Because you asked so nicely TenzouGirl/DemonLynk :)

Sorry it's rubbish and short - I have lost my inspiration T_T


He was dead. He was dead and she knew. The walk to the others was slow, and it was silent. She was smiling to herself - smiling but with teary eyes. Auron kept his eyes on the floor.

Having met with the others, they carried on through the mountain. The scenery was unlike any other that the group had seen before.

The sky was white, bright lights shining through heavy clouds illuminated the area. Gold lines shined through the sky, twinkling and reflecting small orbs of green - reflections of the Calm Lands below. Sometimes the green swirled as the clouds moved, and Auron was reminded again of her bright eyes. The snow was bright, blinding the group. Steam erupted from holes in the floor, and clear hot water created pools in the ground. The ice that formed around the waterfalls ahead was sparkling and blue. The translucent rainbows that filled the area were reminiscent of pyreflies. Of the Farplane.

Auron sighed.

Rikku still wore his coat, holding its hems to her body, as if she were cold. Her eyes however betrayed her thoughts, and Auron could tell she was looking for comfort, rather than warmth. The closer they got to the summit, the closer Yuna's death became.
Each new sight, each new area made it all the more real.

Walking onward, the group reached a small cliff-side. Auron focused on the floor, he didn't want them to know how he felt. Taking Yuna to her grave, leading Tidus on this "wild goose chase". How could he be sure that Jecht was still inside Sin? He had felt his spirit when he brought him to Spira, yes, but...Jecht had been dead for ten years. How could he know that Jecht would remember his son? How could he be sure that bringing Tidus to Spira was the right thing to do? Perhaps it was his own selfishness, his own need for home that led him to drag Tidus back to Spira. He had promised both Jecht and Braska he would care for their children - yet as far as he could see, both would be as dead as their parents by the end of the journey.

The Guardians let out a collective gasp, and Auron looked up.

"The Fayth."

Statues of humes clung to a mountainous wall before them, their bodies still as the rocks they were tied to, but emitting an eerie energy - as though they breathed beneath their porcelain features. A blue watery mist swam around the group, pulsating over the fayth statues, and forming a whirlwind pillar nearby.

They were confused, each wondering why the statues were so alive.

Perhaps she had realised now that Auron had seen everything before, perhaps it had finally dawned on her that Auron had lived many lives before she had even drawn her first breath, perhaps she was just curious - but whatever the reason, Rikku had turned to Auron, questioning him with bright, almost frightened, eyes. She was chirpy, but there was something beneath the surface that he had failed to reach yet.

"Hey! You know something don't ya?! Spill the beans!"

"Look not to others for knowledge, this is your journey too." He muttered matter-of-factly, walking quickly ahead. Indeed it was, a treacherous and long one, too long for someone of her age. And, he considered, her life is at risk too. Who was to know who Yuna would choose as her fayth? He sighed. He would not let that happen, not to her.

"Yunie might die, y'know?" her voice was quiet and sad. He could feel her behind him, shaking. Closing his eyes, he tried to think how he could, or should, respond. He hated to hurt her - he wanted to keep her safe. Yet it was he who had agreed to her journeying with them in the first place...Perhaps part of the reason he had accepted Yuna's wish was because he had wanted to watch over Rikku. Once she had opened her eyes and looked at him for the first time, he hadn't wanted to have to stop seeing her. He hadn't wanted to lose that feeling. Selfish of me, he sighed, yet again.

Before he had had chance to respond, Tidus had spoken to Rikku for him. Suddenly he fell to the ground, shouting.

Auron span around quickly, quick enough to watch Rikku throw off his coat and run to Tidus' aid. Part of it stung a little, watching her wipe Tidus' hair from his face, and catching a look of heartbroken concern on her face, Auron wondered why he had ever thought she could consider loving him. Picking up his red coat, he put it back on carefully and slowly, half because of the constant pain his left arm was in - something he never had told the group - and partly because he was focused on Rikku and her reactions.

He was dead. An hour earlier he had confessed his deepest secret to this girl, and now...now she seemed to have shrugged it off as though it was the least of her worries. The last thing that could affect her or bother her. He had trusted her and this was how she repayed him, by ignoring his lifeless features and his memories, and cradling Tidus instead.

Tidus had touched the fayth, and they would tell him what Auron already knew. Tidus was unconscious, but he was alive and well. Tidus was fine. A dream cannot die, Auron muttered under his breath.

Auron's mind wandered back to the young Al Bhed, who was crouching carefully on the rock floor. Why did I ever fall for her? How could I have ever thought loving her was appropriate, let alone considered telling her? He had been by Tidus' side ever since Tidus was a small boy. He had all but raised him, some moments Auron had found himself considering Tidus to be his own son - before he had mentally scolded himself, and reminded himself of his friend's sacrifice. If he had raised this boy, his "half son", then how could he let himself love this young girl beside him, a girl who was even younger than the boy he had watched for ten years? How could he expect her to have understood the gravity of his condition?

Tidus sprung up, and Auron forced himself to leave his thoughts behind. Relaxing, Rikku glanced around for the coat she had made her own, and her eyes widened and shimmered as she spotted the red. Reaching out for the coat, she realised she was clutching the coat tails, and that Auron was wearing it once again.

Feeling a hand rest softly on his leg, Auron looked down to find Rikku staring back up at him. Her eyes swirled with emotion, yet Auron couldn't tell what emotion in particular. She always did this. She always looked at him with those orbs and he always melted. Not now. Not here.

His eyes pierced hers, and she blinked nervously at him. Let go.

Auron grunted, turning quickly and striding ahead with as much menace as he could.

He was hurt, though it pained him even more to admit it. She had thrown his coat off in a split-second, a gesture he had made to her in kindness. He had trusted her and spoken to her, he had shown her a side to him he had never dared to reveal to any of the others they had met on that journey. Yet she repayed him with this. A fool,Auron thought, years of solitude and you fawn over a schoolgirl Auron? Pathetic.

Gagazet's caves lay ahead, a maze of passages much like the web of feelings and memories Auron carried around himself.

Maybe if he stayed away from her he could convince himself that this pathetic romance he had imagined was exactly that - she could never love him, and so he had better not love her.
If he could forget her, perhaps he could leave Spira without a burden or a regret.


Auron's a jealous old miserable man hahaha

He'll cheer up and stop being so emo soooon! haha

The way I see it though, Auron wouldn't be joy and laughter at the end of the pilgrimage anyway. After all, he's going to face Jecht again, he's taking his friends' children to pretty much their own execution...and if Aurikku is real, he's also taking his love interest too ;) Also we all know what Auron does at the end of the pilgrimage too *sob* :'( soooo he's a bit moody at the moment sorry!