IC Inbox for Empath

[innermonologues]

Messenger Bird/Voice/Image/Action

Comments

[nofarplaneyet]

Good food. [Well, perhaps he should be more specific.] This isn't a light fare kind of place. More like solid meals. I like their stew. [And beer. But he'll set a good example and forgo the alcohol for once.]

[innermonologues]

I'll just... take whatever you get. I'm not really picky.

[nofarplaneyet]

[Fine, then they're both getting stew because it's delicious and it's cold today, like it's been for the last few days.]

So how you been? Still training?

[innermonologues]

Every day I'm not doing a task I'm usually training. It's... the only thing that can settle my mind usually.

[nofarplaneyet]

Good. I bet you've improved yourself. Probably can knock my sword out of my hand if I'm not paying attention.

[Oh yes, delicious food and drink delivered to them. He takes a moment to appreciate how good it tastes because he's pretty sure he's going to annoy Squall with his next comment.]

Met some of Sora's friends from his world. Including Leon.

[innermonologues]

[ Squall went to grab for his glass of water but the moment Auron mentioned Leon, the glass started freezing over. ]

Oh. Did you?

[nofarplaneyet]

I imagine that was a rude surprise for you. Sora's told me about people he knows that are actually people I know from Spira and they're wildly different. He says he's met me or that I'll meet him in my future. I really don't know how that will work.

But I imagine if I ran into an echo of myself, it'd be a little off putting.

[innermonologues]

That's what he told me as well... but it turns up that wasn't true.

[nofarplaneyet]

So when he said he'd met you before, he was talking about Leon? [Ouch. But still, it sounded like Squall and Sora were friends. Or that Squall felt like he'd been lied to, which might be understandable as well.]

[innermonologues]

It's... not big deal.

[ No big deal, right? The glass is turning frozen but it was no big deal. ]

[nofarplaneyet]

[That's probably going to be added onto his check. Good job, Squall.]

Except you're still you and Sora probably likes you all the same. Is that what you're afraid of?

[innermonologues]

Nothing is wrong. I'm the same as I've always been with or without him.

[nofarplaneyet]

[Oh fayth. He never liked it when Tidus got into those moods. Speaking of Tidus, maybe using a little story might actually get his point across.]

Uh hunh. Sure. Unfrost your drink then. I might just have a little advice for you.

[innermonologues]

[ He makes a tch noise as he tries to concentrate on the glass. It starts to slooooowly melt. ]

[nofarplaneyet]

[He'll just be enjoying his stew while Squall does that. When he's done, he starts speaking.]

So you're more than a little annoyed that you're going to be compared to Leon. You're not going to be able to avoid that. Now, I haven't told this story with as much detail as I'm going to tell you so keep this to yourself. But I'll only tell it if you want to hear it.

[innermonologues]

...What kind of story is it?

[nofarplaneyet]

It's a story about someone I looked after. He's about your age. Kinda went through the same thing.

[innermonologues]

...I'll listen.

[nofarplaneyet]

Okay. [He took a moment to eat and drink before leaning back in the booth.]

I met a man on pilgrimage in Spira. Name's Jecht. I didn't like him at all when we first met, but over time, he became one of the greatest friends I've ever had.

As a result of the end of our pilgrimage, he was unable to take care of his son and asked me to do it. So I made my way to his hometown and to his wife and kid. Unfortunately, his wife didn't live very long after I explained how he couldn't be with them any longer.

So I was left to watch over his kid. His name's Tidus. When I first met him, he was 7 years old and pretty much hated his dad.

[innermonologues]

Auron, Unless Leon was a really fertile 9 year old, I'm pretty sure he's not my dad.

[nofarplaneyet]

[Auron gives him a glare that tells him what he thinks of that choice comment.]

I'm not finished, Beauty, so calm down before you rush to judgment.

Like I said, Tidus hated his dad. To be fair, before I met Jecht, he had severe problems in being a good parent so that hatred was not unjustified. There was another, bigger reason for it.

Jecht was a blitzball player. To sum up, it's a sport that's played underwater in a sphere elevated in a stadium so everyone can see. Jecht also happened to be one of the greatest players that ever lived and that is no exaggeration.

So when Tidus had dreams of becoming a blitzball player himself, everyone in town just thought it was so great he wanted to honor his father's memory and follow in his footsteps.

I think you can take a guess how thrilled Tidus was at the constant comparisons.

[innermonologues]

...Oh. I guess... I can see where you're going with this.

[nofarplaneyet]

The problem is that he couldn't shake that at all. No matter where he went, someone would compare them.

He could have easily done something else with his life, but this was his passion. So he decided he would be the best player on his own merit. And it worked. He became someone to admire in his own town and through Spira during another pilgrimage.

What I'm getting at is you're not going to be able to avoid the comparisons. The thing you have to decide is how you're going to let that affect you. You could decide to just push everyone away and let Leon take over. Or, you could be better than Leon in everything. Or you could make friends with the guy. I don't claim to know how many friends you have here, but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be too happy that you gave them up because some other guy is running around that's similar to you.

Leon wasn't the one who offered to fight me when I first got here and I was still trying to figure this place out. That was you. I might make friends with Leon, but I can't picture myself playing ring toss with him. Or making fun of Captain Friendship.

[This might actually be the most Auron has talked to anyone in Empatheias at one time. He has to drink water.]

[innermonologues]

[ Squall turned his head to his glass instead and tries to hide his face, but his ears were turning red. ]

[nofarplaneyet]

So it's up to you, Squall.

[To be fair, Auron also doesn't feel protective over Leon either. That guy didn't need help. Squall though? Might just need a little bit of extra guidance.]

If you're still not sure what to do, that's fine. Go get more advice if that helps you come to a decision. Just don't sit there and do nothing.

Lecture over. [He's going to work on that stew, thank you. He might be more open to answering questions in exchange since he did an awful lot of talking at Squall.]