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“Don’t tell me you’re already falling asleep,” Clive said and smiled softly, watching Cid try to fight off sleep. His eyes were barely able to focus on Clive and his breath was slowing down as well. Not long now and he would be snoring softly into Clive’s ear.
There was a fresh breeze coming through the open side of their chambers, a welcome coolness in the still lingering warmth of the day. Clive tried to cherish the moment as best he could; Cid was rarely so at peace. So many bearers they hadn’t freed yet, which left a lot to be done.
Before they were due to head out again, Clive wanted to enjoy the time he could with Cid. The heavy arms holding his waist were grounding Clive and the heat emanating from Cid was enough that the breeze was just the right temperature to be a reprieve
“Mh,” was all he got in response. Cid’s eyes fluttered open and he looked at Clive dazedly before they fell shut again.
Clive could feel a lovesick smile form on his face, but in the privacy of their own chambers, there was no need to conceal it. Slowly, he could also feel his own body succumbing to the drowsiness of sleep, until he heard scratching at the door.
Cid’s only reaction was to turn his head and furrow his eyebrows, and Clive figured that Torgal would stop once he started thinking they were already asleep.
Clearly, he did not know his own dog particularly well.
Instead of looking for Jill, Charon, or anyone else willing to offer some belly rubs, Torgal had apparently decided that he needed Clive’s and opened the door. Him and Cid definitely had to train Torgal out of that habit soon, since he had already damaged the door locking away their meat.
This time, thankfully, the door remained unscathed, so Torgal was free to enter.
“We’ve got company,” Clive said, nudging Cid gently, who actually tried to regain consciousness after that.
Torgal trotted in and upon spotting them immediately made his way towards the bed.
“Careful, the beast is coming,” Clive said and Cid let out a huff as they could hear Torgal’s claws on the wooden ground. Despite Clive’s warning, Cid still got an unpleasant surprise when Torgal decided to jump on the bed.
He missed Clive entirely but landed on Cid’s calve. who let out a pain-filled groan, much to Clive’s amusement. Cid had survived worse, he’d live through Torgal jumping on him, Clive supposed.
He looked back at Torgal, who was taking in the position they were lying in before deciding he should join. Cid, whose arms were still wrapped around Clive’s waist, was basically pushed out of the way entirely. Torgal tried to slide through his arms as well, so he could take Cid’s spot and cuddle with Clive.
“That bloody dog is going to be the death of me, I swear one day he’ll murder me just so he won’t have to vie for your attention,” he dramatically muttered into the arm that he had removed and now slung over his eyes.
Clive could only chuckle in reply and reached out to pet Torgal’s face, who was already tilting his head and closing his eyes in anticipation of getting pet.
“That’s not true, is it, Torgal?” Clive asked rhetorically. Torgal did not react in any way, choosing to enjoy the cuddles and press his butt into Cid’s side, effectively pushing him off the bed.
Rubbing his aching shoulder, Cid got to his feet.
“As if you’d believe me over him,” he narrowed his eyes at Clive but the effect was spoiled by the smile tugging on the corner of his lips before turning to Torgal, “and you ungrateful menace, I’ve cared for you these past thirteen years, and this is how you repay my kindness? Casting aside your loyalty and betraying the hand that feeds you the instant your lad returns?”
Clive could hardly contain his laughter at Cid’s pretended grumbling, kneading Torgal’s ear as his dog leaned his head into the affection and let out deep relaxed breaths.
“Well, since you’re already standing, might as well close the door Torgal left open. And also, it’s already been five years since you brought me here, so I dare say that it’s only expected. We did have a pretty special bond back when he was young,” Clive recalled fondly.
Cid sighed and made to close the door before attempting to get back into the bed that Torgal had now claimed as his own. He tried to move the dog a bit so there would be at least some space for him. After he got some of the blanket over his legs, he resumed scratching Torgal’s neck.
Clive took a moment to look at Torgal enjoying his pets before he turned to Cid more solemnly and started: “You know, back then, back in Rosaria, Torgal was the only one I could always rely on. It’s nothing new that Joshua spent more days than all of us would have liked bound to the bed because his health had failed him yet again. And Jill didn’t have it easy, either. Mother was always so harsh on her and it usually did not end well for either of us whenever I tried to stick up for her, so we weren’t very close as children. My father was rarely there, always on the move, at one front or another, and when he was home, he did not always win in verbal fights against mother. The only other person I could count on was my uncle, however, he also had to tend to his obligations and I rarely got to see him, too. So, in the end, Torgal was the only one who was always there for me. Greagor, I love this dog so much, I sometimes think he can’t possibly understand just how much.”
He swallowed in order to get rid of the lump in his throat; his voice had turned a bit scratchy at some point and if he refused to acknowledge that during the last sentence, his voice had cracked, then Cid would definitely not have been able to notice it. Clive took a deep breath, meanwhile, Cid had gone silent and was looking for a way to lighten the sour mood.
“Did you know that in the old hideaway, one time Gav was talking to Martelle and Bohumir and didn’t realise Torgal was standing right behind him. So, when Torgal saw the apples that Martelle held in her hand, Torgal barked quite loudly and Gav the poor soul, actually jumped into the water because he was so startled,” Cid recalled fondly.
“That happened?” Clive asked, slightly unconvinced of the truth of that story.
“You can ask Otto or Lady Charon. To Gav’s eternal shame, all of us were witnesses. Poor sod was drenched from head to toe. Couldn’t let down his guard around the hideaway for weeks after that,” he mused. “That was back when Torgal was relatively new to the hideaway.”
“I hope he didn’t cause too much trouble in the beginning. Now that were talking about it… how did you manage to find him, exactly? By now I think I have heard at least seven different stories from people in the hideaway. Would be nice to finally get to know how he managed to find his way here.”
Cid pondered for a moment and then started grinning cheekily: “Why don’t you tell me some of the stories first. Who did you ask about it?”
Clive thought about it, recounting the people he had asked after he had realised that everyone in the hideaway seemed to have a different story to tell. Absentmindedly, he rubbed Torgal’s back. Cid had to take a hold of Torgal’s tail because it was wagging so hard it became uncomfortable after a few hits.
“Think the first one I asked was Gav, then Gaute and Lady Charon as well. Cole and Angus told me their stories without me asking first. Back then I just was torn between believing they were trying to pull a prank or to get a sense of what I knew.”
“Wouldn’t put it past them,” Cid said amused. “What did our Lady Charon tell you?”
“She told me that it happened because of Gav. On one of your expeditions, Gav found him and Torgal just decided to follow him to you. Been inseparable since. I’ll admit that I was slightly jealous that you got to spent these past thirteen years with him. But pretty soon I was just relieved that he’d found a good home when I wasn’t there for him.”
“Did she tell you this is how it happened back when you were new at the hideaway?”
Clive nodded.
“That explains it. Think she just wanted to be left alone, and you didn’t exactly want to be here in the beginning either.”
At that, Clive actually looked somewhat embarrassed and he started to scratch the back of his head.
“I know and I’m sorry that I was so unpleasant to deal with. Wasn’t handling the knowledge that Ifrit has been me all this time well at all.”
“Can’t argue with that but there’s no point in dwelling on past actions. Tell me about Gaute. I think Otto once answered Gaute sarcastically when he asked; I bet he’s got a nice story to tell.”
“Well, kind of,” Clive answered, “Gaute told me that Torgal came here because of Goetz. According to that story, Lady Charon had sent out Goetz to fetch her wares and he assumed she had ordered Torgal as well because supposedly, he was right there with her requested items. When Goetz tried to return him, the seller wouldn’t take him back,” Clive recounted Gaute’s story and managed to make Cid laugh loudly.
“Oh, that fool of a boy. Would do him good not to stick his nose where it belongs sometimes. Gav, too, while we’re on that matter. At least his sense for trouble is much better, so occasionally he manages not to get in harm’s way.”
“Indeed. When Gaute told me that story, I was still pretty sure that Lady Charon had told the truth. But then I asked Goetz if he knew how Torgal found his way here while we were on our way somewhere – possibly Tabor? – and I wanted to make some conversation with him, so I asked about Torgal although I knew Lady Charon’s story. But then he went on and told me a story as well and Goetz is no liar, even I realised that back then,” Clive told him and Cid nodded. Goetz did not have one ounce of dishonesty in that huge body of his. The one thing that could be said about him was his tendency to be gullible.
“He told me that when some of the cursebreakers made rest in Dhalmekia, Torgal had joined them when they fell asleep. When they woke up, he wouldn’t leave so they let him accompany him back to the hideaway.”
Cid grunted when Clive was finished, clearly bothered by the story.
“Despite knowing some of the members, especially the younger ones, to be somewhat air-headed I do at least hope that something like that would not actually conspire. All of them should have enough self-preservation to not fall asleep in foreign territory, especially where idiotic regulations could mean death for us.”
Clive stopped petting Torgal momentarily which made him look up with an affronted look on his face. His dog got up from between him and Cid to plant himself right across Clive’s chest. Clive let out an “Oof” when Torgal let himself fall down. This time, it was Cid’s turn to laugh at Clive.
“Always such a delight to see others succumb to the same fate I had to survive. He still thinks himself a pup when he wants to cuddle, never mind anyone else’s comfort. If I hadn’t been on the receiving end of his brutishness one too many times I almost would have said that it was within his rights.”
Clive laughed. He couldn’t argue with that at all.
“I agree, yet when I look at him I wish that he won’t let go of this habit. I do want to treasure every memory I create with him,” he said, smiling down at Torgal, who was stretching out all four of his legs. The bed was too narrow for two grown adults and a huge hound, however, both of them were loath to admit it. Clive turned his smile to Cid, who lifted one eyebrow.
“And I am also cherishing every moment I get to spend with you.”
Cid looked stunned for a few seconds before he let out a loud groan.
“God, I love you but never say that again. That was too much, next time my body is either going to throw up the food I ate or you’ll be the cause of my death, no in-between,” he complained, but Clive could spot a small smile forming. Before Clive could reply, though, Cid leaned over to him, aiming for a kiss.
Torgal, however, was not aware of the romantic moment between them and when he realised that Cid was hovering basically directly above him, he turned his head and got up to greet Cid with a myriad of puppy kisses. Cid just let out a disgusted noise, which in turn made Clive laugh so hard that he could barely breathe.
“You’re right, boy” he said, petting his dog encouragingly while Cid half-heartedly tried to push Torgal out of his face. “Cid deserves all the love. Make sure he gets it.”
With so much flailing around, Cid had a hard time holding himself up with only one arm. The inevitable happened and he fell down on Torgal, who yelped and backed out immediately. Cid pushed himself up again and reached out to Torgal in order to pet him in apology before Torgal turned his back on him to shake everything off.
“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, pecking Clive’s mouth and then trying to coax Torgal back between them.
“Come on, boy, your master has missed you a great deal and it was your own foolishness that caused this dilemma.”
Clive half expected for Torgal to ignore Cid, but to his surprise Torgal returned to them, although he placed himself on Clive’s legs this time, trying not to get too close to Cid.
“Yeah, yeah, enjoy your sulking,” Cid said, tickling Torgal’s nose so he scrunched his face. Cid laughed at Torgal’s expression. It was, admittedly, very adorable and Torgal playfully tried to catch Cid’s finger. Thank Greagor that Torgal did not have the personality to hold grudges.
Clive watched them play, at some point remembering the original topic of their conversation. He turned his head to look Cid in his eyes.
“You haven’t told me how you found him yet.”
“Hm,” was all he got, the smile on Cid’s face almost disappearing. Clive worried that the true story on how Torgal got to the hideaway was not as uncomplicated as the stories he’d heard so far.
“It doesn’t- I mean, you don’t have to tell me,” he tried to salvage the situation, but Cid only sighed and started talking.
“No, had he been my dog I would’ve also like to know what happened. You know how I found Mid after I had defected from Waloed? I found her, but I also found him. She doesn’t remember, thankfully, because she was too young. He was protecting her from some grunts of the army in Waloed. It couldn’t have gone on for long, them attacking Mid and Torgal, I mean, but still, it didn’t look good for them. She hid behind him and he was already so exhausted. But he had managed to incapacitate two or three already, they were just terribly outmatched, so their chances had been pretty much non-existent from the beginning. I was so glad to have come across them. Was barely able to make out the colour of his fur, there was so much blood. I took the easy way out, called for Ramuh and then got the hell away with both of them. We were already pretty close to the sea, getting on a ship was the easy part. The rest of the jorney back was long and strenuous, and we couldn’t afford to take too many breaks. At some point I feared that neither of them would make it. Tarja worked her arse off when we got there and I couldn’t be more thankful to her for everything she’s done for both of them. I would’ve preferred to have stayed in Ash until both of them had gotten better, but unfortunately, my face was too well-known for that. So, we had to make do and get here before these two could get any real help,” Cid stopped, and Clive took a moment to process that. He did not know what to say and where to start.
That Torgal had made his way from Phoenix Gate to Waloed was quite the feat, he did not even want to begin imagining what could have transpired on the way. And that Cid found him whilst he had been protecting Mid? His heart ached that he had not been there to help, but he also felt pride swell in his chest. Indeed, Torgal was the best dog, the finest hound he could have wished for, there was no doubt about that.
Since Clive took too long to say anything, Cid picked up again. “There were a few slashes across his body from where he had been struck by blades. They took a long time to heal, but nowadays you can’t even really tell behind his thick fur that they had even been there. I’m glad that that event did not mark him in any way. The time after was also pretty hard; he was somewhat skittish around blades, so it was a bit difficult for me to gain his trust. But in the end, he made a pretty good hunting dog.”
Clive nodded and couldn’t help but to squish Torgal’s face between his hands, kneading his ears extra hard just the way he knew Torgal loved. Said dog did not appear to have taken note of the mood at all, the look on Torgal’s face was one of pure bliss and Clive smiled sadly.
“Thank you for protecting him, and for telling me what happened. Back when I was in the army of Sanbreque, I would never have believed that I would ever be reunited with Joshua, Jill or Torgal. Sometimes I still feel as if all of this is just a dream that’s way too good, and one day I will wake up and all of this is just over. I couldn’t be happier to be here,” Clive said, looking perhaps a bit too heartfelt for Cid, who already felt too emotional.
Cid nodded but chose not to react any further, instead choosing to trace his fingers lightly above the pulse on Clive’s neck. Feeling ticklish, Clive swatted the hand away, scrunching his nose in annoyance.
“You look exactly like your stupid dog,” Cid said smugly, stroking Torgal’s head in apology who couldn’t care less.
“By the way,” Clive started, wanting to change the topic, “I think the favourite story I got to hear was from Otto.”
“Oh,” Cid said. “And what pray tell, did he make up?”
Clive chuckled. “He told me that one time, he and Gav were ferried across the sea by Obolus. Torgal had seen them leave and decided to swim along, the entire trip, did not mind the cold one bit. Otto mentioned that near the hideaway, Gav fell into the water and almost drowned because he wore too many clothes and they were drenched. Torgal managed to grab him and then dragged him to the shore,” Clive said, grinning.
“Had I not been the reason this dog is now part of the hideaway, I would have believed that. But Otto should have thought this story through more thoroughly. Obolus only joined us when we set up this new hideaway, so it doesn’t add up. Still, I appreciate that he dragged Gav. And to be fair, he got the bit about Torgal enjoying the cold right.”
“Yeah. Otto only told me this story recently when we were drinking and Gav was already done for. Was way better than the stories Cole or Angus told me.”
Cid looked intrigued. “Oh, and what did they tell you?”
“Cole just told me that Charon once received Torgal as compensation when a trader wasn’t able to pay for their wares. Says her bleeding heart was good with it and called it a day. His words, not mine, mind you,” Clive stressed to which Cid nodded sagely.
“Aye, better not tell that to her face.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he promised. “Anyways, Angus told me that actually, Tarja had bought Torgal. Had been treating some actors that were travelling through Sanbreque back then, who didn’t have enough money on them to pay for her services, so they offered him as payment. Both Angus and Cole told me their stories while on the same expedition, so I was pretty sure from the beginning that they were messing with me.”
“Clever lad, glad you occasionally put that pretty head of yours to good use.”
Clive laughed and did not deign that with a response.
“I think I liked Blackthorne’s story the best. While I was waiting for him to finish forging the sword, he said you brought Torgal with you as a gift for Mid. That’s the reason they’re so inseparable.”
“Sounds good to me, I hope that is the story you chose to believe in. Only the best for Mid.”