A young Bear dragged his feet along the sand strewn roads of Broken Water, stretching through Southern Thanalan, following his father. A saddled chocobo burdened with sacks of foodstuffs and supplies paced slowly at the boy's side.
"Rhalgr's sake, you've thirteen summers Bear," Urban turned his head slightly to the side, narrowing his eyes at his son, "Pick your feet up, we're nearly there."
Bear let out a slouched sigh, his adolescent body gangly and awkwardly shuffling behind his dad. "Why do we have to go to Lil' Ala Mhigo? Why can't Uncle Gundobald and everyone just come live in Ul'dah?" the boy groaned.
Urban's laugh came out like a scoff, "Ul'dah is an expensive place to live. Not everyone is as skilled at fighting as your old man."
"Then open up a bakery." Bear continued to grumble. "And if you're so great a fighter, why not just take back Ala Mhigo from the Garleans?"
The father shook his head, knowing his son was simply trying to get under his skin, but the sun was hot and it was a extensive trek through Thanalan. Urban unlatched the waterskin from his belt and tossed it to his son.
Bear took a big swig of the water and looked up to the sky. The ominous red moon hung lower every day. Despite asking many adults, none would give Bear a clear answer as to what was going to happen, or perhaps none could give an answer. Would the moon crash into Eorzea? What sort of catastrophe would that incur? Would it be the start of the next Umbral Era?
These unanswered questions quickly left the boy's mind as the peaks of Little Ala Mhigo rose to eclipse the red moon.
"Urban!" a young woman's voice called out.
"Bertliana, look how you've grown!" Urban wraps an arm around the girl as she rushes to embrace him. "As beautiful as your mother was."
Bear smirked to himself that, despite her being his senior by over a summer, he now stood half a falm taller than Bertliana. Mayhap his size would discourage her usual teasing and tormenting of him.
"And look at Bear," Bertliana pointed out, "I nearly mistook you for a yarzon," she chuckled as she gave Bear a firm punch to his shoulder.
"Gundobald around?" Urban interrupted
"Yeah, he's inside."
"I'll see these supplies to him, you two don't get into too much trouble,"
"We won't," Bertliana reassured.
As Urban disappeared into the mountainous sanctuary, Bertliana grabbed Bear by the wrist, "C'mon, Bear, you gotta come see Wilred and tell us about the city!" The young woman took off, dragging Bear behind her.
Despite his long legs, Bear struggled to keep up with Bertliana, "Where are we going?" he huffed.
"Wilred found a tree that overlooks Zanr'ak if you climb it. You can see the Amalj'aa!" Bertlana explains.
The two approached the cliffs at the edge of Broken Water. A large, gnarled tree, rooted at the edge, stretched out over the drop.
"Wilred?" Bertliana shouted as she looked up into the trees branches from below, "Wilred, where'd ya go?"
Bear placed his hand on the tree's trunk, searching for the boy, "I don't see him?"
"He was just here a while a..." Bertliana's sentence was cut off by a sudden gasp of shock as she peered down the cliff's edge.
Bear quickly raced to the young woman's side, he gazed down the edge, expecting to see the injured body of his friend, or worse... But, he didn't see anything. His eyes darted across the valley below, scanning for any sign of Wilred, when suddenly, he felt hands push him from behind...
Great read.
