fetteredcrystals | Post-Origin Waking

"Ah, I do..."

Hope. It is something they both need, something Joshua will fiercely cling to until he is absolutely certain it's to be snuffed out. Clive would be alive. Founder, he was sure of it. Nothing else would be acceptable.

As Jill helps him upright he groans, head suddenly light as he blinks once more to take the shoreline into focus. He is sandy and gritty and somewhat damp from the sea water still. The soreness he feels is beyond discomfort but it still pales in comparison to how it felt having Ultima inside of him.

"Thank you, Jill."

"Don't thank me just yet. I haven't gotten you to your feet," she manages to joke, albeit without a laugh or any sort of mirth that reaches her eyes. Slow and steady. She watches him for any signs of sudden discomfort, injuries discovered in a new position, but he seems decent.

Still, she puts an arm behind him to brace him and give him some support as she allows him time to adjust.

"This would be much easier if you were still smaller than me."

That growth spurt was diabolical.

He can't help but chuckle at her comment, grateful for the way she helps support his weight as he does his best to adjust and, after a moment, brace himself to get to his feet. He's wobbly, like a freshly hatched chocobo chick, and the weight of his body feels monumental...but Jill is there to help him. She is an anchor in the tumultuous sea he'd washed up out of.

She is home where there is none to be had, beyond hope that Rosaria and her people, in some fashion, survived too.

"Forgive me, Jill. I did not know my Father's breeding would result in gracing me with such long legs. Would that I could make myself smaller..."

It doesn't help that it's sand beneath their feet, either. Even wet, it shifts with their weight, but Jill has no problem bearing Joshua's.

"I would put you in my pocket and take you home, then. As it is... we'll manage like this until we can get you to Tarja."

Jill doesn't trust that he's entirely uninjured.

"Ha...what a cozy notion indeed." Joshua would happily take up purchase inside of one of her pockets if it were possible. Alas, he is far too big. He will simply have to walk, one step at a time.

"Ah...I imagine I will receive quite an earful when I see her again. I shall begin to mentally prepare myself for it."

"You'd best prepare to be honest with her about how you feel," she warns, slowly turning them to retrace her footsteps in the sand, as well as Torgal's pawprints. Their furry friend bounds ahead, leading the way.

"One thing at a time."

"I swear to you that I will be honest to Lady Tarja about how well I feel." He means it too. There was no reason to put on a strong face any longer if he needn't do so. He had just survived death, or something akin to it. He would take her nagging with as much grace as he could muster.

"But yes, you are right...one thing at a time." One foot before the other, as the two followed Torgal's lead.

Post-Origin Waking

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