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31_days2014-12-04 10:00 am
seta-suzume.livejournal.com) wrote in 31_days2014-12-04 10:00 am
[Dec. 4] [Final Fantasy VI] Bodies in Peacetime
Title: Bodies in Peacetime
Day/Theme: Dec. 4, 2014 "thoughts imprinted on the body"
Series: Final Fantasy VI
Character/Pairing: Celes & Terra
Rating: PG
From when they had been very small, Celes and Terra had been raised for war; their bodies groomed to fulfill that goal. (her entire life as far as Celes knew; Terra since she had been found). To train like that, to aim to always be in peak condition, ready for the call to battle at the slights notice- it was the only existence she knew. It was how Celes lived and it was her excellence in maintaining this high standard that had brought her to the forefront of Gestahl's army as a general at such a young age.
That very same strength, skill, and determination to maintain them had served her just as well on the other side of the equation. With Cid's kind care and attention, Celes had managed to survive the end of the world as they knew it. It was always despair, never lack of ability, that had threatened her chances of rebounding to live on as strong as ever, and when she had conquered those pessimistic fears, she had found within herself depths of power of a different sort than she had known she possessed. It wasn't just the way she wielded her sword or ice that had brought her scattered companions back together- it was the power of her heart.
It was a combination of the two that took down Kefka. And in the aftermath of that victory (a glorious new beginning, but hardly a quick fix for all the new world problems), it was easier to slack off regarding her sword arm than her swelling feelings for the people she had fought to preserve the world alongside.
She wouldn't beat herself up over letting things slip for a little while, but merely resumed her usual training schedule once her life found a new rhythm to settle into. If she wasn't quite up to the old imperial general standard, she'd try not to let that bother her either. What mattered wasn't being the best, but good enough to get the important work that needed doing done. If Celes could keep the strongest of the wandering monsters away from the small settlements in need of defending, then her current condition was adequate.
Her body remained toned and lithe, though walking more than riding shifted the location of some of her most used muscles. She lived a life she would never have dreamed of years ago.
In peacetime, Celes saw on her various travels and reunions, some of her colleagues had hung onto their top form (Sabin, with a life that similarly focused long on such a thing; Gau, wild and young and still coming into his own) and some of them had embraced the new opportunities for a softer life this world could provide (Cyan trained still, but for the mental discipline most of all, accepting that he had left behind his prime; Setzer, without Imperials to flee from, packed on a bit of a paunch at the waist). But it was because her form had had the most in common with Terra's, she supposed, that what Terra's body became surprised her the most.
Celes made a habit of coming by Moblitz at least four times a year (once a season), out of a combination of the ongoing closeness she had come to feel with Terra and Terra's sweet suggestion that she needed to see the slowly growing town in all the different seasons to get a real feel for what the place was like (and if she might, like Locke, choose to settle on it as her if not a full-time home, at least her base of operations, someday). Each time she returned there were changes that must have seemed gradual to Terra and the others living there, but to Celes came as small surprises about how fast children could grow, and gardens too. Compared to all those changes though, this one's magnitude was like Kefka shifting the Goddess statues to change the world.
Terra came to the door at Celes' knocking, heralded by idle cries of "Mama!" as members of her adopted brood summoned her in case she had missed her usual visitor's measured rapping.
There was a little of that tiredness around her eyes that seemed to be just part and parcel of her living with half a dozen squirmy small children (and that maybe had something to do with the changes to her state ever since the Espers and their magic had departed from the world), but she still looked neater than Celes imagined she would under the circumstances, her hair shiny and her smile as radiant as the light of a Curaga spell. Terra hadn't become weak in the time since Kefka's defeat, but she dedicated more time to household chores than swordsmanship, so she might have more success now beating off monsters with a rake or washtub than winning a duel, but, like the shape Celes was in, it was strength suited for the life she had chosen to lead.
This had all remained as Celes remembered. The shock came in the swell of her breasts, resting on her rounded, pregnant torso. In a time of mostly peace, having learned some things of love, Terra had chosen not only to be a mother to those children in need, but to give birth herself. It was a kind of strength it wasn't the easiest for Celes to understand.
"Oh, oh my," she embraced her friend gently, "You didn't tell me this last time!"
"Th-there were difficulties, so I didn't want to announce things too early," Terra answered, quiet, but not shy.
"You're so brave," Celes said, not bothering to hide the facts of her wondering and awe.
"Well," Terra replied, "We all build up a new world one way at a time. …I'm glad you're here to make it a safer one."
"And you'll always be here to remind me to keep it full of love."
Day/Theme: Dec. 4, 2014 "thoughts imprinted on the body"
Series: Final Fantasy VI
Character/Pairing: Celes & Terra
Rating: PG
From when they had been very small, Celes and Terra had been raised for war; their bodies groomed to fulfill that goal. (her entire life as far as Celes knew; Terra since she had been found). To train like that, to aim to always be in peak condition, ready for the call to battle at the slights notice- it was the only existence she knew. It was how Celes lived and it was her excellence in maintaining this high standard that had brought her to the forefront of Gestahl's army as a general at such a young age.
That very same strength, skill, and determination to maintain them had served her just as well on the other side of the equation. With Cid's kind care and attention, Celes had managed to survive the end of the world as they knew it. It was always despair, never lack of ability, that had threatened her chances of rebounding to live on as strong as ever, and when she had conquered those pessimistic fears, she had found within herself depths of power of a different sort than she had known she possessed. It wasn't just the way she wielded her sword or ice that had brought her scattered companions back together- it was the power of her heart.
It was a combination of the two that took down Kefka. And in the aftermath of that victory (a glorious new beginning, but hardly a quick fix for all the new world problems), it was easier to slack off regarding her sword arm than her swelling feelings for the people she had fought to preserve the world alongside.
She wouldn't beat herself up over letting things slip for a little while, but merely resumed her usual training schedule once her life found a new rhythm to settle into. If she wasn't quite up to the old imperial general standard, she'd try not to let that bother her either. What mattered wasn't being the best, but good enough to get the important work that needed doing done. If Celes could keep the strongest of the wandering monsters away from the small settlements in need of defending, then her current condition was adequate.
Her body remained toned and lithe, though walking more than riding shifted the location of some of her most used muscles. She lived a life she would never have dreamed of years ago.
In peacetime, Celes saw on her various travels and reunions, some of her colleagues had hung onto their top form (Sabin, with a life that similarly focused long on such a thing; Gau, wild and young and still coming into his own) and some of them had embraced the new opportunities for a softer life this world could provide (Cyan trained still, but for the mental discipline most of all, accepting that he had left behind his prime; Setzer, without Imperials to flee from, packed on a bit of a paunch at the waist). But it was because her form had had the most in common with Terra's, she supposed, that what Terra's body became surprised her the most.
Celes made a habit of coming by Moblitz at least four times a year (once a season), out of a combination of the ongoing closeness she had come to feel with Terra and Terra's sweet suggestion that she needed to see the slowly growing town in all the different seasons to get a real feel for what the place was like (and if she might, like Locke, choose to settle on it as her if not a full-time home, at least her base of operations, someday). Each time she returned there were changes that must have seemed gradual to Terra and the others living there, but to Celes came as small surprises about how fast children could grow, and gardens too. Compared to all those changes though, this one's magnitude was like Kefka shifting the Goddess statues to change the world.
Terra came to the door at Celes' knocking, heralded by idle cries of "Mama!" as members of her adopted brood summoned her in case she had missed her usual visitor's measured rapping.
There was a little of that tiredness around her eyes that seemed to be just part and parcel of her living with half a dozen squirmy small children (and that maybe had something to do with the changes to her state ever since the Espers and their magic had departed from the world), but she still looked neater than Celes imagined she would under the circumstances, her hair shiny and her smile as radiant as the light of a Curaga spell. Terra hadn't become weak in the time since Kefka's defeat, but she dedicated more time to household chores than swordsmanship, so she might have more success now beating off monsters with a rake or washtub than winning a duel, but, like the shape Celes was in, it was strength suited for the life she had chosen to lead.
This had all remained as Celes remembered. The shock came in the swell of her breasts, resting on her rounded, pregnant torso. In a time of mostly peace, having learned some things of love, Terra had chosen not only to be a mother to those children in need, but to give birth herself. It was a kind of strength it wasn't the easiest for Celes to understand.
"Oh, oh my," she embraced her friend gently, "You didn't tell me this last time!"
"Th-there were difficulties, so I didn't want to announce things too early," Terra answered, quiet, but not shy.
"You're so brave," Celes said, not bothering to hide the facts of her wondering and awe.
"Well," Terra replied, "We all build up a new world one way at a time. …I'm glad you're here to make it a safer one."
"And you'll always be here to remind me to keep it full of love."