Nanaki (lunatichigh) wrote in drawpoints, @ 2015-09-19 00:02:00 |
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Entry tags: | !narrative, nanaki bugenhagen, npc |
WHO: Nanaki + NPCs
WHAT: Bugenhagen goes missing.
WHERE: Balamb
WHEN: Thursday evening
"Out since Tuesday? But where did he go?"
"We don't know, Nanaki. He just took his coat and bag and walked out of the office announcing he's taking a holiday."
"Just like that? Why? Was he upset?"
"Not that we know! He was speaking with our junior fellows and they said he was in his usual jovial self."
"He didn't even make any calls?"
"None, we're hoping he talked to you."
"No...I left a bunch of voice mails with increasing urgency but none...Dr. Alistair, where could he have gone?"
"We wish we know. We asked Emilie and even Raffe and they said they haven't seen him go home at all. We're wondering if we should contact Sgt. Farris..."
"Wait…Let's give it until today. I'll try to make a few inquiries of my own."
"If you insist, Nanaki. Let us know how we can help."
Nanaki ended the overseas call with Dr. Alistair, brows deepset in worry. Sure, his grandfather was spontaneous but not so much that he would disappear without any warning, especially to his grandson and his only living relative.
Where could he begin though? Nanaki knew his grandfather had friends all over the world. One person did strike his mind, which seemed like a longshot but perhaps owing to the role he played in the previous weeks, it didn't hurt to try.
"Seto? Is that you??" The disbelieving tone after five attempts.
"No, Engineer. It's his son. Sorry I had to use my father's number." It was one of those sim cards on sale. at the convenience store, Seto wanted to reach as many people as he could in his brief return to the planet. "I was wondering if word got around there about Grandpa Bugenhagen? Is he in FH?"
"If he is, I haven't heard of it. He would usually stop and say hi." Said the self-exiled Estharian, styled as FH's Master Fisherman.
"Can I leave you my number in case he does appear?"
"Sure. Tsk Bugenhagen...Old man shouldn't be out stargazing this far...So Seto's gone now is he?"
"Yeah, he and mom."
"That's a shame. I found the telescope he was looking for when you both visited town."
"Really?"
"Yeah, among other instruments he made before he left FH. They're old but still in good working condition. If you want to pick them up, just look for me."
That would have to wait, even so Nanaki wouldn't know what to do with them.
Though the idea was far-fetched, Nanaki was tempted to contact Cloud as though the swordsman could find an elderly astronomer who was approaching his 100th year in the midst of the flower fields. Only then did Nanaki realize there was beginning to be hints of desperation. Later Dr. Alistair would call Nanaki again to inform him about his conversation with Sgt. Farris, but there was nothing Esthar could do if the man was outside their borders. Meanwhile Nanaki kept ringing his grandfather's voice mail until he was tired of it.
Why grandpa? Why NOW? He wasn't as young and spritely as Cloud was with a stamina to go around the planet and fight the monsters along the way. Health and endurance aside, Nanaki thought the reason of his grandfather's departure wasn't as different as Cloud's. It just wasn’t the same, going home without his son in the apartment, despite the fact they often went on these debates with son questioning his father's Estharian (Odine-stained) ideals that made his mother shake her head at Nanaki, and mumble how it would not matter since they will all be dead again soon. (Then she would ask him about school again for the nth time, surely there must be something he had not told her yet. Nanaki would reach far back into his mind but it turned out she was waiting for him to tell a particular story he had deliberately skirted past. His abduction by her former organization.)
While she stopped amassing arms in his grandfather's house when it was clear no one was kicking the door to take them all, his mother still went around with a gun, ready to pull and cock it before anyone would think it. Then she would remind Nanaki to trust his animal instincts, to train himself to fight as his animal counterpart when once she blamed herself for his condition. One of the last things he remembered her tell him was simply to survive and outlive them all. His father was more concerned about something other than having a roof above his head and food on his plate. He wanted him to carve his own destiny, something else beyond 'to be like you, papa' and definitely something else beyond Esthar which always seemed to raise Seto's ire.
It was all a cliffhanger in the end, because their last week was still a blur in Nanaki's mind. He could only blame the moon and his inability to control his transformations when the satellite reveals its full face. What he remembered was roaming no man's land with his parents in his animal form, how he ended up there and why he didn't end up attacking them was a mystery that frustrated him until that day and the days that followed. But his grandfather confirmed this was not a dream, because he found the beast howling on a precarious cliff. Bugenhagen suspected his parents disappeared at night and Nanaki tried to chase after their scent until they vanished into thin air.
And now even his grandfather was missing
He closed the book he was working on, there was no point reading when his mind is trying to go to Esthar.
One more day and he's going to call everyone he knows.