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taoofshigeru · 1 year

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A Cure for Joy but Not for Silence (Castti x Malaya)

A take on Castti/Ochette's crossed path where a confluence of magic brings back a familiar face. Trauma is still around, but so is love and comfort. Temenos and Osvald are also there. (2000 words)

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As Ochette called upon a bevy of trees, frogs, and axe-wielding tree frogs to beat back the shadow, a cleric and a scholar watched from a safe distance.

The purple light surrounding the ominous, writhing tentacle seemed familiar to the inquisitor. It took him a few moments for the hunch to turn into a connection.

Just when Castti and Ochette were starting to venture deeper into the woods, he took their colossal scholar by the arm. "Osvald, a word, if I may…"

Watching Castti treat the wounds on the duorduor turned that connection into a near-certainty. He grimaced. Then he thought of something. "Castti, you still have several phials of that cure mixed up."

She blinked. "Yes, why?"

He nodded towards the depths of the woods. "I very much doubt this is the last beast in these woods we'll see that's in need of treatment. May I borrow one?"

She nodded, and handed him the phial, which he tucked into his tunic.

They hastened on ahead into the woods. It should have been daylight, but it was dimmer than dusk.

A few steps further ahead, they were all engulfed in darkness.

…

As the scholar wandered further into the woods, he found himself hearing a voice that sounded like deep, raspy dusk. "Poor, pitiful Osvald. Lost your wife, you could never protect her."

"Why?" Osvald replied flatly. "Rita's death was Harvey's fault. I did everything I could, and now Elena is safe."

"Ah, but you're failing your daughter. Not there for her in this fragile recovery period. If only you had more power…" The voice trailed off.

"Why?" He didn't seem the least bit bothered. "Temenos is a high-ranking church official, and he was there when Harvey confessed to his crimes. Very likely I'll be exonerated within the year."

"…" The voice paused for just a moment. "Doesn't it ever make you curious, what it was that Harvey found at the end of his research? The true seventh source?"

"Why?" The scholar continued walking. He didn't even miss a step. "Whatever it was was clearly of an inferior grade to my own love for my adorable daughter."

"…" The pause was slightly longer this time. "Think of the possibilities of untapped sources of magic. Knowledge, wealth, half of the world, it could all be yours!"

"Why," His scruffy beard concealed the faintest hint of a smirk. "I don't really see what you're getting at."

…

"Couldn't protect them. Couldn't protect Jörg, or Roi, not even Crick." The voice in the darkness spoke to the cleric, mocking him. "You slept in bed as your wayward lamb walked his way to the slaughter."

Temenos grimaced. For all his outward confidence, this particular subject was not something he enjoyed being reminded of. "And I made examples of those responsible." That didn't mean he didn't have a retort ready. "And I aim to do the same to you."

"To me?" The voice boomed with laughter. "Why, you misunderstand me. I'm here to help you. To help give you power for your revenge."

"Revenge against who, exactly?" Temenos fixed on a point in the darkness that seemed to glow brighter than all the rest. Then he started walking. "This isn't the same puerile ploy you pulled on Kaldena, I hope? Inflicting tragedy and offering the power to get revenge against the enemy of her true enemy?"

"Kaldena was a fool." The darkness scoffed back at him. "You're clearly much too wise to fall for the petty ruse that worked on her."

"Oh, so that was you?" He responded with a dry wit. "I was going off a hunch. So, in a sense, I do appreciate the courtesy in your confirming my suspicions."

The darkness went silent, for a moment. Then, "How did you know?"

"I doubt. It's what I do." He winked at the point, which was growing brighter by the moment, then broke into a full sprint. "And you made it easy."

"YOU-!!" Humor was gone from the voice now, replaced by inhuman, primal rage.

"SACRED EFFULGENCE!!" He heaved his staff into the point of dark purple light, and the illusion shattered.

…

The cleric and the scholar found themselves standing on an endless lake of grey. Osvald was the first to notice Ochette and Castti were there next to him, facing off against what looked like dozens of the same writhing purple fragments of darkness Ochette had beaten back earlier.

Temenos was a hair slower, on account of the plum he had shoved down his throat. But the glow of his light magic hit one of the writhing curses incarnate just before it could strike at Ochette from behind.

Together, the four travelers made quick work of the gruesome attacker. Soon, the tendrils were in full retreat, but one lingered for just a moment.

That was long enough for Ochette. "Oh no you don't! RAWR!!" She bit into the darkness itself, and her fangs sunk deep.

That was as much time as they needed. "Now, Osvald!" He grabbed the phial of cure out from his tunic and tossed it in the scholar's direction.

A gruff, solemn chant had began even before the thin cylinder of glass was tumbling through the air. "This is! THE ANSWER!!" Osvald blasted the phial with the One True Magic (II), and the beam shot out towards the tentacle. Ochette jumped away just in time. So hasty was her jump that she did not, for once, land gracefully.

In the time it took for that attack to land, the rest of the tentacles, and the darkness itself, retreated. Ochette, Temenos, and Osvald were left standing beside Castti, slumped over with emotional and physical fatigue. And one other person, who had appeared exactly where the tentacle had been before Osvald had blasted it with pure, radiant spirit.

…

Castti looked up, and saw a ghost. This one wasn't wearing a wry smile, and the emaciated look was a far cry from the healthy state in which she had last seen her. But there was no mistaking those eyes. "…malaya?" It was a face she had resigned herself to never seeing again.

"It's okay, Malaya. I remember everything now, you can rest." She fumbled forward, not really understanding what was happening. "Haha, I must really be under the weather to be seeing things again." She put a hand to her forehead, laughing to hold back the tears. She felt so silly.

Ochette looked at the other woman, confused. "Mama Castti, who's this?"

A jolt of pure, stinging understanding shot through the apothecary. "You can see her?" Her head whipped around to Osvald. "Can you see her?"

He nodded. "There's a woman on the ground next to you. Dark skin, long hair. Signs of malnutrition. She's conscious."

Temenos stepped between them. "Now, wait a moment Castti, we need to be c-"

He was physically thrown off the ground as Castti dived forward like a woman possessed. She embraced the woman in a hug heavy enough to knock the wind clean out of her.

"MalayaMalayaMalayamalayamalayaOhit'syouit'sreallyyouyoudon'tknowhowmuchIhopedandprayedandafterIrememberedandeverythingandyoudidsomuchformeandIcouldn'tdoanythingforyouandIohgodsyou'realiveandhereandIcanfeelyouandIloveyousomuchandInevergottotellyoubefore*sob*, OhMalayaMalayamydearMalaya-" She didn't know where she was anymore, and she could not care. Tears and snot were spilling freely down her cheeks. Even after Temenos got up, Ochette stood, feet planted and arms out, making it very clear that he wasn't going to break up that moment.

It ended up being Malaya who pushed the apothecary away. "_,_." She opened her mouth as if to say something, but no words came out.

Osvald nodded in understanding. "You love her too, but you're hungry?"

"She's what?!" Castti's head jerked up.

Malaya winced and rubbed her stomach. "_,_!" She shook her head, smiling weakly at Castti.

"'You hugged the wind out of me, you damn mother hen.'" He gave a wry smile. "And my name is Osvald. I'm traveling together with your friend? Wife?"

"Wife!" The apothecary was the one to answer this question. "My wife is alive, I," She took another look at Malaya and her eyes widened with belated shock. "Oh gods, look at you, you're skin and bones, we need to get you some food."

"Alright, that's settled!" Ochette whipped out five sticks of jerky from her pack and handed them to Malaya, who wolfed them down and took five more before the beastling lifted her off the ground and the group began to walk back to town. Osvald, who had been the least disturbed in the confrontation with the shadow, lent Malaya his coat for warmth and let Castti lean on him for support.

"Hey Osvald, how did you know what she was saying? I couldn't even hear, and my ears are the best among us, I think?" Ochette's companion Mahina chimed in.

His gaze grew a little harder. "I learned how to read lips on Frigit Isle. It was useful for gathering information."

"Oh, I see." Ochette turned over to Malaya, who had grabbed a fistful of grapes from her pack and was downing them in groups of three. "You really are light, ma'am. Eat as much as you like."

"Wow, Ochette sharing her food. This is a special day, yes indeed." Mahina hooted jovially.

Temenos cut in between the two, voice so low that neither Castti or Malaya seemed to be able to hear. "I would like to preach caution. Whoever that woman is, she came from the shadow. And it spoke to me in there. I'm almost certain it's connected to what we've been investigating."

"Osvald, can you grab him by the cloak? With one fist? My hands're kinda full."

"M'kay." The scholar obliged, yanking the cleric down for the hunter to glare at.

Ochette hissed back, "Now listen here, you. You weren't with us when Castti went back to Healeaks for the first time. I've seen that woman rip a real live antlion in two, but that village had her shaking in a way I've never seen. And the name I kept hearing her say while we were there? 'Malaya.'" She indicated the woman held in her arms, "You can keep an eye on things, sure. But if you mess up this moment for her I'm gonna put my footprint into your rib cage."

His smile never fell the whole time she was talking. "I understand. I can leave the two of them to you, then?"

"So long as we're clear, Temmy." She bared her fangs at him.

By the time they had arrived back at the inn, it was still light outside. The sunlight seemed to give Malaya a physical boost, and Castti a mental one. The two of them sat outside on a bench, with Ochette standing nearby. She held a pouch that was seemingly still full of food and drinks, and this time Castti indulged herself in some spicy jerky. They sat there for a little while.

Castti asked the question that had been on her mind. "Do you remember me?"

Malaya nodded her head. Yes, yes I do.

"Oh, can you still not speak?" She leaned over, concerned.

She shook her head no.

"So you can't speak?"

Malaya shook her head no again.

"You don't want to speak?"

A nod, yes.

"I'm sorry, I just." Castti stopped. "There's a lot I wanted to ask. But I don't need to ask it now." She stared into those eyes, those lovely brownish-black eyes which, now that she looked closer, seemed to be carrying new, silent scars in them. "We can wait. But I do have one request." She supposed hers did too. They really would have a lot to talk about.

Malaya nodded her head.

"C, can I hold your hand?" She stumbled with that on her way out of the gate. Even so, "It's only, I just, gods! I spent this whole time imagining a version of you to help myself get through all that trauma, and I almost went and accepted you were gone." Castti fixed her eyes on those deep, familiar eyes again and "I need to feel that you're real, and next to me. Is that okay?"

Before nodding, Malaya reached out with her own hand, the one that wasn't still dismantling a pomegranate and shoving it in her face, and wrapped her fingers through Castti's own. Then she nodded. Of course, chief.

~End~

#death #tw death #octopath traveler 2 #octopath traveler 2 spoilers #spoilers #castti florenz #octopath ochette #osvald v. vanstein #temenos mistral #castti x malaya #nobody dies here but since it does deal with it I'm tagging it for safety #malaya lives and is (at least temporarily) nonverbal because of trauma #osvald annoys the shadow by being very autism #ochette feeding all these depressed healers #temenos deducing that One True Magic is the inverse of the shadow source and thus can be used for consequence-free necromancy #feeding people after traumatic events is a big thing I enjoy so there's a fair amount of that #malaya comes back with one HP and needs to guzzle grapes and jerky to survive #octopath traveler 2 fic #fic #minor edits after posting to fix obvious mistakes #also a note that temenos is casting effulgence there because he had osvald buff him before walking into the forest

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