Sorry this took so long. I got a bunch of new games so yeah...
The selection of food on the table was astounding. From roasted Gold Chocobo to Flan Flambé to some sort of strange meat that Balthier warned, "It tastes good for the first five or so seconds. Then you'll be wishing this was a case of magical poison so you can Esuna yourself."
That didn't stop Bartz from eating it though. And to the sky pirate's surprise, nothing bad happened to the adventurer. "It's not half bad." He said before he stuffed another piece of meat in his mouth. Balthier still made an effort to avoid the mystery meat.
At a different part of the table, as Squall was coversing with Lightning about their gunblades (even during peace-time, it's all serious business for Squall), Zidane quickly mixed in a bit of vodka into his friend's wine. The thief figured that the alcohol should loosen up Squall a bit. He's too serious, thought Zidane. He needs to have some fun!
Cecil glanced over at his wife, who was holding his son in her hands. How can she converse so easily with a goddess? It's like they're old friends! Well, it's not like we haven't experienced weirder things...but still, it took me a while to get over the shock of fighting for a goddess.
"Women can talk to each other for hours about nothing." Firion remarked from next to the paladin after seeing his confused face. "Be they soldier, healer, goddess, or otherwise." He pointed across the table. Terra was effortlessly switching from a discussion with the Onion Knight about his new maps, and talking about her friends with Cosmos and Rosa.
"...I will never understand them."
"No man ever will."
At the other side of the table, Tidus and Cloud were about ready to maul Shantotto. "Sit up straight, or would you rather have an icy fate? Stop stuffing your mouth like a squirrel, you'll be likely to hurl!"
As the two swordsmen were about to tear apart the Tarutaru as she berated them for their choice in food, the Warrior of Light stood up and cleared his throat. He spoke as soon as he was sure he had everyone's attention. "First off, I'd like to thank you, Cosmos, for giving us this break away from war and for this magnificent feast." A round of applause sounded as the goddess modestly assured that it was no trouble at all. "Next," he began again. "and I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say this, I'd like to thank the people who got us all our gifts. Although they will probably remain anonymous, we all appreciate what we have gotten." More applause. "And finally," he raised his wine glass. "I'd like to make a toast. To our victories in the war thus far!"
"To our friends and family!" Cecil added as he too raised his glass.
"To our worlds!" Tidus cheered.
"To the light!" Bartz called.
"To Cosmos!" Shantotto shouted.
"To Cosmos!" The rest cheered and clinked glasses.
The goddess almost cried, she felt so happy. She had a feeling-No, not a feeling. She knew that these warriors would be the ones to finally break the endless cycle of conflict between Harmony and Discord. She knew, because she could feel it in them.
The Warrior of Light's loyalty.
Firion's determination.
The Onion Knight's wisdom.
Cecil's hope.
Bartz's courage.
Terra's love.
Cloud's inner strength.
Squall's will.
Zidane's impulsive helpfulness.
Tidus' contagious cheer.
These traits of theirs will finally put an end to the endless war. But for now, it's peace-time.
Enjoy it, my heroes. You all deserve every minute of peace.
.
..
...
..
.
"Garland! Garland, where the-There you are!"
"...What do you want, Kuja?"
"It's horrible! It's tragic! It's-"
"A waste of my time if you don't get to the point."
"Kefka found Jecht's stash of rum, Exdeath and the Cloud of Darkness are flinging things into the Void out of boredom, Golbez is missing, Mateus is failing to keep things in order, and Ultimecia got this strange idea that Sephiroth is a woman in disguise so she's chasing him throughout the Chaos Shrine."
"...And this is why crazed Warriors of Chaos should never be allowed to roam free through a cease-fire. I'll be right there, let me grab my sword..."
Short, but I think it wrapped up pretty well.
And you didn't think I forgot the villains, did you?
Thanks for reading!