Disclaimer: I own nothing in Final Fantasy.
"You know, if you hadn't come to kidnap Chrysta, this wouldn't have happened!" Mint said irritably to the dark knight.
"I doubt it," Cecil said with a soft sigh. "If anything, that would have only delayed her capture."
The black mage didn't look convinced and instead sent a glare in the knight's direction. "And how do you know that?"
"Remember that Baron has an allegiance with the Gestahlian Empire now. If I hadn't been sent to capture her, someone else would have been." Before the redhead could question further, he added, "If it wasn't the Red Wings that came by, you would have likely seen the Gestahlian Soldiers with their Magitek Armor. And the anger you have toward me now would be geared to someone else."
Mint, who was unable to come up with anything else to say, grumbled a little and fell silent.
It wasn't just her though. Everyone was a little grumpy in their own way from the heat and from riding the chocobos so long. It seemed to take its toll on King Edgar as well who lived in his desert kingdom his whole life.
Deep in the back of her mind, Chrysta knew that she was tired of always constantly running. But she knew it was being done out of necessity. She could do some magic, but not very much of it. It wasn't nearly enough to protect herself, especially against the many soldiers that were likely giving chase at this very moment.
Mint was probably the most irritable and she was taking it out on Cecil. The dark knight did his best to try to explain himself better, but it seemed that she still didn't trust him yet. Tina seemed to be looking around, mostly with uncertainty on her face, as though there were many things she didn't know. While Chrysta was in the same boat as her, it did little to calm her. Locke looked over his shoulder every once and a while, relieved that the girls were safe, not knowing that Edgar sent a look of sympathy his way.
Edgar turned his gaze quickly in front of him. "There should be an oasis up ahead," he called to the group. "We should rest there while we can and fill our canteens."
For the briefest instant, this confused Chrysta, even though she wasn't quite sure why. Was it her 'stories' again? She couldn't say for sure. All she knew was that it seemed a little strange to her that there should be an oasis in this particular desert. After a moment, she shook her head, quickly reminding herself what she said in her that dream she had. That it had to be a combination of what she knew.
It wasn't long until the oasis came into full view. A couple palm trees could be seen around some water that was just so inviting. After coming to a full stop and everyone dismounted, Mint quickly made her way to one of the trees in order to get out of the desert sun. Tina, who was looking at the oasis as though it was the first time she had seen one, ended up following the black mage's lead.
Cecil and Edgar went to work in filling their canteens. They had no idea how much longer they were going to be here and needed to be prepared. Locke meanwhile glanced over at Chrysta, who hadn't left her chocobo's side. He couldn't help but smile as he saw the girl ruffling the bird's yellow feathers, which made it let out a happy sounding 'kweh.'
It was at that moment that the sounds of footsteps caught their attention. "Did those soldiers catch up to us already?" Cecil inquired as he stood.
"It does seem too soon and we can't take any chances," Edgar said with a nod of his head.
As everyone got their feet, they started looking around for places to hide. There wasn't much they could do however, since the tress could only provide so much shelter. Before any of them can get very far, a voice floated out to them.
"Locke? Is that you? It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Locke's eyes widened a little. "That voice?" he whispered. He turned around and couldn't help a smile. Standing before him was a young blonde haired man with blue eyes and a monkey like tail, wearing blue clothes. "Zidane!"
The man named Zidane only smiled as the two of them placed their right fists underneath their left wrists. Chrysta tilted her head a little and repeated the motion. It seemed so familiar that she did it on instinct, and it felt natural to do.
"Do you know him?" Cecil questioned as he approached the two. Everyone else exchanged glances and stepped forward as well.
"Yeah, he is with this group that I was with for a brief time," Locke said with a nod of his head.
Edgar rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I seem to remember you said you were with the Tantalus Theatre Troupe. I never did quite understand why, considering..."
"Maybe they are thieves as well?" Tina guessed, tilting her head slightly and curiously.
Before Locke could correct her with the usual term, Chrysta quickly nodded her head and spoke without thinking. "Yeah, Tantalus is a group of thieves under the guise of a theater troupe."
Zidane turned his gaze to the two girls. He couldn't help staring at them for a moment, before he quickly regained his composure. "And how do you know that?"
Chrysta suddenly looked nervous. She knew she could just say her stories, but she was beginning to hate using that. Only because even she didn't understand what she meant by that anymore, only following what she heard the Crystal Core say, at least in this case.
"We don't have time for this," Edgar said, looking at Zidane for a brief moment. "If we wait around for too long, the imperial soldiers will catch up to us!"
"Need any help?" Zidane quickly offered. Before any of them could respond he said, "You don't need a reason to help someone in need!"
Locke smiled a little. "You always say that, Zidane. But if you could help, we'd be grateful. Is the Prima Vista nearby?"
The mention of the Prima Vista caused Chrysta to gulp a little bit and even she wasn't sure why this was the case. Even so, she felt as though Zidane could be trusted. Sure he was probably a thief if what she heard from the Crystal Core was correct. But somewhere deep down, she knew his offer was genuine. And yet, why did hearing about the Prima Vista make her feel so nervous?
"Yeah, it's pretty close to here," Zidane answered, not noticing the brunette's worry. Even if he did, he wouldn't know what she was thinking at the time. He waited for the group to mount their chocobos again and motioned for them to follow.
"Um, if I may ask, why are you in the desert?" Tina inquired.
"We needed to get some Sand Pearls," the thief answered.
Before he could continue, Mint couldn't help cringing. "Desert fever?" she guessed.
"Yeah, how did you know?" Zidane asked looking over his shoulder at the black mage. Like before, he had to quickly stop himself from staring. Locke sighed a little. Now he was wondering if Zidane only offered because he thought the girls were cute.
Mint didn't seem to notice and instead shivered a little despite the heat. "I had it not too long ago," she answered. "I was coming from Mysidia to see Chrysta, but I started feeling really sick. Once I set foot on the desert sand, it got worse. I was lucky to reach Figaro Castle before I collapsed."
At that moment, Cecil put two and two together, as he recalled when he first saw Mint again, a soldier said that she had only just recovered. So this was what he meant.
"Yeah, that happened to some of the others," Zidane went on. "Well, getting sick and stepping on the desert sand, I mean. Marcus, Blank and Cinna all came down with it."
"Well, those Sand Pearls will make them better," the black mage said. "Though it may take some time."
"As long as they get better, that's good enough for me," Zidane remarked, his tail swishing as he walked.
For the briefest instant, Chrysta wondered if she knew where Sand Pearls came from. And immediately she got her answer. "The Sand Pearls can only be found during the full moon. They are made when the Antlions lay their eggs."
Though she didn't get the full explanation as to why this was the case, that was good enough for her.
Author's Note: I don't know when I will be able to update again. I'm having a bout of writer's block right now. Hopefully, it won't last too long!