dear_mun | When Needs Must

Entry tags:

canon: final fantasy

When Needs Must

Really Mun, while I appreciate your interest in playing me, I am going to have to protest where it is you plan to send me.

It is not a place fit for a leading man, after all, least of all because they intend to perform some rather risky surgeries. If I had wanted to be in the company of people like my father again, why I would have gone back to Archadia.

And do be honest, you know that our intrepid little group would be utterly hopeless without me. Any group is without the leading man.

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Being advised and knowing are rather different things. I prefer the knowing.

_{[ There's a quirk of his lips at that, hearing it even if she did not say it. ]}

Why, my dear Highness, I am the leading man! Every adventure needs its leading man, and Vaan isn't quite ready for that roll I'm afraid.

For once, we are in agreement.

{ Deciding it dangerous to encourage him, she purses her lips, attempting indifference. It's mostly successful. }

But you are qualified?

But of course. Dashing, handsome, and smart - I'm the perfect man for the job. I'll admit Vaan has at least one of those things, but he needs to hone the other two some more.

_{[ He remembers that particularly incident in the Viera Woods and winces inside. Really, Vaan? Really? ]}

I would have thought by now my many qualifications would have been made quite clear, princess.

{ Despite herself, she almost laughs; he is so different than anyone she has ever encountered. The declaration is exactly as anticipated, but it is still baffling.

And so very Balthier. }

I wasn't aware pirates made it past preliminary judgment for { Her brows lift ever so slightly. } leading men.

We make the best candidates, princess. We have the best sort of adventures, after all.

_{[ There's a smirk on his lips, daring her to argue you that. ]}

Amalia. { For a moment, she almost allows his comment to go unchallenged, because she has seen the smirk on his lips before and the knowing look in his eyes.

Except that she is every bit as stubborn as he is, maybe more so. If he wants to banter, she is determined to win. }

And there is no clause about honour?

Amalia, you wound me. Sky pirates have honour. I keep my word, after all, and has a lie ever passed my lips?

{ He has her there.

And then she remembers, a note of concern in her tone: }

Do you still have my ring?

_{[ There's a pause, and then he nods. ]}

Yes, I do have it. I made a promise I would return it to you, when I found the real treasure I am after. As I said, I keep my word.

Then --

{ There's no way around it, although she does curb the beginnings of a smile before it can blossom. } I concede, Balthier. You are in fact honourable.

{ But he will have to be much more inventive than that to get her to concede to his 'leading man' role. }

And so the leading man claims another great victory.

_{[ He chuckles, the teasing still playing out even though there had been a serious moment in there. He wasn't one to linger to much on them unless necessary. ]}

Don't become accustomed to winning against me, pirate.

{ But the smile shines through, if only subtly.

And while she pretends not to notice, she does, shelving the information for later contemplation. Vaan, Penolo, Fran, Basch -- she has learned so much about all of them since the beginning of their journey, but for as open as he is, Balthier is still very much an enigma. }

Where has your mun decided to see you travel to?

Well, despite my very valid points, she wants to send me to this place called "Sanctum". The name is foreboding enough, don't you agree? I shall have ports put into my back and be released into a grand city with questionable motives behind everything. I was never meant for the politics game.

_{[ He shook his head and sighed, his mouth set in a discomforted line. No, he was not looking forward to this. ]}

{ And in all honesty, she isn't looking forward to this for him, either. Her hand comes to rest against the hilt of the sword, but this is something she can't challenge or change, and it leaves her frustrated. Feeling helpless.

She frowns. }

Be careful. Don't let your guard down.

That's an order, not a request. We can't .... We need you to return home safe, after all.

_{[ There's a pause as he digests that, mostly because he wasn't used to such words from anyone but Fran, or with such intensity. But Amalia was a creature of determination and will, wasn't she?

Balthier hated to admit it, but he could learn a bit from her in that regard. ]}

Well, if it's an order from the Princess, I suppose I'll have to do just that.

_{[ He executes a bow at the chest to her, but for all it is said perhaps a touch lightly, there is seriousness there beneath the words, a promise he can't quite speak aloud. ]}

{ She doesn't correct or reprimand him for the use of her title or the bow, managing -- just barely -- to cap the smile that tugs at the corners of her lips. It has become a practiced gesture, as he tugs them from her with alarming frequency for someone who is not accustomed to smiling for some years. }

Good.

{ Ashelia tilts her head a little, weighing her words carefully. } Or I will have to follow shortly to ensure your safety.

Will I be accused of kidnapping again should that happen?

_{[ But his mouth is gently turned up, a true smile rather than the soft smirk he usually gives people, the one he uses to charm and entice before he runs away. Usually only Fran saw it, but in recent days it seemed four others had managed to work their way enough into his confidence to see it as well. ]}

At that point I might as well turn myself in should we ever return. I would quite nicely set up for the rest of my life, drifting through the skies.

That depends.

{ He draws her smiles, unbidden, more often than she would care to acknowledge or admit, but when he smiles -- really smiles -- it is impossible to deny its contagiousness. She folds her arms loosely against her chest and lifts her chin, attempting to regain some air of regality. }

Of course we shall return, in time. The others need us; Dalmasca needs us. If you wish to continue to aid me, that is.

{ Because they all have a choice. No matter what world, it seems, she finds herself plunging them into danger, and so the least she can do is remind them that this is not something that she requires of them. }

Even knowing my past, Amalia? Certainly there will be questions raised should people find out I was once a hound of the Empire.

_{[ A time he did not look on fondly, and wore with perhaps a bit of shame. He had cast that life off though, started running, and never looked back though some certain bangaa had made it difficult to keep from looking over his shoulder now and then.

And certainly Vaan would not deal well with such revelations, he believed. He was young and bright yet, full of the wrath and impetuous nature of youth. ]}

You were { Are; for a moment, she decides to pay no due attention to the amendment. } a pirate, too. A rogue.

What matters is what you are now, which is much needed aid to a princess who is so only in name and in title. { Stripped of everything, sometimes she wonders if it's fair or even to ask the four she has grown so fond of to risk and struggle. With every close call, she examines her choice more carefully, weighing the weight of marching forward alone. }

You shall allow me to worry of questions and doubts, should they arise. Understood?

Spoken like a queen.

_{[ But it's not him saying no. Really, he's rather proud of her. She's come a ways since the lost princess he found in the Gramsythe Waterways.

He smiles gently at her, as close as he can come to saying that he trusts her, believes the things she says to him. ]}

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When Needs Must

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