket and pulled out a fiery feather.

"Who're the Ancients?"

[xnotyetaherox.livejournal.com]

Denzel reached out to touch the feather, drawing his hand back a little before he made contact.

"The Ancients were..." The boy paused, trying to remember the things he had learned. "They're people with the ability to communicate with the Planet and the Lifestream. Aerith was the last living one but... she was killed."