Chapter 7
The outer settlement was even less interesting that she'd thought it would be. More of a shanty town than anything, it seemed to be serving as a supply depot for those working in the outskirts far from normal civilization. There was no reason to stay long, she didn't need supplies and didn't want to waste time, so she moved through the small settlement and headed off following the prominent cliffs that outlined the hard edge of the mountains.
Supposedly, there had been foothills here once, according to the historians. Foothills covered in a dense, colorful forest. In her mind, she stripped the grasses and plants from the scene, and she could almost imagine how it may have looked when it had been stripped by the Fal'cie.
It was a conflict in her mind; without such things occurring, Cocoon would not exist. Would she exist? She wondered what life would have been like if she had been born on Gran Pulse. What would it have been like if Lindzei had never begun to forge the so-called paradise?
But it had happened and she couldn't help but wonder how many innocent people had died because of it. Vanille's heartbreaking story of the Plundering she and Fang had witnessed.. It was more than she wanted to think about.
Nyx nuzzled her hand as they walked, pulling her thoughts back to reality.
Nearly two days later they reached the opening in the cliffs. Light paused to examine the vista before her. Greenery covered most of what she could see, though there were several rocky outcroppings poking out here and there. She was looking over the ground, trying to decide what looked stable; what would be the easiest path through.
Nyx sniffed the air as she wandered over to an exposed rock face that stood about four feet high. It was mostly covered in moss, and a few small plants had sprouted near the top of it. Light followed her to see what had gained the cat's attention and noticed she was pawing at a flat, exposed part between clumps of moss. There, nearly indistinguishable from natural occurrence was a scrape. It was nearly a half an inch deep, but definitely caused by a blade. The upswept edge was a clear sign of the blade being in motion and not in a perfect level arc.
She knelt down as Nyx moved aside and sat on her haunches, perfectly proud of herself. As she ran her fingers over the gouge, she realized this wasn't from a battle. There were no other signs of a struggle. Though admittedly, it was several months after Fang had ventured through the area, she was almost certain she made this mark purposely. Why? Was she leaving a trail for her to follow, or so she could find her way back? Light decided the former was more likely. The thought made her smile as she stood, patting Nyx on the head. "Good girl. Keep an eye out for more of those."
The large feline huffed in what Light had come to recognize as an affirmative response. With a nod, they began the tumultuous climb up the steep path.
"Mrew!" Light moved closer to Nyx. It was nearly dark, and they continued to follow the trail of slash marks left in clear stone faces. It was clever really, the marks were spread far enough apart that if you weren't looking for them, or at least didn't have a feline who could apparently smell a trail months old, you would easily wander off the path. But with Nyx's keen sense of smell leading the way, they were able to find six marks over the course of the day.
Light patted her on the head as she always did to reward her. "Good job. How about we find someplace to camp for the night and eat our dinner?" Nyx looked entirely too happy about that idea and started sniffling along the ground again, following what Light could only think was an extremely faint trail. She followed her, carrying the chunk of meat she'd cut from a kill only an hour before. She'd wanted to stop then, but Nyx had been very insistent on moving ahead, so she'd followed the cat's instinct, which had led to this new mark and apparently a cave.
Nyx turned and sat proudly at the entrance, her tail waving. Light had to climb a ledge to reach the mouth of the cave, and made note of a small herd of sheep curling together off to the side, where the ledge widened out and was covered with grass. Fang had taught her that the sheep were excellent for use as an early warning system and she was certainly glad to see them, though she wondered why they hadn't been frightened of Nyx.
She followed the cat into the shallow cave. A quick reconnaissance showed her there was nothing in the cave of merit, save for an interesting arrangement of stones. She knelt down and pushed some brush aside. It was a fire pit. With the brush over it, it seemed of little importance without a closer look. The stones were moved haphazardly, but easy enough to move back into the small ring. "Fang covered her tracks well enough to fool anyone who wasn't looking for signs hmm?"
Nyx pawed at her and nudged her in the shoulder in response. "Yes yes, you did a great job." She laughed and showered her companion with ear scratches and pets before reaching to pull her small knife from where it as stored in her boot. As Nyx sat to watch, she licked her lips, eagerly awaiting the treat of fresh meat. Light cut off a small bit, enough for herself, and then tossed the larger piece to Nyx. "You've certainly earned that." She nodded slightly toward it, signaling that it was ok for her to dig in. Nyx didn't need to be told twice.
As Nyx devoured the hunk of meat, Light went about starting a fire so she could cook her own meal.
The meat was a bit tougher than she preferred, but it did the job. She pulled her cloak tight around her as the cold of the night really set in. Nyx settled on the ground near the fire, licking her paws clean. Light curled up against her side in hopes of staying a bit warmer. Nyx nuzzled her head once before laying her head down on her paws.
She was back on the Arc. The others were around her. Snow was giving a stupid speech about persevering and sticking together; protecting those who were unable to protect themselves. The group was all smiles and laughs as they joined hands in confirmation of the agreement. She stood off to the side, but smiled and nodded. They were a team after all.
And yet, it was wrong. It wasn't the group at all. They were faceless shadows. They weren't talking about saving Cocoon. That would be pointless.. it was already done, right?
"Well count me out."
She watched Fang step away from the group. She spoke of death and the need for change. But it wasn't really her. Well it looked like her, but her voice was far too deep and overlapped upon itself.
The platform of the Arc dissipated into darkness, as if they were standing in the void. Once the blinding darkness settled in her vision, she could see crumbling ruins around them, transparent and shadowed like half heard ghosts. The others were gone, faded away, leaving only her and the phantom Fang.
She watched the scene in slow motion. Fang looked defiant; in pain as she dropped her lance and fell to her knees, clutching her arm.
But it wasn't the correct arm, was it? Her L'cie brand had been on her right shoulder, yet she dug her nails into the flesh of her left arm, crying out in pain, though she could hear nothing. Light was rooted to the spot, unable to do more than watch as Fang's tattoo seemed to stretch and.. pull off her skin. It expanded as it did so, becoming a roiling mass of inky darkness.
Fang fell backward, weak; barely conscious. She was too far from her lance. Light tried to move, tried to defend her friend, but her muscles wouldn't comply.
The black mass continued to expand and grow limbs, forming into a massive black dragon. It roared, mouth open, the long tusks near its jaw pointed skyward. It spread its wings, rearing up on its hind legs before bringing its taloned forelimbs down with blinding speed. Lightning could only watch and..
"FANG!" She awoke with a start, causing Nyx to give her a concerned look. She blinked, staring at the wall of the cave, trying to regain her bearings. "It was only a dream.." she murmured to herself, wiping the cold sweat from her face.
Nyx purred softly as she nuzzled her jaw. Light smiled and hugged the cat to her, glad for the comfort. What an odd dream. Was that supposed to be Bahamut? The similarities to when the Eidolon Bahamut appeared were plain enough. What did it mean? Possibly nothing, she supposed. It could have been a dream borne of fear and anxiety.
She shivered, pulling the cloak tighter around her as she snuggled into Nyx's side again. It was nearly morning. She let her head rest on the cat's shoulder, who didn't seem to mind. They would need to get moving soon. As soon as she could stop shaking.
Once she calmed enough, Nyx quietly got up and exited the cave, returning about ten minutes later with a small kill. It was enough for breakfast between them.
After the meal, they were on the move again. Though they were not deep enough into the mountains to run into anything Light was unable to handle, she could see Wyverns flapping their way across the peaks. Soon things would get much more difficult.
She felt lucky that after several days, the most trouble they'd run into was an odd plantlike creature that had nearly rolled over on Nyx. It didn't seem hostile, and it was far too large and slow to be a threat, but it had been invisible amongst the surrounding brush until Nyx went to investigate the odd smelling 'plant'. They'd escaped damage, and Light hadn't felt the need to see what other defenses the strange creature had, so they moved on without difficulty.
It seemed luck was not going to hold out though as she watched the clouds quickly gather, turning the midday sky into near night time darkness. Without a word, both she and Nyx started sprinting for shelter.
The rain on the plains was sudden and cold, she was used to that, but up here, it brought stronger winds and far more immediate dangers. They'd been fortunate enough to have already found shelter the first time rain had fallen, but it wasn't nearly as nasty as this was looking to be.
The rain started only a moment later, a torrent of icy chill. She followed Nyx and ducked into a cave. It was much larger than any of the others they had visited thus far. She took a moment to catch her breath, only to hear a growl. She looked to Nyx, hoping it was only the feline vocalizing her distaste for the rain, but no, Nyx was crouched down into a battle ready stance, her fur all standing on end, making her look larger. Light pulled her blade, holding the latch so she could flick it into battle position even as she turned to see what had occupied the cave already.
Jabberwockies were grumpy, stubborn creatures by nature. They also had a severe dislike to the elements, as Light had learned during their journey as l'cie. She was unsurprised to find this one would seek shelter from the pounding rain and winds. That knowledge, of course, held little bearing at the moment, seeing as she had no access to elemental magic anymore.
As they stood there, staring each other down, Light realized she could not defeat a jabberwocky on her own without her magic. Mentally she cursed. The only option was to relocate. Either that or taunt the beast out into the rain, but she had a feeling that was going to be near impossible.
"Nyx, let's go!" Quickly she turned, knowing the large feline would be right behind her. She sheathed her blade as she hurried back out into the rain, just barely missing the swipe the Jabberwocky had finally decided to take at her. 'Better luck next time pal,' she smirked to herself as she broke into a near sprint, looking for possible new shelter.
It was nearly a week of on and off rain, occasional snow and a few deadly mudslides. Light was beginning to understand why Fang hadn't returned yet, if it took this long just to go into the mountains. Then assume she found what she was looking for, that would take up some time too.
Well, she was certain the trail she and Nyx were following had been made by Fang, and she was hopeful it was the same trail Fang had meant to follow back out of the mountains. In which case, if she happened to be on her way back, they should cross paths.
Well, she was hopeful anyhow.
It was hard enough just following the trail. The mudslides had washed away one of the markers overnight after they had passed it. It made Light wonder if others had been destroyed in some way.
As it was, they'd been stuck in yet another small cave for the last two days. Light was unhappy about stalling her progress, but there was little to be done about it. She didn't have the resources to continue on through the rain. She'd had to leave the majority of the hunting up to Nyx as well. From what Fang had told her, canthors were habitually mountain creatures and she was far hardier against the crazy weather than Light was.
She didn't seem to mind anyway, she'd always return with enough meat for them both and then she'd calmly settle on the rocks to preen away the water stuck in her fur. Usually, by the time she was fully dry, Light had her own meal prepared, and the two would eat together.
Once the rains finally cleared, they were free to move again. Still, they had to deal with the aftermath of the rains. Mudslides had blocked their path, riverbeds had overflowed their banks. Nyx was having a hard time following the scent trail, though Light hadn't been certain how she was following it in the first place.
"We should have found a marker by now." She grumbled to herself in frustration. Had they strayed? Would they have to double back?
"Mrew," Nyx noted in her 'don't doubt me' tone as she padded off a few yards ahead and started sniffing around some more. Light followed along slowly, watching as she nosed her way under a fallen tree.
Abruptly she pulled herself out and happily cried, "Mrew!" as if calling Light over to see her triumph.
Light indeed went to see what she'd found, but it wasn't what she was expecting. There was no mark in the stone that she could see, but there was an arrangement of old, weathered stones. Light crawled under the tree to get a better look. The stones looked as if they had been in the same position for a very long time. A fire pit? Perhaps. A very large one. The circle looked to be nearly two meters wide. Why would anyone need a pit that large?
At the altitude they were at, she could imagine it might have been a signal flare, but for what? Was the Yun village close by?
Light wriggled her way out from under the tree and pulled herself up on top of it. She looked down at what she could see of the circle from above, then at the rock faces around it. If it was a signal fire, there were only two directions it could have been seen from, one of which they had been travelling from. She'd seen no ruins or anything along the way, so probably a safe bet it was not in that direction. She made up her mind. "That way Nyx. Let's keep going." The large cat lopped off ahead, seemingly happy to have found a clue.
