...Arians are spontaneous people. They never ponder, they act. The Arian takes definite steps, achieves definite results, is of help and benefit to those who need it, and attacks before waiting to be attacked.'
Zodiac Signal
A Final Fantasy Tactics fanfic
By Tenshi no Ai
I don't own the characters and locations in the game that are presented in this work, Square Enix does.
I've got the best life. Yeah yeah, I definitely do. I'm always fed. I like eating. So, that's a good thing, yep yep. There's nothing better than being fed.
I earn my food. My eggmate depends on me, yep yep. His companions aren't nearly as useful as I am, not at all! They quibble among themselves, useless, useless, so like a human. But my eggmate isn't that way at all, nope nope! He's a good human, and he feeds me and he needs me. Eggmates can always depend on each other, and we depend on each other because we're useful.
Wiegraf! Where are you?
I don't like her, nope nope. She's my eggmate's eggmate--but not my eggmate, not at all! She kicked me once with the long legs that a human's got, so I bit her. My eggmate wasn't too happy about that, but he's not too good at controlling his humans. He gets them, but then they start leaving.
You can't depend on humans, nope nope.
Here, Miluda. I'm feeding Boco.
That's my name. I like that name...think another human's called me that before. Doesn't matter. To my kind, only the here and now matters. Yeah yeah, because that's the time we're living in. And I'm eating, so it's really the most important time.
My eggmate's eggmate appears. I can smell her. She smells like a human. She stinks. We're continuously being attacked by the Hokuten, and the most important thing for you is that damn chocobo? I know she's talking about me, saying mean things. I'm a monster, course I understand. My eggmate places a hand on my upper back, so I don't do anything. Nope, nope. Not worth it.
He didn't like it when I bit her that last time.
Boco is important to me, my eggmate says. I'm used to his voice. He talks a lot. I understand what he says, but not why. Dunno if that's important, though. He feeds me, and that's all that matters, yep yep. Miluda, is your troop ready to go to the fort?
Yes, brother, we're ready. But why? Brother'. That means eggmate, I think. But my word's better.
We've caused a lot of damage to the nobles, but right now they're too alert. It's best to split up and separate their resources. Let them think we're too afraid before striking again.
See, see, my eggmate's smart. I attack, always attack.
My eggmate's eggmate shakes out her...hair. Yeah, yeah, hair. It's because of Gustav that we've become so desperate. We're running around like rats in a sinking ship. That's how the nobles see us, Wiegraf. Do you honestly think that this plan helps our image?
...Yeah, yeah, she may have a point there. It's always good to attack first.
My eggmate says nothing, cept for giving me another handful of food. He's a good eggmate, yep yep. We do what we have to do, he says finally, sounding sad, that's all we've ever done.
The humans stay silent afterwards, and the only noise I can hear is my beak picking up food and the continuous creaking of that big wooden circle. Whenever the humans get quiet, that's how I know we'll be fighting soon.
Yeah yeah, we're always fighting, but that's how it goes.
----------
I don't like most humans. We monsters fight because that's life. We don't seek battle, nope nope. Humans do. Scampering about with their lower legs covered in the skins of monsters, swinging blades shining with red, always, always. All they know how to do is fight. That's why humans are scary to us.
Who knows why they fight?
Dunno why my eggmate fights, not really. Equality', he says. What's that? A food? There's plenty of food around, but he doesn't eat any of it. I don't understand.
It's too bad he's a human, yep yep.
There are humans crawling up to this place. Never seen them before. They smell like that red stuff...blood. Hate it. Smells like shiny weapons. My eggmate is here, holding his sword. Angry, angry. I've never seen him so angry.
We rush into the battle. I'm ahead, always ahead. Keep fighting, keep fighting! We'll win, yeah yeah, we always do!
My eggmate's human fighters scream and fall around me. Those other humans, these intruders, don't look at me. They're looking higher up, at my eggmate. No matter how many times I sink my beak into their bodies, they keep attacking him, especially the sky-colored one.
Even while I attack, my eggmate starts talking. When he talks, humans listen. Lies!! A Beoulve would never do such a thing! The sky-colored human yells. I see my eggmate gesturing to me, so I approach his side. He sits on me and I can feel the warmth of his blood seeping into my feathers.
You should see for yourself! Goodbye, Beoulve! I understand what that means. We're leaving. I don't like to admit it, but my eggmate is in bad condition.
My eggmate is important to me, yep yep, so we leave.
----------
As the sky darkens, I stop nearby a river and let him get off me before I start curing him. The wounds are pretty bad, yeah yeah, but I can make them better. I should've protected him better, but it's okay. Next time, next time. As long as we're alive, there's always a next time, yep yep. But as long as we're okay now, that's all that matters.
He looks sad as I cure him. His eggmate was killed, he said earlier. His sister'. I didn't like her, but my eggmate's sad so I guess she was important. I nudge him with my beak until he pats me on the head.
I'm still here. It's okay. We're not alone.
Thank you, Boco, he says lowly. You're a good chocobo. You'll survive anything easily.
Course I will. If I can survive humans, I can survive anything, yep yep.
His hand drops from my head, so I nudge at it. He moves away. I know you can survive without me now.
...I don't understand. Course I could survive without him, but he's my eggmate. Eggmates stay together. Even humans know that, right?
Goodbye, Boco, he says quietly before walking away. I follow him until he stops and glances at me. No Boco, you can't follow me anymore.
I ask, but humans can't understand a monster's speech. My eggmate's no different most of the time. But maybe this time he hears something other than wark'.
He looks away. I've decided on what I should do next. I'm going to go to a place where I can become stronger. I can't take care of you anymore.
But I was taking care of him too. That's what eggmates do. We protect each other! Why doesn't he understand that? He's a smart human, so why doesn't he know?
I protect him. He protects me. Isn't that right?
I'm sorry, Boco, and he walks away. I want to follow him, keep following him, but my eggmate's stubborn.
He'd just keep walking away.
---------
For many, many moons, I've been alone. It's not so bad, nope nope. I walk and walk and walk, meeting monsters of my kind. I never stay with them for too long.
They're my kind, yeah yeah, but not my eggmate.
They would always say that I was tainted when I would leave. That I'm spoiled by the humans. No no, not at all! My eggmate may have been a human, so what? I'm still a monster, yep yep, and while I may have walked by a human's side that didn't make him better than me!
An eggmate is something beyond monster' and human'. That's what I think, and I know I'm right!
I'm going through the woods now. Doesn't feel right. Feels like eyes and hunger.
Smells like goblins.
They come out from behind the trees, many of them, eyes gleaming yellow. One of them points at me, cackling in its ugly goblin-tongue. Look, look! Yellow chocobo tasty!! Cackling louder, they approach.
I squawk back. Learned that word from my eggmate; he used to say it a lot to everyone but me. I know what it means.
I'm better than stupid goblins!
Humans arrive, a whole pack of them. Don't really know, but...one of them looks familiar. Why, why?
You have humans--!! One goblin says. Stupid goblin. I listen to the humans.
A chocobo in this forest?
Must be pretty stupid to wander into the goblin's forest! Same like you, right?
Delita said wild chocobos are stronger than tame ones. I wonder if this one's strong in a fight?
You want to help him, Ramza? There's no money in that!
It may help us save the princess...
The humans begin fighting the goblins. I run to the corner of the area, watching the fight. Don't like this at all. Who are those humans? Are they going to attack me next? If the humans come after me they'll regret it, yep yep!
Soon, all the goblins are dead. The humans are looking at me. I don't like that. The one who hurt my eggmate approaches me, holding out...food? He has food? I cry out something meaningless because no human's given me food since my eggmate, and he simply smiles and holds out his hand while I eat.
You seem alright, he comments. Yeah yeah, I'm alive. Don't know why he's feeding me and protecting me, acting like my eggmate.
Hm. A human wouldn't act like an eggmate unless he wanted to be an eggmate. Yeah yeah, that's true. Then, I'll let him be my new eggmate! I'll protect him, yep yep!
But...after I sleep.
-Aries fades into Taurus...-
This series was inspired by TobyKikami's FFT story Gemini. I've always had a fondness for astrology, and it was a little surprising to me that, despite the reliance on the zodiac signs in both the story line and gameplay, no one else seemed to care about that aspect (that I've seen, anyway). Many of the characters have characteristics from their astrological sign, and it was interesting to see how a sign would relate to a character.
All the beginning quotes in this series come from an astrology site that was linked in the Persona 2: Eternal Punishment site Crime and Punishment; I'll link the former to my bio so you can yell at them if you don't like what they say. In-game quotes come from the Game Script FAQ at GameFAQs and are grammatically altered by me.
Aries is a sign that is understandable to give to a monster. I've always seen chocobos as excitable creatures, hence Boco's speech patterns, and Arians are generally held to be take-charge people. Aries is the cardinal fire sign of the zodiac, sort of a fiery, energetic leader. They're said to be very competitive, believing themselves to be number one, risktakers who are willing to defend others. Hm...intimidating. The story says it all, I suppose.
Other Arians: Well, none. Just Boco. One of Agrias' tagalong knights (Lavian) happens to be an Aries, but I'm considering her to be a generic. Boco isn't because of the FFV connection.