Strictly Business [Phone Call to Fran]

[nethi-cite.livejournal.com]

[Don't ask how he found this number but rather just pick up once you hear the ring, Fran.]

Comments

[shatterhearted.livejournal.com]

Hello?

[nethi-cite.livejournal.com]

[While he wanted to grumble the words 'It took you long enough', Cidolfus did have some manners when it comes down to dire situations regarding that pompous brat of a son.] Hello Fran...

[...]

Balthier, isn't going to last long rotting away within some dungeon. Therefore, I take it that there is a plan of some kind that fancies freeing the boy from his shackles.

If not, we forge one now.

[shatterhearted.livejournal.com]

Oh... Balthier, is it now? You finally see the man is not the boy he once was.



I do not like to see him caged anymore than you do. But for now there is little we can do but wait. I could easily break him free from his cell, but in doing so I would only make him look guilty.

[nethi-cite.livejournal.com]

Don't be ridiculous! That pirate of yours shall always be but a boy to me for he is my son. Do not forget this or question this.

However, I am not here to argue that.

I rather we look guilty together than to allow Balthier to a suffer a moment longer. My Rooks, they'll aid us. The Gaians cannot compete against such technology. Between the Knights and the Strahl, we are quite a fearsome lot for them to tamper with.

Therefore, we should consider freeing Balthier regardless of the naysays from slack-jawed idiots!

[shatterhearted.livejournal.com]

He is not my pirate, he is my partner, most certainly, be he belongs to none but himself.



While I am quite sure Balthier would adore a grand exit from his cell - one fit for a 'leading man', it would be far easier to simply pick the lock, would it not?

[nethi-cite.livejournal.com]

[Just pick the lock, she says? That would be much simpler than blasting all of Lindblum into a thousand and one pieces.] I suppose so. We could make a hasty getaway before the guards even realized he was missing.

Yes... I like this idea.

[shatterhearted.livejournal.com]

We? Hm... Are you sure you can stand the company of a Viera for long enough?

[nethi-cite.livejournal.com]

While I am certain my allergies may flair up because of those ears of yours, I rather not leave such a task to you alone. [And she wins some sarcasm right back from the dear ol' doctor.]

[shatterhearted.livejournal.com]

Mayhap you put me out at night with a bowl of food and a box to sleep in, hm? Or mayhap a cage is more your style?

... either way. The sooner Balthier is free, the sooner his sanity is saved.

Where are you at present?

[nethi-cite.livejournal.com]

My son would kill me if I tried such an idea even in jest. He seems quite fond of patricide.

Dali. I took whatever funds I shared with Vayne in Wutai and fled for safer grounds. I have far too many enemies these days, I'm sure you've noticed.

[shatterhearted.livejournal.com]

Do not jest. He is ever haunted by the events that transpired at the Pharos at Ridorana.

... I noticed. I shall bring the Strahl to collect you.

[nethi-cite.livejournal.com]

Is that so? He doesn't seem like it to be quite honest...[Cidolfus just sighed after that slightly morose thought.]

Good! I'll await for your arrival here but please tell me you are as good of a captain as my son. I am really not in the mood to a die a third time, Fran.

[shatterhearted.livejournal.com]

Balthier is a complicated man. He is full of bravado, and particularly good at hiding his emotions.

As for my piloting skills... my own match Balthier's. I have been flying a long time.

[nethi-cite.livejournal.com]

Aye, he certainly is a walking enigma at times but then again he must have learned such a demeanor from me. As much as that boy tried to distance himself from the past, he seems quite fond of it regardless the loathing he possesses.

A walking puzzle with a dandy's smile and trigger happy finger, this is the son I know now.

Oh? Care to wager on that claim someday? I trust Balthier to be the better of the two considering he is a fruit of my loins. He's a genius, Fran. Surely, you already know of this.

[shatterhearted.livejournal.com]

It would seem that no matter how fast you run - or fly - the past always catches up to you.

Very well. I shall prove my skill when the time is right.