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"Foolhardy." "Brash." "Idiot." Garet had come to expect this kind of berating whenever he did, well, anything. Accidentally crush your sister's flowers with your training stone while perfecting your Psynergy? Oafish. Eating a weird red mushroom on Gondowan Cliffs on a dare from your best friends? Stupidity. Diving after your friend after she fell through a trap, critically injuring your arm in the process, and leaving you precariously dangling from one hand what felt like miles above the ground from Jupiter Lighthouse? Absolute buffoonery.
Why didn't he think it through a bit more? A simple "watch your step!" would have sufficed, certainly. Right? Or he could have reacted faster and pulled her back instead. Or maybe...
Maybe it was due to the persistent pain shooting from his shoulder and weaving through his bandaged, muscled arm, but now Garet himself joined in on the usual chorus of chiding that others would lay into him following his less-than-intelligent decisions. Shifting on the simple wooden bench, he leaned his broad back flush against the cool, stone wall of the inn's exterior. He slipped his free hand into his sling and under the baggy sleeve of his brown jacket, nursing his injured shoulder with a firm massage. Sucking air through his teeth and slowly exhaling with a hushed hiss, and he shut his eyes, welcoming the mild relief from the pain.
Yet his self-admonishing wouldn't be so easily banished, and thought after thought flooded his head. 'I shoulda been careful on Isaac's roof after he'd just finished patching it up, and I shoulda been more persistent in wanting to fix it for Auntie Dora. And I coulda been more respectful to Master Hama. What was I thinking, barging in there and demanding she help us like that? Oh, and jumpin' off the ship to kick that giant rock in the way wasn't my proudest moment, either. Darn it. Maybe my sister was right to remind me about not drinking stagnant water.'
A short time later, when the pain finally dulled enough to be ignored, Garet stopped massaging his shoulder, leaving his palm to rest on it. He opened his deep brown eyes, turning them upwards to the moonlit sky; it was probably his imagination, but in Contigo, the moon seemed a lot bigger and brighter than it usually did. A chilly breeze brushed by him, and he clutched himself in an attempt to suppress a shiver. As Master Hama had explained, the effects of lighting of Jupiter Lighthouse were immediate. The mild, dry, temperate climate and pleasant breezes he had been accustomed to in the continent of Atteka had chilled overnight, and were sure to spread elsewhere fast, increasing the urgency of their new mission.
And that was yet another thing. The mission the elders of Vale sent him and Isaac on, to prevent the elemental lighthouses from being lit in the first place? They had not only failed to foil their foes from succeeding, but had been fighting for the wrong side this entire time!? It was all a little too much to take in and accept, still. After the whirlwind of what had transpired these past few days, Garet had hoped he would have just crashed into his bed at the inn. He wanted to sleep it all off before he could even begin to process anything and feel any doubts or regrets, yet here he was. Thinking. Worrying. And now his head began to hurt.
He began to rub his pulsing forehead. "Sonuva..."
"Garet?"
Standing before him was a familiar, demure young lady, her slender figure bolstered by a thick, intricate sky-blue cloak. Her usual elegant sky-blue dress had been replaced by a long, modest white nightgown that landed nearly halfway down her shins. Her cyan hair she normally kept tied back in a long ponytail flowed free, landing somewhere past the small of her back. Worry flickered in her cyan eyes, and she kept her hands folded in front of her, as she was wont to do.
Judging by the look on the young lady's face, Garet thought it best to fix his posture. In one swift motion, he forced a grin, sat up straight, squared his shoulders, and casually brushed his free hand through his red, spiky hair. "Hey, Mia! What's up?"
"Not a whole lot," she said, the concerned look on the Mercury Adept's face unchanging. "I was having some trouble falling asleep, so I came out here to take a stroll and get some fresh air. Are you doing okay? Is your arm bothering you?"
"My arm? Psh. Thanks to you, it's doing fi..." As if on cue, a fiery, sharp pain throbbed in his shoulder and zinged through his arm. He attempted to suppress it by squeezing his shoulder and hiding his clenched teeth behind his tightly pursed mouth, but a loud, uncomfortable grunt managed to sneak through his lips.
"Garet..." With all of the fluid grace of an angel, Mia perched on the bench next to Garet. Her bare, tender hands roosted gently upon his ailing arm like a whisper. She then shut her eyes and quietly chanted under her breath. A pleasant, cooling light sparked and enveloped her hand, flowing to and caressing his arm. Relief washed over Garet like a surging river that blew his dinky shoulder massage out of the water. He exhaled, welcoming the long overdue comfort.
"Is this helping?"
What kind of question was that? Even after experimenting with seemingly endless combinations of Djinn, everyone else's attempts at healing Psnergy simply paled in comparison to Mia's powerful Ply. It was a Psynergy she had not only honed, but simply perfected. She was a master of her art.
"Y-yes..." Garet answered, fighting the sudden shake in his voice. "Like always."
At last, a gentle smile turned up on Mia's face, much to his further relief. "That's good."
A few moments passed, and she slowly pulled her hands away, the aura fading away, leaving behind lingering relief. The shooting pain had faded from Garet's arm, for now, along with the intruding thoughts. He gave his shoulder an experimental wiggle, but not too much in fears of agitating it.
"Much better," he said. "Thanks a bunch, Mia."
Mia's smile sweetened in selfless satisfaction. "You're very welcome." She then laced her fingers together, placing them in her lap with the finesse of a falling feather. Though, her smile didn't last for long, as it already began to falter. She said, "I wish I could do more for you in return, to thank you for what you did for me. But an injury like that will only completely heal with time."
"Hey, that's what friends do. You don't have to worry about doing enough." Garet bolstered his grateful smile. "I'm just glad the darn thing didn't fall off."
Mia's head lowered, but a soft, gentle laugh left her lips. "If you say so."
After that, conversation between the two adepts quieted to nothing, and time seemingly slowed to a crawl. Yet the night was far from still. Filling the air was a slow, strained, chirping chorus of crickets and cicadas, accompanied by the muffled, intermingled excitement and agony from the nearby gambling tents. During a welcomed, silent break from the background commotion, a sudden, harsh gust blew through Contigo. It blasted through their hair and clothes, whipping and stinging exposed skin.
Garet clenched himself again and quashed another shiver. He turned to Mia, who, despite clutching her cloak around her tighter for warmth and protection, she still maintained her air of dignity and poise. And, maybe he was seeing things, but it seemed like the gap between on the bench them had shrunken to almost nothing.
"You cold?" Garet asked, feeling a little dumb after the fact about asking something so obvious.
"Just a little," Mia answered, still maintaining her posture.
"Then..." Shutting his eyes, Garet held up his right hand. Snapping his gloved fingers, a small fire blaze ignited between his thumb and index finger. It lifted from between his fingers, floating in front of Garet and Mia like a lantern. The small flame's warmth had a deceptively wide reach, easily alleviating the chilled air around Garet and Mia.
"That's much better," MIa said, letting her cloak go as she turned to Garet. "Thank you."
"Any time."
Though, a hint of worry flickered in Mia's gaze again, and no matter which direction Garet looked, he could feel it.
"Garet?"
"Erm, yeah?"
"I hate to pry but, as I was passing by, you looked pretty troubled. Are you okay?"
Like a fiery haze, his doubts started clouding his mind again, choking his thoughts. 'Blast it...'
"If there's something on your mind," Mia added, her eyes gentle and full of sincerity, "perhaps I could help you with it."
Could she? Well, the offer was on the table. "If you insist," Garet started. "Er, I..." he stammered, then rapidly shook his head. "Say, uh..." Was it just him, or was it getting a little too hot now? He could feel sweat beading on his forehead and collar, and he tugged at his jacket in an attempt at relief. "Do..." No going back now. "Do you think I'm stupid?"
In an instant, boiling hot regret rushed through Garet's face and swelled in his cheeks, his teeth locking down to brace himself— and his ego. He could have confided in her his worries about the meshing of Felix's group and their own and its potential future conflicts, or how he worried about how his family was doing, or how it felt like their quest was for naught, or... Literally anything else!
But Mia was a little too considerate. As if to spare his feelings, her soft eyes turned up to the floating flame in thought, almost like she was weighing her options and seriously considering her answer. She tapped her thumbs together, then turned to him.
Garet was ready for her answer.
Okay, no he wasn't.
' Please, have mercy.'
"Stupid? I don't think you're stupid at all."
He couldn't take it. Even from such a kind voice, it couldn't soften the blow—
Wait a minute.
Garet's brow furrowed like a roaring, choppy wave. "Y-you don't?"
Oh. Just as he had thought. Mia's once innocent eyes betrayed her as they fled away from him for a few moments before ambling back, her arms and hands tensing for a moment. She clarified, "I don't think 'stupid' is the right word. Yes, there are times you charge forward without thinking..."
Garet's shoulders slouched in expected disappointment. "So you do think I'm stupid. Alright. I get it."
"No, no." Mia's eyebrows lowered in the most mild and understanding anger Garet had ever witnessed. "Not at all. Please don't misunderstand what I am saying. Whether you're jumping in front of me or Ivan to protect us from a monster ambush, or calling out a shopkeeper for being greedy and overcharging patrons, you're doing it out of passion and consideration for others' well-being. I don't think it's dumb. I find that admirable."
'Passion?' Garet thought to himself as his face twisted in confusion. He said aloud, "You really think that? The things I do, admirable?"
"Of course I do," Mia said reassuringly. "Perhaps... I envy that a little." Her thumbs flicked together. "As silly as it sounds, I wish I could be a little more impulsive and bold like that."
Garet turned to her, his eyebrow arched inquisitively. "What do you mean by that?"
Mia leaned back, peering at the flame through squinted eyes. "Sometimes, I feel like I simply go with the ebb and flow of what everyone else is doing. At times, I find it hard to speak up."
"I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, Mia," Garet said. "When you speak, everyone shuts up and listens because they know what you've got to say is important. Me? I yammer 'til the cows come home and wonder if anyone's even heard a lick of what I've said."
"I listen," Mia said, without a hint of sarcasm.
"Heh, thanks."
"Still," Mia continued, pulling her cloak tight around her once more, "I'm afraid I might not speak or act at a critical moment and jeopardize the safety of the people around me. Like with Alex... I have no clue what his motives are anymore. If I had kept a closer eye on him after my father passed, then, maybe..."
"Whoa now," Garet said, raising his free hand. "What Alex chooses to do isn't your fault, whether he's part of your clan or not. And are you forgetting that the moment stuff was going down at Mercury Lighthouse, you sprinted there through the snowfields all by yourself, not even knowing what you were getting into? That took a lot of guts."
"Garet..."
"Mia," he said, his voice firm, "you're fine. You act when you need to. Any time any of us get injured, you're the first to swoop in and check on us. Heck, it's better than what I do. I just throw things at the wall and hope they stick, or catch fire. Or both."
"Heheh..." At last, Mia's real, gentle smile returned, the tension in her shoulders loosening and her posture perking up. "Um, still..." Yet, her eyes fell in the same breath.
"Tch, still not convinced?" Garet growled. "Alright!" He stretched his free hand to her. "Let's make a pact. Next time I'm about to charge in, I'm gonna stop and think about it for a few moments before following through. And next time you hesitate doing something... You just do it! Deal?"
Mia studied Garet's large, broad gloved hand. She then craned her head around as if she were looking for something. "Garet?" she said, leaning toward him.
"Yeah?"
Her porcelain lips tenderly splashed against his cheek, then pulled back. Her dainty, slender hand took his, her grip unusually firm and tight. Mia gazed directly into Garet's dazed, brown eyes as she finally shook his hand.
"Deal."
Upon releasing his hand, she stood up, straightening her ruffled nightgown. "Garet, thank you, from the bottom of my heart for all you do. Good night." As she walked away, she hid her giddy, nervous smile under her hand. "Um, please, do try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a big day."
Then the Mercury Adept was gone. The little flame Garet had sparked now burned low, extinguishing itself in the wind. And finally, he had registered what she had done.
Garet remained on the bench for a few more hours with a blank stare on his face, unbothered by the rogue gusts of wind. He had a lot to think about.