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"So, what's our plan?" asked FG. "We require two things," began Navarro. "Firstly we need a recommendation from a more esteemed clan of which I know someone who shall gladly entrust us kupo." "Alright, awesome." "Secondly, we shall need at least two other members for this group." "...uh wait, hold on I thought you wanted to keep this simple, wouldn't that cost more money and less to you?" "Yes. It will be, kupo." The two sat once again in the cool shade of the Matsuno tavern, with apologies now given and out of the way allowing Navarro to re-enter it. Bartok allowed them and simply watched from his bar amidst the miniscule number of patrons that he had. Most of them were out of work, wasting away and just visiting an old haunt just to feel the memories of brighter days. The nostalgic walls of tapestry-like parchments and mapping of old places gave certainly a much more ancient history to the place, even moreso than the rest of the city did for James. Navarro sipped a small tankard of mild hops beer giving little buzz to her senses, whilst James enjoyed a full cider from the regions of Valendia up far north, tasting the rather earthy spicyness of its fruit asking: "Mmmmph, soooo how is adding more people gonna make this stuff easy?" "Because it is much more strenuous for us to keep this clan small as just the two, kupo. Instead I have estimated that we need at the very least a white mage of medium requisite, and someone of the monastic order for utmost efficiency." "Okay um...why exactly-wait hold up, white mage? That's um...they do white...magic?" "Correct," said Rocino tersely, "they shall heal us in battle against enemies, much more efficient and less costly than using potions and such which are strictly for emergencies." "What about black magic?" "Your spellblade shall do, normally my plan was to enlist five people one of which was to be a black mage. But since you fill that gap nicely, what elements can you cast?" "Um...fire, water...wind...is plasma an element?" "I do not know what plasma is, kupo." "Um it's kinda like a big brilliant white light just piercing-" "Ah, Holy." "Huh?" She took a sip gently of her hops beer with her left hand, the lesser alcohol content perfect for moogle consumption. "That sounds like Holy to me even if one does not fit the descript, that is good, we shall need that." "It's...not holy I can tell you that now." "Hm. So a non-elemental skill, very well kupo." "Who else do we need?" "I believe it would be prudent to have somebody of the monastic order, one more attuned to that of Holy element as many doors can be opened by such." "Monastic order...wait you mean-ohhhhhh a monk right."

Navarro crossed her arms and leaned back against her chair in disbelief, putting a hand to her forehead as she shook with furrowed brow. The raptor cocked his head slightly before she added: "You...are truly most ignorant." "Hey I'm sorry I don't know everything within the first two days of being here, hard enough to find a place to sleep." "Where did you sleep?" "Lowtown, down and out in the rough place because I don't have any money." "You have to earn it, kupo." "You couldn't even give me a LITTLE just for a room maybe?" "I do not give to those who do not earn it," said the moogle pointing to him, "if you want gil then you must work for it." "Uh, I took back that head for you back here to Rapper-nasty." "RabanasTRE, kupo." "I'm just saying, I'm essentially homeless and not earning anything." "So are hundreds of others and they survive well enough, at least I cannot see your ribs yet." "...wow." James leaned back in disbelief throwing his hands up. "Like, fucking wow, are you serious?" "Yes, kupo." "Jesus christ what sort of shitty backstory do YOU have for being like this?" "I am not some pithy acting part," said Navarro, "I am a knight who has no time to help every single pleading hand who cannot make the effort." "You say you're a knight but the way you talk-" "If I am hired to protect the innocent or to kill the monstrous then I shall do so, if someone is willing to pay or reward me in turn then I shall do what I must." "What if someone's getting beaten up on the street?" "Then I will assist, kupo. I will help those in immediate danger, but I am not in any way capable of exhibiting philanthropy on every second of my time when I must maintain my own needs. Charity may be worthwhile, but not if you run destitute yourself in the act of it, you understand?" "...alright, fair enough you have to manage your money. I mean you DO save people and all like you said, I hope." "I do, now as I said we must meet with a monk or bishop to some extent." "Wouldn't that just slow us down?" asked FG leaning forwards. "I mean looking after some civilian?" "Not at all," said the moogle rubbing her tankard, "most bishops and monks are very capable of looking after themselves, that and a bishop acts essentially as a second white mage which shall become more useful." "Huh, cool. Alright so, what do we do now?" "I know someone that can help. An old friend, I have sent a letter to him, kupo. He shall point us in the right direction of any possible recruitment for our clan, as well as authenticate our skill." "Authenticate how?" "By completing errands, tasks, missions as well as killing marked beasts, our reputation shall surely grow and people shall more be willing to accompany us for our recognised skill, kupo." "Ohhhh right so it's just building up rep, sure no problem." "Good, now I suggest we make our base here, that way we can allow a message to come back to us more easily." "Do all these clans have like homebases?" "Normally yes, kupo." "Alrighty. So who's this friend of yours?" "A knight of the same league," she replied inbetween drinks, "one who I trust most assuredly with steel, kupo." "So why you not joining a clan together with him?"

Navarro leaned back once more as she placed a hand upon her head, looking up towards the ceiling with eyes open and remembering small occasions with the slight twitches of a headache. "He has...his own way through this world which is not compatible with me. Plus my requisites differ from his in terms of monetary needs and I would most prefer to be accountable for it." "You know, for a knight who said they were all about helping people who ask, you sure got a tight fist about your wallet more than most." "I have my reasons, kupo." "Will I ever know?" replied FG. "You really that cautious or you just a sour face with a heart of gold?" "Not if you keep asking." "Fair enough...not like I really need any money, every world I go to I always end up just giving it all away." "Why?" asked the moogle. "Because it's only good in the one world, I mean, gil only works when it exists in THIS place but not elsewhere, you know what the last world I been to used for currency? Bottlecaps." Her eyebrow raised as if a child had just told her that he was king of the sea. "...bottle caps?" "Yeah, those shiny metal things on top of beer bottles, that bottle cap." "Why would ANYONE use such an absurd thing as a means of currency, kupo?" "Long story, society broke down and when everything turned to chaos there's not much left standing after the apocalypse." "That explains your garments kupo. We may require you to find better armour." "I wouldn't mind, but only if we can cover it in our expenses." "Speaking of which," reminded Navarro, "we should use this time to obtain some supplies also." "Aaaaaaah," said James waving a finger, "I know EXACTLY how to help." "Hmm?" He pulled out from his pocket a small pamphlet written in Ivalician script, handing it over towards Navarro who read it briefly with a growing nod of approval. Another small drink whilst reading before asking: "Where did you get this?" "Remember that little blue kid you bumped into?" "No." "The one I almost called...the L-word?" "Ah. Yes." "Well I talked to him about wanting to know the place and he gave me this to spread news about his father's business, what do you think?" "The cost is very reasonable, moreso than most places. Seventy gil for a potion alone is quite a good expense kupo. Normally they cost a hundred, or even one-fifty. Potion costs, even if they are too meagre for me to use, are a good level of standard concerning one's prices, kupo." "You wanna go check it out now?" "Very well."

Drinking up their last orders, they headed out of the Matsuno tavern and down the road to where Vikori's Sundries now waited. For the remainder of their time in Rabanastre, James familiarised himself more with local customs and eccentricities of the various local populace and all its odd species. When not in the company of Navarro, he kept a small video diary on his omni-tool showing off the world around him more discreet, uncertain if his abilities would have him burnt at the stake or not for witchcraft or some other fallible charge of heresy. He was not sure just yet on this world's openness but already he found there was a more reserved sense of multiculturalism than back in the galaxy. People were not so open to embrace other species, but at the very least he found some sort of tolerance existed inbetween, of business and mutual acceptance. He did not know if this was better or not. The store however gave him plenty of shinies to distract himself with. A general store filled to the brim with all the amenities one could want for a road trip, from bags and satchels to potions and ointments of various sorts, all in surprisingly well-made bottles of crystalline structure. Every bottle appeared to be just glass but had a subtle texture reminiscent of a shard of some precious gemstone, colourless except for its contents within. Carpets lined up rolled fatly upon his left, the smell of sweeped dust and a notable reptilian musk slightly permeated the air as the proprietor came forward, stepping through a beaded curtain behind a wooden counter. "ELLO! How may I asszhiszht you?" James never took the time to pay attention to particular bangaa builds but he could not take his eyes off this one. A large burly pair of arms wrapped only in an open-vest shirt, a firm husky-looking gut in dark copper colours and even more surprisingly, an actual beard upon his reptilian snout. Dark greyish hairs straddling out across his lower lip into a grinning layer of manliness that James almost bit his lip at the sight of. His hand went to his omni-tool slowly hoping he could sneak a shot of him for later as Navarro walked forwards. "Good day, kupo. My associate was given a pamphlet by a young boy who mentioned of your store's prices." "Ahhh," said the bangaa. "You muszht mean my sszhon. I hope he waszh not too much trouble." "Oh not at all!" said FG. "Actually the prices looked pretty good so I thought yanno, why not come down and check it out?" "WELL you came to the right szhtore! Vikori of Vikori'szh Sszundrieszh, how may I asszhiszht?" "I have a list here, do you have any of these items that I require, kupo?" Navarro walked up fully before she brought up a small list from her satchel, placing it upon the counter which almost stood above her head as Vikori examined the list. His four ears swung like dreadlocks, humming to himself as he brought out a small set of bifocals focusing intently upon it. James took this opportunity to take a shot with the omni-tool unseen by both of them, before the bangaa store owner shouted: "MIGELO!"

Almost immediately from behind the curtain there was the blue boy once again, standing firm to attention as he saw the raptor once more with a smile on his lips, struggling not to wave happily before saying: "Yeszh papa!?" "Bring me theszhe thingszh," Vikori said handing over the paper to his boy. "There iszh no russzh." "Yesszhir!" The boy saluted and ran off towards the storage room as Navarro conversed, peering her eye around the small store with growing intrigue as she laid her arm against the counter's front beneath its flat top. "You truly have everything on that list, kupo?" "Oh yeszh," said Vikori, "we have a fine range of antidoteszh, poszhionszh, eye dropszh, gold needleszh, whatever you want." "Your prices are very good, I would not expect to find such low range for your products. Your potions alone are half the price of those in North Gate." "That'szh becauszhe I care about cuszhtomerszh. They are szhtill people who muszht need a firm szhtock in order to sszhurvive thiszh harsszh world." "You seem to take to underpricing very easily for such a well-stocked store. Do you have many workers?" "No. Only my sszhon and I run thiszh plasszhe and szho sszhall he one day. A fine boy who obeyszh and underszhtandsszh good work ethic, iszh worth three szhemi-capable doltszh who szhimply run on the clock." "So I take it you're a family business?" asked FG walking up. "Oh yeszh," replied the bangaa, "at leaszht, I want it to be. Ah, here we are." Waddling his way back with a boxful of tinkling noises, Migelo came with the exact ingredients needed as he handed up the small crate to his father, Vikori placing it on the table as James inspected it. Navarro looked somewhat miffed from her current position, simply tapping her foot until Vikori said: "Migelo, bring me a szheat!" "Yeszh papa!" The boy did not waste any time grabbing a seat from the nearby backroom and placing it firmly beside Navarro after running around the side of the counter, a sturdy wooden chair that clonked its legs on the stone floor. Migelo panted slightly from his running around but was still fit to do a steady four laps at his age, the moogle hopping onto the chair to see the crate's contents. She inspected all sixteen bottles within of various colours as well as three golden needles wrapped finely in a small cloth and nodded firmly with satisfaction, asking: "These are good thank you, how much?" "One-thouszhand-four-eighty gil please." She did not even hesitate rather pleased with such a bargain as she handed over her money in a well-counted quantity, the strangely-made coins of an oblong shape as Vikori smiled gladly. Navarro took the supplies for herself, distributing it between both satchel and backpack before shaking the bangaa's hand with: "Thank you for your business sir, I look forward to meeting you again." "My pleaszhure alwayszh madame, and pleaszhe, tell your friendszh about uszh." "Heh good luck with that," murmured FG. "Thanksszh fer comin'!" cried Migelo proudly. "Travel szhafelyyyyy!" "G'bye now!"

With a wave as they headed off, they made their way back towards the Matsuno tavern and did nothing but wait. The raptor familiarised himself on a new set of medical items to concern with, with Navarro's help on each and every one. Potions acted as small salve solutions to heal over wounds of various degrees and rejuvenating one's self with potent essences, whereas the antidotes cleared any poisons out the body. He also noted the smelling salts which cleared confusion of the mind, along with eye drops that dealt with temporary blindness. The gold needles acted as countermeasures to paralysis of the body or "petrification" according to Navarro through the mystic insertion of a formula through acupuncture. He found himself rather worried on all the potential side effects that he could experience as soon the mail had come for them. It had only taken three days for a letter to come back to them, the moogle instantly setting up a travel route to head north towards the Valendian continent. Navarro also had brought out a map along with a separate one for James to figure out what place was what. Overtime it would become full of scrawlings of names for places to note, starting with the one in the far north region of Valendia, where the cold forests now stood. First they would pass through the Mosphoran Highwaste, a mountainous region that separated two city kingdoms apart which, whilst were just as rugged as any other mountain range would be, there were also bubbling hot springs of pure water to slake their thirst. Beyond that lied the old forest of Salikawood, a grand sprawling forest of untold beauty and twisting gnarled oaks, with pathways inbetween of land roads laid down many years ago. For the most part they stayed well-clear of any monsters to preserve on necessity, the raptor curious of all the strange creatures that lurked around amongst the shadows. Giant mantis queens mimicking the white ashen tree, diminutive mandragoras that walked like little humans with pumpkin-like heads, all of which Navarro knew well on how to avoid except one or two ambushes by smaller enemies. Not that either of them had problems dealing with such pests, for even in this world a beast was just a beast regardless of its anatomy. At least according to Navarro who, after one particularly gruesome fight added:

"Perhaps we SHOULD find you better armour." "What naaaah," said FG standoffishly, "I'm fiiiine don't you worry." "Really?" She pointed at the large serrated blade-like arm of an insect lodged into the leather pauldron covering James' left shoulder, as well as the scratching tear down the left leg of his jeans before simply shrugging and pulling out the insect arm. Luckily it had not gone through to wound his actual shoulder, and he knew that his leggings would heal themselves, patting at his crotch as he sheathed his blade behind his back. "Don't you worry, these babies are enchanted, fix right up by themselves." The moogle sheathed her blade in turn after wiping the blood of green invertebrates off her tunic, slipping back into their sheath upon the right side of her waist. "I hope to Faram that you are talking about your clothing." "Hhhahahaha, yeah course I am! Come on, I'm tired of these bug hunts." "As am I, kupo." The two Clan Koridai members walked on further, exiting the woods soon enough towards another open plain just past the large gap between swollen treebark. "A shame that Vikori did not sell fine garments," Navarro added, "I appreciate you finding that store for our stock, kupo." "What can I say, I'm a guy who knows a good deal when I see it." "Even in a place when you know nothing of the currency?" James shrugged offhanded as he just took the compliment as it is not wanting to push any further. Navarro decided not to pursue this in turn and stepped forwards ahead of James, adding: "I trust you are still capable of such a long journey." "Why wouldn't I be?" asked the raptor. "You look rather pallid, your skin is rather worn and your eyes always seem to be shot of blood, like a father of too many children." "Heh, father, funny, nah I always look like this." "You said you were thirty-one, kupo." "Yeah, why?" "You seem older." "Well I wouldn't have called you twenty-eight." "Really? What would you have called me?" "...sixteen?" She turned and squinted softly up at him with an odd look, not entirely sure whether to be insulted or complimented. "You are very ignorant of my kin aren't you?" "Ugh, yes, are you just gonna slap a sign on my forehead saying 'ignorant' or something from now on?" "That is a fine idea kupo." "I-I WAS JOKING!" "I wasn't."

His slight panic gave her enough amusement for one day as she turned smiling inwardly, heading back out towards the plains they now saw reach out towards another sizeable desert. Beyond that lied the kingdom of Nabradia, a prosperous land with the glowing city of Nabudis that stood now upon a lake of freshest divulgence upon the lands. Uncorrupted above all else in the land according to James' fellow clan member, it was a land founded alongside Dalmasca's own kingdom with Rabanastre many years ago by the bloodline of a Dynast-King, and as such became a powerhouse of agriculture and industry. Naturally all this flew over James' head but he simply nodded in politeness and moved on towards the north. For despite this kingdom's apparent riches, there still lied places too far to reach its protection with. One such place was the town of Pordana, a great farming settlement that specialised in more winter crops than most other places due to being far north. Stone houses were given greater importance and establishment for such places as the postal office, long-standing stores and the mayor's residence. Every other house was usually made of wood from the neighbouring forests along the north and west sides of the place. Even the roads were simply just padded dirt with little cobblestone placed inbetween except on the main thoroughfare, which was about four miles long in itself. In fact there really only was the thoroughfare to clack his feet on as the people, mostly humans, busied themselves about and were largely antisocial. No one talked, no one exchanged greetings, even the few market traders that dared stay on the streets seemed rather shifty and awkward. The exact kind of awkwardness James had seen long ago back in Rogueport as he understood the town's sentiments, arriving at the forest outskirts after being guided cautiously by fearful residents, asking where the new clan arrivals had set up themselves. They were lead towards a strange-looking campsite, four tents hunched around in a semi-circle as they came nearer. "Jeez," said FG, "everybody's frightened like hell." "I wonder why," said Navarro, "my friend must have come in order to clear out these monsters that terrorise it so." "Oh, hey cool." "And we shall be assisting, kupo." "Wait what?" "...did you not read the letter?" "Um...I can't read Ivalician." "Oh, of course, how foolish of me to think for one moment that you were an intelligent being." "Hey it's not my fault I didn't learn it, I did my best only knowing it for three days!" "Hm."

The campsite where the apparent clan were seemed to be somewhat sizeable, resembling a gypsy camp to James owing to its finely plaited purple-and-yellow carriage as well as several home-made tents, a good fire brewing away a pot of stew. For all intents and purposes, the seven people hunched over sitting around the campfire draped in old cloth rags looked to be just ordinary folk, possibly in order to fool the unwary as Navarro asked: "Good day travellers. I am here to inquire on the location of Berniere Lavant, of Clan Herne. Do you know of him?" "No," said an English voice of female upper breeding. "I have not heard such a name." "Your accent...Archadian?" "Your ears have taught you well." "Unusual to hear such a noblewoman amongst a group as this." "Pennies do not fall from heaven, they have to be earned here on earth." "Hmhmhm...true, I understand." James was feeling even more nervous hearing this woman speak, her accent far more aristocratic and noble than any such heard in his travels yet in Ivalice. At the same time he felt a cold distate in her voice as she asked: "What is your name, child?" "Navarro Rocino, of Clan...Koridai." "Hmmm. The forests of this land have changed dearly, have they not?" "Yes. But the owls are still around, kupo." "Indeed they are!" One jubilant male voice burst out from beneath its cloak and hopped before Navarro, the cloaked stranger swinging out his sword pointing towards her as the raptor sprung into action with his own scissors, before the moogle raised her hand. "Hold! This is him." "Huh?" "Berniere Lavant," said the cloaked stranger, "at your service madamoiselle!" Sweeping the robe off, he now revealed himself in the cold northern sunlight. Berniere was a moogle, but his fur was far more white and glossy than Navarro's was as if he had been going through with a fine-toothed comb shimmering with grace. His eyes sparked radiantly with a flash of grey as an orange pom dangled on his head, green-suited armour with metallic bits showing underneath. His sword was far more fanciful than Navarro's yet also elegant in its beauty almost like a rapier, the basket-shaped hilt covering up the front of his entire left hand as the blade only stayed sharp on one side, the top of it smooth and dull yet straight as an arrow's tip. James and Navarro bowed with respect to the warrior who simply sheathed his own sword and swished his hand out with eloquent encore, as if receiving applause at the end of a play. His accent was strangely reminiscent of enigmatic French, the raptor smirking at such gloriosus from a moogle. "My dearest left hand, kupo. How are you?!" "Still unwavering," said Navarro tersely, "you still have not changed that silly code of yours." "Why wouldn't I?! You know it too well how else could I trust those who come near?!" "Hm. And how are you, kupo?" "Always far errant than ever you shall be, haHA!" "Hm, yes. It is good to see you again, I trust I did not interrupt anything." "Oh no no no noooo please by all means the more the merrier! I see you have finally obtained your own clan!" "Indeed, kupo. Thank you for arranging to meet with us, we would greatly appreciate you having some approval for us to strengthen our cause." "I know you well Rocino." He patted her on the shoulder gladly, flashing a wicked grin at her as his arm wrapped round her back in a warm hug. "I know that you are more than capable of handling yourself! And if anything I would be glad to hand you my requisite as of now kupo. Unfortunately there lie two problems. Firstly! I am of course dealing with this town's problem of a small bakmany invasion from the woods, nothing severe but they ARE numerous and a recent threat so why not sharpen one's skills with such? Secondly...I am not certain of your strange beastly friend's skill."

The male moogle turned towards James with an offering of such looking up politely with open hand as if expecting something. "Who might you be, kupo?" "James Campbell, it's an honour to meet you Berniere." "Well well, you are certainly a most interesting fellow!" He gladly shook James' hand, the raptor shaking it in turn with a wide grin as Berniere added: "Nice garments too, are you from Bhujerba, kupo?" "No, I'm-" "He is of a faraway land," said Navarro, "educated in speech but not in words." "I'm also clan leader, if you wanna know." "...really?!" Berniere looked shocked, switching his glance between both James and Navarro with a wide smirk as he moved towards the other moogle, walking with hands behind his back slowly around her like a schoolteacher. "Ohhhhhhh hohohoho dear dear me, what HAVE you lost this time kupo?" "Hmm!?" "Was this your first bet in a while Navarro? I thought you knew better with those eyes of yours." "I did not lose a bet, I simply made an agreement with James here in respect to my ability." "...no, really, what happened?" "Urrrrgh...I was late to receive a clan permit, by which James had taken it already so we sought out a new reasoning. He remains leader of this clan and in return I shall lead him through this place, as well as abling money, kupo." "Ahhhh I see. Well then! That means we must officiate our ceremony first! But first, as I mentioned of my second point, YOU good sir!" He pointed towards James in mid-stride with finger outright. "I must see how worthy you are of your skill, kupo. And much as I trust Navarro's judgement, I must see for myself how well you do." "You mean, you wanna fight?" asked James. "Indeed! I have some wooden swords for such practice so, Enoch!" "Yes sir?" replied one cloaked male. "Fetch me two wood, small and bastard lengths." "Yes sir." Revealing themselves with a swish of their capes, the six other travellers consisted of a nu-mou and five humes. The nu-mou, Enoch, was of a dour-looking sort, his long ears flopped with grey as his canid snout looked soft yet stubbly, covered in white hair all over his face with the appearance of a well-groomed yet shag-haired dog, stern white eyebrows overhanging slightly. He also wore an immaculately tight cloak of red and dark blue, which did nothing to dissuade his stance as he handed over two wooden swords to Berniere. The middle-aged noblewoman, who spoke previously upon their arrival, was like that of a schoolteacher, blonde curled hair prim and tight with utmost efficiency. Pursed lips of scrutiny and brown eyes strongly piercing into the back of the moogle's head, whilst wrapped in a pure-blue mage's outfit that almost resembled a blazer suit to James. A wide collar and buttons down the middle, she crossed her arms severely whilst asking: "Is this REALLY necessary?" "Now now Margaret," replied Berniere. "The more the merrier, these people are good company kupo." "I should hope so, more people can bring attention to our unwanted cause whilst we wait for these...noble warriors." "You shall find no better," said Navarro calmly. "James however must stand by himself if he wishes to prove that skill to you, kupo." "No pressure heh," said FG. "You wanna show me your skill too I hope." "Of course kupo!" said Berniere. "Let us fight over there, away from our camp." He pointed over to where a clearing stood by the forest outskirts just north of the camp. The raptor took the bastard swordlength and felt the wood in his hands nice and sturdy. He liked the feel of it, almost reminding him of his old days in training as Berniere stepped up to stand on the opposite side of the clearing right next to a small mountain slope, more like a large hill than anything else. The moogle stood resplendent in green finery and metallic guards on his limbs and chest, his own sword sheathed beside his waist with small wooden sword out and ready.

James chuckled at the size difference between the two, not just in height but also in sword length considering his was a good four feet including the hilt, whilst Berniere had simply half the length at two. "Hope you don't mind the disadvantage," he said smiling cool. "Ohoho do not worry," replied the moogle, "for I have always said that it is not the size that matters, but rather how one uses the blade, kupo!" "HAH! Alright then, let's see who's better at swordplay than-" "Could we PLEASE get on with it?!" moaned Margaret. "I did not come here to the damned north just to see two men argue about their substitute penis length!" "...wow, harsh." "Heheh yes," added Berniere, "she's very to the point. NOW PREPARE YOURSELF! HERE I COME!" Gripping his hilt tight, he ran towards James with wooden sword down low to his left, the raptor rushing a few steps forwards with his own sword to his right. The two swung almost immediately striking hard, the clack of wood upon wood causing them to rebound off each other before creating a second X-shape between their swords. The third clash did not come, the moogle swiping down at James' legs horizontally trying to strike both of his knees before the raptor hopped up over the sword. He swung down hard with the sword upon Berniere's head, but with a swiftness unseen he was ready. With short sword horizontal to block against James' vertical cut, the blades touched only for but a second before the moogle dodged to his right, his left hand swiping out to try and smack against James' thigh. The raptor however dodged to his right in turn, a brief hop as his tail went after with him in a curving slight in order to face Berniere once more. But in the midst of his own dodge he felt the small knight barge into him all a sudden, a headbutting slam against his stomach as he fell back on one knee. "OOOF!" "HAHAAA KUPO!" The resounding Berniere's cry alerted him to his presence, blade swung high above his head as James countered back with his own horizontally. But the moogle had predicted such an action like the one he had made and only swung halfway downwards, swishing his sword back to his left and slashing horizontally towards the raptor's forehead. James saw the turn of the blade a second too late, and ducked down only to feel the scrape of wood across the top of his skull, shearing slightly but no worse for wear. Shoving his sword forwards against the knight's throat, he knocked him over onto his back before standing up on both feet ready to strike down upon the moogle lying prostate before him. But the small swordsman simply dodgerolled out the way, sprinting back on his feet lightly with a planting hop up from his back as swords stood out ready before them. James recomposed himself, stance ready and sword out front as Berniere did the same, slowly shifting his feet forwards to come within range of the raptor's blade. The bastard swordlength swung twice, first down then to the left both of which the moogle dodged expertly before thrusting forwards at the raptor's thigh in front of him. James slammed down his blade horizontally whilst stepping back in order to block the wooden sword, a heavy clonk sending Berniere's hand down to the grass with a vibrating numbness in his hand. Just as quickly as he had stepped back, the raptor used this motion to suddenly step forwards with a samurai swing of his blade as if unsheathed from its hold, hidden behind his hip before a violent upwards strike.

Berniere dodged just a little too late, the crack of the wood hitting across his right shoulder as he gasped and chuckled panting at the pain briefly throbbing underneath. James reformed his stance, allowing his opponent to do the same but Berniere had other plans. Instead he began to rush at him, a sprinting dash that James was too late to react to before the moogle knight striked his blade upwards, roaring as his wooden blade scraped against leather and across James' neck. A close shave by any means as the raptor slammed his arm into him, knocking him back down to the floor before swinging a full horizontal strike that Berniere ducked precisely. Then came the second, then the third and finally a vertical fourth swing that forced him to dodge left, right where James wanted him to be as he slashed a diagonal strike from the ground up. The moogle barely dodged, the grassroots cut apart by the sheer force of the upwards sweeping blade as it clonked him on the cheek, smacking him like a backhand across the face with Berniere crying: "NNNNGH! HHHAH, is this how you treat all your opponents, kupo?!" "Only the good ones!" said FG. "Consider that a compliment!" "Good, I hate to disapPOINT!" Soon as he said this the moogle leapt swiftly onto the mountain hillside beside James and hopped off briskly into the sky above, a good two feet above the raptor's head before coming down hard with a stone-splitting strike. His swordpoint downwards, the raptor had no time to move and guarded briefly best he could to repel the force of gravity upon him. But the moment they clashed with an ear-scraping sound the smaller knight had leapt off falling right behind James, his sword coming down hard upon his back with a victorious cry as the short wood scraped down his spine. "GAAAAARRHHH!" James struggled not to fall from feeling such a sensitive blow, swinging out his tail violently to try and knock the moogle back which it did to some effect, forcing Lavant to hop out from its range before his larger foe turned. A red bruising rash glowed on his back next to his scissor scabbard and backpack, sniggering harshly as he tried not to look pissed off from the pain of it. Readying himself once more he stood with sword in front of him as this time he decided to rush first before the moogle had any ideas, the mountain slope directly behind the small opponent Berniere smiled readily with sword in both hands, cocky and preparing to jab straight for the raptor's belly and knock the wind out of his lungs. But the raptor instead decided to give him a taste of his own medicine by jumping straight on top of him and over before kicking off the mountain slope, spinning briefly to gain momentum before a slashing cleave came down upon the moogle's head, far too fast and unpredictable to block against. He tried his best but his guard was cut through by sheer force knocking his hands aside leaving him completely defenceless as he fell onto his knees.

But before James could strike down upon him again, he rolled forwards between the raptor's legs and hopped up onto the hilly slope, the raptor a little faster in catching onto his game as he jumped up on it in turn. The two were now at a 35-degree angle, tilted as they hurriedly began rushing towards each other with their new detriment for a challenge. James swung down forwards diagonally from right to left, but the moogle was much smaller than expected on a slope and simply dodged from his swing easily to try and stab upwards towards FG's knee. The raptor in turn tried to kick out against him to keep his foot out of reach, but Berniere rushed forwards and shoved hard against his raised foot knocking him down on an uphill slope. Stumbling backwards the raptor went, forced to jump back on one foot and swing harshly without cause to keep Lavant at bay, now downhill of him. One was too high to reach, the other too low, a new challenge for the swordsmen to complete. The two said nothing as they hopped forwards, the raptor swinging down hard as he could to even touch Berniere unsuccessfully, while in turn the moogle jump up towards FG to come within reach of the raptor's chest but to no avail. Berniere however saw a chance, as he hopped straight in front of James' vision to try and coax him for a strike. James did not respond, simply grinning with a beckoning taunt of his fingers before a lunging thrust of his bastard swordlength the moment the knight touched down upon dirt. This was the moment he had hoped for. With a second hop he planted his feet upon the raptor's sword, wood clacked into the dirt as the moogle ran forwards readying himself to strike hard upon James' bowed head. But the raptor in turn brought up his right elbow and slammed it against Berniere's left arm blocking him from the shot, his striking blow cut down by a fist against his shoulder before he punched him across the jaw harshly. James rose up his sword as he tried to come down hard enough in time but the moogle dodged into his strike quickly coming up from underneath, a leaping strike from below cracking hard against the raptor's chin. He stumbled back more in surprise than anything as pain dully twitched from inside his jaw, rubbing it tersely as he looked down upon the moogle. The two briefly panted out with some strength still in them, but soon realised also that they had proven their worth to each other when Berniere swiftly sheathed his blade, chuckling sincerely. "Hahahaha, not bad! Not bad at all kupo! Never often do I see a swordsman able to keep up with me!" "Hhheh...well uh...I never fought a guy who was left-handed before, shoulda realised I had a disadvantage there." "Hmhmhm, indeed, but you fought well! I can now see why Navarro trusts you, kupo" "...hey, tha-actually, aren't both of you left-handed?" "We are!" Hopping swiftly from the hill he walked to the campsite and placed his wooden sword back in Enoch's hands as the raptor did the same following, grinning down upon the two moogles that now stood before him as Berniere backpatted Navarro gladly. "It was a funny coincidence, but one that actually worked in our favour kupo!" "We both often got paired at knight academy," replied Navarro, "as a result we became comrades in arms very closely and as such became a perfect mirror of each other's skill. Two moogles, left-handed both becoming swordsmen, it is a sight that few rarely understood kupo." "They once thought us as brother and sister!" "Which I was swift to reprimand that we weren't." Berniere smirked and turned towards Navarro facing her eye to eye with a hand on her shoulder. "You hurt me even without a sword at hand." "I can do better with one in hand." "Hahahaha...I only hope you are sharper in your reflection than when I last saw you." "Hm. As should you, kupo." She put a hand on his shoulder in chivalrous solidarity before the male moogle responded: "NOW THEN! We have a town to save so let's get down to business kupo! Come, I will explain."

The sun had just barely gone down over the horizon when the first screams set themselves alight, shrieking as monsters came like a black sea oncoming from the woods seamlessly. The church bell rang out as the people started to bar up their doors and windows as best they could as the hordes rushed in through the town itself. Small bipedial goblin-shaped beasts with green skin and metal guards on their limbs and a masked filter over their faces, ears like that of pigs twitching as they rushed through in a mass no taller than 5 feet. From behind the horde of raiders, hidden by the camp came the new protectors of this settlement who charged in creating confusion. Clan Herne spread out, one moogle, one nu-mou and five humans brandishing their weapons firmly before the slaughter began. The humes as well as Berniere had swords and maces, hacking through the dull-plated defence of the goblin-like riot that started filling the streets. Blood carved itself onto the cobblestones within minutes, none of which belonged to the clan as the horde found themselves suddenly clamouring in the midst of confusion. Attacks from the rear had been unexpected, and the large group which surely must have been greater than fifty beasts, began to separate in the chaos as one large section of twenty stayed behind to cover for them. Berniere gave no mercy, cleaving through enemies with spinning strikes, ducking dodge-whirls of the blade and tearing apart both legs and duodenums aplenty as his white fur streaked with soft red. In the centre of at least five monsters a head taller than him, he clashed against the first blade before ducking beneath another mace swung at him from behind before sliding beneath one enemy's legs. An upwards thrust into the stomach ended one creature's life before he slid out to stand behind the hunched wounded beast and leapt onto its guarded back, roaring as he leapt down upon the mace-wielder's head. His cool slim blade cut it neatly halfway severing the brain itself in two pieces, pungent matter drooling between its eyes as it staggered and fell. "ENOCH," roared the moogle, "STOP THEM REACHING THE TOWN!" The nu-mou saw a small group rejoining the town invaders' central force as he brought out his staff, an intricately ornate crosier of copper green that curled into a wreathed circular form that ended by an arrowpoint. Pointing it towards the stragglers he curled his bristly lip as he felt his eyes burn with an intense magical force, his cloak sweeping around the hem close to the ground. "AERO, EMPROS!"

Chanting a command to the forces he had trained within him, Enoch blasted a gust of wind heavily across the landscape striking viciously upon the attacking force as they shrieked and flew heavily off course. The force of born gales shimmering with magic was impenetrable to defend against, tearing across their armoured flesh as at least six of them were torn apart and slammed against heavy structures, broken through at least half their bodies. Berniere was busy extricating his sword from another monster's throat, scraping out from the side of it to sever at least halfway before backflipping off its chest, right into the path of another large sabre that came down on his head from behind. With his sword up and ready to guard he dodged and let the sabre scrape down to his left still with back towards his enemy, before a sudden leap letting him hop over the enemy's shoulder and spin horizontally in mid-air, sword cleaving straight into the back of the foe's neck cutting deep through the spine. His enemies were now dead as the fifth fell forwards gasping, his blade unsheathed and dripping as he called out to his clan: "SPLIT UP THROUGH THE STREETS, KUPO! JONAS, BERTRAM, HEAD TO THE BAKERY! ENOCH, YOU PROTECT THE TAILOR'S, THE REST OF YOU COME WITH ME!" Running off with the other two unnamed humes, he headed down towards the west side of town waiting for trouble to come rear its monstrous head, the goblin invaders slathering through the streets desperately trying to break down houses and tear apart the inhabitants. One large group of beasts, around eight of them, came clamouring around the butchers' shop as the family hid inside, the owner of the store business wielding a blood-faded cleaver threateningly as the door was barged into. Slowly it began to crack viciously, the man in his sleepwear thin and broad for his musclegut body. Behind the beasts however struggling to break in there stood a woman tall and strict, clearing her throat ruthlessly. "EH-HEM!" They turned to see Margaret, now in full regalia with a golden hairpin keeping her hair neatly wound in almost achingly tight. She tapped her foot impatiently wielding a staff of purple length, odd runes carved into the entire rod before being topped with a red rose-shaped pommel. The beasts came forth snivelling at this strange human who defiantly stood before them before she said: "I do not know what you creatures are, nor do I care. But one thing I won't give you is the oxygen of publicity." She spread her hands to both sides openly, staff glowing cruelly before she scowled at their approach to her. Soon they began charging and all it took was a little word for them to know true pain in the last moments of their existence. "Firaga." Not even letting them hear their fate, they came within two feet before a violent storm of fury in the form of fire came down upon the street crimson like the hounds of hell, as if a chariot had rolled through the streets claiming for the dead. Cutting a swathe of vicious flames, the monsters stood no chance before being reduced to but simple ashes in a most painful half-minute of destruction. She kicked away the charred pile and turned towards the next group who had witnessed the death of their former invading friends and rushed to murder the human mage. "Do you know what the problem with your people is?!" mocked Margaret haughtily. "Is that your spine does not reach your brain."

Whirling out her staff behind her as the robe barely moved against her body, the middle-aged sorceress rose up her right unarmed hand to the sky above and felt the storm rush in to meet her. A sparkling shot came in her hands briefly to warn them of their impending doom, but they were either too feeble to understand it, or too brave to dare stop it. The street had soon lit up in a flash of lightning, burning throughout the bodies of the second group she faced shrieking with psychotic anguish as their weapons and steel plates fused to their very bodies, suffocating. Killing. James had watched the lightning from afar and felt nervous by the sheer intensity of it, before seeing the next score of invaders come charging through the streets, avoiding the main thoroughfare and taking a side alley to crash into a grocer's shop. Panic from within a poorly-barricaded window alerted him as he rushed in leaping through the broken entrance, at least four of the goblin horde tearing up the central living room at the back of the store. Chairs thrown to the walls, table broke in two, as the raptor came through with scissors immediately thrusting into the first green-skinned beast he saw. Piercing through its back, the goblin fell forwards onto the broken table as its three friends rushed at him, James staying in the doorframe and swinging his blades harshly before them to keep them back. One came forwards with a mace, but the creature was far too weak to counter against FG cracking down his scissors upon the wrist and snapping both hands into broken folly, shrieks of pain as the monster fell forwards lamenting its lost limbs. Its friend beside tried to lunge with the sabre but the raptor shot himself backwards with a focused gust of wind rattling across the room. The sudden blast sent him back a few feet as he touched down upon wood easily, his attacker slammed back into the living room's wall as the third home invader came rushing through the doorway. This time James was ready, watching for the sword's cleaving swing from above before opening his scissors wide and snapping shut on the hand. Pulling back hard, he tore the flesh from the knuckle down and ripped the short sword itself from the beast's grip suddenly now left disarmed, the raptor kicking the sword away before dominantly proclaiming: "Stand down and surrender, now. Or else." The creatures stood curiously looking at James who kept his scissors forwards with tips aimed at their necks, the stairs to his right leading up to where the grocer's family lived cowering in fear as the storefront counter laid behind him ruined. But the one disarmed simply shrieked with bravado and charged at FG wantonly. He gave no quarter, as he sliced through its neck with a single chop of both tips around its throat leaving it dead and stumbling forwards onto the shop floor. He looked towards the other remaining two and beckoned them forwards with: "Do you wanna go next, or just give up now and keep your life instead?"

Navarro was a few streets away only from James as she heard the chaos at the grocer's storefront, waiting on Berniere's instructions to keep the mayor's residence safe. The most elaborate and frankly largest residential house of Pordana, the salmon-red wall colouring and heavily fortified doors with two stories including a balcony also made it a resolute shelter for the more unlucky citizens now barring up from inside it. She thought it resembled a neopolitan block of ice cream, and by that it looked unsightly to her before hearing the sound of footsteps. Clattering, not stone but something more hollow, hearing it above. The fiends have taken to the roofs and preyed upon the balcony where Navarro stood waiting in the shadow of its awning near the window slats. As the monsters came down upon the balcony and rushed towards the latticed door between both windows, the moogle knight sprung free from the darkness and plunged her cool blade into the first beast she met. The creature was surprised gasping a cry of pain before falling off the railing down to the streets below, as Navarro stood facing four beasts around her. "Leave now," she demanded, "or else suffer my blade across your skin." But of course they would not listen and soon tried to attack her en masse by piling into the wall to try and crush her. The moogle rolled between their legs and plunged her blade immediately towards one beastly fiend's back, lancing through its kidneys as it shrieked and fell forwards stumbling with blood and bilious fluid, smacking its head into the wall of the house as the creatures turned and swung viciously all at once, two of which had swords and one with bronze fists ready to break some heads. Navarro rolled beneath one swordswing from her right, clashing as the blade came back the opposite way towards her before striking it down and severing the monster's wrist, weakening the grip before it tried to punch her. She hopped over the huge haymaker that went straight into the balcony floor as she landed on the beast's rippled arm before gutting across the face, shredding across the nose and eyes above its mouthguard as it struggled and fell to the side blinded with too much blood lost from its head. The last two however decided not to bank on fighting this strange small highly skilled warrior and tore into the window breaking through easily, shrieks from inside as Rocino heard the matron of the household call for help. "NO! PLEASE NOOOO MY BABIES!" She wasted not a second and jumped through the broken glass frame immediately seeing the first green-skinned beast try to assault the first room it saw, which happened to be the children's bedroom. The mother, an auburn-haired woman in a white sleeping robe, was also inside desperately trying to shield her young by curling them up in her arms and grasping them tightly against her body, watching the door broken as the creatures snarled their fury upon seeing the cracks appear at the first sight of their victims. Navarro leapt upon the back of the first, driving her sword down into its neck and severing violently across the carotid as she leapt past its shoulder just before the second beast broke down the door. The three human children and mother screamed amidst a cluttered bedroom of wooden toys and beds, the hulking dwarfed beast glaring not at them, but at the moogle who had swung down in front of it. With sword behind her dripping of red, she sneered ruthlessly at the invading monster who swung its sword high into the air ready to fight. Until a younger child hurled a wooden block square on the monster's forehead and sent it reeling back with a groan of pain unexpectedly. Navarro wasted no time with the opportunity and charged forwards. "RAAAAAAAAAH!"

The monster barely managed to recompose itself enough in time to clash swords against her, the narrow hallway making it more difficult to commit sideways swipes so it resorted to thrusts and overhead swings. Navarro however had an advantage needing less room to maneuver, and swiftly dodged the first lunging cleave down upon her head before kickhopping off the right wall and scarring across the beast's face. Snarling with rage it tried to stab at her, but the moogle let gravity pull her down and quickly stabbed just below its kneecap scraping across the bone. The beast stumbled but did not fall down as it tried to crush her with its weight, bullrushing in its weakened gait allowing the knight to simply stand firm and let the beast impale itself on her blade. She said no words as she dug deep into its heart, upwards at a slight angle as blood dripped to her hand before slipping neatly back out. The house was secure as she wiped her blade on the monster's clothing. She turned towards the family curious about their numbers as they looked fearful still, the attack not quite over yet asking: "Where is your husband?" "D-d-down in the study," said the wife, "he w-was going to defend the ground floor." "Stay here and use your children's beds as defence, kupo. Press them up against the door, any furniture. By the way, who threw that block at him?" One small boy of perhaps five raised his hand sheepishly, short dirt-blonde hair covering his head as she nodded with a gentle smirk. "Good boy, kupo." The moogle ran off to downstairs after seeing no more monsters were coming in through the balcony, wanting to check briefly on the situation with the mayor. The battle of Pordana lasted perhaps at least another hour of conflict all across the streets in different quarters, until the last raider had been settled with. James defended the market district until joining with Enoch the nu-mou who combined their elemental prowess to create an ice-cold wind that shattered across the streets. Berniere found himself in the town square with two humes of his squad, pincered both sides by the pillagers slowly diminishing. Navarro defended the mayor's household without a single other person entering the stately hall after the first attack on it. Margaret found herself around the eastern sector of the town eradicating at least 1/4th of the remaining horde. Soon the sounds of conflict had ceased, the town of Pordana finally safe as people looked from their houses, meekly like mice within the rain of thunderstorms, shocked and unnerved by their very existence still remaining. Not one single resident had been killed in the attack amazingly. But only two of Berniere's clan had not made it, two humans that had been ambushed unfortunately into a bad quarter and briefly slain without a trace. The people however rejoiced, the town grateful with salutations of wealth upon their new sanctuous of heroes. When all had been cleared of debris and destruction, as well as the bodies of the invading horde, a ceremonial show of gratitude had been made within the town square as Berniere stood with his remaining clan, along with James and Navarro promptly. The town houses' lights stood vigil for the fallen and praised for the heroes heartily, the mayor's family standing as the mayor himself presented them with great reward. A portly man in his late 50s, grey hair circling along the back of his head whilst in a brown suit, he made proclamation to the town's populace of mostly-human farm labourers. Three of the plundering beasts had been taken hostage, surrendered by force as a show of mercy and demanded so by Berniere to be taken to trial. James had assumed they were but savage monsters when in actual fact they were a sentient race of creatures invading constantly on other towns, raiders by nature which somewhat disturbed him as the mayor voiced his approval.

"People of Pordana! Today we are finally free of the dreaded Baknamy menace, who so cruelly took advantage of our livestock and very means to live. No more, after these two dreaded months of fiendish assault shall we ever feel the pain of plundering from our roots, thanks to these two brave clans before us. Clan Herne, and Clan Koridai!" Cheers rose from the people as James smiled along with the moogle nodding softly, Navarro not being one for celebration apparently. Berniere however was most jubilantly grinning at his confident victory along with the humble Enoch who nodded simply, and the stern Margaret who mirrored Navarro's face. The last two humans who James had not heard the names of, nodded meekly out of awkwardness for such pains of gratitude as the mayor said: "We offer you both what we can give, our food and our profit or at least a generous part. You are more than welcome to return anytime to our fair settlement." "I am honoured kupo!" said Berniere bowing. "Thank you for your bountiful gifts, we are glad to have saved your people." "I only wish that none of your people had been sacrificed. We will remember them truly for their lives fought here." "I appreciate that, kupo. Thank you mayor." The two bowed once again as once more the people cheered, the sunset fully gone as the night came in sweeping like a blanket of sweet dreams now that the village of Pordana had been rescued from its nightmare. The clans decided to stay at the inn, offered a full stay at a cost of absolutely free for their hard work gladly sleeping in. Two separate rooms as James slept with Navarro whilst Berniere slept with his clan in a larger suite for all of them to stay. Morning did not take long to break as they awoke with fresh faces and hearty smiles bulging in their hearts. It felt good to be a hero, and James was more eager to keep on going as they made one farewell at the town gates, the moogle Berniere giving a few gifts to his fellow warrior. A parchment of eloquent script to Navarro, and the wooden sword that James used as an offering to the raptor. "Your proof of faith," said Berniere to Rocino, "and the sword that stood against me." "Thank you for this Berniere," said the knight female, "this is most appreciated." "Of course, I would have given you it already but now after tonight with no innocent casualties, I can say fully that you are more than capable as a clan together to stand true against the dark, kupo." "We really appreciate it," said FG, "and thanks for the sword, be nice to have something non-lethal." "Hah, you never know! I also have one last gift, a small token to start up your clan fully with, kupo." He handed Navarro a set of keys from his pocket, jingling in his fuzzy pawfingers as she asked him: "What is this?" "I also entrust to you our old hideout, a small shopfront disused in the Nalbina Fortress, kupo." "Old...hideout?" asked FG. "We updated to another area recently, one more accessible so I think no one has had time to drop in and claim it kupo. It's all yours now. There also should be some potential recruits down there too for I heard there will be a mages' fair happening the next month or so, kupo." "We talked over this after your arrival," said Enoch the nu-mou nodding, "you were very helpful in our cause and were you not part of your own clan I would gladly have asked." "But you are so it is," replied Margaret glibly, "if only Harold and Robertson were better we would not find ourselves a much smaller party. At least we do not have to worry about that old housing problem so do what you will." "I understand," said Navarro sincerely. "We cannot thank you enough, you have offered me more help than ever was necessary. And I am sorry for the loss of your friends." With a firm heart-to-heart and a pat on the shoulder of loyalty, the two moogles nodded to each other before saying their farewells as Rocino added: "Please, travel safely kupo." "As to you my dear! Farewell kupo!" The two waved each other off as James and Rocino walked back towards Nalbina. With new authentication as proof of their skill and honour, along with in turn the keys to their own place, things were definitely looking up for Clan Koridai James turned towards his colleague, keys jangling on her wrist before she pocketed them lightly. "Weeeeellll...that went perfectly now didn't it?" "Indeed," said the moogle beaming on the inside, "I already feel our steps have lightened for our journey." "I guess that means you're not so gloomy about us together?" "You have shown your strength, also you are resolute towards facing evil, kupo. That is more than enough for me to see you are at least worthy as my companion." "Heh, what can I say?" "Nothing I hope." "Oh jeez and I had a speech all ready for this. I'd like to thank the academy first of all-" "I thought you never went to one." "Jus-...yanno what, some jokes just don't work let's leave it at that." "Yes, kupo."

The old storefront within Nalbina Fortress' town had most certainly been vacated within the past month or two, the signs of life having just departed it as the dust motes began settling in. A light film covered most things, the cold stone floor making the raptor feel uncomfortable at being made much more aware of the filth he must have walked through on his journey. Whilst it had once been a shop, the interior was much more akin to that of an actual homebase, complete with basement for supplies and conspiratorial planning. The front room, at least the first room one saw upon entering, had an old counter with a sturdy protective glass covering above it almost reminding James of a bank teller's window. Behind that was the actual headquarters themselves through a side door on the counter's left, a much larger room that had mostly been cleared of all its contents. Except for furniture. In the middle of all else, was a round table perfectly arranged with some chairs left unattended all around it, the sun shining down directly upon it from a skylight. Several rooms spanned out in two further directions, north and west. Draped faded curtains and tapestries hung all around them from the corners, some of which had been torn down and taken away but most of which remained, stars and patterned moons upon reddish silk, or perhaps fuchsia it was not certain. Closets and dressers which had once been storage for items and garments now laid bare empty, the homes of moths and other such beasts praying to not see the light again. The north room led towards a series of small doors which in turn led towards rather small rooms almost like studies for oneself. The west-bearing room was basically storage, judging by the smell of musty stale remnants of old pickings and herbs and spices. They also spotted a trapdoor well-hidden towards one side which went down into a basement area. They did not look too much further in but suffice to say, it was a perfect little homebase for them as the moogle nodded with great approval, humbly noting: "A fine place for a clan base, kupo." "I agree," said FG, "and hey, you even rhymed that one." "Hm. Unintentional as it was." "Still, I've seen worse...at least this shop has an actual front and...yanno, windows and...walls and stuff." "What places have you slept through?" "Ruins mainly." "At this rate you might as well undertake archaeology, kupo." "Hah, naaah, I used to be a bodyguard for one actually." "Really?" "Yeah...hmm...welp, let's get this place all cleaned up shall we?" "Agreed. Here." Before they even began to agree on who did what, she handed him a broom that had been left upon the side of a dresser and no further instruction as she began to clear the debris off from the table. With little else to do until the fair could come in, as well as needing to set up the clan itself they could do nothing but clean the place, scrubbing and brushing down every surface possible. Navarro stripped down most of the curtains finding them to be gaudy, deciding perhaps they would do best to sell for gil. James however kept a few back for himself finding them rather lovely.

He also saw a few various objects that made wonderful souvenirs for Koopin such as a small wooden carving of a yellow bird, and a book all in Ivalician the size of a diary. The small rooms were definitely just for bedrooms, for the fact they simply had nothing but a bed and a small desk to sit at, mostly cleaned out of all but the smallest items that missed the previous occupants' eye. James sweeped through the place for hours, gathering up dust, occasionally using a gust of wind from his hands to blast the filth out from the store. Unfortunately the first time he did it, he completely engulfed Navarro in a cloud of earthen smoke from the bedrooms' hallway, curling her lip at him fiercely with a faceful of dirt bristling upon her fuzzy cheeks. She forbid him from using "magic" for the remainder of his cleaning, which only made it that much longer to clean up. By the time he was done, the sun had already started to set outside and he knew he had only finished one part of the cleaning job much to his chagrin. He could have pulled rank as clan leader but decided not to push it and simply kept on working. Once he had finished sweeping, James and Navarro toiled away on the rest of the establishment, already half-finished upon her rearrangement and assortment of various items. Places she noted for holding potions, herbs, supplements, support items, weapons and valuables that were not actual money, were all noted as she laid down the ground rules of which stuff to be put where. The money itself they agreed would be stored in her room as the safest place to be, taking the first door on the left as hers whilst James took the third door on their left. They had once been also storage to separate different stock, but now of course had been refashioned for someplace much more comfortable. With the two now well and truly exhausted from their day-long cleaning regime, they sat down on two nice clean chairs staring across at each other from the clear smooth table. The raptor sighed as he stared up at the skylight, seeing the night sky fade up from over him. The moogle stared up at it too in turn, both of them leaning back just a little bit to feel the light from the starry sky glint down upon them. She could not help but think to herself whilst twiddling her thumbs softly, speaking out with: "I hope that is barricaded, kupo." "Should be," said James lightly, "I haven't cleaned that much since Koopin's parents did some spring cleaning." "The last time I cleaned a place was at my old room during knight academy." "What was it like?" "Like any other academy. Strict, dilligent, routine and orderly. No surprises, just the way I like it, kupo." "Heh, right, fair enough. Hey um, I found this in one of the rooms, what's this?" He offered her the small wooden bird planting it on the table. A cute little thing with sweet blue eyes and a body the colour of butter with a slightly-orange beak. Navarro rubbed gently on its head replying: "That is a small wooden carving of a chocobo, kupo." "Chocobo?"

She stopped rubbing on the little carving and looked up suddenly. All she could do was lean towards her left and plant two fingers upon her forehead in disbelief, staring focusedly on the raptor. "If...there is ANYTHING you should know about this place, is that chocobos exist, kupo. Please do not jest." "Why, are they dangerous?" "N-no, just-...oh Faram you really are that ignorant aren't you?" "I THINK we established that already." "Fine. Chocobos are steeds, creatures of great use as mounts during battle or for pulling carriages across land." "Huh, so they're horses." "...I will accept that you understand the concept, kupo." "Yeah I do, thanks. Cute though." "There are many variants," said Navarro taking the wooden chocobo into her hands, "though the yellow breed is the most easily domesticated. Various colours can result in different levels of domesticity, some more irascible than others kupo." "So some are all cute and cuddly whilst others are psychopaths?" "Not psychopaths, they are simply undomesticated, free to roam the wilds without our follies upon their backs. You cannot call a natural beast a psychopath, that requires a level of sentience to lose empathy with. They are a simple creature, child of the winds, faithful to the right holder of their beating breast." "Ahhhh huh...what about this book then?" He brought up the book before her, a reddish tome dulled in texture by age with some Ivalician title on the front of it. The moogle peered slightly before replying with: "That appears to be the Sage Knowledge Compendium, travel edition." "Huh...sounds useful, wonder why it got left behind." "Because it's out of date by about fifty years, kupo." "Oh...well still good for me then." "You cannot read." "No but...be a nice souvenir for my boyfriend." "Boyfriend? Ah, yes, the tour guide you once mentioned previously, correct?" James looked up as he stuffed away the book into his satchel calmly, staring at her oddly with a nervous grin. "Um...yeah is...that a problem?" "No. But others will find it such so I advise you to not speak of him freely, kupo." "Awww jeez...is this someplace tha-of course it is." "What, kupo?" "Of course a world like this way back in the past is gonna be homophobic." "I do not know that word you mean, also this is not the past, this is present, kupo." "Present to you, yeah. Look I don't wanna cause trouble, got any advice?" "Simple, do not mention your lover, or at the very least keep his gender ambiguous. I do not care who you bed with so long as you remain focused on our mission, kupo." "Fine by me, I just want to see a portal and I'm out of here." "Good."

She placed down the chocobo carving and rapped her fingers on the table calmly, drawing up a plan inside her head whilst James laid back languishing in the peace and quiet of indoors. He was also rather exhausted and upon remembering that it was night when he looked above once more, decided to take advantage of a hard day's work and stood up stretching his arms, groaning: "Uuuunnnnggggh welp, I think I'm off to bed, sure glad we got this place clean in one day." "Indeed, I will to bed soon, kupo." "Alright...heh, you can keep that by the way." "What?" "That uh, chocobo thing, you can have it since you like it so much, I mean I was gonna keep it a souvenir but...we'll call it a housewarming gift." "...oh...hm, thank you James." The raptor smiled at hearing this as he walked off to his room, already having ideas to personalise it for himself as he sat up on the bed. Thankfully the sheets and covers had been left behind and only really needed some airing out after two months of disuse by flapping them outside with the rest of the other fabrics. The room was rather boxy, perhaps big enough only for him to walk four steps from end to end but it gave him enough. A small desk and a bed was certainly a great improvement over a mattress on the floor of an abandoned post office. He decided this was the perfect time also to give a little update to his diary, having captured bits and pieces of Ivalice on his omni-tool as he turned it on. The orange cybernetic glow hummed across the walls like a small firelight, illuminating his face as he started. "Well...no idea what day it is anymore but I got used to that a loooong time ago. So good news, we got our own place, can't believe I managed to score a nice bed for myself so quickly but..." The raptor shrugged with a mirthful chuckle. "Guess my luck is finally changing huh? Navarro's not so bad, I think I can make her smile yet if I just play my cards right, but hey...could be worse. At least she smells better than Gruthar did, hahaha...hmmmm...this Ivalice place is pretty fun though, pretty old-school, lots of swords and sorcery stuff going on, I hear there's a mages' fair starting up in about a month so who knows, maybe I'll make some new friends...it's a shame I can't get all my friends together in one spot though, least this omni-tool can give me something close...least I have a roof over my head properly I mean look." A sweeping shot of his small room showed the barest of necessity. "Kinda cozy isn't it? And real sheets, though only big enough for one...course I wouldn't mind snuggling up with someone...again, heh. I'm gonna have to get used to this Ivalician at some point, I bet there's like some school or some kinda junk sale that might sell off an old kid's book that might help me, yanno, help me learn my A B Cs...hhhhh...I got no idea what, or even if I can find a portal round here, haven't really seen anything like magic around here yet but there's a mage fair happening soon soooo I must see something soon. Also-" "Who are you talking to?" Navarro's voice came lowly through the door as James jumped slightly. "UHH! ...jeez you scared me, I was just writing down a diary, talking to myself." "...they say talking to oneself is the first sign of madness, kupo." "Yeah uh that's not really an issue anymore but thanks. Night Navarro." "Goodnight James." He turned back towards the omni-tool and simply shrugged, turning off the recording as the bedroom went dark. A month would soon pass almost in the blink of an eye as he waited for the day his new clan would swell, to a more prosperous size.