********** IV - Better And Better! **********
Selphie, Zell, and Seifer finally reached the eastern shore of the stretch of river, down from 'IMP-Falls', known as 'Morbid Waters'. Before going over the rapids, they had tied themselves to each other, and managed to salvage the canoe and part of their equipment.
Unfortunately, they had lost the tent, the paddles, and what little food they carried.
"Man! That was fun! They should organize excursions this way." Exclaimed Zell.
"Yeah! I wouldn't mind riding the falls again! Woo Hoo!" Joined Selphie.
Seifer kept his peace, for he had realized many things in the past few hours. First, seeing your whole life flash before his eyes was not an experience he cared to repeat. Second, it was incredible what feats you could accomplish, when you are in mortal danger. And finally, he was stuck with two basket cases.
The slow current here allowed fetid foam to cling to the shore's borders, and algae to give the waters an unhealthy greenish taint. There were no fish to be seen, and what puny trees managed to grow looked like something out of a drunken nightmare. They thus understood from where the name 'Morbid Waters' had originated.
Selphie was wearing pants with ample pockets, and produced candy in surprising amounts. Zell's shorts were also a mine of chocolate bars, beef jerky sticks, and even four cans of 'Ifrit-Cola' [The cold drink for hot people].
As night fell, Seifer thought that things were not as bad as they could have gotten, after all. They had eaten relatively well, the evening was warm, and he remembered, from the map, that the two branches of the river joined again after a few miles into one. They would easily find a way to reach camp Two, which was situated near the waterways' union, in the morning.
Furthermore, Fujin would be so happy at seeing him safe and sound, that she would think twice in the future, before bringing him into such hazardous activities. So everything looked quite bright, in his mind.
That was when Zell had the doom-attracting idea of saying, "Well guys, things could be a lot worse, you know. Like, it could rain or something. Yuk! Yuk!"
We all know that it was just a poorly timed event, but at that moment thunder boomed, and a heavy downpour fell from the heavens. The three of them managed to shelter themselves from the deluge under the canoe, realizing that they were in for a most uncomfortable night.
Always the philosophical one, Zell offered, "Well guys, at least things can't get any wor..."
"ZELL, SHUT THE F*CK UP!" Warned Selphie and Seifer.
***** ***** *****
The next morning, at camp Two, it was decided that Rinoa and Squall would go get help, while the rest of the group remained there, in the hopes that the castaways would reappear.
As it was, the sorceress and SeeD commander were just out into the river's waters when they spotted out three friends. In fact, they heard the arguing first, and rowed to meet the trio.
Zell and Seifer were rowing with makeshift paddles, and Selphie stood up, jumping up and down, waving excitedly when she saw her dark-haired friends.
As you would expect, what had to happen, finally happened.
Rinoa and Squall managed to rescue the two men and woman, but lost the canoe, and most of the gear.
The following was a sweet, loving reunion, for the joy and relief of seeing our three friends alive and well, if a little moody, overrode all else. They decided to get to camp three, and the teams were reorganized.
Quistis insisted that Zell ride with her, and Irvine joined them. Rinoa took the supplies' canoe with her broody husband, while Fujin, that wouldn't part with Seifer, took the third remaining boat with him and Selphie, who was still mad at the cowboy and the blonde woman, even if she couldn't remember exactly why.
The trip down was uneventful, and they reached the camping site early evening. They built a fire, put up the tents, of which there was fortunately a spare one, managed to catch some tasty-looking fish, had a great meal, and shared a few relieved laughs at the two blond guys and brunette's adventure.
Selphie, being Selphie, was all over Irvine, and all friendly with Quistis. She had finally reasoned that if she couldn't remember why she was mad at them, it wasn't important after all. And so, they all had a great time before turning in for the night.
In the relative intimacy of their tent, Fujin turned to Seifer, and they kissed tenderly for a long moment.
"Sorry." She apologized.
"Why?" He inquired, gently caressing her face.
"For what happened, I was really terrified at never seeing you again." She explained.
"Nah! It was all Chicken-Wuss' fault anyway."
"I love you." She simply replied, kissing him again.
Seifer looked at her wife lovingly, "You know, you look cute in shorts and a tank-top, you should dress like that more often."
Fujin smiled, a warm feeling of happiness filling her heart, for her man always had the right words to make her feel beautiful, and special. There was also the relief of being reunited with him, which put her in a most romantic mood.
Unbeknown to them, their friends, in their own tents, felt much the same way towards their significant other. How sweet it is to have someone to call your own, and how wonderful it is to hold your beloved in your arms, especially when you have almost lost them.
And thus passed the third night of the camping trip, and dawn arrived, bringing with it the promise of a great day.
Too bad promises are made to be broken...
***** ***** *****