To A Thief - Chapter 24: Reprieve

A few more unexpected events.. followed by something rather ridiculous.

When Stiff came to, he awoke on a soft feather bed with the morning sunlight squeezing through a nearly-shut set of silk curtains. A delicious aroma lingered in the air; which was the main reason he woke up in the first place. 

This bed is so soft.. much softer than the one back at my brigadier dorm.. 

And what's that smell? It smells so good..

Sitting up on the soft bed, Stiff rubbed his forehead drowsily and yawned. "Where am I..?" He thought aloud as he looked around the room he was in. 

It was a very homey room with some shiny swords along the wall and a big San d'Orian flag stretched out across the ceiling. He could hear the distant ticking of a grandfather clock as well, probably somewhere in the hallway outside this room. Stiff spotted a particular picture on the bedside counter of a young hume man just about his age who was decked out in armor similar to that of the Temple Knights. Perhaps a graduation portrait? 

As Stiff sniffed the air once more, his stomach began to rumble. He hadn't eaten anything since the day before. 

Man.. I haven't eaten since yesterday.. 

Wait..

Yesterday!? Have I been sleeping here all this time?

Stiff quickly jumped out of the soft bed and made his way out of the room walking across a stand that was decorated in Temple Knight armor, almost automatically reaching for his Brigandine armor before realizing that once again he wasn't in his dorm. His armor was nowhere to be seen, and instead he wore a simple sleeveless tunic and some slacks. 

"Where's my armor.. and my gear?" He asked himself aloud. 

He decided to follow the aroma out of the room and made his way down a hallway that had some more pictures along the wall, but none of which he paid attention to for now. His steps became slower as he neared the end of the hall, able to hear voices around the corner. A woman and a man were talking; but didn't seem to be speaking of anything concerning events that Stiff was aware of. In fact, they were simply speaking of random workers in Altana knows what guild. 

The scent of tea now began to linger in the air. As Stiff stepped out from around the corner, his gaze was met by a middle-aged hume man who had been sitting at the table reading the Vana'diel Tribune while enjoying his breakfast. 

"Ah, finally awake then, son?" The man said, raising a brow as he saw the confused look on Stiff's face. "You've been out since yesterday afternoon.. we were beginning to wonder if you would ever wake up." 

"What..?" Stiff blinked as he looked at the man curiously. 

"Yes, I was getting a bit worried.." The middle-aged hume woman who was setting another plate down on the table spoke with a helpless smile. "I was starting to think we should call a doctor in." 

"Mhm. Come, sit down and eat. You must be starving." The hume man said. "We could hear your stomach rumbling all night.." He chuckled. 

Stiff brought a hand to his stomach and eyed the table wearily, feeling a little embarrassed. But at the same time, he was still somewhat confused. "Where am I..?" 

"You are in Mr. and Mrs. Reinolds' residence. That would be us. You can call me Hyde." The man said with a smile, pausing for a second before pulling back the chair on the left side of the table and motioning his hand towards it. 

"I'm Lidia. It is a pleasure, dear." The hume woman said with a smile, placing a baked popoto, a ham & cheese crepe and a small plate of acorn cookies on the side in front of the seat the man had motioned Stiff to. That was quite a bit of food for a simple breakfast. "Now, I know you might think this is a bit much, but I know my stomach's better than anyone.. and the sound of yours was no different than the sound of our son's. He ate no more and no less." She chuckled, pouring some San d'Orian tea for him in a cup. 

Stiff bit his lip as he eyed the food. It was very strange being offered food like this by a couple of strangers.. but Lidia's claim to know her stomachs seemed quite accurate. Stiff could easily finish what she offered him; no more and no less. 

"Um.. I'm Stiff. Nice to meet you.." He said, hesitantly joining them at the table for fear of seeming rude. "Thanks.. a lot, really. It's just.. how did I get here? And where are my belongings?" 

"Beats me!" Hyde snickered as he took a bite of his biscuit. "You came crashing down out of nowhere - probably from the roof - and damaged one of the guild's newest carpentry projects.. knocked out cold the minute you landed. You weren't going to be waking up anytime soon and there were no signs of your family anywhere so I decided to bring you here until you came to. Couldn't just leave you out there now, could I?" He said, shrugging casually. 

Stiff lowered his head in shame and let out a drawn out sigh. "Sorry about that.. I'm kind of confused as to what happened myself. I guess I must have hit my head on the way down." He muttered, digging his fork into the soft popoto. 

"Well, the good thing is that you're up and about!" Lidia smiled, sipping her tea daintily. "Where about does your family live? I'm sure they must be worried about you. It would be wise to let them know where you are." She asked curiously. 

"I.. I don't have family here." Stiff said silently. 

"Oh? Are they not here in San d'Oria?" Hyde asked, tilting his head. 

Stiff sat there for a moment without saying anything before replying, ".. I don't have any parents. I'm an orphan." 

He could feel the tension in the air rise up as Lidia and Hyde shot awkward glances at each other before quickly replying. 

"O-Oh.. I'm sorry to hear that." Lidia said. "Forgive us, Stiff.. we had no idea." 

"Aye.. It must not be easy." Hyde nodded, clearing his throat. 

After a few more moments, Stiff quickly rose his head up and brought a hand to the back of his neck, laughing. "Oh! Don't even worry about it..! I'm doing just fine on my own. I mean, I'm here now aren't I? Besides.. I've got plenty of friends. I wasn't mad or anything." He said, trying to lift the mood. 

Afterwards, he began to stuff his face in with food, enjoying the taste and the way the baked popoto melted so deliciously in his mouth. "Nhis ids so gnood..!" He spoke with his mouth full before swallowing it. "I don't think I've ever had a baked popoto that was that good..' 

Lidia just chuckled at his reaction to her cooking and gave a humble smile. "Just a bit of my home cooking! Nothing special, really.." 

Hyde grinned and nodded his head. "My wife has served her time among the best in the culinary guild. She's made quite the name for herself as a chef. I get to enjoy her cooking everyday." He chuckled. 

"Oh, sweetie.. I just serve among the best. That doesn't mean I'm one of them." She giggled. 

"Best damn cooking I've ever tasted!" Stiff exclaimed, digging into everything little by little. It was as if the taste of the food itself had immediately helped him settle in and forget about all the problems of the world. "Oh man, Okina would love this.." He chuckled heartily. 

Normally I would have hurried to regroup with the Linkshell, wherever they may have been.. but Hyde told me about the battle that happened outside the city walls the previous day and how they had succeeded in defeating the orcish horde. I figured they were all okay and that Vincent would most likely be giving the Brigade a break after such a fight, so I decided I wasn't missing out on anything crazy.

I spoke to Mr. and Mrs. Reinoldz about many things; but keeping the battle-savvy stuff to myself. I told them of the friends I had, the dreams I had, and even about my love for mithkabobs. 

You know, during this time I was beginning to wonder if.. this was what it was like to have-- 

Hm.. 

Anyway, they told me a lot about themselves as well. About how Hyde works hard in the carpentry business just as Lidia works in the culinary business. They were just two normal, humble people making a living in the city. The simple life. 

They told me a bit about their son Raaj as well. He was a young student who joined the Temple Knights' ranks when he turned 16. He's the guy who's room I was sleeping in; the guy in the portrait. 

"You have any plans for today, Stiff?" Hyde asked the young thief as they all put their dishes away. 

"Hmm.." Stiff thought to himself before shaking his head. "None that I can think of.. why do ya ask?" 

"Well!" Hyde started, clasping his hands together. "Me and the boys at the carpentry guild could use an extra pair of hands to help repair some of the damage done yesterday." He grinned. 

Stiff slumped his shoulders in shame. "Do'h, hehe.. you mean the damage I caused?" 

"Oh, Hyde.. don't say that. The poor boy didn't mean it." Lidia shook her head grumpily at Hyde. 

"Haha, I'm only kidding." Hyde chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. "Carpentry can be tough work for a newbie." 

"I'll do it." Stiff grinned. "I can handle a little bit of wood work! Besides, I kind of owe it to ya anyway. There's no denying it." 

"Eh?" Hyde looked at him in surprise. "Are you sure? 

"Of course!" Stiff smirked, pounding his fist to his own chest. "I'm ready to go when you are!" 

"Heh, alright then.. if you say so, kid. I hope you're ready." Hyde shrugged helplessly. 

Lidia sighed and handed them both a pair of carpenter-issued canteens. "I guess there's no changing a man's mind.. well, here you go boys." 

Stiff's canteen had thundermelon juice instead of water.

"Thanks a lot, Lidia." Stiff smiled as he made his way out the door with Hyde. 

"Be back later honey." Hyde hugged his wife goodbye. 

It was strange.. normally I think work in general is such a drag. But for some reason, I wanted to do this. I mean, aside from the fact that I crashed their project and that I felt inclined to because they were so hospitable to me. But there had to be another reason that gave me this feeling inside of me..

Anyway, today I was simply just a carpenter. No strings attached. For once in my life, I was able to do some honest-to-god work, and I actually enjoyed it a bit.. I wasn't regarded as some newbie or some obnoxious thief who had a strange power inside of him. 

But that's not to say I didn't move around the area a lot quicker than the others, heh. I was pretty agile, after all. It was kind of fun seeing Hyde's expressions whenever I'd do something drastic that would normally require a cautious approach with the ladder or ropes. 

You know.. at times.. I was really beginning to wonder if this was what it must be like to have a-

"Yo, Stiff! Break time!' Hyde called up at Stiff who was sitting up at the highest part of the structure, tightening the ropes around the sections of wood that were being hoisted up by a wire. 

Stiff smiled and stood up on the section of wood, keeping one hand on the wire and riding it down rather than taking the stairs. "Look out below!" 

"Careful.. Careful! Sheesh.." Hyde slumped his shoulders in defeat at the young man's spunk. "You're going to end up falling through another section again.." 

Stiff laughed and shoved his fist against the man's shoulder. "Pfft, I don't mind.. some of Lidia's cooking would fix me right up if I did, right?" 

Hyde closed one eye in thought as he sat down at a nearby table and shrugged. "Well, I can't argue with that! Speaking of which, she brought us lunch." 

"Score!" Stiff grinned. They had been working for hours and he didn't even realize it. It was already noon. 

"Heh, Raaj used to come to work with me like this every morning before he became a Temple Knight. He said it was good training what with all the lifting and jumping around like a reckless fool.." He chuckled. 

"Oh?" Stiff blinked as he munched on his lunch. "I guess he's too busy now that he's in the line of duty, huh.. does he at least visit you guys?" 

"Raaj.." Hyde looked down for a moment, giving a distant smile. ".. he's very much still with us. I'm sure he watches over us like the proud Temple Knight he was." 

Stiff stopped abruptly upon hearing Hyde's words and seeing the distant look on his face. He understood now.. Raaj had died in the line of duty. All of those things in Raaj's room weren't simply decorations.. they were his belongings. 

I didn't know if it was just the food going down or something.. but I could have sworn there was a lump in my throat. 

To think that such nice people like Hyde and Lidia could lose someone like that.. perhaps it was because I sort of understood what that felt like, that I felt so bitter about the beastmen more than I ever had at that moment. 

"I'm sure he is." Stiff said. "Just like my parents are watching over me." 

"That's right." Hyde nodded with a smile. "Never forget that." 

Stiff returned the smile. "I won't." 

And with that, the two enjoyed their break with the other carpenters. 

******

"Hey, isn't that one of the guys from that Brigade linkshell?" An elvaan gate guard asked his partner as he looked over at the carpenter's break area. 

"Hmm..? Ah! Yes, it is!" The gate guard who had seen Stiff the day before nodded. "Looks like he's here in San d'Oria after all.. we'd best let them know." 

"Good idea.. you do it." The gate guard said lazily. 

"..Fine." His partner grumbled, walking off. 

******

Later that day, Stiff and Hyde made their way back to the Reinoldz' home after a hard day's work.

"You did pretty good. I'm impressed!" Hyde grinned, patting Stiff's back. "You'd be surprised how many of the newer carpenters we find sleeping on the job. Some like taking their chances when working on top of the project.. usually the best way to wake them up is to tie a safety rope around them and then shove them off. Rudest. Awakening. Ever." He laughed. 

Stiff laughed as he imagined that. "That would totally suck.. waking up thinking they're falling to their doom. Yikes, that's kinda like what happened to me, then! Minus the rope." He shivered. 

"Haha, you've got a point." Hyde snickered. "Hey there, hun." He greeted Lidia as she answered the door with a smile. 

"Welcome back, boys." She hugged her husband. "By the way Stiff, I-" 

"Stiff." A familiar voice suddenly interrupted Lidia from a distance. Turning, Stiff saw Draven making his way over to him. "Where you been? We've been looking all over for you.." 

"Draven..?" Stiff blinked. "Uh.. it's a long story actually, heh. What's going on?" 

"Well, for one.. you disappeared without a trace and were MIA up until now.. but anyway, Vincent has assigned a mission to a few of us that he wants you specifically to be a part of. He's ordered me to come here and bring you back." 

"Already..?" Stiff sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I figured he'd give us at least two days off.. but I guess I have no choice. Alright, then." He muttered, turning to Lidia and Hyde. "I guess.. duty calls, heh." 

"We understand." Hyde smiled with a nod. "Your friends need you." 

"Yeah.." Stiff smiled helplessly. "Um.. what is it that you wanted to tell me, Mrs. Reinoldz?" He asked curiously. 

"Ah! Yes- just a moment." She held up her hands before quickly making her way back into their home and coming back out moments later with his Brigadier outfit repaired of all its tears and rips. His dagger and pouch were placed neatly on top of the folded equipment. "I meant to tell you earlier.. your clothes were a bit torn up so I took the liberty of patching them up for you while you were with Hyde. I hope you don't mind!" 

Stiff smiled warmly and took the neatly organized gear in his hands and nodded respectfully at Lidia. "Not at all. I appreciate it.. thanks." 

This is what it must have been like for Raaj..

"I guess this is farewell." Hyde nodded, patting Stiff's shoulder. "Listen, if you ever decide to look for work.. drop by the Carpenter's Guild sometime! We could use a strapping young fellow like yourself." He grinned. 

"Heh, will do! Thanks a lot for everything Mr. and Mrs. Reinoldz. I'll see ya around." He said as he walked off with Draven. 

"To think such a nice young boy is part of the same linkshell that took place in yesterday's battle.." Lidia sighed as she watched Stiff off. 

"These days, adventurers come from every corner.. whether big or small." Hyde smiled. 

"What was that all about?" Draven glanced at Stiff as the two made their way to Port San d'Oria. "And why are you all sweaty?"

Stiff just chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "It's a long story.. but tell me, what's with the mission?" 

"Well." Draven began..

******

After arriving at Jeuno and receiving a brief run-down of their next mission, the group Stiff was assigned to waited for him outside a dressing room in some obscure shop in Lower Jeuno known as Muckvix's Junk Shop. 

Stepping out of the dressing room and appearing before the group was Stiff.. completely outfitted in a Moblin's outfit. 

"Wow, he looks just like the real thing.. only a little taller. The mask really helps." Annie smirked. 

Throwing his arms up in the air, Stiff protested in frustration. "THIS. IS. RIDICULOOOOUUUUUUUUS!" 

________________________________________________________________________________

Stiff settles if only for a day on what it must be like to have that someone to cook you breakfast in the morning, and that someone who can rely on you to help them with that which needs doing.

But now, an.. interesting sort of mission has come up. 

Follow Stiff's next adventure in Chapter 25: Two Thieves

Author's Note

Comments or Reviews MUCH appreciated! :)