It wasn't that she hated him. No, it was pretty much the complete opposite. She liked him, as much as she wanted to deny it. It was just that she was sick of him always jumping into things headfirst without consulting the others and running into monsters, blindly waving a weapon before the others were ready.
In short, he was just a bit annoying sometimes.
There were times when she liked to be alone and just sit and think, and maybe read a book or two in a nice, cozy tent or inn. It was a nice change from dealing with three other boys who had no idea how the female mind worked (except maybe Ingus, but you never know).
They didn't come by so often, those times, what with all the fighting and adventuring. So when they did, she coveted them. They were her happy moments of life, moments when she didn't have to worry about where her head was going to be in a minute, moments when she didn't have to remember the taunting and teasing when she was little, moments when she could forget everything and not think.
Then he walks by.
"So Reffie, wat'cha doin'?"
Out of all the things that annoyed her, being called Reffie was one of the worst.
She snapped her book shut with a crack, eliciting a jump from the silver haired teen who was looking around the small, barren tavern room.
"Tsk tsk… Always so moody," he commented with a knowing smirk.
"Luneth, please get out of my sight for at least ten minutes. You can do that, can't you?" Refia said through her teeth. (Inside her head she was congratulating herself for not yelling. She was trying to get better at holding her temper.)
A shrug and a bored frown came upon Luneth's face. "Eh. Arc is reading like always and Ingus is just you know, staring at nothing. Probably thinking about the Princess."
The strawberry blonde threw a frustrated frown at her companion. It was almost like it was impossible to get away from him!
She settled back down on her comfortable reading chair and opened up her book, flipping through the pages rapidly.
A few heavy thuds signified the approaching male as he leaned over her shoulder to get a glimpse of what she was reading.
Refia, having been immediately sucked in by her beloved book (which was a sappy, love-filled romance, by the way) hadn't noticed just how close Luneth's warm face had gotten to hers, and she sucked in a little breath, feeling a blush creeping up and onto her face as she stared.
"Hey, I didn't know you liked romance Reffie!" Luneth said enthusiastically as he straightened up from the uncomfortable crouching he had been in. He smirked as he watched the girl blush and open and close her mouth in an effort to spit out an explanation.
With a frustrated, "Hmph," Refia turned away from him and stared out the window of the room. She also hated when she was made fun of.
Being made fun of always reminded her of when she was back at her old home, working as an apprentice to her father.
"Look, it's the blacksmith's daughter! Look at those ugly clothes!"
"Ew, they look all greasy!"
"Ha ha, it's the messy, smelly, blacksmith's daughter who can't even make a ring!"
She continued to trudge through the mud in the rain, trying to drone out the jeering and taunting and laughter of the other children, children whose parents worked and were wealthy, with mountains of clothes.
"Well, one day, I'll show them. I'll be better than them at something, anything! I know I will…"
"I know I will…" Refia whispered under her breath, hands around her legs like a lock. She felt like the taunts were still hitting her on the back, and she lowered her head even farther. Thinking back had always given her a terrible, sinking feeling.
Sensing a change, Luneth stopped his teasing and looked at the girl with concern. "Refia? Are you okay?"
"H-huh? Oh! Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry," she muttered as she tried not to think about the kids that had made life so hard for her.
She stood up and walked toward the door.
"Hey, where are you goin'?" Luneth called after her, starting to walk after her.
"I'm going for a walk. And don't follow me."
This made him speed up. He jogged up to the girl who was clasping her hands in front of her with a sad expression.
Suddenly she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her thin body. She twisted her head awkwardly to find a pair of violet eyes staring at her.
"You know, I'm here. I won't bite, I promise. So you sure you're okay?" He tightened his hold around her waist. Refia was in a bad mood, and all of a sudden Luneth was beginning to think that he was he one who had caused it. (He was teasing her.)
Refia took his arms and unwrapped them. With a smile she turned around. "I'm fine. And thanks for that little talk. It's nice to know someone cares." And with that, she left his arms and walked back to her room.
"Oh and by the way," she called behind her shoulder as Luneth started after her, "you can call me Reffie."
I've recently started playing Final Fantasy III for the DS, and holy shnikeys, I'm loving it! I love all the characters, especially Reffie and Luneth. I was also quite disappointed of the lack of Refia/Luneth fics there were. So I made myself write one with no inspiration at 1 in the morning. Smart, me.