To Get to Know Another (Private: Bala Choukichi) (Advanced)

Balendin waited patiently in the clearing. He had decided to make the meeting point in this clearing surrounded by forest which was located north of the town of Duster. Duster was a small town, but it was an interesting place. The town was the home to many geomancers and bards. Geomancers were an interesting lot. The had the ability to use the latent powers in the terrain surrounding them when in combat which was not something Balendin had found to be common.

The person he was here to meet was the woman called Bala. He had taken a fancy to her upon their last meeting finding her to be both charming and attractive. Maybe what he found appealing was simply the exotic mysteriousness that came from her being of a race that Balendin had never heard of or seen before. He could not say for certain, but he found himself drawn to this woman nonetheless.

He had asked her to meet him here and accompany him for at least the day. If she did not show up he would understand. They were strangers to each other and she could have no clue as to what kind of intentions he had. He had no intentions other than to try to find out more about her, but how was she to know that. Maybe he had asked to much asking her to come spend the day with him after they had just met. Sometimes being a social outcast for most of one's life had its disadvantages.

He could have asked her to meet him in a more public place, but he did not want his identity as King of Saronia to be revealed. People had the tendency to act different around Kings and Balendin was hoping to avoid that. A simple warrior like himself was not meant to be a ruler, but alas fate seemed to have a different opinion.

Balendin found himself lying out on the grass staring up at the sky. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and there was a hint of a breeze blowing. Big puffy white clouds floated across the sky. Some people looked at the clouds and saw pictures in them. Balendin was not particularly gifted in this skill. When he looked at clouds, he tended to see clouds. He had to admit that he had little practice at cloud gazing for he rarely had time for such frivolous activities.

Iro was out in the woods somewhere exploring. Balendin had set him loose a while ago. He was likely not that far away. His pink dragon had a tendency to keep close in case Balendin had need of him. He sometimes surprised himself on how well he had trained the Ironite he had found abandoned in a wild. Hopefully Bala would not be afraid of Iro. The pink dragon had the ability to be rather intimidating to other people. It was the curse to being a dragon.

Balendin felt his eyes begin to grow heavy. It was not exactly safe to fall asleep in the middle of the wilderness. Monsters roamed the countryside and Balendin had no doubt that they would pounce on a sleeping man given the chance. It was a danger he was willing to take apparently because he was soon fast asleep.

Bala found herself in a strange, small town. There was a lot of singing, which was slightly distracting and giving her a small headache. The idea of meeting someone different in a completely different world was a little nerve racking. Her heart pounded in her chest quickly. “You said somewhere in a little spitball named Duster. Who the heck names a town Duster?” Sea-green eyes looked over the note a moogle had given her over again. “Judging from your signet, you are someone up there in the world…probably not meant for me.”

For all her muttering, it suddenly ceased as she found herself in a forest. The wood was calming and alive to her. More alive than the town she had just walked from. She felt the hairs on her back stand on end as she heard a rustling in the woods and saw something a bright pink color. Whatever it was had wings and a tail. Bala wondered if it was something like a dragon or the like that she had read about in one of her books long ago. Cain was on her mind. He called me his best friend, she thought, and he hinted that something more could come…why would I show up here at a strange place without him? He has been well travelled. More travelled than I…

Her thoughts quickly turned to the pain her friend might feel at the thought of his watching everyone around him die. “Must be horrible,” she mused quietly. As she quietly walked in the forest, the beast moved again and revealed its face. So you are a dragon… “Well met, beast of the sky. I mean you no harm and hope you shan’t need to meet the sharp end of Teruyoshi.”

As she said this, she looked down at her brown kimono and red obi. It wasn’t quite her fanciest kimono or hakama ever, but it was enough for spending a day with a complete stranger. The airship she hired to take her had cost her some more time doing petty chores than she would have liked, but it might be worth it to at least meet the one named Balendin.

The dragon meanwhile, decided to leave Bala be and side step around her and allow her passage. The young Guado samurai bowed to the dragon and moved onward. Her eyes stared at her feet as they moved. They soon covered enough ground that leaves changed into grass. When the sun lit up the meadow, Bala shielded her eyes with her kimono sleeve. She noted instantly that there was a man nearly asleep in the grass. Would he have some connection to the beast in the forest? She mused in her mind. She walked slowly toward the man, watching as his chest rose and fell slowly. His brown hair shone in the sun and his features were in this moment calm and warm, quite unlike her friend’s pale, cold, dead white skin, but with Cain, she felt safe, and this man was a complete stranger.
She quietly sat down in the grass and unsheathed Teruyoshi and set it on her lap. The samurai pulled out a sharpening stone and began whisking it along the blade. It was important that she retain her katana’s quality, for it reflected the quality that she upheld herself to. As the shushing sound came from the blade, she contemplated her honor. Yes, let’s have a fine talk about how I am indebted to a vampire…who’s a priest…who might be looking for more as friends. She nearly growled and threw the weapon down into the dirt.

Balendin slept peacefully stretched out on the grass. His dreams were pleasant today as he relived one of his better memories from his youth. He was about eleven or twelve then. Balendin had six siblings amongst his adopted family since Burmecians tended to give birth in liters. He had gotten along with most of his brothers and sisters to an extent, but he had one sister that had always been his favorite. In his dream, they were playing some sort of game and there was smiling and laughing.

Suddenly the sound of a whetstone on a blade pierced his dream and it fled. It was replaced instead by a darker dream. He was before the north gate on the Burmecian side. He was surrounded by Burmecian soldiers who were calmly preparing themselves for battle. Two of his brothers sat at his side. One was running a whetstone down his blade; the other was cleaning his spear. Soon all these Burmecian soldiers would be dead; killed by either Black Mage fire or at the end of Alexandrian swords.

Balendin pushed the dream away with all his might. He would not relive this battle yet again. It haunted his dreams always. He had been a Dragon Knight of Burmecia. The people had put their hopes in him, but he had let them down. They had been slaughtered and he had not been able to do a thing about it.

Balendin awoke with a start and sat up quickly. His vision was a bit blurry for his eyes had begun to tear up. He quickly whipped away the wetness. At that moment he realized that the sound of stone of steel had not ceased with awakening. A scent drifted into his nostrils. It took him a moment to register it and then its owner face popped in his mind. He slowly turned his head to see the female sitting behind him.

The one known as Bala had come and she had snuck up on him without him becoming aware. This was no easy task for his years of wandering alone had made him adept at being alert even in sleep. Her weapon lay on her lap and her face showed frustration at the moment.

"My lady, I apologize if I have inconvenienced you. I realize that this place may be difficult to travel to. Please allow me to reimburse any expense you may have occurred to get here. It is the very least I can do."

Balendin was only guessing at whatever her displeasure was. Surely he was not so much an undesireable person to be around that her having to spend time with him was the cause. Then again, surely she had better things to do then spend her precious time with him. She was here, though, and there would have been no reason for her to come if he was that horrible.

Suddenly Iro appeared from out of the bushes and layed down beside him. Balendin elbowed the pink dragon in the side. The Ironite could have warned him that Bala had showed up since he was obviously very close by. The Ironite only stared at Balendin and nudged his hand with his head in an obvious attempt to get Balendin to scratch him behind his frills.

“Reimburse? Surely, you must be someone of royalty or money and I have wasted my time here.” Bala’s tone was colder than a winter on Mt. Gagazet. Slowly, she stopped sharpening her blade and sheathed it properly. For some reason, the Guado was in a foul mood today. She wished she could blame it on the airship ride, but then again, it wasn’t the flying that had bothered her.

She sighed and stood to her feet. “I’m not sure why you would call me here…and I’ll have you know that I’m not quite in the happiest of moods at present.” She watched as the large pink beast came charging out of the woods and wanted its master to play. At least, the beast made it seem that way. Its snout nuzzled Balendin’s hand, and for some reason, its tail waggled and it looked at Bala. Bala simply shook her head and smirked. “No, no…I cannot play. You might decide you like the taste of Guado and then I’d be on bad terms with Balendin here.” Her eyes looked over at the handsome young man.

“Ah, yes, I believe we were never really properly introduced the last time. You’ll have to forgive Cain’s…oddities. He really isn’t so bad.” Bala gave no expression when she said it, hoping that a samurai as young as she was could truly hide all as her master did. The girl tried to look away from her duties of the day, but as ingrained in her as they were, it was difficult for her to do to say the least.

She bowed very low to the ground as a sign of the utmost respect for her guest, though she felt anything but respectful at this point, and said as she slowly rose, “My name is Bala Choukichi. Samurai of the Guado tribe. Hailing from Macalania Forest in Spira.” She returned her body to the grassy ground it had originally rested on and frowned. “Generally, I would prepare tea for you, but it seems that I have forgotten my travelling kit.”

The girl tried to hide her nervousness behind a slight chuckle before looking over Iro once more. “Tell me, man, what do you enjoy doing besides snoozing where you can be easily ambushed?” Her words were meant as a joke, but for some reason, she could not allow herself to be calm around Balendin. Perhaps it was because he seemed rather formal himself, but for whatever reason, Bala found her sea-green eyes focused on the skies.

“Tell me we aren’t going through that town again. It could be considered interesting to one not trained in such arts as I am, but for me and my strict ways I am too wary in that town.” Bala tried to smile sweetly, but since she did not know Balendin’s true intentions, it appeared a little more forced than she would have liked it to be. On a whim, the girl stood up and began walking in a direction. “What of hide and seek? Do you play, or are you too uptight for it?” Perhaps it was her preconceived notion that would get her into trouble here, but the mood just was not meant to be lightened by her.

“No using ‘Pinky’…it’s not fair.” She called out to Balendin and chuckled as she ran away from him at a full speed, looking for a good location to hide. The meadow did not provide much cover, so she dashed into the woods and hid in with the leaves that matched her kimono. Some quick thinking lead her to cover her flashy obi with browns that would help camouflage her. The girl even built a cap out of leaves and hid down on the forest floor. Her sheathed Teruyoshi lie in wait as well. Nothing says I have to be too nice, I’ll teach him the samurai’s way of playing.

"Is there some sort of law against someone having a bit of wealth to their name? Will not being poor be held against me? Even in my days as a homeless wanderer, I still carried a full pouch of gil. Monster slaying is a lucrative endeavor and I will not a apologize for benefiting from it."

Balendin shook his head at Iro. It seemed that the dragon had taken an interest of Bala. Quite strange that both master and pet would find themselves pulled towards some woman they barely knew. Iro was acting quite un-dragon-like today which was not unusual. He was raised in captivity from his youngest days and had not had a chance to find out how to be a proper Ironite.

"You have no reason to fear that Iro may find you appetizing. He is far to friendly and well trained to ever do such a thing. His killer instinct has either been locked deep within him or maybe it has left him completely."

Bala introduced herself properly after bowing deeply. He despised bowing having had to put up with it in recent times far to frequently. She claimed to be a Samurai and of the Guado tribe although Balendin had no clue about this Guado tribe. Neither did he have any idea where Macalania woods or even Spira was located. Balendin assumed he might as well return the gesture. He stood up and offered a slight bow.

"I am Balendin currently of Saronia. I was born and raised in Burmecia on the Mist Continent in Gaia. I was once a Dragon Knight of Burmecia, but I no longer claim any right to that honor."

Balendin wondered what about him made this woman so uncomfortable and passive aggressive towards him. Certainly he had not shown any indication that he meant her harm. He had not forced her to come here. He had simply sent of the invitation and she had made an active decisions to do that on her own.

"I was not planning to return to Duster for it gets quite annoying after awhile to have random people singing in your ear all the time. No I had plans to travel to the Floating Continent if that is to your liking."

Bala surprised him by suggesting a game of hide and seek. A children's game and one he had not played in quite a number of years. He decided to humor her and started counting as she ran off to hide. Iro settled down for a nap and sprawled out on his back which was something he tended to do despite the fact that no other Ironite seemed to sleep like that. Balendin leaned against him and counted to one hundred.

After he was done counting he moved forward towards the direction she had run originally. As he approached the woods, he picked up her scent faintly. Moving the direction from which it came, he found himself standing in front of some thick brush. Her scent had become quite a bit stronger to the point that he knew that he was rather close. A pole about six and a half feet long appeared in his hand and he used it to begin to poke around in the brush.

Bala heard him counting in the distance, and watched for a moment as his dragon laid down for a nap. If I was worried about being eaten, then your dragon would be at least bearing a scratch, and while it isn’t bad to carry around change, but…sigh…it’s good to know you work for it.

While her thoughts were self contained, the girl could not help but notice all the noise he made when walking about the brush. She sighed mentally and stayed hidden. Teruyoshi appeared as soon as she noted Balendin not that far from her, though it was a chore to keep it from being seen. When the young male began poking around in the grass, Bala climbed a nearby tree, making sure she was not seen. Running quickly, she leapt off a branch and rolled in the air.

As she landed, she had her back pointed to her strange host. Her arm was extended and Teruyoshi glistened as it was pointing straight at the young man’s nape of his neck. A smirk was on her face as she spoke softly. “Normally, you’d be dead by now.” She was used to hearing the harsh commands by her master being barked out at her. She turned and sheathed her weapon.

“Can you do better?” she whispered as she began walking deeper into the woods. “I’ll count this time.” A strange smile was on her face. The young Guado’s nose tickled. She hadn’t expected to find any dead spirits here, but she supposed it was possible. The other Guado elders had often seen swarms of spirit children all around Bala, all screeching to be played with. When she was annoyed or in training, the children would often give her sad looks and run away before they got yelled at.

She looked back to where Balendin was and smiled a little. When she turned her head, the girl saw a little girl crying. “Aw…hey…what’s the matter?” her nose crinkled and she thought to herself that the girl was dead, and that is what was the matter, but like most children spirits, there was no way in the Farplane that this one knew she was dead.

“Awl my fwends are gwon.” She sniffled and looked up at Bala hesitantly, yet innocently.
“Will woo be my fwend?”

Bala smiled and chuckled lightly. She nodded once and motioned for the girl to keep quiet. She described Balendin through a painting and pointed back to where he was before she walked away. “Look for him when I’m done counting,” the samurai whispered.
The little spirit girl nodded and disappeared for an instant before reappearing behind Balendin. She bounced in the air on her tip toes and eagerly awaited the game to begin. In the distance, Bala’s counting could be heard softly in the distance and was nearing the fifty mark.

Bala kept her eyes focused on the tree in front of her and kept counting. She had been taught to take in everything and yet ignore it at the same time. Time passed slowly in Bala’s mind and the thrill of the hunt had begun to excite her. Her thoughts still lingered on Cain for a minute or two before she had begun her searching.

Balendin noted the movement, but pretended not to notice. He did not know what she planned by climbing a tree, but she was bearing her sword once again which he was not sure what to make of. He continued to poke around in the brush feigning ignorance that she was above him out of curiosity to find out what she had planned. She eventually jumped from a branch and landed behind him. Had this been true combat she would have likely already been dead before she hit the ground. His weapon provided far greater reach than her own. He could have easily caught her in midair with his glaive before she was within the striking distance of her own weapon. Gravity would have made it impossible for her to dodge.

Once she landed he allowed her to bring her blade towards his neck. Had she been facing him, she would have noticed the four and a half inch spike that had appeared on the back of the rod which was now poised to strike her. One thrust and it could all be over. He made the spike disappear before she turned around. He decided to allow her the illusion of thinking she had gotten the drop on him.

Bala walked off claiming that this time she would count. At this time Balendin took off running down the forest path. He ran for a bit then leaped into the air. He sailed up through the canopy of the trees and looked around. Off in the distance he saw a patch of trees somewhat taller than the others. He descended back to the forest floor and began to head the opposite direction. Suddenly he jumped up to a nearby branch and began jumping from branch to branch in the direction of the patch of trees. He wondered if his tactic would confuse Bala or if she would see through it. Once he reached the grove, he leaped up to a branch and made his way to the top of the tree. He then waited hidden behind a wall of leaves.

He suddenly felt strange as if something was watching him, but there was nothing in sight. Balendin leaned back against the tree trunk. Playing hide and seek like children was somewhat exhilarating. He was good to get away from the day to day affairs of leadership when he could. Everyone was always bowing and looking to him like some kind of hero or savior. It was ironic that he had spent a good portion of his youth trying to get people's approval and respect yet now that he was so beloved, he wished people would just let him be. It was quite a paradox.

He wondered how Bala would react if she found out he was King of Saronia. She had shown such contempt earlier towards those with any sort of wealth or power. It was not like he was some aristocrat born with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. He had been abandoned at birth. He did not know anything about his biological family, but more likely then not he was bastard born. He had been adopted and raised by a family that was neither rich nor of any great social standing. He had worked hard for everything he had earned in life. Becoming a King had not been something he had expected or desired; it had just happened. A strange fluke indeed.

The small spirit girl floated behind Balendin quietly. She wondered why he was able to float on the air like she could. “He’s vewy fash,” she whispered to herself, “I wonder if Bala cwan catsh him.” A breeze rustled in the leaves. She hovered in the same spot for a moment. She floated after him and hid next to him in the trees. Her head swiveled over her shoulder as she looked back at Bala. “I sawl where he went, Bwala.” Another breeze blew through the land, it was calm and soft.

Bala walked through the forest; her guard was up. She had been stupid earlier and was kicking herself for it. She had not been able to guess that Balendin’s pole was so long. She was used to fighting against katana, clubs, and yumi. The fact that this man fought with weapons that had reach and it was not a projectile of sorts displayed Bala’s ignorance to other cultures and worlds. Then again, this was new to her. It was something that she had hated about her race. They had scoffed and scorned at what they did not understand. Cain is a prime example, she thought, and this guy would be just as ridiculed.

At the thought of Balendin being ridiculed, the young samurai’s face fell. Perhaps she had been too hard on him. “Tried to listen,” she muttered to herself, “maybe I didn’t try hard enough, but nothing will come between me and my honor.” Her nose began to crinkle as she entered a part of the woods that had taller trees than the rest. The spirit girl may have been close, but she wondered more where her prey was. The smell of a spirit became heavy; Bala looked around her and spotted the little girl from before.

Bala silently bowed and motioned for the spirit to speak softly in her ear. The spirit was laughing and dancing about with glee.

“Bwala, he’s fash. Very fash…pwease be careful.” The spirit rested her hands on Bala’s shoulders. “He’s up there.” The spirit pointed her small index finger to the tallest tree of the patch of taller trees in the forest. “Fowhoa me!” The girl began skipping in the air straight to the tree and waited for Bala to catch up.

Bala smiled and shook her head slightly. This game was going to be very interesting, she knew, but she wasn’t quite sure what to make of Balendin still. He seemed to be a good, working man, but still he seemed to act with a pomp that was unparalleled. Bala shook her head again and drew Teruyoshi.

She walked out to where the spirit had led and stared up at the tree. A smirk grew on her face. She sheathed Teruyoshi. I like challenges. Bring it on! Silently and slowly, Bala began climbing the tree where Balendin was hiding. She thought she caught a glimpse of her “foe’s” boot, but she tried not to worry about that. From what she had gathered, he was smart and calculated; he surely would not try to pull a fool move like the mistake she had done earlier. Then again, that was her punishment for thinking she had the situation completely analyzed while thinking she had the upper hand. He wouldn’t get to her this time.

Her nose crinkled and she sensed that the spirit was near. She quickened her pace as much as possible, and was soon standing on the branch next to the spirit. “Thanks,” she whispered as she drew Teruyoshi again.

“You welcome.” A soft breeze blew and there was a hint of rain in the air.

Balendin leaned back against the tree trunk waiting for Bala to find him. Occasionally he glanced down looking for signs of her. He wondered if she would find him quickly or if he would be waiting for a while. Hopefully sooner than later since it felt like it was going to rain soon. Balendin was somewhat mixed on his feelings about rain. Being caught in the rain was very bitter sweet for him. On one hand, he felt at home in the rain. Burmecia was not called the land of Eternal Rain for nothing. It literally rained there constantly. Granted sometimes it rained harder and sometimes it rained very lightly, but it was always raining. When he had left Burmecia, it had been a great shock to him to find out that in other places they had periods where there was no rain. He had heard the stories as a kid of such a phenomena, but he had always thought them to be an exaggeration and he would never have guessed if they were true that some places in the world went without rain for such long periods of time. Although he felt more comfortable in the rain then in any other weather, it understandably brought him sadness. The memories of walking into Burmecia to find it in ruins and all of its inhabitants slaughtered would never leave him. If only he had been there in time. How many lives could he had saved?

Balendin shook away these thoughts. He wondered why he was having such depressing thoughts today. He had thought he had got all this sad emotional junk out of his system already. He needed to stop letting his thoughts wander to the past or Bala would be sneaking up on him in no time. He was not really sure what to think of the woman. She seemed a little too slash happy with that katana of hers to the point that it was starting to get suspicious. He did not want to think that she might be an assassin or something, but he could not rule out the possibility. She had mentioned earlier that she thought he might be royalty. There was no logical reason for her to assume such a thing. He lacked the trappings or mannerisms for anyone to assume it. There was no reason for her to assume that from the way he had offered to pay her traveling expenses. Any seasoned adventurer who had a bit of manners would make the same offer and have the funds to back it up. Gil was not so hard to come by when you spent your days slaying monsters. No. There was absolutely no reason for her to make that assumption. The only logical conclusion he could come up with was that she was already aware that he was King of Saronia and trying to keep it a secret, but had slipped up. Another possibility was she had made the statement on purpose to see if he would notice. Then again, there could be other evidence she had used to make her conclusion that Balendin did not know of or realize.

Her scent wafted up to him from below. She was here and the fact that her scent was getting stronger indicated that she was climbing up the tree. He did not look down, but judging from her scent coming strongly from beneath him, he figured she must be on the branch below. His glaive appeared in his hand this time with the blade on the end.

"You found me and much quicker then expected, Bala. I must ask you. Why are you here? I am just some random stranger. Why did you accept to meet me here?"

Bala looked at Balendin suspiciously for a moment. She motioned for the small spirit to get behind her. Teruyoshi was poised for action, but she did not strike. It would be considered shameful to tag another when he or she asked a question. She did, however; crouch down in front of Balendin. Her eyes lowered to the ground below. To someone not used to the majestic power trees held over the forests by their domineering heights, the view might have been considered terrifying, but to Bala, the world below seemed as small as she felt at times.

A peaceful sigh escaped her lips while she thought of a way to answer the question she had recently been given. Keeping her head bent, she eased her grip on Teruyoshi. “Suspicious are you?” she asked quietly. She rose to her feet gracefully and flourished her blade in the motion she was taught from her childhood. The motions denoted that she was an orphan, but she doubted that a man of spears would be able to recognize such an insignificant thing. Insignificant, like the land below…like I was, she thought ruefully as her katana slid into its sheath. A smirk spread halfway across her face, and her feet slid gracefully to the edge of the branch. Her legs tensed and she jumped off the branch. The wind rushed past her and she felt the ground coming closer.

“If you honestly think I’m a bad person…” She tumbled backwards in the air and barely managed to grasp a branch close to her. She winced in pain. Her shoulder seemed to be dislocated, but it was nothing she couldn’t handle. “Then I feel sorry for you sir, I am not the kind to go randomly killing.” It was true, she was not entirely sure if he thought her a killer, but she made a guess from the look on his face.
Bala tilted her sea green eyes skyward. “I am a samurai. Not a bloody ninja.” Her hand let go of the branch, causing the girl to land on the ground harshly. Even with her elegant roll, she still felt stinging pain in her body. “I came here to see who you really were, Balendin.”

She ran into the woods haphazardly. The girl hoped to find a cave where she could tend to her wounds before he found her. Something in her heart felt heavy when she was around Balendin. He seemed to be in something of a constant rut to her. Of course, maybe something from his past had haunted him like her past had haunted her. Whatever the reason though, Bala’s eyes filled with tears. She barely noticed the spirit girl floating next to her.

The spirit placed a hand on Bala’s shoulder. Sea green eyes looked at the spirit. There was no emotion in her eyes, but she knew the spirit could tell that she was in pain. She sighed and spotted a nearby cave. She ran to it and huddled down in it. The rain began to pour down. Bala quickly grabbed some gauze out of her pocket and tightly bound up her shoulder after excruciating pain that came with relocating her shoulder, but the samurai refused to scream outright.