Chapter 9: Moments Shared
As they journeyed through that day, the forest had thinned and then disappeared, giving way to an open grassland... the occassional outcrop of rock and scrub trees the only break in its expanse.
Lisette had decided against wearing the hood. There was no need to hide herself now, so she had pulled on the lower half of her jumpsuit and tied the rest around her waist. The day was warm and the sun felt good on her shoulders, as they traveled along the open road.
She and Rikku were quickly forming a bond... chatting like sisters as Lisette showed Rikku her weapons. The short throwing knives and the stars... small round metal pieces with scerrated edges. Rikku wanted to try using one, but Lisette had thought that was probably a bad idea. Explaining to the young Al-Bhed that if someone got hurt, there would be hell to pay from you-know-who. Rikku thought that was enourmously funny, and laughed so hard she had to stop and hold her stomach while the spasms subsided.
Auron had been quietly observing Lisette's interaction with the others and realized Rikku wasn't the only one who was enjoying her company.
And himself? He could continue to push her away as he was so expert at doing, but he couldn't deny the fact. He could have with Lisette what he hadn't had in a long time... adult companionship. The old addage... "be careful what you wish for" came to mind.
On outward appearance, she was a competent fighter, with a quick mind and a fiery spirit. But he sensed there were much deeper waters running just underneath the surface. Deep enough to spend a lifetime navigating and never reach the shore.
But none of that really mattered did it? Because the simple truth was that he wasn't good at this thing called life anymore. It had been ten long years. Ten years of living inside his own head, never sharing anything with anyone... and he didn't know how to step outside the walls of his self-imposed prison. All he had left was his purpose... and he supposed that was enough for a man such as he.
************
The fiends had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, descending upon them in a concert of hellish shrieks. The fierce battle had lasted for a good twenty-minutes, and now they were all busy catching their breath and healing a variety of small wounds they had sustained in the nasty conflict.
Seeing that the others were fine, Lisette turned to look for Auron. He had taken a particularly nasty hit from a Dual Horn during the fight, stepping in front of Yuna to guard her. She wanted to make sure he was okay. She spotted him a short distance from the others, off by himself.
Auron lay on his side, one arm propping himself up, as he took a short swig from his jug and then rolled onto his back, closing his eye. Looking down, she saw that he had a deep, painful looking gash that started just above his left knee and extended all the way to his upper thigh... his pants torn, beginning to darken rapidly with his blood.
She walked to him and knelt, pulling a healing potion from her waist pack and extending it towards him. Wincing, Auron raised his arm and grabbed her by the wrist. "I can do that, I don't need your help." He said roughly. But she could see his normally piercing eye swimming in and out of focus as he spoke.
"Fine then, I'll just wait until you lose consciousness and then heal you... will that preserve your dignity? She retorted, glaring at him with her cool eyes.
The impudence of this creature continued to amaze him. "Very well, but be quick about it." He growled back, releasing her arm.
Fighting to stay alert, his brow furrowed, he watched as she applied the potion. There was a brief rainbow-colored swirl of misty vapor, as his wound faded and then disappeared.
He managed to sit up then, uttering his apparent favorite phrase... "Hmph" As he reached up with his bared arm to push his glasses back into place on his nose.
Lisette lowered herself to sit facing him, sighing as she reached for the earthenware container on the ground at his side. "Do you mind?" She asked, one eyebrow arched, holding up the jug expectantly.
"Be my guest." Auron replied, a strange look of amusement on his face. She lifted the jug to her lips and took a long draught, sorely misjudging the power of its contents, as Auron knew she would.
Lisette's eyes widened and began to water profusely, as she swallowed hard twice... her throat working in pain with the fire of the burning liquid. He could see her struggling to regain enough control not to splutter, but she lost the battle... coughing hoarsley, her hand coming to her throat.
"You rotten, son-of-a-motherless-shoopuf!" She swore at him, in a choked voice... all her ladylike demeanor forgotten.
And then in a rare display, Auron began to laugh. It started as a low chuckle, then grew, as he gave himself over to it... throwing his head back to the bright sky.
As they journeyed through that day, the forest had thinned and then disappeared, giving way to an open grassland... the occassional outcrop of rock and scrub trees the only break in its expanse.
Lisette had decided against wearing the hood. There was no need to hide herself now, so she had pulled on the lower half of her jumpsuit and tied the rest around her waist. The day was warm and the sun felt good on her shoulders, as they traveled along the open road.
She and Rikku were quickly forming a bond... chatting like sisters as Lisette showed Rikku her weapons. The short throwing knives and the stars... small round metal pieces with scerrated edges. Rikku wanted to try using one, but Lisette had thought that was probably a bad idea. Explaining to the young Al-Bhed that if someone got hurt, there would be hell to pay from you-know-who. Rikku thought that was enourmously funny, and laughed so hard she had to stop and hold her stomach while the spasms subsided.
Auron had been quietly observing Lisette's interaction with the others and realized Rikku wasn't the only one who was enjoying her company.
And himself? He could continue to push her away as he was so expert at doing, but he couldn't deny the fact. He could have with Lisette what he hadn't had in a long time... adult companionship. The old addage... "be careful what you wish for" came to mind.
On outward appearance, she was a competent fighter, with a quick mind and a fiery spirit. But he sensed there were much deeper waters running just underneath the surface. Deep enough to spend a lifetime navigating and never reach the shore.
But none of that really mattered did it? Because the simple truth was that he wasn't good at this thing called life anymore. It had been ten long years. Ten years of living inside his own head, never sharing anything with anyone... and he didn't know how to step outside the walls of his self-imposed prison. All he had left was his purpose... and he supposed that was enough for a man such as he.
************
The fiends had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, descending upon them in a concert of hellish shrieks. The fierce battle had lasted for a good twenty-minutes, and now they were all busy catching their breath and healing a variety of small wounds they had sustained in the nasty conflict.
Seeing that the others were fine, Lisette turned to look for Auron. He had taken a particularly nasty hit from a Dual Horn during the fight, stepping in front of Yuna to guard her. She wanted to make sure he was okay. She spotted him a short distance from the others, off by himself.
Auron lay on his side, one arm propping himself up, as he took a short swig from his jug and then rolled onto his back, closing his eye. Looking down, she saw that he had a deep, painful looking gash that started just above his left knee and extended all the way to his upper thigh... his pants torn, beginning to darken rapidly with his blood.
She walked to him and knelt, pulling a healing potion from her waist pack and extending it towards him. Wincing, Auron raised his arm and grabbed her by the wrist. "I can do that, I don't need your help." He said roughly. But she could see his normally piercing eye swimming in and out of focus as he spoke.
"Fine then, I'll just wait until you lose consciousness and then heal you... will that preserve your dignity? She retorted, glaring at him with her cool eyes.
The impudence of this creature continued to amaze him. "Very well, but be quick about it." He growled back, releasing her arm.
Fighting to stay alert, his brow furrowed, he watched as she applied the potion. There was a brief rainbow-colored swirl of misty vapor, as his wound faded and then disappeared.
He managed to sit up then, uttering his apparent favorite phrase... "Hmph" As he reached up with his bared arm to push his glasses back into place on his nose.
Lisette lowered herself to sit facing him, sighing as she reached for the earthenware container on the ground at his side. "Do you mind?" She asked, one eyebrow arched, holding up the jug expectantly.
"Be my guest." Auron replied, a strange look of amusement on his face. She lifted the jug to her lips and took a long draught, sorely misjudging the power of its contents, as Auron knew she would.
Lisette's eyes widened and began to water profusely, as she swallowed hard twice... her throat working in pain with the fire of the burning liquid. He could see her struggling to regain enough control not to splutter, but she lost the battle... coughing hoarsley, her hand coming to her throat.
"You rotten, son-of-a-motherless-shoopuf!" She swore at him, in a choked voice... all her ladylike demeanor forgotten.
And then in a rare display, Auron began to laugh. It started as a low chuckle, then grew, as he gave himself over to it... throwing his head back to the bright sky.