Categories > Games > Final Fantasy 5 > Boys Don't Cry
Sun. Bright yellow sunlight was everywhere. Arcil grunted and rubbed his eyes, wondering what time it was and what he was doing here -- he hadn't passed out drunk again, had he?
No. No, that's right, the pirate remembered when he opened his eyes. The little girl was standing on the bed, looking out of the window at the streets below. "Good mornin'," the pirate said, standing up and moving over. "Howdjer sleep?"
"Fine," the girl said sulkily. She stared for a few more seconds and added, "I dinnt wanna f'eep."
Arcil chuckled. "We all gotta sleep sometimes, liddle 'un," he told her, ruffling her purple hair. She didn't say anything. Arcil bent down next to her and knelt on the floor, watching her face as her sea-colored eyes watched the sailors and the peddlers and the other colorful characters of Tule go rambunctiously about their daily routine. It struck him that she was scared -- but then, of course she was. Stupid to think that she wouldn't be, really. She'd been tossed about in a wild storm, she'd been swept away from her family, who were probably all dead... taken to a loud, noisy bar by some stranger who was definitely a pirate... she had no idea where she was, what was going to happen to her, or when she'd see her family again. Poor little mite.
"C'mon. Let's get some breakfast int' yer," he suggested, taking her hand and leading her downstairs.
*
The girl certainly hadn't lost her appetite, Arcil saw. She was wolfing down those eggs like she'd never eat again, completely engrossed in the task -- which gave him a chance to talk to Brandy.
"Lissen..." he muttered to the pretty barwoman as she cleaned glasses. "I'm sorry abou' wot I said las' night. I wosn't thinkin'."
"Forget about it, Arcil," she replied cooly.
"No, I --"
She held up a hand, cutting him off. "Neither of us was behaving like adults. Let's just leave it." She picked up another glass and glanced at the girl. "So? How is she?"
"Scared," the pirate said in a low voice. "She's tryin' ter 'ide it, but... she don't know where 'er parents are, she don't know where she is now, and she's been found by a smelly pirate an' taken to a bar? I wouldn't be to 'appy if I were in her shoes either." He sighed. "An' as fer the family, well... they're probably gone," he muttered, even more quietly. "That were a vicious storm."
"Mmm," Brandy agreed. "So what are you going to do with her?"
Just the point he had been trying to avoid. "I dunno," he admitted. "I 'aven't gotten me 'ead around that yet... if she were a lad, I could jus' take 'er with me when I put out to sea next."
"If you were a captain, you could just take her with you anyway," Brandy mused, "but it doesn't look like you're going to get control of a ship anytime soon. You haven't been to sea in... how many months?"
"Too many," Arcil agreed. "An' I was never much the cap'n type, either. I -- where'd she go?" For the little girl, plate now empty, had disappeared off of the barstool. "Farifa?" His brow furrowed as he began to search the bar, but an odd snuffling noise quickly led him to her.
"M'name's not Farifa," came a choked voice from under a table. "You're pr'nonfinit wrong."
Arcil knelt for a better look. She was hugging her knees to her chest, staring at the wall -- probably crying. "Sorry," he said. "Are yeh all righ'?"
"Uh-huh. Lemme be, unlef y're gonna tell me a ftory."
"You want a story?" the pirate translated.
"Yef."
"Er..." Arcil scratched his head. "Well, wot kinda story wouldja like? I know this 'un about ol' Cap'n Zegan --"
The little girl cut him off by saying, "Jenica hafs good ftories. She tol' me one wunfs about a girl who wannedabe a knight, an' she dreffed av a boy fso she could be one. An' she wen' an' had avenshures an' faved a hiroo an' the hiroo helped her win a dool wif an evil wizard an' she got a medal an' a fpesh'l commadashin from the king an' everthin." A note of unmistakable scorn entered her voice as she continued: "But then, she fell'n love wif th' dumb prinf after he faved her in a baddle an' she told him she wuv a girl an' ruined it, but th' prinf dinnt mind and then they got married and then they kiffed each uvver. It wuv awful. Reina liked that part, but I dinnt. Everfing elf about it wuv good until they fell in love."
Arcil felt a jolt somewhere in his mind -- the beginnings of a plan, perhaps? "She -- she dressed as a boy, didjeh say?"
"Yef. Until the dumb prinf showed up an' wrecked everthin'," she confirmed, sounding completely disgusted about it. "If yer not gonna tell me a ftory, go away," she repeated, hugging her knees closer.
"I'll tell yeh a story in a minute, liddle mate -- jus' gimme a sec ter remember it." The pirate lept up and dashed over to Brandy, grabbing her shoulders in excitement.
"Arcil! What the dickens --"
"I got it, Brandy!" he hissed elatedly. "I know wot t'do with 'er! I figgered a way she c'n come with me!"
"Oh? How?" she asked skeptically, crossing her arms.
"I dress 'er up as a lad."
Same skeptical look, with the addition of one single raised eyebrow. "And?"
Arcil paused. "An' -- well -- I'll dress 'er as a lad, an' I'll take 'er with me when I go back t'the Star Sapphire." He waited anxiously to see Brandy's reaction. Of course, he would carry out his as-yet rough plan with or without her blessing, but it would be nice to have her help. She did, after all, know more about little girls than he did, having been one herself.
After a very pregnant pause, she finally sighed in a resigned sort of way. "Sure, why not. She'd certainly have a more interesting life with you than she would with me." She paused again, and added, "I still have some of Denley's old things upstairs in my room. They'd probably fit her."
"Yer -- yer serious?" Arcil said wonderingly.
"Aye. Just make sure you bring her back every once in a while... 'specially when she gets to be about this high." She held her hand up to her shoulder. "As a matter of fact, bring her back a lot once she gets that high. When girls get older..."
"Oh, right." Arcil nodded quickly to show he understood, and also that he had no desire whatsoever to hear the details -- it was something to do with the strange moods women got into every so often. As far as he understood it, it concerned something rather unpleasant that happened to their bodies during that time that generally made them about as safe to anger as a goblin with a migrane.
She smiled. "Go on, tell 'er her story," she said, gently pushing him away. Feeling light and strangely giddy, Arcil nearly bounded back to the table under which Farifa sat miserably.
"Ftory?"
Arcil's face opened up into a broad, if somewhat gap-toothed grin. "Oh aye, I got a story for yeh, liddle mate."
"Abou' a few years ago, there was this pirate cap'n named Zegan...."
No. No, that's right, the pirate remembered when he opened his eyes. The little girl was standing on the bed, looking out of the window at the streets below. "Good mornin'," the pirate said, standing up and moving over. "Howdjer sleep?"
"Fine," the girl said sulkily. She stared for a few more seconds and added, "I dinnt wanna f'eep."
Arcil chuckled. "We all gotta sleep sometimes, liddle 'un," he told her, ruffling her purple hair. She didn't say anything. Arcil bent down next to her and knelt on the floor, watching her face as her sea-colored eyes watched the sailors and the peddlers and the other colorful characters of Tule go rambunctiously about their daily routine. It struck him that she was scared -- but then, of course she was. Stupid to think that she wouldn't be, really. She'd been tossed about in a wild storm, she'd been swept away from her family, who were probably all dead... taken to a loud, noisy bar by some stranger who was definitely a pirate... she had no idea where she was, what was going to happen to her, or when she'd see her family again. Poor little mite.
"C'mon. Let's get some breakfast int' yer," he suggested, taking her hand and leading her downstairs.
*
The girl certainly hadn't lost her appetite, Arcil saw. She was wolfing down those eggs like she'd never eat again, completely engrossed in the task -- which gave him a chance to talk to Brandy.
"Lissen..." he muttered to the pretty barwoman as she cleaned glasses. "I'm sorry abou' wot I said las' night. I wosn't thinkin'."
"Forget about it, Arcil," she replied cooly.
"No, I --"
She held up a hand, cutting him off. "Neither of us was behaving like adults. Let's just leave it." She picked up another glass and glanced at the girl. "So? How is she?"
"Scared," the pirate said in a low voice. "She's tryin' ter 'ide it, but... she don't know where 'er parents are, she don't know where she is now, and she's been found by a smelly pirate an' taken to a bar? I wouldn't be to 'appy if I were in her shoes either." He sighed. "An' as fer the family, well... they're probably gone," he muttered, even more quietly. "That were a vicious storm."
"Mmm," Brandy agreed. "So what are you going to do with her?"
Just the point he had been trying to avoid. "I dunno," he admitted. "I 'aven't gotten me 'ead around that yet... if she were a lad, I could jus' take 'er with me when I put out to sea next."
"If you were a captain, you could just take her with you anyway," Brandy mused, "but it doesn't look like you're going to get control of a ship anytime soon. You haven't been to sea in... how many months?"
"Too many," Arcil agreed. "An' I was never much the cap'n type, either. I -- where'd she go?" For the little girl, plate now empty, had disappeared off of the barstool. "Farifa?" His brow furrowed as he began to search the bar, but an odd snuffling noise quickly led him to her.
"M'name's not Farifa," came a choked voice from under a table. "You're pr'nonfinit wrong."
Arcil knelt for a better look. She was hugging her knees to her chest, staring at the wall -- probably crying. "Sorry," he said. "Are yeh all righ'?"
"Uh-huh. Lemme be, unlef y're gonna tell me a ftory."
"You want a story?" the pirate translated.
"Yef."
"Er..." Arcil scratched his head. "Well, wot kinda story wouldja like? I know this 'un about ol' Cap'n Zegan --"
The little girl cut him off by saying, "Jenica hafs good ftories. She tol' me one wunfs about a girl who wannedabe a knight, an' she dreffed av a boy fso she could be one. An' she wen' an' had avenshures an' faved a hiroo an' the hiroo helped her win a dool wif an evil wizard an' she got a medal an' a fpesh'l commadashin from the king an' everthin." A note of unmistakable scorn entered her voice as she continued: "But then, she fell'n love wif th' dumb prinf after he faved her in a baddle an' she told him she wuv a girl an' ruined it, but th' prinf dinnt mind and then they got married and then they kiffed each uvver. It wuv awful. Reina liked that part, but I dinnt. Everfing elf about it wuv good until they fell in love."
Arcil felt a jolt somewhere in his mind -- the beginnings of a plan, perhaps? "She -- she dressed as a boy, didjeh say?"
"Yef. Until the dumb prinf showed up an' wrecked everthin'," she confirmed, sounding completely disgusted about it. "If yer not gonna tell me a ftory, go away," she repeated, hugging her knees closer.
"I'll tell yeh a story in a minute, liddle mate -- jus' gimme a sec ter remember it." The pirate lept up and dashed over to Brandy, grabbing her shoulders in excitement.
"Arcil! What the dickens --"
"I got it, Brandy!" he hissed elatedly. "I know wot t'do with 'er! I figgered a way she c'n come with me!"
"Oh? How?" she asked skeptically, crossing her arms.
"I dress 'er up as a lad."
Same skeptical look, with the addition of one single raised eyebrow. "And?"
Arcil paused. "An' -- well -- I'll dress 'er as a lad, an' I'll take 'er with me when I go back t'the Star Sapphire." He waited anxiously to see Brandy's reaction. Of course, he would carry out his as-yet rough plan with or without her blessing, but it would be nice to have her help. She did, after all, know more about little girls than he did, having been one herself.
After a very pregnant pause, she finally sighed in a resigned sort of way. "Sure, why not. She'd certainly have a more interesting life with you than she would with me." She paused again, and added, "I still have some of Denley's old things upstairs in my room. They'd probably fit her."
"Yer -- yer serious?" Arcil said wonderingly.
"Aye. Just make sure you bring her back every once in a while... 'specially when she gets to be about this high." She held her hand up to her shoulder. "As a matter of fact, bring her back a lot once she gets that high. When girls get older..."
"Oh, right." Arcil nodded quickly to show he understood, and also that he had no desire whatsoever to hear the details -- it was something to do with the strange moods women got into every so often. As far as he understood it, it concerned something rather unpleasant that happened to their bodies during that time that generally made them about as safe to anger as a goblin with a migrane.
She smiled. "Go on, tell 'er her story," she said, gently pushing him away. Feeling light and strangely giddy, Arcil nearly bounded back to the table under which Farifa sat miserably.
"Ftory?"
Arcil's face opened up into a broad, if somewhat gap-toothed grin. "Oh aye, I got a story for yeh, liddle mate."
"Abou' a few years ago, there was this pirate cap'n named Zegan...."
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