Disclaimer: Oh and just so you know...I don't own Wild Arms no matter how much I wish it was true.
This is my very first Wild Arms fic and since I haven't yet completed the game it won't have any spoilers or anything. It is in Virginia's POV for the most part...the italics is in normal POV.
I poked at the fire and watched the glowing ashes rise up and swirl with the desert wind, a feeling of contentment rising within me. The last few days had been tough for all of us, even Jet who most of the time drifted along on the zephyr with ease.
Leaning back I stared up at the star-studded sky and sighed, this planet always looked so beautiful at night, filled with life and beauty that no one could truly appreciate. The pale moonlight muted the sand so it was almost white and now the flickering flames of the burning campfire made it glow golden.
Smiling wearily I turned to look at my companions who sat quietly around the fire, all of them too tired to start up much of a conversation. Even Clive seemed to be having a hard time concentrating on the book he was reading, or maybe it was the lack of light. His green hair flopped down onto his face causing it to be cast into shadow and his Gungnir lying beside him on the sand.
Pulling my knees up against me I rested my chin upon them and turned my vision to Gallows, I couldn't contain a small giggle at the vacant expression on his face. He had been the first to roll out his blanket on the sand and he was lying on it, glancing sleepily into the campfire. His half-lidded eyes were shadowed and his hand was propping up his head so that he didn't fall asleep.
"You know Gallows, if you're tired you can sleep." I spoke up and he nodded wearily.
"I know..." He yawned and rolled over onto his back so that he was looking up at the stars. It really had been a hard day for us all, possibly due to my bad judgement as leader...
"What do you think?" Clive asked, leaning against his rifle, his glasses falling halfway down the bridge of his nose. His green hair looked slightly more unruly than usual and his face was fixed in a weary expression that showed in his eyes.
"Well I think it is important we get don't make any mistakes." Virginia paused, her blue eyes deepening with thought. "Remember what happened last time we rushed through the dunes?"
"Hey come on guys, nothing can stand in our way." Gallows yelled enthusiastically, "We've faced worse than this."
"Yes, but remember Gallows, the situation is slightly different." Clive spoke up. "We have depleted our supplies, which includes the healing items. If someone is injured it's a long ride to town." He glanced around at his teammates and nodded sharply, "We have to move with extreme caution."
"Clive is right everyone, if we make haste then it could be fatal." The blue-eyed girl spoke up, "We'll take the detour and move slowly so that we can't be ambushed by some lurking monsters."
"You're the leader." Gallows agreed.
"So is that your final decision?" Clive asked, wanting clear confirmation.
She glanced up to look at Clive, his tired but friendly smile still in place, he was obviously waiting for her decision. Gallows too, sat on the sand looking up at the sky, not seeming to be bothered at all. Finally the young woman turned her attention to Jet who had yet to say anything about the situation. Of course she wasn't surprised, he never spoke much at all unless he felt the urgent need to give an opinion. Obviously this wasn't one of those times. Come to think of it the silver haired youth hadn't really spoken much at all today...not since the fight against the huge creature that had jumped out at them from a sand dune.
"I think we should take the long way round." Virginia finally spoke up, putting on her most confident smile and glancing about her comrades. Gallows immediately got to his feet whilst Clive pushed his glasses back to their original place and prepared to move on. "We should get going then." Sighing, Virginia glanced down at her sand scuffed boots; her plans just never seemed to go the way she wanted.
Don't get me wrong, I do take my job as leader seriously, but sometimes I wish I didn't always have the last say. I wish that it wasn't my judgement that made a situation fatal or successful. I guess I just want someone to be able to share the load that I have to bear, especially as the responsibilities are beginning to weigh down my wings.
Gazing around at my friends now, I realised just how my life had changed since that day I had met them on the train. Sure I had always wanted to be a drifter but being a group of drifters was so much more fun. Even though times could be hard if we worked together I knew we could achieve anything.
Standing up suddenly I looked around at my three friends, a smile growing on my face at seeing Clive's startled look. The book, which he had been quietly reading, had fallen from his hands and into his lap; Gallows had turned his attention from the sky to me whilst Jet remained with his gaze locked to the dancing fire.
"I just want to say that I'm sorry for dragging you all out here." I began in a light-hearted tone. "It means a lot to me that you all decided to stay." I paused and cleared my throat.
"I believe we have gone through too much to just split up our group now." Clive spoke up in a matter-of-fact voice, pushing his glasses back into their rightful place and closing the book he had been buried in. I could always rely on him for his intelligence and clear-sightedness in a situation.
"Plus we don't exactly have anywhere better to be at the moment...well I don't anyway." Gallows said as he yawned and closed his eyes.
"That is very true, we don't have any other plans or leads at the moment and I think we all deserve a break." Clive agreed.
"Like my aunt always says, every drifter needs to rest their wings once in a while." I laughed and sat back down on the ground, leaning back against a rock that jutted up out of the sand. From this position my eyes fell onto Jet who had sat silent throughout, those cold lavender eyes staring unfocused into the fire. Vivid shadows flickered across his pale complexion and his silver hair seemed to glow with an orange tint under the light of the flames.
Usually when we were all sitting around the campfire with the stars twinkling in the darkening sky he would say something, but tonight...something was different about him. There was no sign that he had been paying attention to us at all. What could he possibly be thinking about that has his undivided attention?
"Jet." I spoke up, my voice breaking the comfortable, drowsy silence of our campsite. He didn't even show that he had heard me; this was beginning to get annoying. "Jet!" I said loudly trying to disguise the irritation in my voice. That was when I saw it, the delicate gathering of moisture in his eyes that reflected and glittered in the light of the fire. I had never seen those beautiful, rare-coloured eyes hold tears inside of them, and the sight made my throat thicken painfully.
Turning my attention briefly to Gallows I heard the faint beginnings of a snore resonating from his direction. Clive too had moved onto his side, facing out across the desert, his breathing even and just barely audible. Seeing that it was safe to approach the unruly youth I moved to stand between him and the fire that he had been staring at and knelt in front of him. Our eyes locked instantly and I wondered whether he realised I was there at all. My question was answered as he blinked and jumped back slightly, a scowl twitching at his features.
"What are you doing?" He demanded angrily, the focused, steely look returning to those amethyst eyes of his.
"I was trying to get your attention."
"Why, what's wrong with you now?" He snapped as he shifted back to lean against the curved rock behind him.
"Are you alright?" I asked cautiously, Jet had never been one to share his emotions.
"Yes." He replied simply.
Moving to sit beside him I looked out at the darkening desert, the band of darkness stretching from the horizon and clawing its way up to meet us. A great peace settled over the campsite, the sound of slumber and Gallows' snoring enveloping the little area into a peaceful haven. Jet shifted slightly beside me, scuffing stones beneath his boots and brushing his arm up against mine. I felt him tense suddenly and looked at him in surprise, was he really that socially inept that he hated even touching my arm? A sudden pain clenched in my chest.
Why?
Why does he hate me so much?
I sniffed back the tears, which had threatened to brim over and turned my gaze back to the desert, why did I even care what he thought about me? The fire flickered dangerously and a sudden gust of wind blew sand up onto it so that the flames shrunk and began to fade.
I thought back to earlier that day when we had been fighting a large monster that had jumped down from the dunes. Jet hadn't minded pushing me out of the way to rescue me then, so why was it that he couldn't simply sit close beside me now?
The group made their way through a narrow pass in the wasteland with great care, hoping not to disturb any creature from the sandy depths beneath their feet. Knowing how sensitive the monsters were to vibrations in the sand they had chosen to leave the horses behind and collect them later. Virginia had been leading the way, ready for any sort of frontal attack. Jet had been following next keeping an eye on the towering dunes beside them, Clive had been next and Gallows had brought up the rear.
An eerie silence had funnelled its way through the ravine they were walking along and the wind whistled in their ears bringing with it a sharp and irritating sand. They had paused soon after to catch their breath and check that they were heading in the right direction when a strong gust of wind tore at them with cold, violent claws.
Virginia was hit in the face by a blast of sand and was momentarily blinded, her cry of surprise and pain echoing long and distant into the sky. Jet, startled by her cry had stumbled forwards against the wind, reaching out a hand to grab her wrist.
In seconds a strange creature pounced down from a towering dune, it reared up and roared viciously, it's golden form muscular and strong. It loomed in over the shocked girl, raising its large, clawed arm to strike her down.
'These monsters are more intelligent than they let on!' Clive thought as he desperately reached for his Gungnir 'It ambushed us at the perfect moment.' He raised the heavy looking weapon only to see that he may have moved a little too slow.
Jet took this moment to lunge forwards, grabbing his Airget-lamh and pulling Virginia to stand behind him. The gunshots echoed and died as the monster was hit full force, one arm flailing forwards in attempt to claw him. Another shot rang out from Clive's ARM and the monster's cry was halted as it slowly sunk back to the sand, fading from existence.
"Thank you Jet." Virginia smiled up at the silver-haired youth.
"Whatever, be more careful next time." Was his cold, emotionless reply.
"I will." She refused to be put down by that remark...deep down he was a caring person...wasn't he?
Clive was quick to approach and glancing between them he settled his concerned gaze on the young leader who was brushing the dust from her skirt. "Is everyone ok?" He asked.
"Fine, now let's get going." Jet snapped as he reloaded his ARM and started back on the trail. Virginia quickly followed after the cold youth; she walked up beside him and put on her sweetest smile.
"What do you want now?" He demanded, keeping his gaze fixed directly ahead.
"Nothing, is it wrong to want to walk with you?" Her smile faded ever so slightly at the emotionless look on his face. She had hoped that after all this time being together he would relax a little and perhaps open up. One glance into those eyes of his told her the whole thing had been futile. Was it simply that he didn't want to change, or get close to anybody?
Was he afraid?
She reached out and grabbed hold of his arm, hugging it tightly to her in an attempt to get him to come out of his shell. His reaction was not what she had wanted at all. He immediately fought against her grasp and took a few steps away from her, a look of irritation and something else shimmering in her eyes...pain?
Why would he be feeling pain from something so loving?
...Unless...
I opened my eyes in realisation and turned my nervous gaze back towards Jet, he was sitting with his legs stretched out in front of him. One arm was lying across his stomach whilst the other lay down by his side.
His gaze was unfocused again, the smooth facets of his eyes blurry yet at the same time intricate with the wash of colours, brought out by the dying flames. Reaching out with one hand tentatively I rested my palm against his arm, he tensed again and turned towards me.
"What is it with you today?" He snapped as he shifted away a little.
"Jet would you stop this." I retorted angrily and moved closer to him again. He moved round so that he was facing me, reaching out to grab my shoulders and push me away. For a brief moment our eyes locked and I felt as if I couldn't breath.
"Y-your arm." I stuttered a little and felt my face heating up. "Did you hurt it?" I finished and noted the shock in his eyes.
He moved back a little more not seeing the dip in the ground, losing his balance he reached out to try and stop himself from falling, his hand grasping my wrist and pulling me down with him. I gave a surprised cry as I tumbled forwards with him, cracking my forehead against whatever it was I had landed on.
Opening my eyes I found myself staring into a pair of eyes. More importantly; Jet's eyes, but why were they so close? Blinking I suddenly realised what must have happened and although my mind was telling me to get up my body would not agree.
I could feel his warm breath against my lips and his heartbeat beneath one of my hands and I momentarily wondered if he knew what affect this was having on me.
"I think you broke my nose." He muttered, releasing my wrist to clamp a hand over his face.
I giggled and felt a teasing in order, "Well if you had warned me before giving me a hug then that wouldn't have happened." He shot me an angry glare, his hand still covering his 'broken' nose. I laughed again and reached up to lay a hand over his, "Let me see it."
"I'm not a kid." He snarled.
He was acting like one.
Smiling gently I moved so that I was sitting on his stomach instead of lying on him and tried to pry his fingers away. "I know, just let me see if it's bleeding." He finally relented and I tweaked his nose experimentally. He gave a short cry of pain and tried to struggle free from where I had him pinned.
"When you saved me earlier...from that monster I mean." I began, hoping to get his attention. "Did that monster injure you?" Our eyes met again but his expression was unreadable.
"I-it's just a scratch." Did he stutter? That was not something that Jet did often. I moved off of his stomach and sat beside him in the small hollow that we had fallen into.
"Why didn't you say anything?" I frowned as he sat up, wincing slightly as he did so.
"What good would it have done?" He muttered as he shifted back to lean against the rock behind him.
"Well let me look at it now." I moved close beside him again and tugged at his sleeve, in the light of the fading flames I could make out a reddish gash on his pale skin. "You really should take better care of yourself." I lectured and he rolled his eyes, the tiniest sign of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"You know we don't have any healing supplies." He said.
"So?"
"So what would have been the use of making a fuss?"
"Jet, sometimes I really don't understand you...we could have cleaned it with water and put a bandage around it...not just left it to get infected." He shrugged and I sighed, he really was stubborn.
"I remember this one time when I was little, I was chasing one of my friends and fell over. I grazed my knee." I smiled at the memory; "My mother came and made it all better with a kiss."
"A kiss?"
"That's what I said, and you know...I think that worked better than any medicine or healing item."
"I don't see how." He sneered.
"Well it does." I replied and leaning down I placed a small kiss just above the gash on his arm.
Looking back up into his face I almost burst into laughter at the expression he wore; a mixture of shock and disbelief was etched into his features.
"So...did it work?" I asked.
"Uh...I guess." Was he blushing!? My smile widened and yet again our eyes locked, refusing to let go.
Another gust of wind brought a small wave of sand upon the campsite.
The flames flickered and died, casting us into a wave of darkness and in the moonlight I could see the glimmer of those beautiful amethyst eyes.
Something about being in the warm, safe darkness gave me a boost of confidence and gently I reached for him, one hand gripping his jacket whilst the other found a suitable spot on his shoulder. I questioned myself, 'what did this unruly youth really mean to me?'
Was it friendship?
Brotherly?
Or...love?
Leaning forwards on my knees I closed the gap between us and planted a small, soft kiss on his nose wishing that there was still enough light to make out his reaction. I felt him tense up in surprise and I heard the breath catch in his throat. He was so cute and innocent, and somehow I found myself drawn to him.
"Feel better?" I asked in a teasing tone, our faces still only centimetres apart. He said nothing at all, just stared into my eyes, then suddenly he leaned forwards catching me completely off guard. His lips brushed tentatively against mine and it was almost too timid and light to be called a kiss, yet it held the same affect.
He pulled away all too quickly, jumping to his feet before scrambling from the hollow and leaving me alone in the dark. With his departure came a deep coldness, which crept into my heart and circulated my body.
"Oh Jet..." my whisper went unheard and carefully I clambered out from the hollow in the ground and made my way back to lie on the wasteland beneath the starry sky.
The fire wasn't the only thing to die this night...
Ta da! My first Wild Arms fic complete... it turned out a to be a little more depressing than I wanted it but never mind...so should I write another or would it be best to quit whilst I'm ahead? I'll leave it for you to decide.