Chapter Text
Cid was staring at the Magitek armour without seeing it. It was almost fully operational; Biggs and Wedge only had some touch-ups to do before they could go rescue Minfilia and the others in Castrum Centri. And yet, Jeb had not been in Mor Dhona in days. Cid was fiddling with his glove strap, he realised, but he could not help himself. As he turned around to try and find something more productive do with his hands, Alphinaud’s voice rang from somewhere around his elbow:
“You could just call her, you know.”
Cid turned towards Alphinaud, who was very invested in whatever he was reading, before asking:
“You think? Something might have happened, you’re right. I should check on her.”
“Nothing happened, Cid. The girl can summon Primals, by the Twelves, I’m pretty sure she could storm Castrum Centri by herself.”
“She can – what do you mean she can summon Primals?”
Alphinaud finally raised his eyes from his book, staring at Cid absently.
“Did I forget to tell you? Apparently she was trained in the arcanes in Limsa, and found a summoner tutor in Gridania. I’m not too caught up with the details, but last I checked she had been able to summon Egis of Ifrit, Titan and Garuda.”
“That’s… Is that why she is taking so long to come back?”
Alphinaud shrugged.
“As I said, you could just ask her.”
Cid looked at his linkpearl set on the side of the workbench. Jeb was only a call away, and he knew she would pick up immediately. He had caught himself staring at the pearl more and more, these last few days, maybe in the futile hope that channeling his thoughts at Jeb would be enough to make her come back faster. Who knew what she was up to, though. Wait, no, he knew: summoning Primals, according to Alphinaud, which sounded completely egregious, and yet. And yet, if anyone could do it, it could only be her. She did defeat them, after all... Cid looked back at Alphinaud, maybe hoping for some kind of elaboration. He would not get one from the kid, obviously. He had never been very forthcoming. Unlike Jeb, who always got the important information across without much words.
Cid was back in that train of thought. Alphinaud was right, Jeb was perfectly fine. Probably. She could handle herself. Maybe he should check the market, just in case. Some news might have made it here, it could not hurt to try. And if there was nothing, he could finally busy his hands elsewhere.
Just as he was about to leave, the door opened and Jeb sauntered in. She was dressed like she was going to some masquerade, in pink and blue pastels, and it looked weirdly comfortable to fight in. It looked good on her, and the pieces had a distinct aura of something quite valuable. Something earned. Jeb waved at him, and Cid absently registered his hand finally letting go of his glove.
“Jeb! You’re here. Everything good?”
Jeb nodded, but her eyes were darting around the room and her smile was a little tense.
“Cid. Leveilleur.”
Alphinaud nodded. He seemed completely unphased by the intentional distance she had been putting between them, even though Cid winced internally every time she called him by his last name. At least she was not calling Cid by his last name, he thought, shuddering. He would hate that.
“I’m very sorry to ask you this, Cid, but I have some last-minute adjustments I need to make. Could I please trouble you to use your lab?”
Oh, that was nothing. That was fine. That was more than fine.
“Of course, Jeb. You’re always welcome to my lab. Please, help yourself.”
Actually, he was a little curious to see her work, too. He had seen her fight, and she was brilliant, and she had mentioned she had made all of her equipment. Including her weapons, and armour, which was insane.
“Thanks, Cid, you’re a life saver.” With a grateful look, she immediately settled in the corner of the room opposite to Alphinaud and got to work. She was not overt about it, most likely she did not realize she was doing it, but Cid did notice: she was facing the door and keeping Alphinaud in her field of view, despite settling as far from him as possible. She did not seem to mind Biggs and Wedge, though. She tied an apron around her waist, spined some pincers, and pulled out a bag of materias. She put on work glasses and plugged in a soldering iron, and soon the room was oozing with the distinct taste of setting stones.
“You’re staring.”
Cid turned to Alphinaud, nonplussed.
“She’s setting materias, and I know for a fact she learned to do that a few days ago. Is there anything she can’t do?”
Alphinaud let go of his book to look at him again.
“Sleep, I’d assume. I’ve never seen her sleep. I do believe she doesn’t sleep.”
Cid hummed.
“She’s only human. She has to sleep sometimes. Maybe she never had a reason to, around you.”
Alphinaud did not seem to register the jab.
“You would assume, wouldn’t you. I don’t think she’s human. Not – I don’t think she’s not sentient, I… I’m questioning if she isn’t some sort of fabrication.”
Cid’s eyes lit up with a curious twinkle at the thought, considering the woman carefully setting her materias in her throwing stars, before turning back to Alphinaud.
“Well, as long as she’s on our side, I’m fine with anything.”
“If she breaks down, you might be the only one capable of fixing her up!” Alphinaud joked, which was something he rarely did. Maybe Jeb just had this effect on people.
“I do hope she’s just a regular hyur, though. Resurrection takes a lot less time than rebuilding.”
“And a great deal more resources.”
“Yes, but we have the Elder Padjal on our side, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Hydaelyn resurrects me when I die.” Jeb chirped from her corner of the room. “Sometimes she even turns back the clock a little.”
Both men turned to look at her, mouths open. She had pulled her glasses over her head and was wiping her forehead. Cid followed her movements with his eyes without registering them, too busy trying to process that statement.
“Alphinaud has a point, too. I’m suspecting I might not be fully alive either. I don’t sleep, for example. I just… stand around the aetherytes and feel rejuvenated, or something. I think Hydaelyn is pulling some strings with what few energy she has left. They? They have a feminine voice, but I’m just now realising no one has mentioned them around me before.”
“The… the planet?” Cid asks.
“No, the crystal. I mean, the planet too, I think they might be the same? I don’t know. They just talk to me sometimes.”
Alphinaud nods. “Yes, Hydaelyn is… well, a mystery the Sharlayans are very interested in, but She’s a she. As the source and flow of aether, She is the one who would have gifted you the Echo. It is also Her blessing of light that prevents you from being enthralled.”
“Talking about Sharlayans, do we have any news of Thancred?” Jeb was setting down her weapons and cleaning her tools. “I don’t recall him getting captured with Minfilia and the others, and I don’t recall anyone even mentioning him this whole time.”
Cid and Alphinaud exchanged a look.
“Now that you mention it… It is rather strange, isn’t it? Y’shtola, Yda, Papalymo and Tataru are accounted for, as well as Minfilia of course… I wonder how I could have forgotten about him,” mused Alphinaud.
Cid shrugged. “I don’t know who that is.”
Jeb hummed, staring at her throwing stars.
“I don’t like him, but I hope he’s okay, wherever he is.”
There was a silence.
“So what was that about me being a fabrication?”
Alphinaud set aside his book.
“Well, you don’t need to sleep. You don’t sleep. Are you physically able to?”
Jeb pulled her glasses over her eyes again.
“Oh yeah, I do sleep sometimes, in the inns. Their mattresses are a sin to die for. Not literally. You should try it for your shoulders, Cid, they look so stiff I could forge weapons on them.”
Cid belatedly remembered to smile at the joke, but all he was thinking of was a real bed, a bed so good even Jeb would want to sleep in it, Jeb who doesn’t need to sleep, and then he was thinking of Jeb in a bed, and –
“Okay so no sleep, death is not permanent – ” Alphinaud was counting on his fingers.
“It does cost me gils though. The teleport. Like my return point is set in Camp Dragonhead, so that gets a little expensive when I die in Noscea or Thanalan.”
“Because teleporting is effortless to you. Right.” Alphinaud had opened his book again, but this time he was writing in it.
Jeb nodded.
“Was your return point always there?” Asked Cid, curious. He had roughly a million question, but it would have to do.
“No, I set it there when we were doing important stuff there. I should probably move it to Revenant’s Toll, now that I think about it.”
Alphinaud nodded. He was writing so fast his nose was practically touching the page. Jeb looked at Cid, and Cid looked at her, and her ruby red ring glinting in the fire light reminded him of something else.
“Jeb, Alphinaud mentioned summoning Primals?”
“Oh yeah,” Jeb stood up, removing her glasses, folding her apron and pulling out her arcanist grimoire. She frowned a little, produced a carbuncle, and then smiled awkwardly. “It needs to charge up. Do you want to see one in particular?”
“If I had to pick, Garuda? Because I was there when you fought her?” Tentatively answered Cid. Jeb nodded before starting to cast, and soon enough a small Egi of Garuda was hovering above the ground.
“It’s not super impressive, I just got them. I’m hoping to get them to do a little more once I get the hang of it.”
“Not super impressive? Jeb, do you have any idea how few people can pull off what you just did?”
“No yeah I mean Y’mhitra impressed that upon me, but as of right now they don’t do anything, that’s a bit useless.”
“That is nevertheless an incredible feat.” Alphinaud pointed out. His nose was dotted with ink.
Jeb shrugged and dismissed her summons, closing her grimoire and pulling her bow. She got new materias and set them on the table.
“I feel like I’m some kind of vessel for this world to balance itself again, to be fair. It’s like I’m good at everything I try. This old man from Hingashi just took one look at me gave me his soul crystal, which I have come to understand are fairly unique and picky, and do you know how many soul crystals I have? Twelve. That’s eleven too many – that’s twelve too many for most people! What am I supposed to do with twelve great legacies to uphold?!”
“That’s quite the responsibilities.” Alphinaud mused.
“I know!” She looked both annoyed and a little worried. “I don’t… That’s literally the knowledge and honour of thousands of souls I’m supposed to protect and carry on and I’m just… I don’t think I’m the best person to do that. I just want to make cool stuff and explore the world and take care of my little squirrel, I don’t know why everyone seems to think I’m some kind of hero.”
Alphinaud shrugged. “For the record, I’m pretty sure you’re exceptional, and we could not do this without you. But we can’t do this without Cid, or Minfilia, or everyone that plays a part. I’m not trying to diminish your responsibilities here, I’m just saying…”
“You don’t have to carry that burden alone,” finished Cid. “Everyone’s behind you, no matter what happens. We know you can do this, not because we’ve seen what you can do but because you were willing to step in every time, and that’s the difference you make.”
Alphinaud nodded, and Jeb looked blank, undecipherable as always. Finally, she muttered:
“Thank you, guys. That means a lot. I keep… I don’t know, I keep hoping this is only temporary and someone else will finally step in, someone that knows what to do and how to handle what’s going on, but I’m starting to think that nobody like that may exist. And if I don’t step in, who will?”
Cid nodded. “Yes. Thank you so much for everything, from the bottom of my heart, Jeb. Thank you for everything you’ve done, and for everything to come.”
“Smooth.” She joked, but she looked emotional.
“I agree with Cid,” Alphinaud said, “it has been a little difficult to get back on my feet, between this and my sister running off, but… this has been enlightening. Whatever happens at Castrum Centri, we did the best we could do, and even Hydaelyn is on our side.”
Jeb sobered up at this.
“Right. I should probably finish setting these so I don’t delay you further.”
“Take you time. With your amount of preparation, nothing can go wrong.” Cid reassured her.
“Oh, it will go wrong.” She looked serious. “It always does. Plus, you just jinxed it.” But the corner of her seeing eye was crinkling with mirth. Cid made a show of being exasperated and she smiled, before pulling her glasses down again.
This was going to be fine. Somehow, looking as Jeb expertly setting her materias and Alphinaud’s endless pool of knowledge and resources, looking at Biggs and Wedge fixing some details on the armour and thinking about the chance of them coming together like this, Cid had a feeling they were going to be fine. If only he could jog his memory a little more, maybe he might uncover something that could help.