paladinlost | 26th moon [video]

[Cecil looks particularly happy today. Is it because of the absence of angry bugs? The arrival of three new castmates? Rosa's presence? All of the above?]

Now that those bugs are gone, I can finally send the eggs I promised. I apologize for the delay. As compensation, I've added a homemade egg pillow to each of the packages.

[Subtly promoting his pillows in hopes of getting clients? You bet.]

However, many of my eggs have not yet found owners. Would anyone be interested? Most of them are Milotics, but I believe one of them is an Eevee. You can either buy them for P1000, or offer another egg as a trade. Contact me if you have any questions.

[He smiles before ending the feed.]

[[ooc: ~~There is currently one Feebas egg free spot! (Sob, Rider.) First come, first serve!~~ Taken! As a reminder, all the Feebas know Tackle.

Also, Cloud, Squall and Zidane will soon each be getting a care package by Pidgey post. Said care package includes three Fresh Waters, three Antidotes, three Pokéballs and one Revive. In addition to that, Squall and Zidane will receive Pokéballs containing Seifer the Gyarados and Marcus the Golem, respectively.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The centers were particularly in need of help, but I could not afford to leave the inn. I would not have been able to move all the eggs, and a friend of mine was unwell.

[He hesitates for a few seconds. Thinking of Bartz does make him think of someone else, and...]

The whole situation was rather complicated, really, but it's not quite something that can be talked about on an open network.

[Hopefully Leon will understand his meaning.]

Fair enough.

Define 'complicated'.

Complicated as in 'Squall, Zidane and Cloud are back with no memories of Johto, and having them overhear that one of their friends spent a week in a coma immediately before their arrival might be a bad idea'.

[And that's only the tip of the iceberg.]

[ Leon abruptly snaps to attention, bristling. He's back? He thought he was home free. Fuck his life.

He's also going to go ahead and assume that since this Cloud didn't seek him or Aerith out, he isn't the one from Radiant Garden. Double whammy. Just beautiful. ]

...Quistis and Rinoa will be happy. [ At least. ]

...They might not be. At that time, during the Conflict, we remembered little of our original worlds. He... might not remember them yet. It also leads to another problem. One I should have warned you about last time.

[ Frrrroooown. Start talking, Cecil. ]

In that land, there were monsters. Monsters that had our faces, our voices, our powers, or even those of our allies. ...It was rather alarming, to tell you the truth.

[ He arches a brow, glances down at himself, then back at Cecil. Unless they were drunk, or only hearing his voice, the chances of anyone who knew Squall mistaking them? Negligible. ]

[Cecil is starting to get pretty good at understanding looks.]

The resemblance would still be eerie to someone not expecting it. Such as a young man who recently found himself in a completely different world, possibly from the very middle of a fight.

[ It's a handy skill to have around Leon. At Cecil's explanation, he nods. ]

I won't get in his way.

[ In fact, he was fully intending to stay well away from Squall and company. ]

Should he learn anything and react badly, I'll try my best to calm him down. ...But considering our apparent time disrepancy, he might not listen.

[ A soft hum of thanks. ] You...remember more than he does? Or less?

...To me, that war was seventeen years ago. The Cecil he remembers was barely older than he was, remembered nothing from his homeworld, was caught in a battle he could not understand... In Johto, I've learned to know the true Squall. But this Squall does not know my true, grown-up self.

[A short, bitter laugh.]

At the moment, I even know more about his world than he does.

[Which is truly depressing when he stops to think about it.]

[ There's a rumble from Leon as his brows knit together in consternation. ]

This war...what happened to all of you, exactly?

We were called by the goddess Cosmos to fight against a god of discord named Chaos. Ten- fourteen- about a dozen of us, fighting to save our worlds from destruction. For some reason, we had no memories of our homes at the time, other than a few recalled moments and the adversaries Chaos sent to face us.

Sounds like this place, except a lot less mild and with a lot less memories. [ A pause. ] If you didn't remember your homes, what prompted you to fight to save them?

For many reasons. Because it was the right thing to do. Because we wished to return there and remember them. Because the world in which the fighting took place was also in danger. Because the warriors of Chaos were trying to kill us.

[A pause.]

Because my brother's life was also on the line, and I wished to save him.

[ There's a moment's hesitation before he speaks again. ]

...I didn't know you had a brother, Cecil.

That's no surprise. I rarely speak of him. To Iris, perhaps to Aerith once...

[He sounds fond. Extremely fond, and perhaps a little sad and confused.]

He was the warrior of Chaos sent to face me, at that time. Not that he cared much about that. But even they would have been destroyed, if Chaos had truly won. As he was the only person I could remember, I refused to let that happen.

[ Leon can understand that kind of fondness. He felt it too, once. ]

He became your enemy...that must have been tough to face. Did you save him, in the end?

[He shakes his head.]

If anything, it was the first time he was not my enemy. We were merely on different sides.

[Which must sound completely insane, to someone who wasn't there.]

I did. We did. He helped save himself, really. It gave me the chance to see him again, before I was brought here.

[ ...yeah, it kind of did. Oh well. ] Sounds like bad family history.

Your side--Cosmos--won, right?

That it is.

[Understatement of the year.]

...We did, in the end, though by all rights we should have lost.

26th moon [video]

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