Altered Tundra

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

As Emiri would thank Jaakuna(and blush), she would then just sit there as if she was waiting for it to work automatically. She would then, obviously content to wait it out, look to Jaakuna. She would do some sort of corny pose asking Jaakuna how she looked. He just smiled, chuckled, and spoke. “Like the fairest in the land.” Jaakuna said smiling and lightly booping her nose.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Wesley completely understood Grant’s reaction. Now that he actually had time to digest it, he too felt disgusted by what Levi did. Not only the fact that she killed his uncle right after he proposed to her(that still gets him), but she would parade in his dead body and just shed it right in front of him. That would forever be imprinted into his brain and never will be removed even through hours upon hours of therapy. Wesley would hear Jaakuna and just shook his head. “And here I thought my family was going to be the less crazy one.” Wesley would just shake his head even more.

As Jaakuna thought about it more, he didn’t want to. Thankfully for him, Emiri would call for his assistance with the bottle. He did see her try to get it out, but it was to no avail. He would change seats to which he was next to Emiri. “Hmm, let’s see.” He said as he would look at the vile. “Oh, Emiri..” He said looking at her. He would take the vile from her gently and he would lightly shake the bottle around the flower wreath and little specs of the Dream Powder would be sprinkled on it. “There you go, my love.” Jaakuna smiled happily and lightly kissed Emiri on the lips.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

When Grant would ask about the ring, Wesley felt instantly felt like if he told, he would be looked down upon. The fact of the matter was that Levi had the ring and what was even worse, she had married his uncle, which would make Levi Wesley’s aunt, but how was he going to tell Grant that. “It’s complicated.” He said scratching the side of his face with his right index finger. “The ring, well that is you see..” Wesley took a deep breath and just spoke. “The ring was stolen from my mother by my Uncle Clyde who gave it to Levi, who killed him, and when we went to see my uncle was parading in his dead body and told us that she and him got married and well that’s that.” Wesley said not even taking a breather. “So, long story short: Levi has it and she’s my aunt.”

Jaakuna and Savayna overheard and boy if they did not hear it from the source, they would have never believed it. To think that Levi married his uncle and killed him. Even more bizarre, she paraded around in his dead body as him. “We have seriously fucked up families.” Savayna would muse aloud. Jaakuna would just nod comically, eyes closed, arms folded across his chest, and just repeating “mhm mhm.“

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

As Nadeline excused herself, Grant would instantly ask what it was between her and Wesley, though he would state that the Dalmascan prince didn't have to say why. Wesley pondered on if he should tell Grant the full story. He didn't want to think on what Grant would think about him if he did, but not telling him fully would probably make things worse.

Wesley just looked at Grant. "She found out that I kept Jaakuna's secret about Emiri's...situation and as you can probably guess, she let me have it." Oh boy did she ever. The secret wasn't fully to blame either. Wesley sure added fuel to the fire by clutching onto his honor. Though, it wasn't Wesley's fault that he liked to think of himself as an honorable man and he wanted to uphold that. Though, the fact of the matter was that Wesley didn't tell Nadeline everything and apparently that was a bad thing.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

From Grant telling the group where he went to Nadeline asking about how it went, Jaakuna just sighed as he would take a breath in. He wanted to get the right words out before he would speak. Taking his breath out slowly, Jaakuna just let the relaxing aura surround him. "It was good for the most part." He said, "I admit, Zodiark was not fully exercised from my body, but along the way, I was able — well forced was more like it — to tackle the issues that have been with me since early teenhood." Jaakuna said as he just looked at everyone. "There were seven steps and I didn't complete the final one." Jaakuna said as he would slightly look down.

Wesley looked at JAakuna with an eyebrow raised. He wondered what the final step would make JAakuna do. "And what was this final step?" Wesley asked as he knew everyone else wanted to know.

Jaakuna looked at Wesley and sighed again. "To complete it, I would have to detach myself from my physical body, open myself to my inner-wisdom, and in turn, my 'true strength' would be realized." JAakuna just realized he was echoing what Aloa had said. "In other words, I would have to remove myself from any bonds I have made — good or bad — and become a monk. Or at least, that's the way I perceived it as."

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

"It's quite simply really." Jaakuna said, "I will stay with her while the four you go to Giruvegan. Her staying behind is a definite and I shall not leave her side anymore." Jaakuna said settling that.

Welsey made a noise hinting that he agreed with Jaakuna. It was smart that JAakuna would stay back, though there was probably the other matter that Nadeline, Savayna, and WEsley himself wanted to address. "With that out of the way, shall we address the elephant in the room?" Wesley said.

Jaakuna eyed Wesley. "And what would that be?" He asked cautiously.

"Where on Ivalice have you been?"

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Jaakuna blinked in disbelief. He knew that Levi was evil, but he didn't even once to think about that she could possibly be working with Zodiark or even for him. That truly and genuinely surprised him. Then again, he did notice some type of black and blue cloud-like explosion in the distance when they touched ground in Balfonheim, so perhaps it had to do with that. Even still, Jaakuna found it really hard to believe. "Are you sure?" JAakuna asked Wesley.

"I'm not sure about anything regarding her and Zodiark, but when she confronted us in The Pharos, there were black tendrils, which has been come to be the proof of ZOdiark. So, I guess what I'm saying is that yes, I'm sure." Wesley said.

Jaakuna would then hear Nadeline mention that their next course of action would be to get the final esper. Jaakuna wasn't book smart, but he could have sworn there was one other missing. "Okay, I'm not the smartest tool in the shed, but wasn't there another we have to find?" JAakuna asked.

Wesley nodded. "Famfrit, The Darkening Cloud. However, if that one has yet to be claimed, it's too late. He, like my own, was also found in The Pharos." Wesley would state. "As if someone had gotten him before or after the explosion happened, is unknown to me."

Jaakuna thought about everything and on the mention of Giruvegan, he was brought back to when Zodiark first worked his way into their lives. "Giruvegan.." He shuttered. "I get chills just thinking about it." Jaakuna admitted, "but I guess we have no choice." He said, "IRIS, set a course for Giruvegan or at least somewhere very close by to it."

"Yes, Master Jaakuna!"

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Even though Jaakuna didn't want to, he had to bid farewell to his two good friends, WEndy and Lannit. Wesley and Savayna even seemed to be slightly disappointed, but after going to his mother's house and telling her about everything that happened(lots of crying happened), he was just ready to say goodbye to Balfonheim and hello to wherever the hell that they were going to go. Eventually when they said goodbye to the duo, the party would head to the aerodome. The walk to it was more or less quiet, at least on the Wesley and Nadeline front. They still were angry at each other; or at least, one of them was angry at the other.

When they entered the Ifrit, they would all sit down at the table and Jaakuna would ask IRIS to set a course for Archades. At the very least, if they wanted to, they could meet up with Lannit and Wendy there and even Jaakuna would visit his father. Gods know he needed some time with him. As he thought about seeing his father again, Jaakuna, as well as everyone else, would hear Nadeline and Emiri exchanging words about how she truly didn't remember anything aside form what she's been told and the obvious base info she seemed to retain.

Wesley looked at everyone and he tried his best not to gaze too long at Nadeline as no doubt she was still pretty pissed off at him. "Jaakuna, Grant — there's something you need to know." Wesley said.

Jaakuna looked at Wesley. "Oh?"

"Zodiark and Levi — I have suspicions that they're working together."

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

Instnatly, Savayna got all red on her face. It wasn't not secret that her and Grant were an item, but to so casually state it and even more so, to say it in such a way made Savayna perk down, her eyes down, arms in center, and head down. Though, after a few seconds, she would curl up her fists. "Oh Grant darling~" She would cheerfully sing as she whacked him aside the head...hard. Afterwards(no doubt a yelp from Grant), Savayna would then kiss her baby's head after she had whacked it pretty damn hard. "There, there — all better."

As JAakuna raised an eyebrow, he just ignored Savayna for the time being and looked at everyone else. "We should get out of here. Lots of stuff to talk about and not really wanting to do it here." Jaakuna suggested as he would motion everyone to follow him out and to the Aerodome.

Time Stops For Fire(Altered Tundra and Hero)

As Emiri and Jaakuna just looked at each other with such gleeful bliss, Nadeline would come in and ruin the moment. First, she would say Jaakuna's name as if to confirm it was him. Then, she would go on about how Emiri would be so happy and then she started going on about how dare him show his face around here. Obviously it was the alcohol talking and it would be evident as she would start whining and just doing all sorts of shit like foot-stomping. Jaakuna couldn't help but notice that Emiri was slightly frightened and she would ask who the woman was and Grant would reveal to her who she was and Jaakuna laughed as Emiri made the comment about how she wasn't acting like a princess.

"Come on now, Nadeline. Let's go home, you're obviously drunk." Jaakuna said as he would try to get her to come with him, but she refused obviously.

As Jaakuna just couldn't help but look at Nadeline as she went off about how she was furious with everyone about keeping secrets, though she only mentioned the guys, which meant that she found out about how Jaakuna made Grant and Wesley promise that they wouldn't tell their respective woman about Emiri's power. it didn't help that the alcohol in her system was making it even worse, more so than how she normally would be. By the time that Nadeline had started punching GRant's shoulder, Jaakuna just shook his head at how sad Nadeline was being.

As Jaakuna was about to say something he just looked around to see if anyone was watching(they were), he would catch some familiar faces in the entrance to the bar. "Well finally you got here." Jaakuna would speak aloud.

"JAAKIE!!!!" Lannit instantly started to run and jumped to tacklehug Jaakuna, whom in which would raise his leg up and Lannit's face would meet Jaakuna's foot, which caused him to be sent flying out of the club, to which Wendy and the others would simply sidestep him.

"My poor honey."
"More like dumbass."
"A pity"

Wendy, Savayna, and Wesley respectively said as they just shook their head at Lannit and they noticed Jaakuna over by Emiri, Grant, and Nadeline. Savayna was happy to see Nadeline, but WEsley turned his head in shame. No doubt that Nadeline was still incredibly mad at him.