Rock-a-bye baby...
She knew she was different. From a very young age, she had felt her power and knew it was there. It was hers to control, and it was all hers. No one else knew about it. So she just smiled and kept it a secret. No one knew, not the lady that held her hand when she left the dirty place, the little boy that sat in the corner and pouted, the blonde- headed jerk that liked to try to knock her over- he never succeeded- or the tall girl with golden hair that chased him off when he tried. And neither did the people who came and, out of all those golden children, took her, the pale moon out of them.
No one knew.
No one but the little boy that grinned and nearly smothered her with a bear hug and had to be pried off when she went into the small house.
He had the power, too.
But that wasn't right. It was her power. Not his! But she couldn't tell him this with her stuttered speech, and he wouldn't care anyway. He would just let out that stupid grin and show her the leaf that he had fried or the glass formed in the sand when he missed. At least his lightning couldn't hurt her wind; then again, a dust storm, no matter how artfully done, did nothing to electricity.
In the treetops...
Legs swinging gracefully from her perch high in the clouds, ruby eyes closed as she concentrated on looping her wind in ornate patterns. Slim hand moves out slowly, dreamily to lightly snatch a fluorescent blossom from the spot beside her. She leapt gracefully from her branch, breeze buffeting and protecting her, easing her way down.
"Fuj! Hey Fuj-in! I know you're out here, ya know!"
Muscles tensing, then relaxing at the voice, stance annoyed. No one knew her secret place to escape but her. And now him, it looked like. She awaited his infallible coming; slender arms folded in display of aggression.
"Hey, Fuj!"
"…-in," she corrected softly, not that it ever made a difference.
"Do you know what day it is?" continuation without a beat skipped.
That halted her for a moment. It wasn't her birthday, or Raijin's. It wasn't Hallow's Eve, it wasn't Rain Night and there were no Dragon Festivals this time of year. "No…"
"It's Saturday, ya know!" He beamed at her, grinning.
…Saturday. Ok…. "And…?"
"It's Saturday!" Same maniacal grin.
The silver goddess allowed a small smile and shook her head. He was such an idiot, but it was… nice, sometimes. "Yeah, ok. Want to go to town?"
"YEAH! Ya know! Com'n!" Happy figure leaped into the air, then grabbed his sister's hand, pulling the amused girl behind him.
When the wind blows…
A fever raced across her frail body, visions of color and shapes dancing in her head. The slightest sound chased her dreams into a frenzy, intensifying the pain. Nights and days passed unnoticed, the doctors were fewer and far between, people melted and melded into each other, all the same. None knew that she needed to feel the wind roaring around her face, the gentle breeze ruffling her hair. In her delirium, she stepped off to find this, slipping unnoticed away. Rainbows of light danced before her eyes, flashes of color drew her away, but she always stayed on her task- get to her winds. Fallen from exhaustion, still believing she persued, her hand closed around something, eyes clearing for a moment. It was a rock, just a plain, ordinary one, but she liked it. There was something scratched into the side, resembling Here, but she resolved to carve Wind into it. A small smile appeared on her face and she closed her eyes in sleep for the first time since here fever started.
The cradle will rock…
Shouts of terror and pain, and running, feet pounding unrelenting dirt, mud, churning red with more then the fire in the air. Gasping for breath, air not reaching lungs. A ruby glance behind her assured her parents were following, one to the front for her brother, unusually fast in the face of death. Bloodied roar behind her, a scream of pain. One less following…
"NO!" Wind raised in tearing and hate at the beast charging after her, seemingly ineffective. Her most powerful storms surrounding her, licked with tongues of lightning, did nothing to the raging jaw, clawed feet. A roar of triumph, then tearing pain at her face, her throat, a heavy scream behind her, then black…
When the bow breaks…
"You're not fitting in here… we don't have the resources to deal with your problems… but this might help, we received this brochure… great for… orphans such as yourself and, stepbrother I believe? You might want to look at it, here…" The principal's voice droned on. Eye barely focused on the pamphlet thrust in her face, but then she sat up slowly, gazing at the picture. A magnificent, mysterious building, bright colors and lights flashing around it was in view. In the back, she could see trees, forests, the ocean, places to escape to.
"…fighting school… Garden…" Garden. Yes, this was it.
"GO, YES."
"Really? I'll have to get all the paperwork done, and I'm sure you'll want to confer with, er, Raijin, so…"
"NO. GO."
"Ok then… I'll do what I can. I hope you'll be thankful."
Grim smile. Fujin, Fujin No-Last-Name now, was thankful for nothing now. But this would be something to go for, something right. Life was brightening again.
The cradle will fall…
Stupid T-Rexaurs. Fujin always had something against them, for a reason that she didn't know, and they seemed to know it: the moment she walked into the training center, it was if they lined up to personally to battle with her. This one was being particularly stubborn, and ever her speed was faltering under its many attacks.
A sharp snap of her wrist let loose her bladed circle of death, going up, up… then reversing direction, as the first of the stupid beasts to actually understand knocked it away into the trees.
Slow despair grew on the girl that could not be beat, forced aside quickly. Her wind magic alone would do nearly nothing, but she could be devious. She moved her winds into a fury, picking up rocks, stones, branches, hurling them at the startled creature, which turn and ran. Smug smile grew on lips, fading as neck craned to glance at tree-ridden weapon. Jumping would do no good, nor would climbing the spindly branches. Customary frown appeared, ripped away as suddenly her body left the ground, piercing pain blossoming in her side. Thrown violently to the ground, dazed ruby eye raised to meet the golden ones of the mother of the T-Rexaur she had just fought. Cold fear and raze gripped her as she watched, paralyzed, as the creature raised its head for the final blow, then stopped, shuddered, and fell. Senses cleared and she managed to roll out of way with her inhuman like speed, readying herself for the attack that… didn't come. She turned her head slightly, confused, to catch glimpse of the smirking, golden haired snob from science who did nothing but make idiotic, smug comments all day. Turning her ruby glare full on him, he actually seemed to loose some of his holier-then-thou air, smirk sliding to more of an angry grimace. The girl crossed slender arms and waited.
Emerald eyes narrowed in response as she coolly tarried for him to lose his enviable control. "What's your problem, girl? Too superior to actually even look gratified to the person who happens to come by and save your life, huh?"
Only response a shrug and a casually lifted hand. He laughed suddenly, full and self-confidently, clasping her shoulder in a large hand and giving a light shake, something that startled her considerably. Physical contact was not something she often received, especially after she had shown a few people getting her into a fight was not a good idea. She wondered if that's what this was, a fight, and tensed in preparation.
A strange look. "I'm not going to beat you up, you know." Ya know.
Maybe he wasn't. She relaxed slightly, and he took this as a good sign. "What's you name?"
"FUJIN." Short reply, a little loud. She wasn't much of a talker, it seemed like. "What are you doing fighting T-Rexaurs without a weapon?"
She tensed up again. God, what was this girl's problem?! Fujin shrugged again and pointed upwards. "UP THERE."
He craned his neck to look at it and whistled. "How'd that happen?"
"CARE, WHY?"
He shrugged. "You can fight and you don't take crap from anybody. Now, do you want that thing down or what?
He could have almost sworn she smiled.
And down will come baby…
"…posse." The silver haired woman finished desperately, eyes locked on the verdant ones above her, pleading where she never had before. The resolution shone brightly in them, and she knew it was too late, that it hadn't mattered.
"It's been fun." Fun… not adequate. So, he was giving them up. A sharp pain shot through her as she turned to go, as it had that one day, long before… but this time she would not be waiting to die.
She would wait to live.
She would wait until he came back to them.
To her.
Cradle…
She hadn't known when it would happen, only that it would. And suddenly she was in it, that vast plain of emptiness, space stretching into infinity before her. Her wind was still with her, and Raijin was behind her, so everything was fine. She took off at a run, maybe somewhere, somewhere out there, her knight still existed…
A noise behind her, graceful body whipping around to see… nothing.
No Raijin. No anything.
She was truly and absolutely alone.
A life as the outcast had warned her of this, but there was always someone, something; a Raijin, a dog she had once, the stupid stone in her pocket that she carried everywhere for some reason. She reached into her pocket; even that was gone. All that existed was the potential energy, waiting to be released, which flowed around her in the absence of her winds. Power that she could not reach or command.
So she ran.
Ran until her heart would burst; her legs give out, until the scenery changed, melding into a forest like in a dream. Vaguely familiar; here a large boulder, there a tree stump, there… a broken fence. She knew what was coming, and there it was; a T-Rexaur, young and arrogant. Her Shirukin was up in a tree, of course. But this was familiar, and she wasn't alone.
She smiled, slid hand into the slap on her shirt, withdrawing a smooth, well-worn rock. She turned to Raijin, not any more surprised at being there as she was seeing him. They were always together; nothing would change that.
Now they had one more thing to do before it was all complete.
…and All.
A sharp flick of her wrist sent the line out over the water, to land gracefully on the surface, refusing to sink as always. Almost enough to make her smile at the familiarity of it, stopping at the sight of the fallen knight beside her. He would not have noticed anyway.
The water boiled with a sharp snap as another arching silver body fled through the water, gradually wheeled in as Raijin's expertise conquered it. He held it aloft, gloating.
So she shoved him in the water.
All was right with the world.
The posse was together again.
Finally got it finished! It's a tragedy when you come up with 6 great ideas for fanfics, then not be able to write them! So, what do you think? I think it wasn't too bad, considering I've never actually gotten past Ultimecia #-^ Oh, and I don't own Final Fantasy, I just enjoy free advertising.
I was thinking of writing a story like Rain On Silk (read it if you haven't!) but for Selvine… yes, no?
Thanks!
