Fandom FFX: Summoner's Pilgrimage [Closed]

[torakiji]

"Hey, it's totally fine," Dorean offered Ari a smile, knowing full well the poor fellow was likely feeling pretty guilty speaking about his father as if he were still alive and kicking. The truth was, even he didn't know how the old man died, just that he'd died a warriors death. As a kid, that meant a many great things. As a Guardian, that meant his own potential future as well, but he tried not to think about that part too much. It was a little drab. "It happened a long time ago, so it's not a big deal, yeah?"

Truthfully, he had more sorrows about losing his mother, because at least he had memories with her that were precious and almost impossible to forget. They meant everything to him.

Dorean chuckled at the banter between the siblings. "I mean, you both have a point. I definitely think you could a mixture of both. A simple hello, and then say you're a Guardian. Right?" Not that he was any good at picking people up, but still.

Softening once again, Dorean turned to Kyra, smiling. "My mother's name was Mirial, and my father's name was Dane."

 

[Lucyfer]

Kyra allowed a playful huff at the consideration of that method. She’d say it was unnecessary boasting in an introduction, but that was what her father, and Ari, did, wasn’t it? Apparently it had potential, so she couldn’t really knock it. “I suppose it can work,” she allowed. Not that she would ever have to think of such a thing.

“Mirial and Dane,” Ari repeated, stringing them together to see how they sounded. “Do you have any memories of Dane?” He asked. It was obvious he had memories of Mirial, given the importance of the ring, and the…timing of her death, but he wondered if he could actually remember his great, warrior father – or if it was all just…what he heard.

Hopefully, there was something left to him, beyond just tales.

Ari could only imagine how painful it would be if all he had were tales of his father, or even his mother. Sure, his mother wasn’t some great blitzball player, but she had still been someone noteworthy! At least, to Luca, she had been. To Djose Temple.

To him.

 

[torakiji]

Dorean blinked, because he noticed how invested Ari seemed to be in the story of his father, at least. He wasn't used to anyone not really being familiar with his father, for in Kilika, and even in Besaid, he was known to be a great warrior. An amazing, strong, fierce man who would do anything to protect his people and his family, and it was probably one of the reasons he'd died.

"No, not really," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck a little bashfully. "He apparently had come home once or twice when I was a baby, and maybe a few times more when I was a toddler, but my memory of that is pretty scarce. Ma used to tell me about all the deeds he'd done. Even told me what he looked like, and said I took after him in hair and eye colour. I mostly look like my ma otherwise."

Swirling the ring in his hand, the Guardian simple shrugged, as he contemplated Ari's question a little further and eventually relenting to nothing else. "Other than some sketches done of him, all I've really heard is tales about him." Lifting his head, he glanced at the siblings, noting their expressions a little more closely. Tilting his head, he turned to Ari. "Why? Does his name sound familiar to you?"

 

[Lucyfer]

Ari and Kyra both shook their head, though Ari seemed to lean to one side as he did so, “No, no, just…trying to imagine it, you know?” The way that Dorean could imagine having a sibling, Ari was trying to imagine how this life could be, “I had both parents, so it’s…strange to me, is all,” like the thought of being an old child.

“Sorry,” Kyra added, imagining that perhaps he thought they should know who Dane was. Warriors of that sort weren’t that notable, with the Temple Guards from Djose so often clearing things, and the security that Luca had in general thanks to Blitzball. It was rare that anyone became famous for defending Luca, because Luca had so many defenders to protect it.

“Luca’s kind of full of security,” Ari said, “so it kind of…baffles me, too, that these other places don’t have the kind of protection that Bevelle and Luca have.”

Kyra nodded her agreement, “But I’m glad that you all had him to protect you, at least for a while. Perhaps something can be done in the future to better protect these places. It shouldn’t only be Luca and Bevelle that enjoy these privileges of safety.”

Whatever safety meant in Spira.

 

[torakiji]

"I suppose it would be. It's just been my normal," Dorean shrugged rather simply, though he did watch the siblings with mild intrigue. They had been lucky enough to have one another, and to have both their parents. A part of him did have to wonder what that was like, because he couldn't quite imagine it, either.

Again, he shrugged at their offers of apology. "Hey, it's totally fine. He wasn't world famous or anything like that, so I don't expect people to know who he is." Some part of him did, though, if only so he could hear more stories of what his father was like from people who didn't grow up with him or weren't from Kilika. It wasn't that huge of a deal, though, so he simply let it roll off his shoulders.

"I think Luca and Bevelle can have those safety measures because they can afford to," Dorean informed them matter-of-factly. "Villages and more remote locations probably don't have the sort of income those cities do. Funding a secure guard or something like that can cost a fair bit of gil, if I'm not mistaken."

 

[Lucyfer]

Neither sibling were questioning the normality of it. Ari was baffled by it, perhaps, but he empathized. As did Kyra, who imagined how strange the pair of them must seem to come from their own background, in Luca, with two parents.

Safe.

Until Sin, of course.

Sin evened most fields.

“Of course they can,” Kyra agreed, “but we are still all one Spira, working together to make this a world without Sin,” by limiting machina, by repenting of their past sins, “We should do more to help each other. Especially if Luca still wants other teams to host Blitzball matches against,” she said.

“Yeah! Not gonna be much fun if we don’t have any competition,” Ari said, “And I’m sure we bring in enough money from Blitzball alone and the tourism to help those who, you know, come to see the shows.” Among other things. “Not to mention there’s temples that need protected. Maybe we can work on that, too.” After this.

Dorean could find love, and maybe they could start a movement for more protection. “The Crusaders apparently aren’t doing enough.”

 

[torakiji]

"We may be one nation, but we're pretty divided in some areas just due to how politics are done and which sort of viewpoints are held. Though, I heard the people of Guado have been much more cooperative lately." Dorean hoped that they wouldn't face too many adversaries in trying to eradicate Sin. It was hopeful to think that everyone wanted Sin gone, but there could potentially be some groups that had their own selfish interests in mind. They wouldn't be so lucky in they ran into this crew, that was for sure.

Reaching over, slightly wobbly from the booze, he grabbed the jug and corked it, figuring that they'd both probably had enough for the time being. If he was going to be any more coherent, he knew he needed to stop, at least. Had to make the stuff last the whole trip, after all.

"I'd also like to rebuild Kilika. It was booming before Sin hit, and people used to come for the markets," Dorean grinned slightly. "I'm sure my people would like to be able to return to their original island, even though we've set up camp in Besaid and gotten pretty used to the lifestyle there."

"As for the Crusaders," he said, "I think their numbers have been slowly shrinking, from what I heard..."

 

[Lucyfer]

Admittedly, though Ari was loathed to think it himself, he didn’t even consider the Guado, Al Bhed, or Ronso in his thoughts. Even if he were to, it would likely have been the Ronso. The Guado and Al Bhed had made it more or less clear they did not want to be involved in the situation as it was. They both had Blitzball teams, of course, but both races preferred not to join Yevon, and help society.

He felt a flush of embarrassment for that, but wouldn’t mention it.

“I know we are,” Kyra was at least aware, and had considered them, “but at least Besaid, Kilika, Luca, Baaj, and Bevelle tend to work along the same lines, unless I am mistaken?” They were all predominately human societies, “Even the Ronsos of Mt. Gagazet are generally in line with us. Perhaps when all is said and done, there will be time to restore Kilika.”

“Yeah. I can help,” Ari offered, “I helped rebuild Luca, I can probably grab some friends to help, too. Convince the Goers,” he was sure he could do that much, at least. “We don’t need the Crusaders to get things going!”

Kyra chuckled, though Ari’s little comment of Goers and Going went over his own head.

 

[torakiji]

Dorean wanted to think that all societies would help, on some level, although he was quite aware that there was some level of resistance going on under the surface. Not a rebellion, per se, but definitely groups that didn't really want to work with the rest of the nation, for they had their own things going on. A part of him hoped that in approaching these groups, they'd be convinced, but could just be a pipe dream.

"I'm sure there are many places that could use the help, too. Not just Kilika," he smiled. "While I do want to see my home island restored, I want to make sure the rest of the world is all right first. Otherwise, my job as a Guardian will only be partially fulfilled."

Yes, he had to protect the Summoner tasked to remove Sin from the world, but he also had to protect the rest of the world in doing so. That is to say, to stop Sin meant to save the world from destruction. He had his own goals, of course, but if there was still dis-ease with the rest of Spira, then Kilika would never be properly restored, either.

"Heh. Ari," Dorean grinned, somewhat drunkenly. "You said Goers... and going. That was pretty funny."

 

[Lucyfer]

“Well yeah, but we have to start somewhere,” Ari shrugged. They could say any place needed help and get caught up in how many needed help, and never get started. If they got started, then at least they were fixing one problem, and could get on to the others. No reason not to play favorites, after what Dorean would help do.

He’d help save the world.

Ari’s face blanked a moment as Dorean pointed out what he’s said, before he groaned. “The one bad thing about our name,” he complained. “We couldn’t be something like Beasts or Aurochs, noooo, we had to be Goers. We are the worst named team.”

“Isn’t an auroch just a kind of cow?” That didn’t sound like a good team name, either.

“Yeah, it is,” he agreed, “I mean, it’s not the best animal for Blitzball, but you can’t make too many puns about it, either.” He shrugged.

 

[torakiji]

"I dunno about you, but I wouldn't wanna be part of a team that is named after a cow, either," Dorean chuckled, giving his head a bit of a shake, almost incredulously but only so because his actions were being slightly amplified by the drink. "I agree, though. Goers is a little lacklustre, but what else could you do? If you went with some sort of summon name or something over the top, you'd probably be ridiculed for it."

Although, from this conversation, he was gathering that the team name was made fun of quite regularly anyway.

The ship rocked a little, causing some of the boxes to shift, and as Dorean glanced out the window, he saw the tide rising a little to the sides of the ship. It seemed they were going through a wee bit of a rougher patch of water, but the sun was still shining, and if he listened, the crew members were quietly still working away. It was rather relaxing, honestly, as he sat back against the boxes behind him, letting a sigh escape his lips.

"You know - ships aren't all that bad, once you're used to 'em," he said, eventually taking his gaze from the window to the siblings in front of him. "You meet all kinds of personalities on ships. Kinda makes me wonder who else we'll run into during our journey, you know?"

 

[Lucyfer]

Given they were already ridiculed for the name, Ari could only shrug. Of course, he didn’t really have an idea for what the team name could be. He may not think it was a good name, but it had been around a while, and he was used to it. Anything else would be…strange.

As the ship rocked a bit, Ari’s own gaze drifted to the window.

“We’ll have plenty of time to get used to it,” Kyra noted. “From here to Besaid, Besaid to Kilika, Kilika to Baaj, and Baan to Luca…all of those trips will involve going over the seas on a boat,” it was only from Luca to Bevelle that they would walk, and of course, from Bevelle to Zanarkand.

It seemed fair. The split would mostly favor walking, in the end, but Kyra wouldn’t mind that. After so much time on a ship, she would even be tired of it. “Oh, but there will be shoopufs!”

“Right!” Ari grinned, “I almost forgot about the shoopufs!” He looked to Dorean, “Have you ever ridden a shoopuf?”

 

[torakiji]

"I suppose that's true."

Probably, by the end of the many stints across water, they'd be sick of ships but for now, Dorean was going to marvel at the wonders of it all. He never found himself being entirely sick of seeing the ocean. He grew up around it, was so familiar with it, and he outright adored the smells, the sounds, and the sheer power the water had. At the very least, he might not want to travel on it for a while once they got to Luca, but he knew his heart always belonged at the seaside.

"Then once we hit Luca, there'll be a fair bit of walking," he said, offering Kyra a kind smile. "Hopefully we all got a set of good walking shoes. We may not get many chances to replace them if they get worn."

As they talked about Shoopuffs, his dark eyes blinked in slight confusion. "I don't even know what that is, I don't think?" He tilted his head. "They're not native to Kilika or Besaid, so I can't say I've ever even heard of one. What is it?"

 

[Lucyfer]

“That…could actually be a problem,” Ari mused aloud, thinking about the shoes and if his own set were good enough, “We might want to get new shoes in Bevelle no matter,” he thought, “just to be on the safe side.” Shoes were really the last sort of concern he’d had. Clothing, in general, wasn’t all that important so long as it was clean and usable.

He supposed that might also be problematic if they ran into too many fiends and his attire kept getting torn up.

This could end up more expensive than he was calculating.

He was shaken from that thought by the fact that Dorean had never seen a shoopuf, though. “Ooooh, so you must not know of the moonflow then, either!”

“Shoopufs are…,” Kyra knit her brows together in thought, then gestured wide, and up, with her hands, “Think of a large cow, with a really long nose. Like…a nose that seems more like a snake, but without the biting and the face,” she laughed a bit as she tried to figure out how to describe it. “They walk across the moonflow river, and they’re the main way across it.”

“Really friendly,” Ari said, “if you fall into the moonflow, they’ll scoop you right up with their nose.”

“He knows because he did it on purpose.”

“You did, too!”

“Once!”

 

[torakiji]

"Lucky for you folks, I know how to sew and shit, so if we run into the problem of having busted up shoes or clothes, I can help with that!" To add to that statement, Dorean reached into one of the side pouches on his belt and opened it up. Inside was a small handmade sewing kit with all the basic doo-dads in it as proof. "It's something I had to stock up on in Bevelle because the seamstress in Besaid actually didn't have anything I could purchase outside of fabric. Can't really carry that with us, you know?"

If he could save a buck, he would, although he did understand the importance of upgraded gear. It would all depend on what was being used and what they could do without. Only time together would tell that sort of thing, and likely by the time they'd get to Bevelle, they'd have a fairly good idea of what was what regarding their party's needs.

He hoped.

Dorean listened to Kyra's explanation, his brow knitting in thought as he tried to imagine this large creature. Its nose was the most intriguing part, honestly, and he spent a few good seconds just thinking about this elongated snout that could scoop people out of water, according to Ari.

"Huh," the Guardian breathed out thoughtfully while the siblings playfully argued. He laughed a little and gave his head a shake. "They sound... strange, but I can't wait to see one. Maybe I'll purposefully fall off of one just to be picked up by its nose, too!"

 

[Lucyfer]

At least clothing needs wouldn’t necessarily be as expensive as Ari had started to fear – although fabric for repairs would still cost. ‘Might want to pick up something in Besaid anyways.’ Wearing mismatched fabric would at least be better than wearing strips of fabric of what once was pants. They’d have to consider that.

He was hoping that some money could be saved just because people would be nice to a Summoner and her Guardians, though.

“You should!”Ari encouraged about the shoopuf situation with a laugh, though. “At least once. Usually it’s kids that do it,” for obvious reasons, “but I’m pretty sure the shoopuf can still heft up an adult,” they’d find out, of course. If not, then they’d find some way to get him out of the water.

He was sure it wouldn’t be the first time it happened.

“Just…maybe do it close to one of the shores,” Kyra suggested, “Just in case.”

 

[torakiji]

"Meh, who says I'm not a big kid?" Dorean grinned wide, clearly taking affect to the ale. His cheeks were rosy, his smile was big, and he was sitting straight with both his hands on his thighs, looking as though he would leap up at any second. "Not like I weigh a ton, either. I'm sure if it can carry me on it's back, it can pick me up. So it's totally on! I'm gonna do it."

While heeding their advice, of course.

Sitting back again, he sighed, contently. "Man, I just left Besaid, and now I'll be coming back, and all my friends are gonna be like, "Bruh, you just left. Did the Summoner hate you?" Until I show them Kyra, of course, but you know. They're gonna razz the hell out of me, I'm sure of it." Still grinning, he gestured to the twins. "But they'll totally be cool with meeting you guys and hosting, if we end up staying there longer than planned."

He lifted his finger up, in a sort of matter-of-fact movement. "There's an old lady there that makes a mean seafood medley."

 

[Lucyfer]

At least the siblings had a promise of a good show in the future, and they exchanged a look, before looking back at Dorean. Now they just had to remind him when he was sober that he agreed to do this. Preferably before they were in earshot of the shoopuf or their handlers. The handlers might refuse them passage if they heard such a thing.

For now, they’d save that information, and listen about Besaid.

“I can hide a bit if that will make things more amusing,” Kyra chuckled, imagining how his friends might roast him. Of course, if she hadn’t liked him, there would be other summoners. Yevon never put all its faith in just one. There were others who would attempt to make the journey, too.

And though it might have been pleasant to stay a while in Besaid, it was not a luxury they had, “We may be there a day or two,” Kyra allowed.

“Yeah – at least a day, we gotta rest, and find a boat to get us to Kilika,” Ari offered. Depending on how long it took Kyra to connect with the Fayth, it may be longer, but he didn’t believe that it would.

He didn’t think it would be more than a few hours, really.

 

[torakiji]

Dorean blinked, then laughed at the mere suggestion of hiding for the sake of fooling his friends. That actually would be something he'd do, as well, and the idea that Kyra was more than willing to play along with the game, then he'd definitely be on board with it. The more the merrier, right? "Honestly, that would be amazing if you did something like that," he said. "They'd be none the wiser."

The trip from Bevelle to Besaid by ship wasn't that taxing, honestly. Dorean found that he was able to get off the ship, conduct business, and leave almost immediately after, but it also depended on which direction they were going, the nature of the trip - water could be so unpredictable at times - and his own health during the trip. Right now, he was fine, and the waters weren't choppy, so it probably would be easy enough to make a short stop out of it.

Although, it really did depend on just how quickly Kyra would be able to connect to the Fayth.

"I know where we can get a boat to Kilika, that's not an issue," he assured, smiling at the siblings. "We can also crash at my old place if we need to. Kind of the nice thing about it being where I'm currently living." Stroking his chin thoughtfully, he tipped his head in Ari's direction. "I think there may be some blitz players that would be willing to help pass the time, too."

 

[Lucyfer]

Kyra chuckled a bit, but lifted her shoulders in a shrug, “It would not be that hard. I need to be at the Temple as it is, so all I have to do is make my way there,” and then go through the Trials. It wouldn’t be too difficult to avoid being seen for a while, most people weren’t allowed in the Trials, anyways.

“Hey, wait, aren’t we supposed to be with you there?” Ari asked, realizing quickly what she was suggesting.

“They’re not dangerous,” Kyra shook her head, “There’s no reason for you to. It’d be a lot of boring waiting for you both, when you two can clearly have some fun in Besaid,” Kyra still didn’t want them to suffer needlessly where there was no point to it. Of course, she’d been told a time or two that a summoner simply couldn’t get to Sin without a guardian and defeat them, but she didn’t see why not.

Still, she bowed to custom.

It didn’t mean her guardians had to wait inside the cloister of the Fayth and be bored for hours on end, though. Not when they could be playing a bit of blitzball, or eating good food, or catching up with old friends.

She’d gotten Ixion on her own.

She could do the others, too. "I'm glad to hear we'll have an easy passage to Kilika," she added. "I know the Temple will allow us use of their rooms if we need it, too. In other locations, at least," it sounded like Besaid it wouldn't be necessary.

 

[torakiji]

"Oi," Dorean leaned in upon picking up on the suggestion Kyra was putting down. "I jest, but at the end of the day, my job is to accompany you to the Temples through our journey. Even though I can't go through most of the Trials, either, I need to be there in case something goes wrong. If anyone found out I was out having fun while you were in there risking your life by yourself, I'd be the laughing stock of Guardians. I'd basically have my Guardian card revoked!"

A little dramatic, but that was besides the point.

"If we have time to do any of those things, we will find that time. Otherwise, we are on a serious mission here. Don't try to shoulder the burden all on your own, Kyra. I won't let that happen." And he meant it. Part of his duty was to help the Summoner in whatever way possible to carry the burden of destroying Sin. He simply couldn't stand by and fart around while she did all the hard work. That wasn't what he was hired for.

"Anyway, the passage might be easy to get to Kilika, but the island itself is pretty rank with fiends. We best be prepared for it before we leave Besaid."

 

[Lucyfer]

Given the fact the pair of them were drunk, Kyra hadn’t really anticipated much of an argument on the matter of being allowed to go have fun. Not that she intended to put up much of one, herself. Dorean had chosen this path; Ari had chosen it, too, but Kyra still considered it was something more forced on him.

In either case, she didn’t want either of them forgetting to live their lives while they could. She knew how to manage the trials. There weren’t any fiends in there, it was just something of a puzzle. Tedious, perhaps, but nothing difficult.

So, she bowed her head a bit as Dorean said he would go along, releasing a sigh. “As you say,” she lifted her head, “Though perhaps we could at least find a card game or something for the pair of you, while I’m busy in the Cloisters.” Since they would be expected to wait there, if they were really going to go through with this, until she came out.

“That’s not much preparation for Kilika,” Ari pointed out, but he knew she wasn’t thinking of that, “but yeah – I’m sure we can grab some potions and the like before we set out from Besaid, right? Maybe you can tell us a bit about the kind of fiends we should expect in Kilika?”

If they would need antidotes, or anything like that.

Ari didn’t know much beyond the fiends of Djose, and those near Guadosalam. The Al Bhed had some stories of vicious water fiends.

 

[torakiji]

"I'm sure we'll find something to do. Right, Ari?" Dorean grinned, reaching over to nudge his comrade in the arm. They'd become fast friends, so surely they'd be able to keep themselves entertained while they waited for Kyra to get out of the Cloisters. After all, it was something they'd have to get used to, if they were her Guardians.

Scratching his cheek, he contemplated what sort of fiends would be showing up in Kilika. He hadn't been there in well over a decade, so he couldn't quite recall what he'd seen when the fiends started showing up. It didn't help that the liquour was getting to his head already, so remembering these sorts of details was just... a challenge all around.

Whatever.

"Well, prob'ly the closer you get to the temple, the more fiends you'll find," he said. "They're all probably fire elements up on the mountain there, but the forest might be a mixed bag. Prob'y some Killer Bees, maybe a Malboro or two... A Ragora might pop up, too..."

 

[Lucyfer]

Ari grinned at the nudge, but nodded. They would figure out some way to stay entertained. At least he wasn’t enduring the silence of the trials alone, at any rate. That was a boon.

The mention of fiends at Kilika, however, had both siblings exchange a look. The word ‘malboro’ was familiar to many, and nothing that anyone wanted to run into. “If we run into a malboro, we’re going the opposite direction,” Ari was quick to say.

“Ari!”

“Our job is Sin, not that thing.”

“You think a malboro is tougher than Sin?”

“YES!” Though as he realized he said it, he started to laugh, “Maybe we should throw a bunch of malboro at Sin. Train them up to fight Sin.” He didn’t think it would work. Sin was probably immune to its ability to poison and disease everything around the malboro.

 

[torakiji]

"Seriously?" Dorean laughed at the mere mentioning of a Malboro being worse to fight than Sin. Of all things, that's what Ari was going with? I reckoned that a Malboro was the least of their concerns when comparing the two, but it seemed that the young blitzer just really had no interest in fighting one should they come across it.

Also, the image of a giant Malboro and bunch of their babies attempting to fight something like Sin was equally as hilarious, and it had him slapping his knee as he laughed even more. Wouldn't it be nice if all it took was throwing some of those things at Sin and call it a day? There wouldn't be any need for pilgrimages, Summoners and Guardians.

"I hear those things are pretty hard to tame," he grinned at Ari. "If you wanna get up the gumption and do it, by all means. You might get poisoned to death, though."