Prompt: #36 Wind

Summary: Their time is coming to a close.

A/N: The Lost Series

Ventosus is Latin for, "windy, breezy".

Ventosus

"You are intangible."

"How do you mean?"

"One minute I think I understand you and the next, I have no idea what you will do or say next."

"Like a mystery hero that is simply irresistible."

"More like trying to catch wind in a jar," she corrects with a deep sigh.

"Are you warm enough?"

"See? Right there," she says, trying to make her point. "You pretend not to care and then you do."

"I did say that I like you," he reminds her.

As if she were going to be forgetting that any time soon. Her heart still flutters from recalling them.

"Because I am your entertainment."

"Were you expecting me to fawn and coddle you?" he asks and if his tone were not enough of an indication of how disgusted and appalled he thought such a thing, his face is. The notion seems downright distasteful to him.

So, it obviously, raised her blood pressure in response.

"Have I implied that I wanted such treatment from you?" she demands.

"What are you implying then, Princess?"

"Can't you just be civil?"

"Like all those other phony diplomats that we are both subjected to all day long?" he asks, with a scoff. "You want me to pretend?"

"I would rather you not be ridiculous," she snaps back. The very suggestion that he pretend anything, let alone imitating those miscreants is cringe worthy. As annoying as he can be, she could truthfully say that he has never been false. Fickle, confusing, exasperating and annoying, yes. But never fake. He was nothing at all like the men at court. He was nothing like any man she had ever met.

"You are getting away from the point," he says in a chiding tone that sounds full of obliging patience.

"Which is?"

"Are you warm enough now?" he asks again, quirking his eyebrow in that way that tests her patience and she grits her teeth when she realizes that this time, it was her fault that they were off subject to begin with. "I ask because your shakes would be to your disadvantage when we are attacked in about five minutes."

"What?"

"We are currently being surrounded and they will be making a move shortly," he says with casual boredom in his tone. How mundane he made it all sound. "So, I ask yet again, are you warmed up enough?"

"How many are there?"

"A lot," he says and that does not sound very good at all.

"But, it's still storming out there," she says dumbly.

"It seems, they have gotten smarter and are prepared for that. Probably trying to take advantage of our weakened state," he comments with a shrug. "They do not come alone this time either."

So, a countless number of opponents and a Bahamut to make things even more interesting. Well, outings with him were never in fear of a dull moment, were they? If she cannot say anything else, she can truthfully state that this entire interlude with him has been the most exciting of her life. She does not think she will ever forget this entire experience with him.

"I think you will find me quite able to handle myself," she states.

"Best keep that fiery spirit," he advises with a smirk.

"Don't I always," she replies just the right amount of cheek.

He gives her a brief nod and approaches her with a large rock in his hand in offering.

"Here," he says, motioning for her to take it. "If they get past me, this may deter them if you land a blow to the head."

Then he makes his way to the mouth of the cave to give her a moment to herself. An unspoken courtesy which has been one of many that he has given her during the course of their time together. Something else that is endearingly considerate of him. Which was so the opposite of how he spoke to her.

"Our journey together reaches it's end, Princess," he says with his back to her. "And when it has, you need to go to those you trust. Only to those that you trust."

"What is it that you have been keeping from me?" she asks gently. Not in her usual annoyed tone. "Will you finally tell me?"

He releases a sigh and she can tell that he will not try his usual diversion this time. Which means that whatever he is about to say will be spoken with absolute seriousness. This observation has her bracing herself for something she knows must be terrible.

"For many years now my friends and I have suspected that certain people in the government, my government, has been experimenting," he pauses, seeming to consider his next words. "They were testing people. People like us." He turns to look at her pointed, as if to wordlessly make the point of just what kind of people they were targeting for these experiments. "Our investigation has made a lot of headway the last few weeks and this lame attempt at getting rid of me tells me two things. One, that they know I am on to them. Two, they are also targeting you too."

"What are they doing it for?"

"I do not know for sure. I do not even know who the leader is," he says, frustration evident in his voice. "I only know him by the name, The Wise One."

"The Wise One," she repeats. The codename strikes a cord of recognition in her. "Is he…?"

"He's a priest. The priest," he clarifies. "The one that has been running a menace in the background for ages."

"No one has ever caught or seem him," she states.

"I do not have to look anymore," he replies with a glint in his eye. "I know he will be coming for me."

"What does he want with you?"

He shrugs as if its of little consequence. As if that little detail that did not worry him over much.

"He seems to want you too."

"Me?" she asks, not sure if she believes that. "It cannot just be that I can channel the Crystal too."

"That probably is one of the reasons," he says with a quirk of his lips that say he has lost his seriousness again.

"Why are you so sure he wants me?" she asks instead of taking the bait for that remark.

"I would think that were obvious, Princess," he says, looking far too pleased with himself and not making a lick of sense by looking so either. "Now, no more dallying. They come swiftly and we need to be in position. Stay close to me and you will be all right."

"Position?" she asks, thinking that they were already in a good position where they were in the cave.

The expectant look he shoots her galvanizes her to step up beside him anyway.

"Not much longer now, Princess," he says, handing her his sharp dagger too. Now she has a weapon in both hands and she is not sure how much help they can really be when there are so many against them outside, no doubt, fully armed.

"I never know what you mean," she says with a long suffering sigh.

The first bullet to fly past them makes an echoed 'ping' sound as it just misses their heads. Soon followed by a whole barrage of them. Cutting off any further opportunity to talk, they both spring into defensive action. She makes sure to keep to his side in an attempt to give themselves as much of an advantage as possible. They would only make it out of this if they worked together. No more petty bickering. They were unison now.

"I suppose you have a plan considering we are at a gross disadvantage," she states over the ringing of the many bullets trying to hit them. "Being that our powers are useless with the storm and I only a rock and knife while you have one knife."

"We use what we have and improvise," he says as if that solves the entire mystery. He makes sure she is properly shoved back behind him just before the barrel of a long gun appears close to their faces. Quick as lightning he whacks the barrel at an upwards angle, catching their first assailant cleanly in the face before swinging it around smoothly and shooting the man dead.

Reaching back, he thrusts the gun into her chest, causing her to drop her rock, before jumping back into position to gain another gun from the next assailant and firing into the barely visible sheets of rain. She shoves his dagger into the pocket of her pants and starts to fire from her newly acquired weapon, she spies him take down one opponent after another in quick succession before leaping down from rock to rock as graceful as if on strings, dodging bullets along the way and firing back. If she had heard of anyone doing such a thing she would have thought they were exaggerating the details. She had never thought it would be possible to even attempt such a dangerous maneuver but there he was and if she were not so intent on offering him some kind of cover, she would gawk at him. She is not sure what scares her most, that he can fight just as lethally as if his powers were not necessary to make him so efficient a killer or of him breaking his fool neck for taking such a risk with such methods. Or maybe it is because she finds him utterly glorious as he does and she needs to follow his lead.

"I must be crazy too," she mutters to herself just before she runs into the open and begins her own long hurtle downward to follow him.

To her immense relief, she finds that the boulders are not as slippery as they appear, considering that there is a lot of rushing water saturating them. If anything, the extra slipperiness actually helps in dodging the many bullets that are currently flying about her as she hops, leaps and jumps from each boulder in a quick descent that would have scared her had she not been so much more afraid of getting shot. One other advantage with the heavy rain is that the aim of their attackers could not be accurate with it hindering their targeting. She manages to stay on her feet, but stumbles as she hits the ground before following behind Noctis into the thickness of the trees.

"Do not look back!" he shouts, taking her hand and zigzaging swiftly between the trees. Bullets splinter the rough bark and she has to cover her face as they run.

"Are we trying to get our selves killed so that they cannot capture us?"

"They are not shooting to kill," he answers over his shoulder. "And they will not follow us when they have unleashed the Bahamut now."

Her eyes look up just in time to see the large winged creature make its first pass above them with a loud roar of challenge. From her vantage, the creature looks double in size and she has never wished for her powers more than in that moment.

"Keep moving," he advises loudly, without breaking his stride.

How he can make his way with such low visibility is astounding. It is like he had lived out here in this endless sea of green all his live. Yet, it is this surety in his step that earns her trust, has had it from the beginning, to continue following his lead without protest.

"Quick as the wind you accuse me of being," he comments cheekily.

"How can you joke at a time like this?"

"Pro does it all the time," he replies. "It helps…but, he's better at it than I am."

The Bahamut makes another sweep, this time blasting out a ball of blue fire as it does.

Noctis tugs at her hand with a hard jerk and leads her towards a section of thinner trees as they narrowly miss the ones that are collapsing and it is only when she sees where he is leading them that she tries to snatch her hand back.

"But he will see us!"

"Not just him!" he yells back, keeping a firmer hold of her hand as he pulls her along with him again.

"What are you talking about?" she shouts over the roaring and the thundering. Then, she can hear it, faintly. She can hear something else. A noise that leveled just above the sounds of the storm.

An airship!

A loud canon booms, causing the Bahamut to make a swift retreat in the opposite direction as three dark objects fly out of the cargo hold. Dark objects that... are not objects at all. People. Those are people. Three men!

"Ah! The cavalry's here," announces Noctis, with a pleased chuckle, bringing them to a momentary half as he tries to see in which direction they would make their landing.

"Why are they jumping out of the airship?" she asks, recognizing who they are instantly now.

"They were only hitching a ride."

"So, now we are five in a drenching storm with no shelter and no powers," she cannot help but bring out. Seeing as this is the same man that had been worried about whether she were warm enough just a few minutes before.

"No worries, Princess," he says pointing at the parachuting forms of his friends. Then he is pulling her along with him again. "You do not know Ignis like I do. He prepares for everything."

"Everything?" she asks, daring to hope by how optimistic he looks now.

"Everything," he answers. "I would bet my life on it."

Then she is only left to stare at him quizzically as he starts to holler out a greeting to his friends.