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Zidane was not normal.
Fair, no one in Tantalus was, but Zidane was… uniquely abnormal even among Baku’s band of misfit thieves, but as long as he did his job in the end, that didn’t matter. The kid was a natural at the art and had no problem adapting to circumstances physically or mentally. He didn’t speak a speck of any local Lindblum languages, or know how to read or write when initially taken in, but he picked all that up fast too… too fast. However, to say he might be stunted emotionally was always a thing they’d always chalk it up to how he was found alone half-dead like plenty of abandoned kids.
Still, that night…
Underneath the rare, lone red moon of Gaia, that had only accentuated the startling discovery.
It was not unheard of, but instances of Trance were rare – so rare that the only known trigger was a surge of emotions. No specific recorded emotions which left the condition so arbitrary and surprising it wasn’t common since, hell, who didn’t get surges of emotions in day-to-day life? And given Tantalus’s particular lifestyle, how could none of them achieve Trance? Baku - who’d witnessed plenty of wars before and been unfortunate to be involved in a few - he’d never done it himself nor seen a soldier on the frontlines enter the state.
What then allowed Zidane to enter Trance?
Was it his age?
It was about that time for his emotions to fluctuate, but Blank, Marcus, nor Cinna had the same happen. Couldn’t say the kid really showed his true emotions either, but he could act like it.
Was it the situation?
Weren’t anything new to happen to them really. Slighted nobles hiring bounty hunters happened maybe every odd month, but it wasn’t anyone they couldn’t fight off or escape. Sometimes, they got hurt, other times they didn’t – they couldn’t be lucky in all bouts.
Alright, they weren’t always a little outnumbered in the few prior instances either, but it wasn’t that big a deal. The hunters just wanted the stolen goods back and got a little rough since no one would spill. Pinning down Blank, knocking out Cinna, incapacitating Marcus, and having Baku at sword point; the Boss was willing to give up details (to buy some time of course) when it happened.
The light that engulfed his body blinded the hunters as well as the conscious Tantalus members and pure energy crackled like lightning across the cool night air. There was an abrupt shout, a shrill yell, and a heavy slam accompanied by a clatter – a hunter tossed aside everyone saw once the glow dimmed enough for them to see what happened.
They also saw him .
Zidane lowered his center of gravity as he dropped his arms, one bare clawed foot shifting backwards as he settled on all fours, fingers and toes splayed but curled. His tail was up and arched over his back, motionless as he sat there, teeth gnashed with visibly sharpened canines beneath the narrowed, but unfocused glare of his red eyes. Energy continued to spark from his hair now standing on end and pink, similar to the fur (!?) he sported on his back, legs, waist, and arms.
His daggers abandoned, he sprung with a wild howl, attacking the bounty hunters with almost berserk ferocity that made them shiver. The odds were seven to one, and it didn’t matter at all. The twelve-year old’s stature and speed were advantageous as he clawed, bit, and even strangled a hunter with his tail, and what blows they managed to land on him didn’t appear to faze him but only served to rile him. If he managed to grab any of their weapons, he’d use them temporarily to beat them down, throwing them away when somewhere in his mind, he must’ve decided he preferred his hands.
Blood splattered on the field.
Five hunters fled, but two stopped moving.
Zidane was staring down at them beneath the red moon, motionless save for his flicking tail. His red eyes were unwavering and he seemed to be waiting for either of them to move, either ignoring or unaware of the fact their blood stained him.
No one moved or breathed, watching him warily.
Not even as his hair lowered and faded from blooming magenta to golden blonde.
Not even as the fur receded and his clothes returned.
Not until the red moon reflected in teal eyes; and then, it was Zidane that gasped. One step back led to several and he almost tripped as his tail curled around a leg, sandy fur frizzed and the limb trembling.
“W-What… happened?”
Nobody answered. But there was a collective thought as they stared at their tailed brother.
‘… What are you?’