With hand firmly placed upon whatever the holy book of Spira is called, I swear I own none of these characters or places. They are the sole property of Square/Enix. I do own my thoughts about them and my speculations as to their further adventures.
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The Bird of Time
The day was well past the dawn on Mushroom Rock Road when the hover came to a gently bouncing stop at the entrance to the towering cleft in the rock wall. The men and women swarming around the wide access area like ants at a disturbed nest, paused briefly to check out the new arrival and then continued about their duties. Hovers were not a novelty here. With the world at peace, commerce thrived and no place was isolated from contact with another any longer.
The single figure which alit from the conveyance was a man of moderate height with hair so pale in color it seemed white in the light of the morning sun. He was dressed in the elaborate, embroidered robes of a Yevonite priest and moved with the easy briskness of youth. Projecting an air of total confidence, he approached one of the guards stationed at the opening to the complex.
"Greetings, I am Baralai, Praetor of New Yevon. I wish to pay a call upon your leader. Will you send him word that I am here?" The voice was a pleasantly musical light baritone.
"Did the Meyvn sent for you?" The rough man in the make-shift uniform asked.
"No. I am an old friend of his and have come to visit with him. Will you send word that I am here?" The priest repeated patiently undeterred by the question.
"I could but it wouldn't do any good. He's not here right now. You want to talk to one of his lieutenants?" Formality was obviously not greatly valued in this society.
"Yes, that will do for the moment."
"Go on in then. Go up the first floating rock, then walk around the path to the next one and take it to the elevating platform and then ... Oh hell, just ask somebody to show you the way." The guard grinned with embarrassment. "We don't get many strangers here."
Baralai smiled in return, "Don't worry. I'll manage to find my way. I've been here before."
Mushroom Rock Road was home to a unique phenomenon on Spira. It was called that from its peculiar rock formations shaped like the fungi also identified by that name. Some of these oddly formed stones could rise or fall when weight was placed upon them. The explorers who had discovered these oddities had mapped them out carefully and marked all those they found with symbols so that they could be used as natural lifts to the various levels on which the Youth League had constructed its headquarters.
The Youth League itself was an unlikely organization of the remnants of the Crusaders who formed its backbone and those veterans of the wars against Sin and Vegnagun who had no other place to call home. After the destruction of the great enemies, men and women who had spent their lives in training for battle suddenly found themselves with no occupation and, lest they become bandits or worse, had been encouraged by their former officers to form themselves into a militia of sorts. There were various units of the Youth League throughout the land but the main force and the governing body were here – on Mushroom Rock Road. The League was led by a Meyvn – the title meaning a person who has special knowledge or experience; an expert. That person was Nooj, one of the group which had defeated Vegnagun and had helped bring about the current time of peace. And it was this Meyvn the Praetor had come to see.
The area within the crevice teemed with persons of all ages busily conducting business of all sorts. There were gigantic machina guards in various stages of repair, some looking as though they had been untouched since the fall of Sin, others gleaming with oil and polished like valued artifacts. The final lift, an elevating platform instead of a floating stone, had been freshly painted and was attended by a man and a boy who courteously bowed the visitor onto the device.
"We're going to be moving to Kilika soon." The boy piped up, his face alight with pride. "We got a whole island there and it's warm. And no tents. We got us a castle."
The man, who by his look, was a seasoned fighter, gently hushed the child. "Don't talk about what we're going to do. Wait until we've done it. ... You want to go up to the top, sir?"
When he, at length, arrived at his destination, Baralai was not surprised to see that little had changed. Motley groups of recruits still drilled hap-hazardly in the courtyard, guards still stood sleepily at the gate and pennants still flew from the peaks of the massive tents.
"Baralai! What are you doing here? Things get too hot for you in Bevelle?"
He turned toward the voice he both recognized and had half expected to find here. "Paine! It's good to see you. Do you live here now?" He braced himself as she threw herself at him with a companionable embrace and drew back as quickly.
"Yes, I thought you knew." A faint blush illuminated her face and was gone. "I've been here for more than three years. What are you up to?"
"I've come to talk to Nooj and Gippal is out looking for you."
"Well, Nooj isn't here and Gippal won't find me unless he follows you here. Come on in and let's catch up." Paine gestured toward a small pavilion to the side of the main tent. "It's all right, Lucil. I'll handle this." She called out to the woman near the opening of headquarters. The red-head turned aside with a nod.
The two old friends stretched out in mismatched chairs on either side of a rickety table and Paine summoned a teenaged Leaguer to bring drinks and other refreshment.
"I hope you don't think it's too early for a nip. As I recall, you never took the restrictions on drinking too seriously." She grinned at Baralai. "Now, what are you doing these days?"
The white haired man loosened his outer robes and rested his feet on a convenient hassock. "Oh, it feels good to sit down in the shade and have you across the table. I'm trying to keep from losing my mind from boredom. I never dreamed being the head of the Church would involve so much paper and so little exercise. I spend my days deciding which archaic ceremony can be refurbished and which must be abandoned. And poor old Gippal ...I don't know if you've heard. Gippal and I are officially a couple now. The Church still doesn't like marriage but it has come to accept pairings like ours."
"I guess that's progress. Yes, I kinda thought you two would make it legal if you could. What's the objection to man/woman pairs."
"Children primarily. They worry that a married priest with children would pay them more attention than his duties. So until Gippal or I can get pregnant, we're safe." He leered happily at the woman in the black leather. "You do remember I have not always been exclusively Gippal oriented?"
Paine threw back her head and gave a shout of laughter. "And how I remember!" She punched him vigorously on the upper arm, almost upsetting his drink. "We had some high old times, didn't we? I remember trying to find a little privacy in the munitions tents and you almost setting off a box of shells when you slipped at exactly the wrong moment. And do you remember how that damn' sand would get into anything open and stick to anything moist?"
He shivered and cringed, "Don't remind me; I still get nightmares about that sand. However did we manage?"
"It was worth it." She smiled wistfully into the distance. "You were a talented youth."
"Gippal says I still am." He murmured with false modesty. "So it is you and Nooj? I always wondered – he's so discreet. And for three years!"
Paine turned her head away. "I don't want to talk about that right now. Maybe later. Have you heard anything about the others? You know – LeBlanc, Yuna, Rikku, the others?"
"Yes, we've kept up with them pretty well, being located at the gossip center of the planet. LeBlanc is mistress to O'Aka now. He made a fortune with his supply outlets and she was always one to follow the money. They built a house in Luca and give famously wild parties."
"She can't make him marry her?" Paine chuckled.
"Don't know. She may want to leave her options open. Who knows? A richer man might show up any day now. We went to a couple of their open houses. I tell you, Paine, you wouldn't believe how many ways they offered to get high. They had bowls of pills, stacks of potion vials, every kind of drink you can think of; it was a combination barroom and alchemist's lab. Gippal was all for filling his pockets and trying out everything. I had to bribe, threaten and wheedle him to keep him fairly sober. Left to his own devices, he'd still be flying."
"That sounds like LeBlanc. I could never figure out why she wanted Nooj. He has no taste at all for that sort of thing and would have half-killed her if she had brought drugs into his presence. I have never known a man who hated drugs more." She handed him the bowl of nuts.
The priest tossed a handful of crunchy treats into his mouth. When he had finished chewing, he went on, "Yuna joined a religious order and is in a convent when she isn't out succoring the unfortunate. When she accepted the fact her lost lover had been little more than a mental projection, she decided to devote her life to good works. It helped she was still a virgin even after all those chances not to be and she is currently in line to become the Mother Superior of her order when the old one dies. She goes around, hunting for worthy cases and alleviating their distress. Paine, she's driving everybody crazy. The Church doesn't know what to do with her. We don't have enough needy cases to occupy her time. Last month, I had to hire some people from Zanarkand to pretend to be paupers to get her off my back. I know she only wants to help but ..."
Once again Paine laughed without restraint. "I understand your problem. She was always fixated on being useful. Why not encourage her to set up a sisterhood in Macalania Woods and work on restoring the ecological balance there? That ought to keep her busy for the rest of her natural life."
"By all that's holy! I think you've got it! Thank you, Paine; that's a wonderful idea." Baralai jotted down a few words on his cuff. "I'll put that in train as soon as I get back." He leaned across the table and kissed her cheek.
She patted his hand and, taking note of the bustle around them, pushed up in her chair saying, "It's lunch time. Come on to the mess tent and eat a bit."
Once they had joined the others on the food line, Paine pointed out the striking red-haired woman sitting among a group of muscular Youth Leaguers. She was the one who had moved to intercept the visitor when he first arrived. "Look over there. That's Lucil; she's the main lieutenant here and takes over when Nooj is away."
"Why not you?" Baralai asked with a raised brow.
"I don't want the job. Can you really see me dealing with all these infants?"
"To be honest, I can't see Nooj dealing with them. Where is he and when will he be back?"
Paine busied herself with loading her tray. "He's gone on retreat. He does that fairly often when he can't stand being around people any more. He has a sort of hiding place not far away and holes up there for a few days until he is able to bear the demands again. I expect him back sometime in the morning. You will stay the night? We haven't finished catching up."
"Yes, I'll stay." Baralai had his own ideas about why he would stay but saw no reason to articulate them just yet. "I can't wait to tell you what Brother is doing these days."
"He's still alive? I thought all that jumping around would have killed him by now. What a pity."
After they had eaten, Paine, explaining she had a few duties to perform, directed him to a marquee set off to one side with lounges for rest and assured him she would be back in a few hours. The Praetor, weary from his morning's journey and filled with nourishing if not particularly interesting food, threw himself down for a nap. He expected to have no trouble dreaming himself to sleep, there was much he anticipated dreaming about.
It was approaching late afternoon when Baralai became aware of a gentle touch on his shoulder. He looked up to see Paine leaning over him. But such a different Paine. She was not wearing her customary costume of buckles and black leather. Instead she was draped in a flowing garment of a soft red color; it did not quite reach her knees and was belted with a silver cincture which matched the one holding back her hair. The color of the robe intensified the reddish hue of her eyes and made her look like some long neglected deity come to life.
"Wake up, Baralai. If you keep napping, you'll never get to sleep tonight. Come visit with me some more before dinner and tell me the rest of the story about the others." She held out a hand to pull him up.
He caught her hand and held it for a moment before implanting a kiss on the smooth back. With his lips still pressed against her skin, he looked up at her from under his brows. She was looking back at him with astonishment mixed with amusement. Gently, she disengaged her hand and turned away, silently leading him back to the pavilion they had occupied in the morning. The white-haired man was not dissatisfied with her reaction to his advance.
Once settled in their chairs and with refreshments at hand, Paine remarked, "You said Brother was involved in something entertaining..."
"Yes, I'll be willing to bet you didn't know what his profession was before he got mixed up in the Celsius adventure. ... He was a tattoo artist and now he's gone back to his craft. Gippal has seen his shop. It's a sort of traveling caravan which goes around to all the major settlements and cities on the continent, sets up for a few days or weeks and tattoos the hell out of anybody willing to pay. I am told he has a wide following of damn' fools who wait for him to come by and get another picture every time he does. As you might guess, he specializes in flame designs and is constantly called upon to permanently ink make-up on the faces of the deluded. Since he always used himself as a perambulating billboard, there is hardly an inch of him undecorated now. Gippal got so intrigued watching him work he had a small one of his own done."
Paine clapped her hands and snickered, "Gippal has a tattoo? What and where?"
"A just opening rose and in a place you would be unlikely to see." Her companion responded with a wink.
"Oh, there! Then you must see a lot of it." She was laughing again.
"A fair amount which is why he had it done. He claims it hurt like hell but was worth it to see my face the first time I spotted it." He joined her in her merriment.
"It seems all our old friends have prospered, after their individual leanings. So, what about Rikku? Is she helping Brother needle the crowds?"
"Not bloody likely. She's followed her own star and is now the head coach of the Women's Athletic Association in Luca. She spends her time happily sweating in the locker rooms and beds of the most energetic and muscular females on the planet. Rumor says she has gone through a score of lovers in the past few years and interweaves training with ... er ... more specialized forms of exercise. I hear she is extremely popular and has a waiting list a mile long. ... For coaching of course." He raised one corner of his mouth. "She can write her own ticket these days."
"I'm genuinely glad to hear that. It always seemed to me she needed somewhere to spend all that enthusiasm. And after I caught her peeking in the hot springs, I wondered if she might not be stifling her real inclinations. So that's the lot, eh?"
"Pretty much. Cid is still dabbling in a number of enterprises. Once he gets one running well, he starts up another. He has a fried chocobo franchise just beginning. Calls it Pappa C's Big Braised Breasts. Rin has his agencies – nothing changes with him. And Gippal is still mixed up with the Al Bhed Machina crew and spends a few days a month over at Djose with them. He hasn't aged a day and is still the sharpster he always was. He will always be Gippal, for which I am grateful. Did you ever sleep with him?" The priest asked casually.
"No, he was one I missed in my adventures. He seemed younger than I was and I couldn't take him seriously enough to let him in my bed – and other places." She shook her head.
"Now I've filled you in on the others, tell me about Nooj. What has he been doing these past five years. I've tried to make contact with him but he has always had an excuse which is why I came unannounced this time. Is there something wrong?"
"Not really. I'll tell you all after we eat. Let's go now, dinner should be ready."
After they had fed themselves and again taken possession of the private pavilion, Baralai gently patted Paine's knee. "Do you feel like telling me your story now? You need not if it will be too painful."
"No, it's all right. I just couldn't think of how to start." Paine tugged at her red skirt and rested her hand on top of Baralai's "You knew we were lovers during the time of the Crimson Squad tryouts? Toward the end of that period?"
"At about the time Gippal and I found one anther?"
"Yes, about then. Then when he shot us that put a quick end to the affair. After the rest of the later quest, after we destroyed Vegnagun, we got back together. He was trying to shed LeBlanc and I was hunting a place to get myself organized and we just fit again. I've been his lover ever since." She paused and seemed to be trying to gather herself.
"Is he still suicidal? Is that part of your distress?"
"Yes, he still wants to die and I can't make him want to live. I have failed him in a very deep and essential way. He is bored, Baralai. Nothing here interests him any longer. I don't think I interest him any longer. He hasn't slept with me for months and the last time it was more like a battle than an act of love. He wants to go off hunting death again and only his sense of obligation to the League stops him. One of these days, that last thread will break and he will stop looking for an honorable death and just step off one of these cliffs or put his dagger in his heart. What I fear most of all is that one day he will just turn his face to the wall and stop living by a pure act of will ... He is going into seclusion more often and when he comes back he is still distant and miserable. I don't know what to do." She let her head droop and stared resentfully into the distance.
"You say he is bored with his existence here? So are Gippal and I in Bevelle. That's what I'm here about. We want to get the four of us together again and go on another venture." The Praetor's voice rose as his excitement built. "Do you think he will be interested? And are you?" His hand slid a bit further up her thigh.
"Only if he is," she answered without hesitation. "I'm not going to be another one of those who ran off and left him alone. And as for him, I just don't know." Neither of them appeared to pay any attention to the clasped hands resting high on her leg.
They were gazing deeply into one another's eyes, their faces only inches apart when they became aware of a tall figure which had emerged from the surrounding darkness.
"Good evening, Baralai. This is quite a surprise. I was not expecting you and I think you were not expecting me so soon." The words came out slightly hoarse as though the speaker had not spoken aloud in some time.
The two in the pavilion looked up, startled, to see Nooj looming just outside the lantern light, his spectacles glittering like twin flames against the shadows. He moved haltingly under the shelter, becoming more menacing with each step.
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This is the end of Part One. A Part Two will follow shortly. The story was broken here because of excessive length and a change in tone.
Mar 27, 200551812912