Disclaimer: do not own, unfortunately.

My computer broke down a while ago, and currently I can only get on it for a while at a time because my battery and new power cable are messed up. This is why (should anyone waiting for an update on any of my other stories) I have not updated. I need the time to write the next few chapters. However, while my laptop was playing dead I bought a new DS, and the new finial fantasy 3 game that goes with it, and while I have not gotten very far, something about the character's kind of struck me. This will not simply be a single story, but a collection of shorter one's, not really based on any specific parts of the game (unles something eally interesting happen's later on that I am unaware of). These little snippits are not particularaly long, which is the only reason I've been able to write them up and get them saved before my laptop switches itself off.

At any rate, have a read. My little snippits focus primarily on Arc, and to a lesser degree on Ingus, because for some reason., those two just strike me as the most adorable game characters ever!

1.

"Luneth!" Arc reached out in a vain effort to stop his childhood friend stalking towards the table on the other side of the inn's barroom, his eyes flashed with something that was almost like shame. He wished Ingus and Refia were here; they could stop the angry silver haired boy before he started a fight. Arc watched Luneth stalk over to a table consisting of four fully-grown, robust men, each carrying a sword. They were dangerous men, and Luneth was going to get himself killed, all because Arc was too much of a coward to stand up for himself.

He watched in growing dismay as Luneth provoked the men with a few quite and cutting words, he knew this because it was how Luneth normally set about starting a fight with anyone, saying a few words, whether truthful or not that would work up the others rage. Arc hated to watch it happen, even if the person Luneth fought with was deserving. But in this case… Arc bit his lip worriedly, trying to will himself to stand, go over there and pull Luneth away, or to maybe cast some kind of a spell, maybe 'sleep' on those men. But he couldn't bring himself to move, humans were so much different from the monsters and ghouls they normally dealt with. Arc didn't know how to handle humans.

His eyes widened as he watched Luneth crack one of the men across the jaw, making the other's at the table leap up. He didn't notice that he had made his lip bleed as he debated what to do. Luckily, Ingus and Refia chose that very moment to reappear. Ingus immediately placed himself between the four men and Luneth, speaking quickly, calming them down while Refia dragged the protesting Luneth towards the stairs to their rooms.

Arc shrank back into his seat when he saw Ingus glance in his direction, but that action did not prevent the king's guard from seeing him. He watched Ingus order a round of ale for the men to settle them, diplomatically smoothing over the entire incident, before heading towards him. Arc looked at the table, and braced himself for a tongue-lashing, like the kind Ingus always gave Luneth when he did something stupid, or heroically idiotic. Though in his case, Arc was sure it would be worse, because not only had he somehow managed to start this whole thing, but he had gotten Luneth involved. He didn't want Ingus to be mad at his friend.

Arc waited… and waited… until the feeling of those intense blue eyes became too much, and the weight of the stare became too heavy for him to bear. He looked up, startled to find not the angry look he had been expecting, but an inquiring stare.

"Would you like to explain what just happened, if I ask Luneth it will only end up as a shouting match." Ingus requested a hint of a smile on his lips, taking Arc by surprise.

The mage looked back at the table and swallowed. He didn't want Ingus to be angry with him; he didn't like it when anyone was angry with him. that was why he took such great pains to stay on the sidelines and in the shadows so much; so that he would give no one a reason to angry with him, he could recall a time when anger was the only thing ever directed at him. Suppressing a shudder, he gathered his courage, he may not want to face Ingus's anger, but he couldn't let Luneth take the fall for something that was primarily his fault.

"Arc?" Ingus sounded concerned, but Arc didn't look up to confirm it.

"It was my fault." he said quietly, forcing the words out barely more than a whisper, but it was the best he could manage.

"I don't believe that for a second." Ingus said, a hint of amusement warring with concern in his voice. "You don't have to cover for Luneth if he was just picking a fight."

"But he only did it because of me." Arc protested quietly, thinking furiously, trying to formulate a coherent explanation that would allow his friend to get off without a scolding this once, he knew how much it hurt Luneth's feelings when Ingus scolded him about things.

"What?" Ingus' voice was confused, but with a slightly unbelieving tone to it. "Would you care to explain that? And would you look at me."

Arc's eyes rose automatically at the command, searching the older boys face for any signs of anger, finding none he tried to quell his nervousness and began to explain. It had started, he began, voice shaking slightly, when Arc had returned from the outhouse. He had noticed the men at the table earlier of course, but had thought nothing much of them, except manoeuvring around them carefully so as not to cause any problems. This plan had unfortunately not worked quite so well on his way back in from relieving himself, someone had knocked against him as he passed the table, causing him to accidentally bang against the men's, spilling one of their ale's. Before he could right himself, one of the men had grabbed his wrist, pinning it to the table, making it virtually impossible for him to pull away. The man had grinned at him in a rather disturbing manner before releasing him. Arc had been about to apologise when another man had rested his hand a little too comfortably on the boys ass. Arc had squirmed away uncomfortably, ignoring the almost jeering laughs at his expense, mumbled his apologies and returned to the table where Luneth was waiting, his eyes smouldering dangerously. Arc had barely sat down when Luneth was on his feet and heading for the other table.

Arc didn' want to look at Ingus then, so he dropped his eyes, tucking his chin into the little scarf type thing around his neck, and waited for the lecture or proper behaviour, or how he should have handled the situation.

"It appears I had the misfortune of stopping a well deserved punishment." Ingus said thoughtfully. Arc snapped his attention back up, only to find the other boy regarding the laughing men with a glint in his eyes that Arc could recall seeing in battle, calculating.

Arc blinked, feeling somewhat confused, did Ingus mean that Luneth was not in the wrong? Or… He blinked again, human's confused him far too much, this was why he preferred his books. He wasn't aware that his eyes had drifted to the table in his confused haste to make sense of what was going on, until he felt strong fingers under his chin forcing his head and eyes to rise up until they met Ingus'. Arc flushed as blue eyes bore into his own boring brown ones.

"This was not your fault." Ingus told him, conviction ringing strong in his voice. "Those men had no right to touch you like that, or make you uncomfortable. What Luneth did was the right thing, and I have every intention of telling him so."

"But I…" Arc trained off for a moment, before finally answering the silent question Ingus was asking. "I should have… said something… done something… then Luneth wouldn't have had to… I'm a coward…" that last part was whispered so low it went almost unheard.

"You are many things Arc, but a coward is not one of them." The older boy told him, not removing his fingers, knowing Arc's head would bow forward once again, as it had many times in the past. "You are a good, strong, kind hearted man. I know little of your past, so I cannot say why you shy away from people, but that does not make you a coward. And Luneth would have leapt to defend your honour no matter what, because he is your friend, as I would, and as Refia would. And we all know that if the time called for it, you would do exactly the same thing for any one of us."

Arc blushed deeply at the intense scrutiny, and at the simple conviction, the certainty Ingus had that he would do the same for any of them. Arc liked to think he would defend the others if called for, but he had the feeling that it probably wouldn't turn out quite like that in real life.

"Now, if you're finished here, we should make haste to our rooms, I believe I owe Luneth an apology." Ingus hid the grimace at the idea of apologising to the brash youth, but this was one time he would; without any hesitation. Arc nodded and they stood, weaving through the tables, he kept his head bowed slightly, eyes angled at peoples legs and not their face's, so he never saw the icy look Ingus bestowed upon the table of men by the bar as they passed it on their way towards the stairs. Though he did wonder at the guiding hand Ingus had placed on his shoulder.

I am aware that I wrote some... umm... strange things here, I don't know why. Not much is given about their past's, so any hints of Arc's are entirely my own (and based before he was taken in by the elder who raised Luneth). I don't know whether it could be considered out of character or not, but oh well. please reveiw, I've been dreadly missing reading new reveiws. (and to anyone waiting for an update to children, I shall update very very soon, I just gotta type up the chapter).