Leaving The Island
Christie jumped when I shot up in the bed, shouting loudly and panting and shaking. She got a fright and stepped back while I tried to regain my bearings, shaking from the nightmare. It took me a while but I calmed down and looked at Christie, who had her hands at her chest in worry.
"Sorry mate," I breathed. It was just a nightmare, I told myself, sighing and shaking my head. "Fucking fuck face fuck."
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yeah. Bad dream," I said, trying to shake it off. "What's up?"
"We're waiting for Yuna. Grace asked me to get you before we leave," Christie said. "We'll be going to the boat soon, I think Wakka said it was going to Kilika before Luca or something like that." Boats. Fucking boats. Fucking water.
"Ah fucking fuck shit bugger," I cursed. Christie just stood and watched me as I swore. Ugh I fucking hated water; I hated boats. I looked at Christie, knowing she was confused. We hadn't talked about it. Well I talked to it with Cid and Rikku and some of the other Al Bhed. "I hate water."
"You hate water?" Christie repeated, slightly confused. "But if you hate it then why were you on the ship?"
"We had all decided that I force myself on that boat," I grumbled. "But when I was a kid I nearly drowned and I hate going near water but I'm in a shit position because I don't want to stay on this fucking island," I got up and made sure I had everything on me. "But the only way off is a bloody boat and the sooner I'm on the mainland the happier I'll be," Double check everything's there. "Right, let's go." We both walked out of the tent with Grace, Wakka, Lulu and Tidus waiting for us.
"Hey. Sleep good?" Grace asked.
"Can't complain," I lied, shrugging. That dream was niggling at the back of my head but I was trying to ignore it. It felt real but most of my dreams that involve drowning are too realistic. "So we off soon?" I noticed Yuna walking up to us as I was talking. She looked nervous but happy at the same time. She wore a smile on her face all the same.
"Ready?" Wakka asked the Summoner.
"Yes," She answered quickly before bowing to the village as a way of saying goodbye. I knew there would be villagers waiting to say goodbye at the boat so this was going to be all tears there. Something I really could be going without. I could also be going without sitting on a boat until we reach Luca but I can't have everything.
"Hey how you feeling about fighting?" I asked Christie as we headed out the village and up to the hill. We'd only practised for a few hours yesterday and she was only able to get a hang on basic kicks and punches. Sure it was something but it wasn't enough for the whole Pilgrimage.
"I'd rather not get close enough for them to eat me," She replied.
"You'll knock them for six before they get the chance," I told her. She didn't have a lot of background in fighting but she had an odd talent for hitting hard and was picking it up quickly. She looked at me with a half smile, still not confident in fighting and that I could understand I mean she wasn't from a background where she fought. Neither were me and Grace but she was a dancer and worked with that and my dad got me into clay pigeon shooting. "Hey how's the Toxin?"
"Um, it's okay I guess," Christie said. "I still can't make sense of what happened before Zanarkand, what happened to my family or where they were." It did get me to thinking, how long would Sin's Toxin take to wear off? I mean, I had no idea how long it would last for her, if she'd ever remember everything, if she knew what Spira was on our world. Grace certainly didn't. I was the only one who seemed to know what Spira was in relation to Earth. I had told myself not to tell them; it would only confuse things more. I didn't know how they first handled being taken from Earth but we didn't need things to fuck up after they've settled. I guess we had to find a way back now, and find out why we were picked out of the millions and millions of people in the world.
Everyone went to the small shrine to pray for a safe trip. Everyone but me and Christie did it, I stood and watched while Christie shifted from foot to foot, unsure if she should join in or not. We stood at the back, knowing no one would see us not praying. It took a while for everyone to stop and start heading down the path towards the beach. I wasn't looking forward to going on that boat, which is probably what brought on the nightmare.
The nightmare was just another drowning one, I've had recurring nightmares since I was a kid. You just learn to live with them. It felt a bit different from the other nightmares though. It was in the Via Purifico, I was running until I reached water and jumped in, trying to find an exit but it started to become darker and the walls were getting closer. When I tried to turn back I couldn't and I felt my chest tightening and my lungs filling up with water until I was near death. Then I woke up. Why it was in the Via Purifico I wasn't sure, maybe because of being in Spira the scenario changed. Maybe.
It was still quite early and the sun was just coming up. This would probably be the pattern of the entire Pilgrimage: up early, bed late. Well we had a lot of ground to cover to reach Zanarkand. It was a long way from here. At least we didn't have to back track like some Summoners.
"You know I think if we run into a bunch of fiends Yuna should call her Aeon," Grace suggested while we were walking along the path. "Put that training into practice."
"That's not a bad idea, ya," Wakka agreed. "You think you're ready, Yuna?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," The Summoner smiled. I'd been around the Al Bhed too long because I was actively thinking about kidnapping Yuna and taking her to the Sanctum. I'd actually met a couple of Summoners down there before, angry at the Al Bhed for kidnapping them. It was for their own good, instead of dying senselessly.
"Tidus!" Christie called and we turned around, Kimahri and Tidus having a fight a fair bit behind us. Well he would doddle behind. We headed towards them, hoping to stop the fight before one of them got seriously damaged. By one of them I meant Tidus.
"That's enough!" Wakka yelled. The Ronso relaxed his stance, as much as a Ronso could, and started to walk away.
"What's with that guy?" Tidus asked breathlessly.
"Kimahri Ronso, of the Ronso Tribe," Lulu said. "He has learned the fiend's way of fighting."
"That's not what I meant," Tidus told her.
"What is it with you and being mistaken for a fiend?" I asked him, laughing a bit.
"Kimahri's one of Yuna's Guardians," Wakka said. Tidus made a noise of understanding and Yuna laughed.
"Sometimes we don't understand him either," She said. "Kimahri doesn't talk much anyway. But he's protected me since I was a child. He was actually the one who brought me to Besaid."
"That your first time seeing a Ronso, ya?" Wakka asked Christie and Tidus. "They live on Mount Gagazet, but they've got their own Blitzball team. Thought you would have known, ya?"
"Probably just the Toxin," Grace said. "I think we should all get going, the sooner we leave the better." The sooner we leave the sooner we're off the fucking boat.
I trailed at the back when we arrived on the beach, mentally bracing myself for the trip on the boat. When Christie was asking about it they were saying how it would take three days to reach Kilika if the weather was good. Then it would be about four of five from Kilika to Luca, depending on if we left in the morning or later on in the day. Over a week on a boat, I'll be failing miserably at repressing panic attacks and things like that. The joys of being a hydrophobic. The sooner I see Luca the happier I'll be.
"Hey! Come on!" Christie called from the ramp. I stood at the start of the pier, bracing myself to walk across it. The same happened when I was on the ramp to get on the salvage ship, too. Rikku was saying they should knock me out and drag me on. Balls out, not a bad idea. Christie was looking at me expectantly, as though she was encouraging me to do it.
I kept my eyes firmly on the wooden planks, taking very slow steps, ignoring the crying people but the sound of the waves were still in my ears. I was physically pushing myself forward and probably looked like a twat the way I was walking. When I did get on the boat I let out a breath that I was holding the entire time.
"Nice work," Christie said. Nice work? I made myself look like a fucking tit getting on this boat. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I'm going to pass out," I told her. The sight of all that water, yeah I'm feeling sick and faint. "I'm heading to the cabins. If I don't see the water that might help."
"Good idea, I'll come down later," Christie smiled. She meant well, she was nice kid. I started to carefully make my way towards the cabins, getting the sight of water away from me.
