Hey hey hey! It's 3:15 in the morning! Whoo hoo!
Anyway, I don't own FFX, Auron, or anything else mentioned. I just own Aey, danke very much.
Enjoy!
x.X.x
He began to walk away, and I stayed just behind him, veering off the path and sensing that I wasn't needed as Tidus stalked up to this Auron, indescribable fury in his eyes. I heard muffled yelling, and for a moment I compared Tidus--the happy, teasing Tidus--to the one now. He had obviously had something on his mind, something I knew I had no right interfering in.
I continued through the streets and down the flight of stairs, walking toward the summoner, Yuna, that I had met earlier. She turned, nodding at me.
"Aey, right?" Yuna asked, and I nodded. "Have you seen Tidus or Sir Auron?"
"They're both back that way," I answered, gesturing. "Working some things out."
"Would that mean that we are to leave them alone?" the black mage, Lulu, asked, stepping forward.
"I wouldn't interfere if I were you," I said. "Something tells me they'll be done soon."
"Do you know Sir Auron?" Yuna asked, tilting her head to one side. I smiled.
"No. He seems like quite the…entertaining character, though," I answered, and Yuna chuckled. She had a nice laugh, crystal clear, though not as easy as Tidus' was.
"He was my father's guardian," she sighed.
"Auron, Lord Braska, and Jecht, right?" I asked, and she nodded.
"Do you know Sir Jecht?"
"Every blitz player does. He's a legend, and not just because he was your father's guardian."
"Yes, Tidus told me about his…prowess as a blitzball player." She exhaled, leaning out over the railing, and asked, "Where are you going to go after this, Aey?" I shrugged.
"Not sure. I kind of wander, since I don't much like traveling with the team, but…" I trailed off, and Yuna nodded.
"Would you like to…come with us?" she asked hesitantly, and I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Not as a guardian, of course. At least--not yet. Is that alright, Lulu, Kimahri?" the summoner asked, and the black mage nodded.
"It isn't up to me," she answered easily, and the Ronso turned away, saying nothing. Yuna nodded.
"Alright, then. I'll take it as a yes," she said with a smile, and Lulu gave an encouraging nod.
"Thanks, then. I'd love to travel with you," I answered, and Yuna nodded, turning away again with a warm smile.
After a moment, I walked over into the shadows, sitting onto a bench and taking my gloves off. Ten minutes of silence later, Auron and Tidus walked down the stairs.
"I offer you my services as a guardian," Auron said without preamble, and Yuna jumped.
"But…why?" she asked, clearly taken aback.
"I promised Braska," came Auron's short reply. He shoved Tidus forward. "And this one I promised Jecht." The man stopped, waiting, as Yuna gathered her thoughts. "You reject my services?"
"Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "No, Sir Auron, I would be honored to have you and Tidus as my guardians!"
"It is settled, then," Auron answered, beginning to turn away, but stopped as Yuna opened her mouth to ask something else. "Yes?" he asked.
"Is…is Sir Jecht…alive?" she asked, and Auron looked quickly at Tidus. An understanding passed between them, evident in the guilt that lit Tidus' eyes, and Auron said, "I couldn't say. I haven't seen him in ten years."
"Oh," Yuna answered, disappointment barely showing through her sudden smile. "I am sincerely grateful to have you as my guardian, Sir Auron," she said quickly, and he dipped his head, turning away as Tidus joined Yuna by the railing, talking animatedly and gesturing many times with his hands.
Auron looked over at me and raised an eyebrow, walking toward my bench in the back corner of the overhang.
"Hey there," I said, leaning back.
"Do you mind my asking what you are doing here?"
"Yuna asked me to travel with her," I answered, and he looked down at me over his shades.
"As a guardian?" There was that skeptical, almost mocking tone again. I narrowed my eyes.
"No. Just to travel," I clarified, and Auron must have heard the sharpness in my voice, as he laughed once.
"Just don't make yourself a liability." With that, he walked off, and I shook my head in wonder. What was with him?
Just then, Tidus began yelling what may have resembled a laugh, but really sounded like he was having trouble breathing. Yuna giggled, saying as he stopped, "I really think you should stop laughing now." Tidus chuckled, and began the same exaggerated guffawing again. This time, Yuna joined in, and within moments both were doubled over, too overcome to speak.
I raised my eyebrows as the two turned around. "What're you looking at?" Tidus asked, grinning, and Wakka shrugged.
"We were just worried you two had gone crazy, that's all," he said, and Yuna gave a heartfelt, easy laugh.
"So, where to next?" Tidus asked, and she thought for a moment.
"Djose Temple," the summoner answered. "We have to cross the Mi'ihen Highroad to get there."
"Sounds good!" the blitzer said. "When do we head out?"
Yuna looked briefly to Lulu, and then Wakka and Auron, clearly asking them.
"Tomorrow," Auron answered first, and the others nodded. "There is an inn over that way." He pointed with the arm that was tucked into his robe, and Lulu and Wakka followed his gaze to a small building, just barely visible over the other, taller houses in front of it. Yuna and Tidus nodded.
"Looks good," he said, and leaned back on the railing. "What are we gonna do for the rest of the day?" Lulu sighed, putting a hand to her forehead in a gesture of hopelessness.
"Anything you want," she said, and Tidus straightened up.
"Cool!" he exclaimed, his gaze falling on me. "Hey, you think the sphere pool's open?"
"I know it is," I answered easily. "Why?"
"Time for some practice," Tidus said, turning to Yuna. "You wanna learn how to blitz? You don't have to play or anything, unless you want to." She stepped back in surprise.
"A-alright," Yuna said hesitantly. "Who am I going to watch?"
"Wakka and me," the blonde blitzer replied. "And Aey, if she wants to." He raised his eyebrows at me, and I rolled my eyes.
"I won't spoil your fun," I said. "I think I'll go down to the dock."
"Suit yourself," Tidus said with a shrug, gesturing to Yuna. "Wakka, you coming?"
"Not like I asked to," the guardian pointed out, but began to follow the two. Kimahri, without a word, followed Yuna. Auron stayed where he was, standing in the shadows near the rim of the balcony.
The black mage sighed, sitting on the opposite side of the bench from me, and leaned back.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm guardian to Wakka and Tidus as well," she said, rubbing her temples. I chuckled.
"I know how you feel."
"What do you see in blitzball, anyway? It may lift the hearts of the people of Spira, but all the players ever do is get injured and angry," Lulu said, and a shocked laugh burst from my lips.
"I assume you've never seen a blitzball game where the player flips out of the top of the sphere pool, dives back in, kicks the ball straight into the goal, and manages to take out a few of the other players as well?" I asked. "Or a pass where the ball literally bounces off at least three blitzers' fingers before coming to rest either in the goal or in someone else's hands?" Lulu shook her head.
"It still seems pointless to me, though," she said, shrugging, and I grinned.
"I need to teach you about blitz, my friend," I said, taking the blitzball out of my bag and spinning it on my finger. "It's the pure adrenaline rush that makes everything worth it, the shot that spins right past four players and hits the goal just as the buzzer goes off. You haven't lived until you see a supposedly horrible player pull it out for his team by delivering an amazing tackle to the strongest player of the other team. It's the perpetual unpredictability, the freedom of the water."
"Passionate, aren't you?" Lulu asked with a wry smile, and I laughed.
"You have no idea."
"So why aren't you practicing with Tidus, Yuna, and Wakka?" the black mage asked, and I shrugged.
"I really prefer practicing alone. Usually, I just stay in Luca and wait for big games to play with the Goers instead of traveling with them, since I don't like practicing with company. I just feel so…peaceful, alone in the water. Like nothing could ever go wrong," I explained, and Lulu nodded.
"And how in the name of Yevon do you blitzball players stay underwater for so long?" she asked after a moment, a seemingly random question. I chuckled.
"A large amount is due to magic, but a lot of us that have been in blitz since we were toddlers can actually stay underwater for ten to fifteen minutes. Those are the really rare, skilled people, though. I know Jecht could even sleep underwater, if he wanted to," I answered, shrugging.
"How long can you hold your breath?" Lulu asked.
"Oh, maybe four or five minutes. If I want to kill my lungs, maybe six or seven," I answered. "You know, you're not as severe as I thought you'd be," I said after a moment, and she raised her eyebrows.
"How so?" the black mage asked, and I shrugged.
"I don't know. Well, maybe 'reserved' is a better word. You're actually talking to me, which is more than I expected."
"Is that a good thing?" Lulu inquired.
"I think it is." I stretched, standing. "Good talking to you, Lulu." She nodded, taking that as a goodbye, and stood to move to the railing. I dipped my head at Auron as I walked past, strolling down the streets of my home. Most people had locked themselves in their houses after the attack, and only select few dared to walk the cobblestone paths.
Night fell quickly, and I passed Tidus, Wakka, and Yuna coming back, Tidus still explaining the rules of blitzball to her. She nodded, and I allowed myself a small smile as I passed them, changing direction for the stadium and absently tossing my blitzball up and down.
I got to the sphere pool, satisfied that no one was there, and slipped into the changing rooms to pull on my change of clothes and gloves. I walked out, leaving my bag by the bleachers and jumping into the sphere, twisting through the water and floating for awhile, my blitzball on my stomach, one hand resting on it to keep it from drifting away.
Then, suddenly, I flipped up and kicked it upwards, skimming through the water to meet the knobby sphere and sending it ricocheting back toward the bottom of the pool. I dove, but I wasn't fast enough, and muttered to myself as the ball hit the bottom and floated back upward.
I picked it up and swam back to the center of the sphere pool, centering it and then doing a back-flip, kicking the blitzball and sending it flying toward the goal. It hit the net and bounced back, giving me the opportunity to kick it again, and one more time.
I practiced for perhaps an hour more before fatigue forced me back to the changing rooms, and I walked back to the inn and bade goodnight to Tidus, Yuna, and Wakka, who were all kicking back in the front room and talking.
"You look worn out," Tidus remarked, and I shrugged.
"Practicing," I answered, tossing the blitzball to him. He caught it, shrugging and laughing, and I disappeared into the back hall, taking the back room--the only one that hadn't been claimed by a guardian's meager belongings piled in front of the door.
In the morning, we set out for Mi'ihen Highroad, and Yuna stopped in awe at the very beginning, staring up at a huge statue of a man with arms raised in a gesture that could have been taken as an embrace or the warding off of fiends. An elderly man dressed in green was standing near it, and he greeted Yuna with the prayer before saying, "This is Lord Mi'ihen, father of the Crimson Blades." Crusaders, as they were known now, were protectors of Spira that gave the temples and cities a sense of security. According to the man, Maechen, they pledged their lives to fighting Sin. Lord Mi'ihen had founded them, and when the maesters of Yevon had accused them of rebellion and plotting against Spira, he had walked down this very road to meet them and explain to them, eventually joining the Crimson Blades with Yevon.
"And that, as they say, is that," Maechen finished, bowing before continuing down the road. I shook my head in confusion, and Lulu caught my eye and nodded in agreement. I smiled, and she turned away, following Yuna down Mi'ihen Highroad.
The path was filled to the brim with fiends, but it gave us all a chance to hone our skills--particularly me. I hadn't fought in so long, I was sorely lacking in any kind of technique or skill, but it slowly came back to me as I switched in and out of battle.
We met a couple of Chocobo Knights on the way, each giving Yuna a respectful, formal greeting. Towards the end of the road, a summoner named Belgemine caught Yuna's attention, and she spoke easily with the woman.
"…A friendly competition. Not to the death, of course," Belgemine was saying as I caught up. "What do you say?"
"I'll do my best," Yuna answered, and the older summoner was quick to bring Ifrit, the fire aeon, into the battle. Yuna took a deep breath and called Valefor for the second time, who had--luckily--already fought enough and had enough energy for his overdrive attack. It started the battle well, but Yuna's aeon was no match for her older, more experienced senior.
"You have much to learn," Belgemine began, and Yuna looked down. "But you did well." At that, she looked up again, her eyes brightening. "You may be able to defeat Sin."
"I think…you will defeat Sin before me," Yuna said respectfully, but there was a degree of truth to her words. Belgemine, however, shook her head.
"I cannot," she said. "Or should I say…I was not able to. Take this. It may come in handy." Belgemine pressed a bag into her hand, full of potions, not allowing Yuna to say anything else.
"Th-thank you," Yuna said, executing a hurried prayer. She dipped her head, saying, "I daresay we will meet again. Until then, good luck." The older summoner walked briskly away, and after a moment, Yuna followed, continuing down Mi'ihen Highroad.
We reached an Al Bhed travel agency by nightfall, to which Wakka vehemently protested.
"We can't go in there!" he said, shaking his head.
"Why not?" Auron asked, raising his eyebrows.
"It's…it's the Al Bhed! They use forbidden machina, and they kidnapped Yuna!" the blitzball player objected.
"Where were her guardians when she was kidnapped?" Auron asked, and after a moment Wakka hung his head in a sign of defeat.
"Fine," he muttered. "But don't expect me to sleep in there! I'm not one bit tired!"
"Do what you want. I am," Auron answered, walking forward and speaking briefly to the Al Bhed owner of the shop before walking down the hall to the rooms. I followed, tagging behind Yuna and Lulu, and we took an hour or two to get settled.
At sunset, an unspoken agreement passed through the group, and we all gathered outside. Tidus and Yuna were talking by the water, sitting next to each other and speaking in low, though somewhat cheerful tones. Wakka was pacing by the shop, clearly still apprehensive about the Al Bhed, and Lulu and I found ourselves sitting together again.
"Want to know anything else about blitzball?" I teased, and she gave a rare, genuine smile.
"I think I'm alright," the black mage answered. "Do you want to know anything about magic?"
"Actually, I do," I answered, nodding. "How do you do it? And where did you learn?" Lulu sat back, closing her eyes.
"Well, I usually just concentrate on something. The more I do it, the less focus it takes, and the better I get at the spell. I learned it from my sister, since black magic is something virtually anyone can master. You don't have to be born with gifts, or certain strengths: just patience and the ability to concentrate on something, like I said."
"So a blitzball player without a magically gifted bone in her body could learn?" I asked with a wry smile. Lulu chuckled, nodding.
"Yes. Even said blitzball player could learn black magic. Could a black mage without a physically gifted bone in her body learn blitzball?" I laughed.
"Now you're talking!" Lulu smiled, shaking her head.
"I doubt I would be able to learn blitzball," she said with a coy smile. I rolled my eyes.
"You should have heard Graav moaning and groaning when I dragged him into the sphere pool for the first time. And now he's supposedly the best blitzball player in Spira. All it really takes is commitment and a certain level of fitness, and not even that. Yevon knows my brother didn't have commitment, and look at him now. Besides, you don't really have to play it: just learn, and maybe you can enjoy blitz games more."
"Maybe," Lulu agreed, shrugging. "And maybe I can talk with Wakka and actually understand what he's saying when he talks about the sport."
"That's the spirit!" I said, lightly punching her shoulder. "Except for the fact that it's not a sport: it's a lifestyle. I'm going to drill that into Wakka if I ever hear him say that blitz is just a sport." Lulu rolled her eyes, smiling, and leaned back, closing her eyes. A moment later, the old, rotting signpost next to us burst into flame, to be doused a moment later by water, each appearing out of nowhere.
"Showoff," I muttered, and the corners of her mouth twitched up in a smile as buckets of water poured down on me from thin air. "Hey!" I exclaimed, jumping up. Lulu smirked, and I heard Tidus, Wakka, and Yuna laughing. "Oh, you're going to pay for that, missy," I growled, hoisting the black mage up over my shoulder and tramping down the hillside for the water.
"Let go!" she exclaimed, and I walked waist-deep into the water.
"Okay," I answered, dropping her. She spluttered, standing back up and causing the water droplets on my skin to freeze. I shivered, rubbing my arms to warm them up again, and narrowed my eyes.
"Not fair!" I protested, diving into the water and swimming circles around her, splashing the mage with water every time I passed her in the front. She countered with more Blizzard spells, and soon we were both drenched and shivering. "You want to learn blitz or not?" I asked, and Lulu rolled her eyes.
"I was thinking about watching instead of doing," she said, and I grinned.
"That's not how you lea-arn!" I answered in a singsong voice, and Lulu sighed.
"Then I'd rather not 'learn' in front of everyone."
"Humility is wisdom," I replied, now adopting a ridiculously deep voice and pushing invisible glasses farther up my nose.
"I'm wise enough," the mage answered easily. "I know to stay away from crackpots from now on."
I rolled my eyes, gesturing to her. "Well, if you're so intent on getting out of sight, then how are you ever going to learn to play blitzball?" Lulu shrugged, and I chuckled, climbing back ashore. "Fine. I'll practice alone."
"I never said I wouldn't watch," she objected, and I nodded.
"Then watch if you want to, but that's no fun. Believe me: it stinks when you have to watch your teammates play, knowing you would have thrown that pass differently or shot sooner. Infuriating." I sat down on the bench again, wringing the water out of my hair, and Lulu joined me.
We talked until well after dark, and finally went to bed around midnight. Auron was still standing beneath a tree, looking out at the horizon, and I found myself watching him as I walked back into the travel agency, wondering what he was thinking.
x.X.x
Short, I know, but I'm just getting the chapters out there. I'm TRYING not to make Auron and Aey's relationship go too fast, but I have some plans for them... *evil laughter* MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
And sorry if Lu is a little OOC. I tried. We're seeing her ultra-rare-uber-exclusive happy side. Yeah. That.
REVIEW! PLEASEY PLEASE WITH A SHOOPUF ON TOP!
Or a chocobo. I, personally, would prefer the chocobo, but it's up to you.
