Holy crap, I'm just now figuring out how to put that stupid horizontal ruler in at the bottom so I can seperate my comments and the story from one another!

I'm such a dip stick. I was trying to insert my own on the keyboard and when it wasn't working I was all like, "why isn't it working!" But now that that problem is fixed, I will look into trying to put the line in on my other chapters.

The song she sings is by Plumb.

Disclaimer: SQUARE OWNS EVERYTHING! Except my stuff I put in here. :)


The Stone Barer

Yuna held a solemn look on her face as she slowly twirled her staff, dancing the dead away as the Pyerflies filled the air all at once. They thickened the air to the point you could hardly see past them. The sighing that came from them also filled the air, causing the mood to thicken as well.

So many had died trying to save Spira, but Sin had gotten the better of them. The image of the electricity zapping at the giant machina on the cliff played over and over in my head as I watched Yuna dance. At first they had been able to push back most of Sin's energy orb, but a bulge formed on the other side, snapping the machina in half as it struck it violently. I sat down from where I stood and sadly looked down at the ground, suddenly reminded of Hina.

I wasn't to fond of machina either…but I didn't hate it or the Al Bhed. They were people just like the rest of us. All of us wanted Sin to be gone. It didn't matter to Yevon whether or not we followed the teachings. It was so clear to me…I wondered why no on else saw it either. I'm sure there are some that do…but there are so few.

Hours later, we left and arrived at the temple of D'jose where Yuna prayed to the Fayth and gained another Aeon. Afterwards, we decided to stay the night inside the temple so we could be fully refreshed for another day of travel.

As I sat in my room, finally alone, I tried to ask Ida a few questions about Seymour, Kinoc, and that creature that had attacked me in the Inn, but I got little out of her. Like usual, she only told me what I needed to know.

All I found out was that Auron and Kinoc were once best friends ten years ago, Seymour's father had died and that was how he had become a maester and that he was obviously in love with Yuna. I knew this without her even having to tell me.

Then, she began to tell me of the creature that had attacked me.

He's a dangerous threat to the Fayth. And you. You're job is to kill him once and for all.

When I tried to ask more about him she wouldn't answer. I sighed as I feel back on my bed and closed my eyes, humming softly to myself as a song that Ida used to sing to me came to mind. Soon, I broke out into words.

Your baby blues…so full of wonder.

Your curly Q's…your contagious smile.

And as I watch…you start to grow up.

All I can do…is hold you tight.

Knowing: clouds will rage in! Storms will race in!

But you will be safe…in my arms.

Rains will pour down! Waves will crash around!

But you will be safe…in my arms.

It was a beautiful song. One I loved to hear my mother, Ida, sing to my every night when I was little. Even when I was grown, she would sing it to me when I needed comfort. Now, I sang it to comfort us both.

I hadn't sung in a while. Not since the day Hina had died. I used to sing so many songs when I was living with Hina and the Al Bhed. I had even taught her a few of the songs that I knew when I realized that she could sing as well. The two of us would sing, sometimes, in front of her parents on nights when the air warm and not so cold, and we would all be sitting on the porch enjoying the evening air.

They'd listen to us sing for hours, clap, and comment, and then we'd retire to bed. Hina had given me their extra room that had once been her brother's room when I had gone to live with them. She had later explained to me that he had died trying to protect her against sinspawn that had attacked near Home.

Story books…are full of fairytales.

Of kings and queens…and the bluest skies!

My heart is torn…just in knowing.

You'll someday see…the truth from lies.

When the clouds will rage in! Storms will race in!

But you will be safe…in my arms

Rains will pour down…waves will crash around.

But you will be safe…in my arms.

It wasn't long after she had died when I felt the need to leave her parents home. Not wanting them to feel like I was abandoning them, I told them one night that I needed to leave, to travel, to find my own place. I was mostly lying to them, but only because I didn't want to tell them that living there was a reminder of Hina to me, constantly.

I guess you could say I was being a little selfish. Her parents were obviously feeling the same way! Heck, they lived there! The place would always remind them of their two lost and only children. Nonetheless, they said it would be alright for me to leave if I wanted to. So the next morning I packed my things and headed out.

Rin hadn't known I was leaving at all, so when he soon found out I'm sure he sulked about it for days. I had never really said good-bye to him, nor had he apologized. That night in the Inn on the Highroad had been the first time seeing him in six years.

I was seventeen when I'd left, living for six years on the road, never setting somewhere. Always traveling. I lived on what little money I could find and get, working odd jobs left and right. Luckily, I had a weapon to defend myself from fiends; that had been one way I had gotten my money. It was hard living that way, but I had made it through and now…here I was as a guardian to a summoner.

Castle's, they might crumble!

Dreams may not come true!

But you are never all alone!

Cause I will always…always love you!

When the clouds will rage in!

Storms will race in!

But you will be safe…in my arms!

Rains will pour down!

Waves will crash around!

But you will be safe…in my arms…

In my arms…

My voice soften towards the end then quieted to a whisper as I slowly fell asleep.

Sometime during the night I awoke to find the lights still on in my bedroom and my armor still on. My body ached and I groaned as I slowly rose from the bed.

Crap…it's no wonder I couldn't sleep peacefully. I got this junk on!

I groggily began to remove my armor, starting with the shoulder guards then the gloves, my breast plate, and then the chain like skirt that went around my shorts.

I placed them down on the floor beside my bed and leaned my sword against the wall beside the night stand. Finally, I began to take the small pack, that was tied around my waist, off and looked inside for the comb I used to brush out my hair.

I got up and walked over to the small table that was on the other side of the room, a mirror hung above it. I pulled out the stool and with a heavy sigh I sat down and began to comb through my hair.

After twenty minutes of brushing the tangles out I turned to find a door on the same wall and got up to open it. Inside was a small bathroom with a shower. Despite how late it was I hopped into the shower, taking only enough time to wash my body and hair.

The soap that was already in the shower smelled good, and I smiled at my reflection in the mirror and I brought some of my hair to my nose.

"Now…time for bed." I murmured as I dried my hair the best I could with the towel, braided it, and then jumped into bed. This time, I turned the lights out and almost instantly fell asleep.

Morning came to soon. It felt as though I had only been asleep for five minutes when I heard someone banging on my door.

"Get up, Cynyr!" I heard Tidus shout from the other side. I rolled over in my bed and groaned.

"Five more minutes." I growled. He must have heard me because he immediately answered.

"No way! I didn't get five minutes, so there's no way I'm letting you get any either!"

I pulled the covers up over my head, trying to block out the noise he was making. I was almost asleep again when the covers were suddenly torn away from my body. My eyes snapped open and I turned to find Tidus with his hands on his hips, looking sternly down at me.

Thankfully, I was wearing my clothing, for once, in bed, otherwise, he would be on the ground with his arm twisted behind his back.

"Tidus…the next time you want to come in. Knock and warn me." I sighed heavily and Tidus gave me an odd look.

"Because what you see now may not have been what you would've seen on a regular basis."

Tidus immediately caught on and seemed flustered for a moment.

"Wait. You sleep na-" Before he could get the words out, Wakka appeared in the doorway.

"Yo! Sleepy head, get up. And Tidus…What are you doing in here?" Tidus turned to Wakka and scratched the back of his head as he laughed nervously.

"Eh, just trying to get her out of bed!" He exclaimed. I slowly sat up in the bed then began to pull my armor on.

"Get out Tidus." I sighed, and he jumped back before finally walking out, Wakka following him.

When I finally got outside with the rest of the gang, I realized that Yuna was the only one absent. Five minutes later she came running out of the temple in a hurry.

"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed as she bowed deeply to all of us.

"It's alright, Yuna. You needed your rest." Lulu quickly replied as Yuna turned to her.

"But-"

"Here, your hair." Lulu walked up to her and immediately began to help fix her hair that was sticking out in all directions. Yuna looked surprised and then embarrassed.

"Oh!" Lulu chuckled and then finished.

"I didn't mean to keep you all waiting." She apologized again.

"It's fine." Lulu said with a smile, "but with all that snoring." She began to tease. Yuna's eyes grew wide with surprise and we all began to laugh. Yuna's face turned pink but she smiled nonetheless as she realized they were only teasing her.

Even though she knew she was going to die, and even though we kept finding death and destruction as we continued on, she kept on smiling.

She's really strong.

Finally, we were back on the road headed for the Moonflow. From there we would go to Guadosalm, although there wasn't any temples there, we would pass through and go on into the Thunderplains.

As we walked through the jungle it was mostly quiet, except for the sounds of the many animals that were in the trees and on the ground. Harmless creatures we didn't have to worry about.

"Hey, does anyone want to hear a joke?" Tidus suddenly asked, surprising us.

"I don't think that will be necessary." Auron remarked. Tidus rolled his eyes.

"Come one old man! Lighten up." Auron only harrumphed and Tidus sighed dramatically.

"I want to hear it." Yuna suddenly said from beside him. Tidus looked down at her in surprise but smiled with satisfaction.

"Okay," he began. "Once, a captain on his ship was disturbed by his assistant telling him, "Sir! Sir! There are five enemy ships on the horizon!" Yuna nodded as she listened. I could tell, although they tried not to show it, the others were listening as well.

"The captain tells the man, "Get my red coat and prepare for battle!" The assistant runs without question to get the captains red coat and prepares for battle. After their victory the assistant asks the captain why he wanted his red coat." Tidus continued.

"The captain tells the assistant "If I was shot you would not be able

to tell I'm bleeding and you would keep fighting." The assistant thought this was a great idea." Tidus explained, smiling as he was soon getting towards the final punch line.

"The next day the assistant came to the captain, "Sir! Sir! There are twenty enemy ships on the horizon!" The captain was stunned. He looked at the assistant and told him "Get me my brown pants!""

At first, there was just silence. Then, slowly, everyone began to understand and Yuna began to laugh first. Tidus watched her and the others laugh and soon joined in with that high pitched laughter of his. I smiled as I shook my head and thought, only Tidus…only Tidus.

As they continued to talk and laugh, I heard something make a small popping noise and Auron, who walked in front of me, grabbed the back of his head.

I frowned but continued to walk as he stopped and then turned. I was about to walk past him when I realized he was glaring at me. I stumbled then stopped, looking from Auron to the others who had also stopped and were looking at the two of us curiously.

"Whoa, why is everyone looking at me for?" I asked with surprise. Auron continued to glare at me.

"Someone," he growled, "threw a rock at me." I blinked in surprised, then knitted my brows.

"Oh, so you automatically assume it was me?" I stated more than asked as I placed my hands on my hips.

"You are the only one walking behind me." Auron pointed out.

"What, am I three? Why would I do something so- ow!" I grabbed the back of my head as I felt something hard but small hit me in the back of the head. Auron looked beyond me now, his hand on the hilt of his sword as he scanned the woods.

"Can fiends throw rocks?" Tidus asked skeptically. I rubbed the back of my head as I watched Auron. He looked over his shoulder for only a second to say something, but he was cut off as I cried out in surprise and fell on the ground.

"Whoa!" Both Tidus and Wakka exclaimed as I heard laughing and growling from atop my back.

What the crap!

I tried to get up, but I felt a sharp pain in my side as one of the creatures that stood on my back clawed at me.

"Hey!"

"Watch out."

Auron immediately withdrew his sword and I covered my head as he swung his katana horizontally above my back. There were screams heard from the monstrous creatures as they were cut in half and then began to disperse into Pyerflies.

I quickly stood and looked behind me as if to find another of the little creatures.

"What…was that?" I asked as I rubbed my side, finding blood on my fingertips. Auron scanned the jungle once more before sheathing his sword.

"They almost looked like…goblins." Lulu commented. I wiped the blood off my fingers on my leg and blinked when I saw the images of Lulu, Tidus, Wakka, Yuna, and Kimahri get fuzzy.

Whoa, that was random.

I blinked again as my vision went in and out of focus. I took a step back and then felt myself fall backwards, my body suddenly feeling like jelly.

"Hey!" I heard Tidus shout and then I felt strong arms grab hold of me before I could hit the ground. Looking up, I found Auron looking down at me, but his face was getting blurry. Sounds began to fade in and out as well, and I could hear my heart beat thud loudly inside my chest.

"Cynyr, are you alright?" I heard someone ask me, but that was all I heard before everything went black and silent.

When I awoke, sound and vision slowly came into focus. I began to open my eyes when I heard voices familiar voices.

Where am I? What happened?

I blinked several times and realized I was being carried. I saw red fabric in front of my eyes and only knew of one person who wore red and almost groaned aloud.

Aw, why couldn't it have been Wakka or Tidus- heck even Kimahri!

I moved and Auron immediately stopped walking and looked down at me. The others were immediately surrounding us.

"Hey, you okay?" I heard Wakka ask as I rubbed one of my eyes with a hand.

"Put me down."

"Are you sure?" Auron asked, surprising me a little.

"I'm fine. Put me down." I demanded, so Auron slowly set me down on my feet and I tried to stand when a wave of dizziness overcame me.

Before I could even try to catch myself I felt myself falling and then Auron's strong hands grab hold of my arms.

"No, I can walk just-"

"I don't think that would be wise." Lulu interrupted and I looked up at her.

"You were out for quite a while, ya." Wakka added then Yuna stepped up and placed a hand on my side where the creatures had inflicted me with their claws, teeth, whatever it was. She closed her eyes and began to whisper under her breath and I felt the wound close and heal. I even began to feel less dizzy and more alert.

"It seems that when the one bit you it injected poison into your body. I'm sure they had planned on eating you afterwards." Lulu explained. Yuna stood up straight and took a step back.

"How do you feel now?" I smiled a small smile and nodded.

"I don't feel quite so dizzy anymore…thanks." Yuna nodded with her own smile.

"Do you think you can walk now?" Auron asked from behind me. I had almost forgotten he was still holding me up.

"Yeah, I think so." I replied as I moved away from him slowly and stood. I took in a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright! Lets go. We're almost to the Moonflow." Tidus exclaimed as he punched the air. We turned and began to walk on down the dirt path, I, walking slowly at first until I was walking more steadily. All the while, Auron walked beside me.


Who liked this chapter! :D

The idea of the trolls attacking her came to me a few nights ago and at first I wasn't sure about it, so I tried it out and I liked the outcome. :) It was pretty clever, I think.

Review and I will love you forever! 3