~*Ever Dwindling*~

Others slipped away, as did their time.

~*X*~

The Farseers' Settlement was filled with the dead and dying.

It was cool outside, the wind carrying an icy chill that the distant sunlight struggled to beat off. Sand and grit was being thrown across the already battered and worn-down buildings, and Noel pulled an old scarf tight around his face in an attempt to ward it all off.

He crossed the breadth of the village during a gap in the strengthening windstorm, bracing his shoulder against the rickety door and shoving it open. This one was often getting stuck, and the elderly complained about their inability to budge it as a result.

Inside, Noel listened to the sounds of coughing and wheezing. Four villagers—former hunters, once proud and stalwart in spite of it all—were curled up on Chocobo-feather mattresses. The interior was gray and drab, and the wind howled through the cracks, creating a constant drone.

Noel pulled the scarf away from his mouth and went to a corner, where a girl was crouching beside a man whose eyes were already losing focus.

Yeul's shoulders were stiff. She was murmuring a prayer to herself, hands spread across the torso of the hunter; his skin was showing signs of beginning to sag off his bones, muscles gone, acquiring a gray pallor. He saw her swallow hard and when she opened her green eyes, they were incredibly sad.

She gently pushed the hunter's eyelids closed, bowing her head.

Noel crouched beside her in silence, not knowing what to say. He clasped his hands tightly.

"I knew there was nothing I could do, yet…I had to try Noel." Her voice shook. "But I knew that this day would be his final…"

"It's not your fault, Yeul. You did everything you could."

Yeul took in a slow breath, pressing her palms into her eyes. Hesitantly, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and held her close. She felt so light and delicate in his arms, like a baby deer. He expected tears but instead she simply leaned into his chest and released one shuddering exhale after another.

"…You don't know yet. This is only the beginning," she said, low and distant. She sounded remarkably detached, avoiding his gaze.

Noel felt his blood run cold.

~*X*~

"That's it then. Isn't it?"

"It is," Caius intoned, expressionless.

Some months later since that evening in the sick ward…the final villager had weakened, fallen ill due to a myriad of factors, and died. She was buried with the rest and that left no one alive in the Farseers' Settlement save for Yeul, Noel, and of course the immortal Caius.

"You cannot continue to make excuses," Caius said suddenly, turning to pierce Noel with a severe stare. "You must kill me and acquire the power of the Guardian. Only then—"

Noel slammed his hands on the table, already long past his wit's end with this topic. "I've told you once and I'll tell you again. There's no way that I'm going to kill you! There's no one left but us. I don't want to lose anyone else."

"Then you will die, and Yeul along with you, until she must be reborn again and again to suffer in this dying world."

Noel flinched, but before he could reply, a voice cut in.

"Noel?"

He turned to look at the doorway, where Yeul was leaning against the frame. She cast Caius an unreadable look that he apparently understood, because he dipped his head slightly and said nothing. "Noel, will you come with me?"

"Uh…Sure." He tried to ignore the pressure of Caius's glare on his back as he followed her out.

The village was still and empty. All the buildings had fallen into even worse disarray than before save for the one where the surviving trio made their home. The Farseer Relic was bright and polished close by, the lone source of light besides the sun in the pale, washed-out blue sky.

Yeul took him to the water well, simply pushing off a cracked and dusty vase on a nearby bench in order to make room for them. She waited until he sat beside her before speaking.

"I thought you wouldn't mind a rescue." Incredibly, she smiled in a playful fashion.

"A rescue? What, from Caius?"

"I know you resent the choice put before you, and it is for a good reason." Her gaze remained fixed straight ahead.

Noel scowled, scratching his head as he tilted it to the side. "Yeah, you've got that right. I don't see why I have to kill him in order to get the power. Why would Etro design it that way?"

Yeul actually looked perplexed. During more cheerful times, he would have chuckled at that, but now he just found it worrying. "It…shows her trust in Caius."

"You don't sound very sure about that."

She just chuckled in a mysterious way. "Noel, you don't have to worry yet."

"I don't?"

"No. You won't have to make your choice regarding Caius, and…" She placed her hand over his, which had been braced against the cold stone of the bench. "You don't have to worry about losing me for a while longer."

A while longer.

Those words were both reassuring and awfully ominous. He knew they'd have to part eventually, but he prayed to the Goddess that it was farther away than he could ever imagine.

Noel moved his hand so he could twine their fingers together, and they sat like that in companionable, thoughtful silence for some time. In the end, it was Noel who deigned to break the quiet. He hoped that a more casual, cheerful question would help lighten the oppressive mood around the settlement.

(That, and the longer he held her hand, the more self-conscious and nervous he became.)

"So Yeul, what should I go hunt for your birthday? Name anything at all and I'll find it, even if I have to search all over the dunes and mountains!"

Yeul smiled knowingly. "I know you will."

He cast her an astonished look. "Wait, hold on a minute…Did you actually foresee what I'm planning on getting you for your birthday?"

"It's not impossible." She finally turned to face him, eyes bright. "When you do go hunting, I would suggest you search the base of the crags in that direction." Yeul pointed, and Noel let out a great sigh.

"C'mon Yeul, where's the fun in that? You just ruined the surprise! I'm beginning to understand how Caius felt last year. I bet since the dawn of time, you've been peeking at your birthday presents."

Yeul hid her mouth with one hand and laughed. "It's not impossible," she repeated. "If circumstances permit."

"We're at the literal end of the world, and you still find time for it." Noel showed a huge grin, shaking an accusing finger. "So what are these 'permitting circumstances' that make it impossible?"

"Death," she said simply, and fell silent.

Noel was caught off-guard by that, and he rubbed the back of his neck, looking away.

Yeul hummed her quiet laughter. The sound was familiar and warmed his heart right back up. "I'm sorry. I was jesting, Noel."

Before he could do anything, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. Noel nearly jumped a foot in the air—coupled with the fact he almost fell off the bench—and he ended up flailing his arms for balance.

"Whoa, I—what- the—Yeul…?!"

She was already walking off towards their home, a slight spring in her step. "Let's go back. A storm is coming."

Noel was so dazed that he scarcely noticed the dark brown sand beginning to swirl on the horizon, staggering after her and spluttering her name.

Author's Note: They say every Yeul is different, and this is my interpretation of the particular Yeul that Noel knew. Thanks for reading, and consider this a warm-up for longer things.