Nodwydd slung his canvas bag over his shoulder and hopped lightly off the ship, apparently not paying any attention to the fact that it started pulling away from the pier the minute he set foot on shore.

Gwynt had not been the greatest of traveling companions after they'd dropped Taran off on the Centra coast. The little ship had been pushed under the full force of Gwynt's wind-calling power since then, simply because Gwynt was itching to get on with his own adventures.

Noddy's green eyes sparkled, and he smiled as he took in the sight of the seaside town of Balamb. It was everything he'd hoped it would be - alive, and pleasant, and welcoming. People here smiled a lot, and he found himself smiling back.

Of course, he'd need a job and a place to stay - but that didn't really worry him. People were always looking for manual laborers, and he had strength enough to do such jobs with ease. He looked around, making sure nobody was near enough to see the shift, and touched his power. He was luckier than most of his siblings in that his eyes didn't glow, but a solid black field might worry islanders used to pupils and irises.

About half a mile down the road was a night club - closed for the day, of course. He let his eyes return to normal, and ambled in its general direction. Night clubs always needed good bouncers. With Zell's instruction in hand-to-hand and his own innate strength, Noddy felt he was a natural for the job.

And once that was taken care of, he could begin looking around for Kiel.

The manager of the nightclub was unimpressed with Noddy's application, at least at first. He utterly lacked the imposing, forbidding presence that bouncers tended to need, and certainly didn't look that strong. Noddy fixed the problem by tying his hair back with a piece of string, and doing a creditable imitation of his brother Gwynt after a bad day. Now he looked like a northern tribesman who just might have a tomahawk handy. As for strength - well, that was easy. He just picked up the manager - who weighed somewhere over three hundred pounds - and deposited him neatly on the bar, no harm done.

That got him the job. He didn't even need to prove he had basic instruction in martial arts. The manager offered him a room above the nightclub to stash his carisak in, and Noddy agreed happily. It wasn't that he minded sleeping on the beach, it was just that he got tired of sand and sea salt in his hair and clothes.

He grinned as he set out to scope the town. Landed for less than a day, and already he'd taken care of lodgings and employment. Yes, Balamb was the town for him.

The kids sure were rough around here, though. Something about the tropical air, maybe, that made the boys feel as though they had to prove they could be tough. Noddy tended to slouch as he walked, a habit he'd picked up shortly after realizing he had to look down a little to meet his father's eyes. At the moment he didn't look very imposing ... which might have been why the town roughs chose to target him.

"Hey, you!" said someone. "You - new kid!"

Kid? thought Noddy, then remembered he didn't look his age. No wonder the night club owner had had to be impressed. He looked up - and farther up. Somebody had either beaten this guy up badly not long ago, requiring that metal staples be used to hold the skin together, or his mother didn't know how to tell him he wasn't allowed to get any more piercings.

Noddy was fascinated. "Wow," he said. "Didn't that hurt?"

The huge...man, boy, it was hard to say under the piercings...frowned - showing off a few more in his mouth. He didn't bother with the usual taunts, and instead simply tried to drive his ring-laden fist through Nodwydd's face.

Nodwydd, however, had learned to dodge Zell Dincht - and simply sidestepped. Still smiling pleasantly, he said, "Nice to meet you, I think. By the way, I'm Nodwydd - Noddy for short if you prefer." He pronounced his name 'nodwith', but realized quickly that with all those piercings, either version would come out pretty garbled.

The piercing-laden person was apparently smart enough not to try the same move twice. He picked himself up and returned to his fellows, who were watching quietly.

"We don't care what your name is," said one of them. "You're new here, you gotta learn the rules."

Nodwydd blinked, smiled. "Oh, I'm not interested in gangs," he said dismissively. "Sorry, but explaining that one to Father would just be lots more hassle than it's worth. Could you direct me to the Dincht household, please? I know it's around here somewhere."

The roughs shared confused looks. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. You were supposed to find a new guy and beat him up until he handed over his wallet. Or at least terrorize him into obedience. But Noddy was completely unafraid of them. He wasn't pretending courage, he wasn't preparing to fight...he just didn't see them as a threat. One or two of the roughs had a strong urge to tap him on the shoulder and remind him that they could beat him to a pulp if they felt like it.

Instead, one of them hiked his thumb over his shoulder and said "Pink house, end of the row by the train station, across from the junk shop," and watched as Noddy thanked them politely and went on his way.

Once he was out of sight, another boy said, "What'd you tell him for? Now he's gonna think we're tour guides or somethin'!"

The direction giver just shrugged. "I got no idea man. Somethin's seriously screwed up with that kid."

* * * * * * * * *

The directions were good, and Noddy found a group of younger kids playing soccer in front of the house the rough boy had described. He didn't want to go up and ask them which one was Kiel, though - he wanted to see if he could work it out himself. He wasn't observed, so he half-closed his eyes and touched his power. The enhancement of his senses let him see little details like eye color at this distance.

And only one boy had Zell's bright, cornflower-blue eyes. That was probably Kiel. Noddy let the power go, and pulled out the present that Chwaer had wanted Kiel to have.

Spunky kid, though. Kiel at ten years old was outmaneuvering most of the other kids on the little playing field. He seemed to have the ability to flex his muscles in any direction he chose, more than making up for his lack of height. His hair was dark brown and cut very short - probably to keep it out of his eyes, because he certainly moved around a lot.

Nodwydd took a seat on a bench next to a man who was watching the game quietly, and introduced himself.

"Are you the referee?" he asked the man politely.

"Yeah," he said. "Mainly 'cause of that little ball of lightning there. Kiel would rather bite than admit he's lost, drives his ma crazy."

Noddy laughed. "Maybe he just needs a mentor? Does he have a father?"

"Dead one," said the referee. "Dead hero dad. Kid keeps wanting to live up to a legend. And his ma hasn't had much luck in finding a boyfriend that can handle him."

"That's sad," said Noddy sincerely. "Maybe I can help."

The referee looked amused. "You? You're hardly older than he is."

Nodwydd grinned. "Exactly. I've always wanted a little brother, and I'm completely free during the days. I could keep him from terrorizing the neighborhood if she has to work."

"You're pretty darn generous for someone I never saw before five minutes ago," said the man. "I'm not gonna make promises for Bella, she'd have her stars in my neck if I did. Ex-SeeD, you know."

Nodwydd raised a placating hand. "Oh, I wouldn't ask that much of you," he said. "I've heard of the boy, that's all. I'm a friend of a friend of his dad's - I just never got to visit before now. Do you think Bella would mind if I delivered a present?"

"Long as it's not a weapon or a sex toy, I don't think she'd care," said the referee. "But you'll have to wait until the end of the game."

"All right," said Nodwydd, and settled in to watch.

The referee was dead on in his assessment of Kiel. The boy played with everything he had, and he didn't take defeat lying down. If someone took the ball from him, he was more than willing to undertake any legal - and yet painful - move in the rulebook to get it back. He didn't gloat when someone got put out of the game on account of injury, though. He just regarded the little soccer field as he would a battlefield - winner takes all. Nodwydd watched carefully. He'd only get the one chance to make an introduction, after all.

Then a thought occurred to him, that he wished he'd remembered before. Bella was Zell's girlfriend - and Zell had been stationed in Esthar. That meant Bella had been to Esthar, and had met Laguna probably lots of times. Quickly, Nodwydd pulled his hair out of its impromptu ponytail. Laguna wore it that way too, and he did not want Bella making any sort of connection between Laguna and himself. Bella might remember him as the boy she'd helped to save ten years ago - he just had to hope her memory wasn't that good.

Zell had died to save him and his siblings; Nodwydd knew that. He'd seen it happen, seen Zell bleed to death in Squall's arms as Bella cried. Irvine said that she blamed Squall for Zell's death...well, it wasn't too big a stretch to think she might blame Squall's son for it too - especially since that was much closer to the truth. Zell hadn't taken the risk to save Squall - he'd taken it so that the six children would know the truth about their foster father. He'd taken those shots to prove their foster father would make them, would kill people who weren't threatening him just to keep his six little power houses under control.

Nodwydd fingered the little green cactaur toy Soares had given him when he was seven years old. He hadn't been a bad foster father, not really. He just hadn't been all that good a person - and who could help that? But Bella wasn't the sort to forgive easily. Zell had meant the world to her, and he'd been taken from her just when he was about to be given a lot of time by her side. Nodwydd could understand her loss, at least somewhat. Zell had been one of the best friends Nodwydd had ever had - and the only good friend outside his own family. It was good to know that Bella loved Zell that much - but she refused to visit him in eternity, and refused to let Kiel visit either. That hurt Zell badly. Well...perhaps Kiel would be able to give Nodwydd something Zell could accept.

The game ended, and the boys scattered to their respective homes. The referee got up and left too, so that Nodwydd was alone on the bench. "Kiel," he called softly.

The boy heard, narrowed bright blue eyes at him. "Who the hell're you?" he asked, still catching his breath. "How do you know me?"

Nodwydd grinned. "I don't - not really. I've heard of you, from Irvine Kinneas. Do you know of him?"

Kiel's brown eyebrows shot up. "Yeah, he's a SeeD, one of the Six. He comes here every now and then with Selphie, but Ma won't let me talk to them."

"Your Ma probably wouldn't want you talking to me, either," said Nodwydd with a cheerful grin. "See, I know Irvine, and even more than that, I knew your dad."

That got Kiel's attention. "You did? Will you tell me about him? Ma won't tell me hardly anything."

Nodwydd nodded. "If I do, though, you have to promise not to tell her. I'll introduce myself to her soon. Here," and he brought out the notepad. "This lets you talk to me, and to Irvine, and to a few other people who know your dad. My sister wanted you to have it. Just one thing - don't lose it! It's very special, and it can't be replaced."

"All RIIIIGHT!" shouted Kiel, and darted into the house with it.

Nodwydd shook his head. He'd have to go confront Bella now, before he got settled in. By the look of it, Kiel wouldn't be able to keep a secret if his life depended on it. If he had to choose another town, might as well be before he got too attached to this one. It was a pity, really. Balamb seemed so perfect.

He followed Kiel to the Dincht house, and knocked on the door. Bella answered it, and stared at him in puzzled 'I've seen you somewhere before' half-recognition.

"Bella?" he said hesitantly, more than half wishing he didn't have to remind her of his identity. But he would not, would not, hide from Kiel. Zell's son deserved better than lies, no matter how convenient an excuse his mother might make. "You don't remember me just yet, do you?" He smiled sadly, reached into his pocket. "Maybe this will help."

In his outstretched hand, he held a little green plastic cactaur, on a faded plastic cord.

"I'm Nodwydd, Bella," he said softly. "Do you think we might talk?"