Eternal Dreams
It was raining heavily – but only raining. No thunder rumbled the sky, nor did lightning illuminate the dark gray clouds. Below the torrent, where the celestial water met the towering earth, two figures ran swiftly down the paved road. The slant of the city's streets created a natural cascade, and the runoff fell into well-concealed channels on either side. Regardless, the water was still ankle-high.
The sun had set hours ago, if anything was to be judged by the abnormal dimness of the normally glittering city of gems. In the darkness, the creeping things of the night held their sway, and the travelers – trespassers – kept cautious of the once safe and secure world of Jumi legend.
"Hey, 'Lazuli!" the young woman's voice was drowned out by the pounding rain. She squinted the water out of her eyes, and, since her companion had apparently not heard her, reached out to tug on the bunched up cloak trailing behind him. With his attention, she gestured for him to follow her for once; he could know where he was going all he wanted, but she wanted out of the rain.
She led them to a door in the embellished beehive of a mountain city, an entrance they had passed only a minute or so earlier. Once inside, they inspected the modest living quarters for all it was worth, assuring themselves the only things living there were the two weary warriors seeking out of the pouring water.
"Tomorrow, or when the rain lets up," the woman promised, "Whichever comes first."
The male simply nodded, pushing a clump of soggy teal tresses as far out of his eyes as they would go. He stood by, wringing his soaked mantle and hood out on the doorstep, as the woman sought to bring light into the room by means of fire.
She grew sorely tired of the tinder, and of the age old lumber that had been there since the last inhabitants of the abandoned city lived. She drew from her side a flute, leaned back, and played a haunting tune.
Before he could comprehend the happening, her friend jumped in surprise as the fireplace, as well as the space around it, erupted in flame. He rushed to help her pad the blaze out, and considered again safety and the expanse of water outside. Once the fire was controlled to the secure fireplace, he glared like the wet Jumi he was – for the now bared core-gem at the center-base of his throat shimmered in reflection to the light. As it appeared, wet Jumi glares weren't all that fearful. In fact, he might have been a wet cat for all the fear he instilled.
"Give me that flute," he demanded, holding out one hand. When she failed to comply, his tone became more warning, "Athena…"
"What?" she grinned, "I did it, didn't I?"
He tried to understand what she meant at first, before it fell into place. "We could have done without the fire."
"No we couldn't," she insisted, tying the flute back into its place.
"Yes, we could have."
"Nope."
"Yes!"
"Well, it's here and it's staying, so there," Athena stuck her tongue out, and the Jumi pouted.
"Athena…"
"El-a-zul…" she sang his name in syllables, smirking in the shallow way she did, "What?"
Elazul sulked, finding a place against the wall opposite the fire to rest. The shadows flickered ominously, and through them his focus was drawn to Athena as she stripped her armor, and followed similarly with the saturated clothes beneath and systematically hanging them wherever they might dry. He vaguely wondered how far this immodesty would go, when she stopped at her undergown. The soft white garment fell to her knees, when not tucked up under the rest of her gear. The Jumi was surprised she wore one at all, so the rest of its detailed embroidery was lost to him; the vines and flowers wouldn't have made sense if he had noticed them. She smiled at him, but he lost that, too, as his mind wandered to what he knew of this woman. They barely knew each other, yet she was in his people's forbidden city. But the times were different, as there were only three Jumi left. What little hope existed for them was this stranger who graciously fought for them all.
"Lazuli, get over here," the woman said, "The fire is here so we can be warm. You're not going to be warm over there. You're going to be cold, shivering, wet, and it won't be my problem if you get sick."
Who was he to argue? He pushed himself up with effort, leaving a puddle on the floor. He stumbled back to the warmth, and lowered himself carefully by the fire. He caught sight of Athena's irritated scowl, and sighed. Now what?
"Armor," she indicated his, and he only stared. She grumbled, and decided to take care of the problem herself. Expertly, she found the claps to his cuirass, and despite his protests the armor came away in her hands, to be placed off to the side to dry. She might have proceeded with his other clothes, had his not objected forcefully.
"Really, I'm, uh… not wearing much… under these," he explained hesitantly, causing the woman to humph.
"How stupid is that?" she snorted, shaking her head. Ignoring him, she proceeded to pull a blanket from her supplies and wrap it around herself, keeping as close to the fire as she could. Soon after, the only sound was the rain.
"So tell me about them," Athena broke the silence, minutes or hours later, as she stared into space. Elazul considered, shaking his head eventually.
"Our time is over – nothing's left."
"You don't have it so bad," the woman mused, not looking at him.
"What do you mean?" the knight asked cautiously, turning his head ever so slightly to look at her for an explanation to… that.
"The Jumi; you're not so bad off."
If it had been her usual effervescence, it wouldn't have been a funny joke. If she meant they were better off dead, well… he would have to take it as an insult.
"How can you say that? We're… there're only three of us left," and he wouldn't count the traitor.
"I never told you… no, that's right," Athena sighed, and grinned ardently, "There'll be others out there; we'll just have to find them once the evil is gone from this place."
"I don't think so," Elazul replied somberly. The woman slid an arm around his shoulders, finally looking at him.
"There have to be," she insisted, her grin fading to a smile. Not so hopeful, the knight returned the embrace. His chest hurt thinking about it, every death in his lifetime, before, and the few left to be. He met her eyes, and his were dry. If Florena was the luckiest of them all, for the ability to cry and relieve just a little of the pain for so short a time, he envied her. Athena still smiled; he hated that, and if he could share just a little of that optimism….
He kissed her; the world fell apart.
"No," Athena broke it, shaking her head. She didn't pull away from him.
"Why not?"
"I was once warned," the mercenary recalled, then appended, "Many times, never to get involved with the Jumi," he pouted, but she wasn't finished, "You know, but I never once warned any of you to be wary of the Gemma."
"Gemma?" whether she noticed his arm still, he couldn't tell. But he forgot as well, from curiosity.
"Long story," the woman explained.
"Tell me," Elazul insisted, even more curious.
"It's a secret," she replied, giggling to some inside joke.
"I can keep a secret," he was getting annoyed now, but she only grinned.
"I don't want to share one."
She kissed his forehead, causing him to blink in response, "Go to sleep Lazuli." She twisted her blanket around him, and stood up, "Sleep."
He lay down, and she walked away. Sometime after, he heard the door creak just as he fell asleep. Not totally comprehending, he slept until dawn. In the morning he woke; the fire was out and Athena was not in the room. He was alone. Rousing himself, he collected his still damp gear. He resisted the urge to tidy up and left the room as it was, returning to the world of water outside. The rain had lessened, but it still fell as a light drizzle.
And outside, Athena was. She stood in this shower, happily oblivious to the world as the water gently rolled off her. For a moment, Elazul fancied the light drops of water were tears. He couldn't figure out where that assumption had come from, but it scared him… but through it he began to understand.
The End
Working Title: Jumi-Athena
Inspiration: The number of cries, "Romance," when writing Wishes and Lost Hope.
Noteworthy: So Elazul might have feelings for the girl, acts on behavior that he might have gleaned from his exile, and things... well, they remain friends at least.
Disambiguation: This was written about the same time as the story Hoping, by Somnus, was published. At the time, the similarities held me off from publishing this. Later I changed my mind, but if Somnus ever does want me to take it down, I'll do so.
Series: Eternal Dreams; Wishes and Lost Hope
Derivative work of material © Squaresoft, Square-Enix. Reformatted to abide by 'site standards. None of the original text has been modified, 'cept in case of typo.