Perception

After three days of cohabitating with Garnet, Andrew was in high spirits but felt like he was approaching his wit's end. Garnet seemed to open up and become more relaxed around him as time passed, so much so that by the day of the Festival of the Hunt, she had him brushing her hair while she hummed a pleasant tune any fan of FF9 would recognize.

"I think that should do it..." muttered Andrew, handing Garnet a sizeable silver hand mirror after he finished fastening her hair into a low ponytail.

Adopting a smile, Garnet affirmed, "You did well," before setting aside the mirror and rising to her feet, running her hands through her hair to confirm there were no loose strands before turning to face Andrew, dealing direct damage to his heart and mind as she narrowed her eyes and asked, "Will it trouble you if I entrust this task to you from now on...?"

"It would probably be better if you had a handmaiden or an attendant of some kind..." answered Andrew, briefly causing Garnet's smile to diminish before he added, "Until then, I would be happy to do it..."

"Then you shall~" hummed Garnet, looking particularly satisfied that she had gotten her way. Then, as the other contestants of the Festival of the Hunt were scheduled to arrive soon, she got serious and asked, "Is there anything you need to prepare before the Festival? I expect you to emerge victoriously, Andrew..."

"I'm good to go," replied Andrew, smiling awkwardly as he added, "As for emerging victoriously...please don't be too disappointed if I fail to live up to your expectations..."

Putting Andrew on the back foot, Garnet stepped toward him and said, "Look at me, Andrew," waiting for him to meet her gaze before asserting, "It's fine if you lack confidence. Such is to be expected since you have no memories and little experience. But I believe in you, okay? When you go out there to compete, don't think about anything and just give it your all. Do that, and when you return..."

Placing her hand on Andrew's chest, causing her to feel surprised by how quickly his heart was beating, Garnet punctuated her words by stating, "I shall award you accordingly..."

"If you say things that could easily be misconstrued like that, you're going to make me crazy..." muttered Andrew. However, to his surprise, Garnet narrowed her eyes, keeping his hand on her chest as she softly asserted, "Then I will say it directly...win the Festival of the Hunt, and I will entrust you with more than simply brushing my hair..."

Though he was tempted to point out she was still being vague, Andrew had a good idea what Garnet was hinting at, causing him to swallow hard. This reaction seemed to amuse and encourage her as, immediately after, she removed her hand from his chest and stepped closer to him, her face mere centimeters from his own as she whispered, "Lend me your ear..." in a voice that caused the hair on his arms and tail to stand on end.

Bending down and turning his head slightly, Andrew's body reacted in various ways when she clarified, "I shall permit you to bathe me..." in a hushed tone that barely qualified as a whisper.

"That's...probably not a good idea..." replied Andrew, his throat closing as though it had been weeks since he had a glass of water.

Counting with the words she always used when Andrew protested, Garnet stated, "I trust you..." before pulling away from him and summarily turning around and concealing her crimson face with her hands. She could hardly believe her own 'brazenness,' but whenever she and Andrew were alone, Garnet felt...aggressive. He was much larger and stronger than her, but he acted like a meek and adorable little mouse, reversing their positions and making her feel like the lion he ought to be...

Pulling herself together, though she didn't look back to face Andrew, Garnet stated, "Anyway, you must win the Festival of the Hunt! I won't accept any excuses!" before 'storming' off in a hurry. Andrew ought to have followed after her, but the moment she was gone, he moved over and sat on his bed, plopping down and staring up at the canopy above with the most pensive expression he had ever worn. He felt completely exhausted, but if someone were to look closely, they would see a fierce blaze burning in the depths of his distinctive blue eyes...

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"Hey, Andrew! Long time no see, man~!" exclaimed Zidane, waving as he arrived at the location all participants of the Festival had been asked to gather. In the game, everyone started in the VIP/guest bedroom of the castle, but as there were hundreds of people participating, not just five, the true starting point was the large circular plaza where Cid made major announcements and gave speeches.

"It's been three days," countered Andrew, bumping fists with Zidane as he shifted his attention to the woman beside him, a fairly tall and surprisingly attractive girl despite her rat/mouse-like features. She wore a tall red hat with decorative metal wings and a visor that, alongside her white hair, obscured much of her face, including her piercing green eyes. She also wore a red coat with long sleeves and a split up the back, allowing her rat-like tail to poke through, a metal breastplate that conformed to the shape of her body, a blue cravat, and a large escutcheon bearing the Burmecean Coat of Arms, denoting her status as a Dragoon. Emphasizing this, she wielded a long, highly-polished spear in her right hand and had on orange knee-length trousers, custom leather gaiters that conformed to her large, somewhat terrifying-looking rodent-like feet, and a tiny orange ribbon on the end of her tail.

Recognizing the Bumercian woman as Freya Crescent, one of his favorite characters, Andrew adopted a broad smile as he extended his left hand to the taciturn-looking woman, saying, "I'm Andrew. Am I correct to assume you're Freya?"

"Indeed..." responded Freya, extending her hand to reciprocate Andrew's handshake. Her inordinately long fingers and sharp-looking nails were a little off-putting, but Andrew didn't allow it to bother him as he sincerely stated, "I've been looking forward to meeting you."

Catching Andrew a little off guard, Freya responded by stating, "Zidane told me you have 'visions' and might be able to help me find the person I've been searching for."

"Hey, we shouldn't talk about things like that when there are so many people around," said Zidane, earning a deadpan expression from Freya as she pointed out, "You told me these things in broad daylight in a crowded bar..."

Not expecting Freya to expose him so casually, Zidane inhaled through his teeth before looking at Andrew with an awkward, apologetic smile. To his surprise, the latter didn't appear to be bothered. Rather, he exhaled a faint chuckle, shook his head, and said, "Let's talk once the Festival of the Hunt is over. Before that, I have a favor to ask the two of you..."

"Sure, what's up?" asked Zidane.

Though Freya didn't say anything, her gaze was enough to tell Andrew she would at least hear what he had to say. As such, while it was more than a little shameless of him to leverage his knowledge and information in such a way, he had Zidane and Freya agree to prioritize protecting the citizenry so he could at least have a chance of claiming the title of Master Hunter. In exchange, he promised to hand over the cash prize to Zidane and assured Freya he would not only tell her the status and location of the man she was searching for but the missing prince as well...

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As the name implied, the Festival of the Hunt was an event where brave men and women from across the Mist Continent gathered to prove their strength by hunting and slaying as many fiends as possible within a set period. What made the event 'exciting' for the hundreds of thousands of spectators was that the fiends were released directly into the city, making it like a fantasy version of the Running of the Bulls.

Though Andrew didn't think it was wise for Lindblum to stage such an event on the eve of a continental war, he wasn't going to second-guess the ruler of a nation and a tradition that had endured for more than 500 years. People got 'really' upset when such events were canceled, so he put the matter to the back of his mind as he took advantage of his innate acrobatic abilities to race across the roofs of Lindblum's many residences and stores.

Spotting a predominately blue-feathered, bird-like fiend, known as a Trick Sparrow, pecking at the window of someone's house, Andrew surprised it by dropping down on it from above, slicing it in half with his Mithril Saber. He still made use of daggers, but after experimenting with many different weapon types, the two weapons Andrew felt most comfortable with were sabers and, though he had yet to bring it out in the world of Final Fantasy 9, long-barreled pistols.

Landing on the streets below, his joints aching due to falling nearly 15m, Andrew wasted no time attacking his next quarry, a fairy cute-looking fiend covered in blue and white fur, resembling a cross between a fox and a squirrel.

Noticing Andrew, the fiend, known as a Mu, got into an offensive pouncing posture but barely had time to flex the muscles in his hind legs before the former passed by like a phantom, leaving behind a bluish-white trail as his saber passed through the unfortunate fiend's body. Cid had rewarded him for his information by procuring Andrew a pair of Running Shoes, granting him the Auto-Haste Ability. Now, so long as he was in combat or 'felt' like he was in a combat situation, even his walking speed was doubled as the flow of time around him accelerated accordingly.

Picking up the two tags that had dropped when the fiends disappeared, the first valued at 11 and the second at 13, Andrew's cumulative Hunting Points finally exceeded 100, settling on 104. In the game, the maximum number of Hunting Points you could acquire was 99, but you also only had twelve minutes to collect. In the real world, the Festival of the Hunt didn't end until all the fiends in the city had been killed, including the 'King' that was released near the very end.

Not wanting to let Garnet down, for more reasons than 'just' the reward she had promised, Andrew continued hunting fiends within the Business District, the location where, in the game, the King of the Festival of the Hunt, a boar-like fiend known as a Zaghnol, was set to appear. Hunting it net the killer between 50-99 Hunting Points within the game, so Andrew couldn't allow it to fall into someone else's hands.

Fortunately, as the Zaghnol was a colossal beast more than three meters tall and no fewer than five in length, completely covered in bright red hide and possessing a line of blue fur along its back, it wasn't exactly the king of stealth and discretion. Andrew just had to follow the sound of screams and buildings being thrashed like they were made of paper mache.

Finding the Zaghnol engorging itself on pastries and bread in a bakery it had destroyed, steadfast as the building gradually collapsed, Andrew took a moment to look around and ensure there were no other Hunters present to snatch his prey. There might have been, but since he didn't see any, he immediately rushed the Zaghnol, leaping halfway as he equipped a pair of matching Steel Sabers, holding them with the intent to stab. The Zaghnol was known to possess skin that could shatter blades and deflect the armor-piercing bolts of a ballista, but with Beast Killer and raw power that allowed him to lift upward of 500kgs, Andrew was confident he could pierce its hide.

Aiming for the Zaghnol's spine, Andrew stabbed downward with as much force as he could muster, empowered by his momentum and the fact that he was falling. Unfortunately, while his sabers pierced the Zaghnol's hide, they only penetrated around 10cm before the fiend's muscles contracted, preventing the blades from sinking further...

'Well, there goes the theory that damage from behind is doubled...' thought Andrew, using the Zaghnol as a springboard to leap to relative safety as it twisted around, tearing through one of the bakery's support columns. Then, with an ear-piercing roar and yellow eyes that conveyed pure hatred and outrage, it charged Andrew with all the force of fervor of a runaway train car...

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