{ just open your eyes }

[thespian-thief.livejournal.com]

Characters: Zidane thespian_thief, Fran choosingexile
Progress: Incomplete
Summary: Zidane's off to do some more common good and gets an unexpected fringe benefit. So unexpected, in fact, that he's about to cause himself bodily harm. Let the good times roll~
Location: Lindblum → Treno
Date: January 15th, afternoon/evening.
Warnings: None, really. At least. There shouldn't be anything? :D;

After nabbing himself some lunch to go from Bobo's pub, Zidane stocked up on a couple potions and medical supplies just in case and then headed out the Hunter's Gate towards Pinnacle Rocks to where he remembered the gargant tunnels being. Summoning one didn't take long--Zidane knew what the greens the gargants liked to eat like the back of his hand by now, and as soon as he heard the telltale cry of the approaching insect he prepared to make his jump. Once on the buggy, Zidane kicked back and sprawled out on the entire seat on his side, folding his hands behind his head as he watched the weathered rock walls pass him by. He checked his phone once in a while to see if there were any updates from Lindblum, but besides Minister--wait, make that Regent--Artania's post there was nothing.

How little they knew about the light that had flooded over Gaia frustrated Zidane more than he liked to admit, and he imagined if he hadn't come across Fran's network post he'd have gone off hunting Grand Dragons for answers he, deep down, knew no one could give him. But he just couldn't stand not knowing. Dagger was missing, and with her so were Beatrix and Steiner. If Zidane only hadn't left Alexandria when he had--

But then again, with all her knights and Beatrix herself and admittedly even Rusty's skills had shaped up considerably over the years... And besides that, how did one fight against a light? Arg-- It just pissed him off, not being able to do squat but grasp at straws. And Eiko was missing too. Freya wasn't answering his calls, and none of Alexandria's kitchen staff had seen Quina. He couldn't get in touch with Amarant, but that didn't really surprise him so he didn't know if Amarant was missing too or if he was just being himself.

And then there was the whole losing contact to the Outer Continent, Zidane thought to himself as he absently unpacked his lunch and began shoveling it into his mouth. (Gracefully, we might add. Okay, fine, we're lying.) On about his sixth bite he discovered that he was eating some kind of Trick Sparrow stir fry, shrugged to himself, and went right on eating. What'd he been thinking about...? Oh yeah-- He hadn't been able to get a single thing through to Mikoto all day. As soon as he was done with Fran in Treno, he intended to go straight to Qu's Marsh to see if he could hitch a Gargant out there to see if the light had hit there too, and if there'd been any damage. And then go straight back to looking for his girls, of course, but both Eiko and Dagger had entire kingdoms looking for them as it was so they wouldn't miss him for a couple more hours. And Freya, well, Freya would probably be offended that he thought she needed looking after.

Yeah. Everything would be okay.

These thoughts occupied him until the gargant was pulling into the Treno station, and Zidane came to his senses just in time to tumble off the buggy before the gargant was gone again. Dusting himself off, Zidane took a moment to stretch his whole body after being stationary so long, giving a slight yawn. Got here without a single hitch. Not bad, not bad.

Wordlessly, he made his way to the ladder leading up to Dr. Tot's tower, scaling it nimbly as he hummed to himself in a content fashion, determined not to worry too much in front of his new acquaintance. Soon he was at the top, and with a great heave the hatch opened to give Zidane passage to the tower room itself.

"Hey, Fran!" he called out as he folded his arms against the floor of the tower, still halfway on the ladder with only his head poking out through the hatch. He greeted Fran with the friendliest close-eyed grin he could manage, tail swaying enthusiastically behind him. "Help has-- Uh--"

And then Zidane made the mistake of opening his eyes, which immediately went wide when he finally saw Fran.

Who, he might have thought to add at this point had his mind not come to a complete, reeling stop, he had not previously realized was a girl.

Or, uh--

Quite so--

...Fran?

From Zidane's point of view, all he was seeing were legs that seemed to go on forever and creamy, honeyed tan skin. And--

The next thing Zidane knew, he was losing his footing, and with a yelp he fell right back down the way he came. His tail wrapped around the ladder instinctively to stop his fall, but that unfortunately only caused him to swing down and strike his head on a lower rung.

"O-owww..." he whimpered to himself, gloved hand going to rub the sore spot on his head. Luckily, he thought to himself with an internal sigh, his skull was notoriously thick. Still.

'Smooth. So very smooth. At this rate, I'm going to die alone surrounded by Moguta's kids.'

Comments

[thespian-thief.livejournal.com]

"I've got regrets," Zidane admitted quietly, laughing softly to himself as he shrugged his shoulders. His heel was tapping against the floor and he briefly thought back to the adventures his young life had already seen. "But that's part of living, right? Like... Day's day because night's night. We know how to appreciate the good times because we've been through the bad. I wouldn't trade any of my memories for anything. I mean... I wish some things hadn't turned out the way they did, but if I had to do it all over, I'd do it the same. Y'know?"

The cheerful glow Zidane tried to float over to Fran at the end of his words was interrupted by their food being slammed down in front of them. It wasn't too shabby, actually. Some sort of lunch meat, lettuce and tomato that was within the range of edibility, and Fran's plate had an apple while Zidane's very plainly did not. (Still somewhat fresh, probably from Dali. ) They'd also been given water, which Zidane tasted and found to be not at all tepid. Seemed someone was trying to impress Fran. Oh, the things that made the world go 'round.

"Oh, man. I've been talking your ear off, huh? Well never mind me and eat up, yeah? You must be starving!" Grinning, Zidane raised his glass in Fran's direction though he didn't precisely touch his food just yet. Just in case there wasn't enough for Fran to eat, then he'd have something to offer to give her.

[choosingexile.livejournal.com]

That was something she had to question. Would you do it all the same way? If you wanted excitement from the unknown, would you not do it all differently? To not want to change anything was to be truly content with who you were and where you were. That type of enlightenment was not common. She had been once told that Humes do not have time for regret, life was too short. That may hold some truth, for even as she moved away from her old mistakes, Fran could see the new coming towards her like a storm. She would wait it out like always, she never had a problem with that.

But her real regret, the sweetest regret of all...

...no, that was something she preferred not think of, because Fran did not know if she could ever fully regret it, and yet never fully accept it at the same time.

She did not reply, as the arrival of their food seemed a good distraction for the moment. She had been forced to eat worse before, but this was definitely not a four star restaurant. The woman uncrossed her arms as she sat up more properly, eyes immediately going towards the apple. Oh, the things that grew still had a fond place in her heart. You could take the Viera out of the Wood, but some things never did change.

"I prefer to listen," she said honestly of her generally quiet nature, reaching out for the apple. Noting he did not have one, Fran reached down, pulling a small knife from a concealed strip in the armor on her leg. Bringing it to the lovely round surface, she carefully dug in, quite enjoying the way the juices seemed to pour out of it. Very nice. "Would you like some?" she asked, slicing the blade through and cutting the fruit in half. But before he could answer, she placed it on his plate. He was treating her to dinner and helping her out in a strange situation, that was the least she could do.

"Are you from this Lindblum?"

[thespian-thief.livejournal.com]

"Um, thanks!" Zidane chirped with a startled smile that possessed the genuine sort of gratitude and levity only usually found in someone caught completely off-guard by the world. It was a simple gesture, but Zidane hadn't seen it coming and after the couple days he'd had it... put the world back in alignment, somehow. And for a moment, no matter how brief, Zidane felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be. Being who he was, it wasn't a feeling he came across very often and he cherished it, biting into the apple with great satisfaction.

"I grew up there," he answered once he'd finished chewing, having pondered briefly how he should answer while he was eating. "My boss, Baku, adopted me when I was a kid and raised me there in the theatre district. I was raised on acting and the like, though we're treasure hunters on the side. I didn't come from Lindblum, though. Spent my whole childhood looking for where I came from, so I know what it's like to be a stranger in a place everybody else calls him."

[choosingexile.livejournal.com]

She never realized an apple could be such a big thing to someone, but she was just happy to see something familiar. There were similar fruits about Ivalice, and the smell itself hit very close to home. Fran took a careful bite, quite enjoying the crunch and yet how easily it broke into her mouth at the same time. A good apple indeed.

Adopted into a band of theatre thieves? An interesting start to life. She had to wonder, though, how far it was he would go for this pillaging and plundering. For Fran, it was a hobby she had taken up with Balthier, not a life goal (though that was one thing she did not regret doing). While the price on her head only existed because of her partner, Fran thought it was worth it all. Zidane seemed to walk rather freely in the shadier parts of town, though. Perhaps there was no bounty on him.

But spending your life finding your origins? A sad fate in her mind. She had done the opposite, spending hers distancing herself only to wonder if she had been better off never leaving in the first place. But she could understand that struggle, not knowing where you belonged. It was neither one nor the other. Sometimes it was the people that made that for you, not the surroundings.

Fran chewed thoughtfully, swallowing before she spoke. "What kind of treasure?"

[thespian-thief.livejournal.com]

"Oh, all kinds of treasure!" Zidane proclaimed proudly, pounding himself on the chest. (Which he had, we might add, puffed up at the prompt.) Nothing stoked Zidane more than a pretty lady asking Zidane about his many dashing, daring feats. And, well, while Fran hadn't exactly asked for a play-by-play of the more notable points of Zidane's life, her question was open-ended enough that he felt comfortable taking a few liberties.

"Sometimes we dig up rare stuff, y'know?" he explained, making a vague gesture in the air as though to somehow clarify his point. "Other times it's just keeping an eye out for it. Tantalus, though, there's nothing me and my bros love more than a real challenge! You should see the hoops we jump through just to get to your average lapis lazuli! It's not always about the worth of the treasure, except, uh, when we're going hungry but that's another story. The point is, it's all about having what it takes to get whatever you set your eyes on! It's our number one rule, and we live by it. Like this one time, see..."

Zidane went on to describe in loving detail one of Tantalus' more notable heists, one that had them all putting their acting prowess to the test marauding as nobles into an exclusive party in Treno to gain access to a one-of-a-kind set of crystal champagne flutes exported from Clerya before they closed themselves off as a society. It was one of those things they heard about and just weren't able to pass up, and the entire group of them had spend weeks ahead of time planning and fine-tuning the job. Some kids had nostalgia about their mom's home cooked dinners or family gatherings around the holidays, but for Zidane it was this. Sitting around in the hideout with his brothers and the boss, planning their next big job. Feeling like he was part of something, feeling like he belonged.

There was nothing quite like it in the whole world. Zidane should know. He'd seen almost all of it, after all.

[choosingexile.livejournal.com]

Listening with her normal quiet air, Fran tested the quality of the sandwich. No, it was not amazing; plain and simple, but it was food. Her bites were small and almost thoughtful as she watched Zidane recite his past exploits like, well, a man on a stage. And he certainly had some stories to tell. For someone so naive, he had quite a bit under his belt, so to speak. For a group doubling as an acting troupe, she assumed, going undercover was one of their specialties. Balthier preferred simply to be himself, for who else would he want to be? Fran catered to that.

"That is something to be proud of," she said honestly, placing the sandwich down for the moment. A lot of teamwork was involved, too, while she and Balthier were a duo. Though recently their band had expanded to six or seven depending on the situation, she still considered him her partner and no one else. That did not mean she was unkind to the temporary members of their party. No, to some extent she felt a tinge of responsibility being one of the few adults, so to speak, but her loyalty always remained with Balthier and the Strahl.

"Origins are not necessarily what one must call home."