Safe in my arms

The song on the radio played on, it was a sad one about loss and letting go of someone you loved and Moira always felt a tug at her broken heart whenever she heard it. She had, for many years, been alone, longing for the other half of her soul that all her friends said was just around the corner. She'd been turning corners for 30 years and still there was no one. She was in a dead end job that she didn't altogether hate, but couldn't find fulfillment in. She was living with her sister because she couldn't afford a place of her own. Everywhere she turned there were reminders of her failures and lost dreams. Overall, she wanted to escape her life, escape her world. She looked to books, movies and even video games for her escape, but it was temporary and in the end disappointing.

She was, once again, working alone one Sunday when she inadvertently turned the strangest corner of all. As usual, no one was coming into her shop so she settled in for another long day. Her mind wandered immediately to a dream she had the night before. In it, she pursued a man, a dark haired man she saw walking along a hedgerow. He was spying through the hedge looking for "her" and calling out 'where is she?'. She called out over and over "I'm here!" but he couldn't hear her. She woke up still calling out and the emptiness filled her and haunted her through the day.

As she was mulling over the dream, she noticed a flash of light on the wall across from her. She assumed it was a reflection from a car passing but then as she was staring at the wall, it happened again. She could swear she saw something inside the flash. It almost looked like a tree. She shook her head, but then it happened again. Her vision seemed to waver. She tried to focus on the wall but it only seemed to blur more. She got out from behind the desk and approached the wall. As she got closer she could swear she heard voices coming from the wall. She heard a man's voice cry out "Enough!" followed by the clang of a sword. Strange animal cries and snarls seemed to emanate from the space on the wall. Looking around, she saw nothing but again heard the same voice call out, softer this time, "Farewell". She reached out her hand as if to touch the wall, but unbelievably, it slipped right through! Shocked, she pulled it back out, feeling a cool sensation on her skin as she did. She stood, transfixed staring at the space in the wall.

"I must be going mad," she muttered to herself. She was alone at work, staring at an empty wall. To anyone walking by the shop, she would look mad. Looking around she put her hand up to the wall, convinced that it would hit a hard surface and nothing amazing was going to happen. She moved her hand towards the wall as though to slap it, but her hand went right through again throwing her off balance. She was about to pull it back but this time she felt someone or something grab it and start to pull. Panicking, she braced herself and pulled back with all her might, but it was no use. The unseen force that held her arm was too strong and before she could say 'what!' she was pulled right through!

She landed in a heap on the ground and looking up; she saw a man was standing over her. He was oddly dressed to say the least. He was wearing something that was a cross between a long robe and a greatcoat, red in colour with many buckles. One arm was bare, the empty sleeve hanging uselessly, flapping in the breeze. The arm was muscular, she noted and moving her gaze a little she noticed he was also wearing a leather breastplate, which added to his appealing look. Moving up to his face, she let out a short gasp as she noticed a large scar that ran vertically down his right eye. The other eye, a sensual brown colour, regarded her shrewdly over a pair of silver sunglasses. Tearing herself away from his eye, she noted that his dark hair was streaked here and there with silver. This man had all the makings of the perfect lone wolf character that she had grown to love.

"If you are finished staring, perhaps you could get up and tell us who you are," the voice was rough but Moira imagined that under the right circumstances it could be incredibly sensual.

"Us?" she asked. She suddenly realized there were six other people standing around her. She scrambled to her feet and looked at each in turn. The first was a sweet, shy looking girl with dark brown hair dressed in a kimono-like outfit. She was carrying a large decorated staff.

"Yuna," she said with a smile, pointing to herself. Moira smiled back, unable to stop herself.

"I'm Rikku!" a bouncy blonde girl called out. As Moira turned to face this new speaker, she was astonished by the girl's eyes. They were a remarkable shade of brilliant green, but instead of pupils, she had spirals in the center of her eyes. "Must be contact lenses," Moira thought to herself.

She turned her gaze to the next person in the group. Another woman, but this one was altogether more regal in bearing than the other two. She had raven black hair that she kept in long sections and she was wearing the most amazing dress. It was a floor length black gown, trimmed with lace and fur. In the center there was an open panel that Moira thought reminded her of a Tudor gown, but instead of a contrasting piece of material, the gap in the dress was closed off by leather belts, criss-crossing in every direction. She looked up to see this amazing woman was holding a small stuffed doll in her hands. Moira decided to ignore that fact. The woman spoke in a soft but strong voice, "Lulu," was all she said. Moira could only assume that was her name.

She shifted her gaze further down the line, where she saw three other men, well two men and a, well, he was definitely male, but of what species she couldn't even begin to guess. To start with, he was covered in blue fur; and things got stranger from there. He was feline in appearance, almost like an upright blue lion, except in the center of his forehead he had a large horn, somewhat like a unicorn's horn. Well, he had what was left of a large horn – it was broken off halfway down.

"That's Kimahri," Yuna informed her.

"Kimahri. Umm, Ok," she said uncertainly. Kimahri said nothing, just stood staring at her. She noted his muscular appearance and decided it was better he made no reaction to her. She quickly averted her gaze and looked at the next person. He was a cheery looking athletically built guy, who looked like a talker. After the cold gaze from Kimahri, she could use some friendly talk.

"I'm Wakka, ya?" he said with a big grin, pointing to his well muscled bare torso.

"Hello Wakka," she said grinning back.

"You gave us a big shock, ya? Your hand appearing out of nowhere like that. I told Auron to push it back, but he insisted on pulling you through like he did, ya?" he paused for a breath, which she knew didn't happen often. "I thought you were a fiend, ya?"

"A fiend?"

"An evil spirit. Well, let's just say a monster."

"Oh! Nope, no monsters here!" she replied.

"Good. We run into enough around here."

"Really? This doesn't look like the type of place that would have monsters," she remarked looking around at her surroundings for the first time. They were standing in a forest, but one unlike anything she had even seen before. The trees and plants seemed to be made of crystal and they twinkled and shimmered in the sunlight that filtered through. She could hear the soft chiming of the leaves as the breeze flowed by. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, and she wiped away a silent tear at the thought that she would never see anything this beautiful in her real life. She was still operating under the assumption that it was all a dream; that she had tripped and hit her head and everything around her would crumble when she came to. She let out a soft sigh and turned back to the group.

"Don't let this place fool you," Wakka said, "We run into all kinds of fiends here! All the time!"

"Wakka, I think she understands," Lulu said chidingly.

"Oh, right," he said, shuffling his feet, somewhat embarrassed.

"But thank you for filling me in, Wakka!" Moira said, smiling.

"No problem!" Wakka replied, all his embarrassment forgotten.

"Ok," Moira said, turning to the last man. "That must make you Auron. Right?"

"No, I'm Tidus. That," he said pointing to the first stranger, "That is Auron."

Auron looked up at the sound of his name and fixed Moira with a look that was somewhere between an appraisal and a glare. She didn't know which it was but all she knew was her stomach did a somersault every time this man looked at her. She tore herself away from his gaze and turned back to Tidus.

"So, Tidus right?"

"Yep, that's me. Star player of the Zanarkand Abes!"

"Star player? What sport?"

"The Zanarkand Abes! Blitzball!"

"Blitzball?"

"Yeah! It's the only sport around here! It's the best!"

"At the moment, that all means nothing to me. Hopefully, I'll be around long enough so you can fill me in."

"You're not from around here, are you? Fiends, Blitzball, Zanarkand. It all really doesn't ring a bell?" Tidus asked. He reacted as if she told him she didn't know what bread was.

"No, I am definitely not from around here," she looked around again at the forest and for the first time became overwhelmed at the thought of how far she was from home. She sat down on a rock and put her face in her hands. Yuna and Rikku rushed over to her side and tried to comfort her.

"It's alright. We'll help you."

"Thank you, but I don't know if you can. I have no idea where I am, or how to get back home," she was close to wailing.

"You are in Spira," came a rough reply. She looked up to see Auron was now standing over her. "I don't know or care where you are from, but you are here now and I suggest that you make the best of it."

"Spira? Where in the hell is Spira?!"

"Spira is the name of the world you are on. This is the Macalania Forest," Yuna said quietly.

"I see," Moira said rising up. "And where are you headed?"

"We are going to Zanarkand," Rikku said. "But we've a long way to go."

"Isn't that where you're from, Tidus? Are you going home?"

"In a manner of speaking, it's complicated," Tidus looked at the ground.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well, I guess there's only one thing to do," Moira said after a moment's thought.

"And what might that be?" Auron asked, turning to face her, that same somersault inducing stare on his face.

"To go with you."

"No!"

"What do you mean no?"

"You cannot go where we're going." Auron turned to walk away.

"What?! Why not?"

"Because for one thing, we have no idea who you are."

"Moira."

"What was that?"

"Moira, that's me."

"Humph. Moira," Auron said her name softly to himself, as if testing it out. His gaze softened a little, but then he turned to walk away again. "Farewell, Moira," he called over his shoulder. The rest of the group had not moved.

"Goodbye? What do you mean goodbye? Are you just planning on leaving me here?"

"That's the idea."

"I have no idea where I am! Or how to get back home for that matter! So now what do I do?" she screamed after Auron.

"I don't care," was the soft reply.

"It's your fault I'm here! You pulled me through the wall! You can't just leave me here! It's all your fault!" She was so close to tears but somehow fought them back. Auron kept on walking which only served to make her angry. "Auron! Auron don't you walk away from me! This is all your fault!" No reply came. "Auron!! Answer me!" The party gasped. Apparently she had crossed a line. Auron stopped dead in his tracks, turned around and stormed up to her, meeting her nose to nose.

"I don't know where in Spira you are from, but this is not your story. There is no part in it for you," he paused, glaring at her and he rested his enormous sword against a nearby tree. She couldn't bear to hold his gaze, he was incredibly intimidating. She knew he was angry, that much was clear. So the reason why the only thought running through her mind was what it would be like to kiss this man was odd to say the least. She looked away from him and he continued to tell her gruffly why she couldn't travel with them. A flash of movement over his shoulder caught her attention.

"What about the fiends? I need someone to protect me against them," she said pitifully.

"Not our problem."

"I'm not sure if I could recognize one if I did see..." her voice trailed off as she realized that the movement she saw over Auron's shoulder was a fiend. It could only be described as an oversized bug, silver in colour and about the size of a large dog. It was flying closer to Auron's back and with a gasp she realized it was about to attack him. She screamed, "Look out!" and pushing Auron aside, which took some effort thanks to his impressive physique, she grabbed his sword. Thanks to the adrenaline coursing through her veins, she was able to lift and even swing the huge weapon. With two slightly clumsy slashes, she succeeded in slicing the insect in half. Auron stood transfixed, unable to comprehend what had happened.

"What have you done?" Auron asked, looking incredulously from the dead bug to Moira, still holding his sword in a defensive stance.

"Is it dead?"

"Yes, quite dead."

"I'm sorry I shoved you, it was about to sting you. I didn't know what else to do."

"It's alright," he said coming over to her. "I guess I owe you my thanks." He tried to take back his sword at this point, but Moira still held it in a death grip. He placed his hands over her own shaking hands. "Moira," he said softly. If she had been aware, she would have realized that his voice had taken on that soft sensuality she guessed it could. But in her shock, she heard him as if from miles away. "Moira, please let go of my sword. The fiend is gone. We're all safe now." Still no reply. He tried another tactic. Leaning in close, he whispered in her ear, "Moira, if you let go of my sword, you can travel with us. Please." She finally snapped out of her shock, and blushed furiously as she realized that he still held both her hands and his breath was still tickling her throat. She looked into his eyes, well eye, and saw a glimpse of softness there. Reluctantly, she loosened her grip on the sword and he took it from her. Apparently, in her shock, the sword was the only thing keeping her standing and as soon as it was gone, she fell to the ground. Auron rushed to her side, but as though he himself had just come to his senses, he backed off and let Rikku, Lulu and Yuna look after the strange girl. He walked a little way apart from the rest of the group and leaned against a tree. The girl seemed fine and he could not remember the last time he saw such courage. He admired the girl's strength, but nothing further would he allow himself. He closed his mind to such thoughts and instead thought of where they would take this girl. Surely she could not travel to the end of their pilgrimage. That was madness. There were enough people to look after as it was. They were all accomplished fighters, that was true, but there was still a great need for his guidance. And he needed to go with them if he was to exact his revenge on Yunalesca.