Don't Fall, part 17
FIC START!
The next morning, Sakinah and Kain had breakfast, and under Edward's orders, were given backpacks full of supplies from potions and remedies, to cooking supplies and camping gear. Harley drove them to the base of the mountain on the hovercraft, and the duo started their hike up the peak of Mount Hobbs, and left them there for them to start their long hike.
Immediately, Sakinah knew what Edward had meant about the mountain being full of monsters. She kept close to Kain as he asked her to, providing assistance how she could. A few casts of Thunder and swings of her boomerang as he took down large groups of creatures with his spear. She felt more confident after all the battles they had together. As the two of them grew closer, their Thunder Thrust band grew much more potent, too. Sakinah felt as if this adventurer's lifestyle was exciting, even though she missed her office. Even atop a mountain like this, the sky still seemed the same.
"Are you all right?" Kain asked, looking over to her. "You've fought hard today."
"I'm not going to be dead weight," she said through heavy breathing. Boy, was she tired. Especially her shoulders. She wasn't used to throwing her boomerang yet, but she'd get there eventually. "I refuse to put any more stress on you than I should."
"Sakinah, I don't mind if you need help…" he answered her, putting his hand on her shoulder to offer her a bit of comfort. "…in fact, I expect it. You're still gaining battle and adventuring experience."
Sakinah turned to hug around him tightly so suddenly that it caught him off guard. "Thank you, Kain."
"Any time…" he said, returning the gesture.
Soon the skies grew darker, which meant they would have to set up camp. Kain directed her to a magical glyph carved into the rocks which would prevent monsters from touching anything within the field it created. It was there that the two set up a campfire and a tent.
Sakinah sat there next to the fire, staring up at the sky. Very cloudy. It could easily become a storm. This was something she spent a lot of time watching back home, and even now, as she had spent so long doing it, it was a hard habit to break.
"I believe it will be a heavy rain this night," Kain said quietly. He watched the sky, but he did not know as much about the workings of the weather as his companion did. He was reminded of his many days upon Mount Ordeals, doing this same sort of thing every night, during his training and self exile from Baron. He was always drawn towards the sky, even as a child. Kain then thought of how wonderful it was to ride on the back of his father's wyvern, just to be able to soar through the sky. It was because of that, and his family's history, that he decided to become a dragoon in the first place. "What say you, Miss Skyreader?"
"Easily, it could rain," she agreed. "Is the tent rainproof?"
"Mm. Nothing to worry about. All tents and cottages are."
"...is it true you lived on the mountainside for seventeen years?" Sakinah's question seemed to come out at random.
"Yes," he replied, toking the fire a bit more. It crackled loudly and the flames grew stronger, all the while the skies rumbled with thunder above.
"How did you live? What did you eat?"
"Very simply. There were days I would go down the mountain and visit Mysidia just to eat with the gil I would find during my daily training with the monsters, but I wore a disguise to keep myself from being recognized at the local inn I frequented," Kain answered. "Otherwise, I ate whatever I could find off the land. Berries, fruits, mushrooms, whatever I could find. And at the end of the day, I'd sleep either in the Chocobo Forest to the south of the mountain, or in a tent on top of one of these-" he pointed at the glyph on the ground which was the center of their safe space. "-like any other adventurer." He looked over at her. "I will prepare stew, if you'd like."
"With what?"
"Monster meat, obviously. All I carry now are the spices. The recipes are made with things we find along the way to make the travel easier," he said. "Are you hungry? Is that not why you asked?"
"...I asked because I've never even been on a mountain like this before, and I found it fascinating that anyone could have lived out here for so long. Meanwhile, I spent most my life in a castle. Eyes on the sky, but… never stopping to notice that there's a whole world down here around my feet," Sakinah said, putting her hands on the mountain rock she sat upon. Even though she was so far away from Troia, she knew the Earth Crystal still glimmered brightly in the Troian Castle. She could still feel its warm steady pulse, as if the crystal was reassuring her that this was exactly where she needed to be. "Though, yes, I will admit, I am quite hungry."
"After such a long trek, it makes sense," Kain said, picking up his spear. "I shall return in just a moment, my lady." He then walked out of the safety area provided by the glyph and vanished, which Sakinah figured was probably his signature Jump technique.
She watched, though since the sun had gone down, it was much harder to see out there. Sakinah figured the monsters were all the same as the ones they had faced on their way up here, but he was gone for an awfully long amount of time. She listened to the snarls of monsters, with the scraping of claws and the slithering made of scales against the solid rock of the mountain. She held her breath. There were obviously monsters out there, and Kain still had not come back down yet. She would have heard his voice or the spear or his boots - something to signal he was there and alive. It frightened her until she heard the blood curdling screech of a monster which might have actually been larger than she was.
Kain soon reappeared holding a huge chunk of meat provided by a monster he had slain. "Time to prepare this meat," he said, flopping it down against the ground. "We'll eat very well tonight with this much meat between just the two us."
"I thought… something had happened to you…"
"I've fought greater than this thing. There is nothing for you to worry about." Kain said, using a knife to remove all the fur and skin from the rest of the muscle. "Now, you rest, and I'll get to cooking this."
