-_- Guh. Life so incredibly… guh. Feedback nice. More story before I go
pass out. I know it's a lot of Tidus's memories but I need to include it
for later parts. And I think it's just cute.
Chapter 14 Caged Memories
Drip….. Drip…. Drip….
Tidus sighed, thoroughly annoyed by the splatter of water smacking against the top of their cage. He sat, leaning against the ancient and rusted bars that contained the "traitors". Pfft. Whatever. Yevon was corrupted, even Tidus could see this, regardless if he had grown up in Spira or not. The disturbing trial with the dead maestors had just proven that. He could not stop thinking about the look on Yuna's face as her whole world dissolved, showing the truth of the situation. So lost… Everything she had believed in… a lie? Oh boy. Tidus winced against the cold, the open chamber that housed the caged chilled. Shadows fell across his face, an eerie darkness seeming to surround them, entrapping them. He stretched his arms around the back of his head, yawning. His muscles were cramped and he massaged his legs gingerly to pass the time. They had been in the damn cage for hours, and this was starting to get old.
Next to Tidus, Rikku cradled Auron in a tight embrace. His head rested in her arms, her long legs supporting his back. Auron had been subject to a Yevon gun, and the tremendous force of the bullet had injured, perhaps shattered his shoulder blade. This had been confirmed when a guard shoved Auron roughly from behind, attempting to get the man to move faster. Auron had gasped in agony, and fell again to his knees. Kimahri, ever the guardian, helped Auron up, but the swordsman had leaned heavily upon the blue furry shoulder all the way to the damp and cold chamber that housed them now. Tidus winced just thinking about how much pain his mentor was in. Rikku had been infuriated when the guards had taken all their items, including the healing potions. Never before had he heard so many curses thrown at one person in such short time.
Rikku sniffled, chilled. She grasped Auron tightly to her frame, as if to shield the wounded man from his suffering. And, to make good use of his body warmth. Her damp bangs fell across her face and gently brushed across Auron's closed eyes. Auron had long since fallen unconscious, his prone form leaning into Rikku. His breaths were even, but shallow. She held him close, her free hand touching his face, the stubble rough against her fingers. Tidus was sitting just behind his guardian's head and next to Rikku, in a valiant attempt to shield his friends from the cold breeze and disconcerting shadows that filtered through the chamber.
Rikku was terrified, or in her mind, "wigging out". Auron had not awoken, and she was afraid that his wound was getting infected, or poisoned, or, or something just bad was going to happen and she wouldn't be able to help. She ran her fingers through his soft hair, and massaged his damp forehead. She was willing to do anything to ease his pain… but she felt completely and totally helpless. Tysh ed! She clutched the thick fabric of his scarlet coat tightly. Auron murmured softly, turning onto his uninjured side, his thick and weighted body sinking further into Rikku's small frame. His face unknowingly brushed against Rikku's chest, and she blushed at his touch. But she didn't want to move while he was at least comfortable. So she simply moved her arms downward slightly, his face pressing into the top of her stomach. There, that was less awkward. Hey, Tidus might get ideas, you know.
"When do you think they'll let us outta here?" Tidus's voice suddenly pierced the silence, causing Rikku to start. His voice echoed in the cage, then bounced out into the big... pit… thing that they were suspended in and was lost. She shook her head, her hair bouncing against the rusted cage bars. She shivered, bowing and placing her forehead in the warm crook of Auron's neck, careful to avoid his throbbing shoulder. Please be ok… she prayed, silently disturbed by the rapid pulse she felt against the skin of her brow.
Auron groaned. In the back of his fevered mind, he was aware that something was wrong. Very wrong. He simply could not bring himself to clear away the fog that clouded his thoughts and see what it was. Instead he dreamt. He dreamt of nothing, he dreamt of Braska and Jecht, their voices and faces blurred and unfocused in his mind. He was on the brink of something entirely uncomfortable… pain perhaps? A strong, low voice echoed in the darkness. It was his voice, telling him to rise to the waking world and take charge of the situation. He needed to, Auron knew that, but every time he crawled towards consciousness, he was faced with a wall of burning pain, heated flames licking at his mind. Wincing, he backed away into the darkness, putting off the inevitable. At least for a little while.
*******************
Several hours later, Tidus was getting sick of the whole damn situation, his infuriation with Yevon peaking. Auron was injured, and now he had a burning fever that they could do nothing about, which frustrated the teenager to no end. Rikku had finally fallen asleep, her head resting against Tidus's upper arm. Even in sleep, she clutched Auron to her, her legs spread and his back pressed into her chest as her arms snaked around his stomach. His flushed face was buried in her bare neck, the back of his head against her delicate shoulder. Wisps of Auron's silver hair sneaked through Tidus's woven red armor, touching his skin. Well, it was warmer than before, at least for him.
Auron was looking pretty bad, however, and Tidus was getting quite worried. The older man's brow was beaded with sweat, his face pale, sharply contrasting his neck cloak. Tidus remembered the last time he had seen the man ill…
Tidus had only been what, maybe ten years old? He had been participating in the junior blitzball tournament in the early morning, he remembered the sunlight filtering through the sparkling water of the arena. He had returned home after being dropped off by a friend a little late, expecting Auron to scold him. Upon entering the house, he was surprised to see no sign of his impromptu guardian. Somewhat worried, he'd boldly journeyed into his father's old bedroom, something he did rarely, regardless if his old man was gone or not. Upon the large bed, he found Auron, enwrapped within the white sheets. Even then, Tidus found this odd, for the man never slept past dawn, it seemed.
Hauling his young body onto the bed, Tidus had found Auron on his stomach, bare back partially covered by the thin sheet. His was face pressed into the pillows, eyes hidden while an arm was tossed over his head. Not knowing what to do, Tidus poked a small finger into the older man's muscled side, but received no response. Tidus made a face, Auron's side was all gross and sweaty. And hot. Was he sick?
Tidus crawled over to the man's side, two small hands on Auron's back, and started to shake the body. A small muffled grunt emerged from the pillows. Ok, progress. Auron's large hand rose a few inches, swatting away the annoyance. Tidus tried again, his small form not doing much damage. In a groan of protest, Auron lifted his head, eye half open. Tidus stared into the russet eye, suddenly uncomfortable.
"Aren't you going to your tournament today?" rasped Auron, his low voice raw, his shoulder muscles bunching as he turned to look behind him, at the boy.
"Um…" Tidus glanced around. "I just got back."
"What?"
Tidus swallowed. "It's noon, I already played today." Auron stared at the boy in disbelief. The man struggled to turn himself around, the sheets twisting along with him. As he sat up, the world seemed to explode into bright light and he was overcome with dizziness. He seemed to be unaware that he had fallen to the pillows until he realized he was once more parallel to the ceiling. "I think you're sick," muttered Tidus in his high- pitched voice, stating the obvious.
In the cage, Tidus smirked at the memory. Auron spent that day being fairly miserable as he remembered, obviously not used to his body having an illness. Tidus recalled that as being the only time he had even seen the man sick or injured, well, before the pilgrimage. And Auron had not had a piece of metal forced through his body. Tidus shuddered against the cage's cold bars, his back grating against the rust. They needed to get out of here. Tidus wondered about Yuna… if she was all right.
Beside him, Auron groaned, his face rubbing against Rikku's warm throat. Wincing, he opened his heavy eyelid to a dirty metal floor, streaked with parallel shadow and faint light. "…Auron?" whispered Tidus from seemingly far away. Auron's world blurred and smeared as he barely managed to turn his head, turning away from the comfort of Rikku's neck and to the voice. "Are you alright?"
"Mmm," wheezed the swordsman, closing his eyes from the intense pain his nerves reported to his brain. "W'happened?" he slurred, unaware of his unarticulated words. "Where are we?"
Tidus sighed. "Prisoners of Yevon. In a big, ugly, freezing cold cage," He complained softly. His blond hair dipped forward as he met Auron's gaze. "You going to be ok?" Auron grunted in response, returning to the safety of Rikku's throat. He felt her small arms grip his stomach tightly.
"Was anyone else injured?" Auron asked, forcing his quaking voice to even out. Tidus shook his head, strands of blond floating in front of his blue eyes. Auron winced, he could feel his shoulder throbbing, the metal probably still imbedded in his muscle. The swordsman sighed, at least he had been the only one to be hit with one of the damn things.
He cuddled his face into Rikku's skin, thankful that the girl was alright. She moaned softly, arms tightening around his midsection. How long had they been there? How long had he been unconscious? Where was Yuna? Was she safe?
Questions tore across the swordsman's fevered mind, and at first he thought he only imagined Kinoc's voice.
"Come on, your punishment has been decided," voiced the pudgy man slowly from behind them, his voice bouncing through the decaying metal bars. Auron groaned, forcing his body to move. Rikku jumped, startled by her heavy blanket's sudden movement. She stood quickly, she and Tidus helping Auron shakily get to his feet.
"You mean our execution," Hissed Auron, fighting back his nerves as they screamed, his scapula sliding beneath his skin. Rikku grasped his good arm tightly, helping support his swaying weight.
"Oh course not, Auron. Who would kill his old friend?" Kinoc replied evenly.
Auron struggled out of the cage onto the awaiting platform, assisted by the younger guardians. His pained eye trained itself on Kinoc as they passed, walking to what could very possibly be their deaths.
"… You would."
***mrrr. Stupid? I dunno. Kinda stressed, does it show in my writing?
-Spazkit
Chapter 14 Caged Memories
Drip….. Drip…. Drip….
Tidus sighed, thoroughly annoyed by the splatter of water smacking against the top of their cage. He sat, leaning against the ancient and rusted bars that contained the "traitors". Pfft. Whatever. Yevon was corrupted, even Tidus could see this, regardless if he had grown up in Spira or not. The disturbing trial with the dead maestors had just proven that. He could not stop thinking about the look on Yuna's face as her whole world dissolved, showing the truth of the situation. So lost… Everything she had believed in… a lie? Oh boy. Tidus winced against the cold, the open chamber that housed the caged chilled. Shadows fell across his face, an eerie darkness seeming to surround them, entrapping them. He stretched his arms around the back of his head, yawning. His muscles were cramped and he massaged his legs gingerly to pass the time. They had been in the damn cage for hours, and this was starting to get old.
Next to Tidus, Rikku cradled Auron in a tight embrace. His head rested in her arms, her long legs supporting his back. Auron had been subject to a Yevon gun, and the tremendous force of the bullet had injured, perhaps shattered his shoulder blade. This had been confirmed when a guard shoved Auron roughly from behind, attempting to get the man to move faster. Auron had gasped in agony, and fell again to his knees. Kimahri, ever the guardian, helped Auron up, but the swordsman had leaned heavily upon the blue furry shoulder all the way to the damp and cold chamber that housed them now. Tidus winced just thinking about how much pain his mentor was in. Rikku had been infuriated when the guards had taken all their items, including the healing potions. Never before had he heard so many curses thrown at one person in such short time.
Rikku sniffled, chilled. She grasped Auron tightly to her frame, as if to shield the wounded man from his suffering. And, to make good use of his body warmth. Her damp bangs fell across her face and gently brushed across Auron's closed eyes. Auron had long since fallen unconscious, his prone form leaning into Rikku. His breaths were even, but shallow. She held him close, her free hand touching his face, the stubble rough against her fingers. Tidus was sitting just behind his guardian's head and next to Rikku, in a valiant attempt to shield his friends from the cold breeze and disconcerting shadows that filtered through the chamber.
Rikku was terrified, or in her mind, "wigging out". Auron had not awoken, and she was afraid that his wound was getting infected, or poisoned, or, or something just bad was going to happen and she wouldn't be able to help. She ran her fingers through his soft hair, and massaged his damp forehead. She was willing to do anything to ease his pain… but she felt completely and totally helpless. Tysh ed! She clutched the thick fabric of his scarlet coat tightly. Auron murmured softly, turning onto his uninjured side, his thick and weighted body sinking further into Rikku's small frame. His face unknowingly brushed against Rikku's chest, and she blushed at his touch. But she didn't want to move while he was at least comfortable. So she simply moved her arms downward slightly, his face pressing into the top of her stomach. There, that was less awkward. Hey, Tidus might get ideas, you know.
"When do you think they'll let us outta here?" Tidus's voice suddenly pierced the silence, causing Rikku to start. His voice echoed in the cage, then bounced out into the big... pit… thing that they were suspended in and was lost. She shook her head, her hair bouncing against the rusted cage bars. She shivered, bowing and placing her forehead in the warm crook of Auron's neck, careful to avoid his throbbing shoulder. Please be ok… she prayed, silently disturbed by the rapid pulse she felt against the skin of her brow.
Auron groaned. In the back of his fevered mind, he was aware that something was wrong. Very wrong. He simply could not bring himself to clear away the fog that clouded his thoughts and see what it was. Instead he dreamt. He dreamt of nothing, he dreamt of Braska and Jecht, their voices and faces blurred and unfocused in his mind. He was on the brink of something entirely uncomfortable… pain perhaps? A strong, low voice echoed in the darkness. It was his voice, telling him to rise to the waking world and take charge of the situation. He needed to, Auron knew that, but every time he crawled towards consciousness, he was faced with a wall of burning pain, heated flames licking at his mind. Wincing, he backed away into the darkness, putting off the inevitable. At least for a little while.
*******************
Several hours later, Tidus was getting sick of the whole damn situation, his infuriation with Yevon peaking. Auron was injured, and now he had a burning fever that they could do nothing about, which frustrated the teenager to no end. Rikku had finally fallen asleep, her head resting against Tidus's upper arm. Even in sleep, she clutched Auron to her, her legs spread and his back pressed into her chest as her arms snaked around his stomach. His flushed face was buried in her bare neck, the back of his head against her delicate shoulder. Wisps of Auron's silver hair sneaked through Tidus's woven red armor, touching his skin. Well, it was warmer than before, at least for him.
Auron was looking pretty bad, however, and Tidus was getting quite worried. The older man's brow was beaded with sweat, his face pale, sharply contrasting his neck cloak. Tidus remembered the last time he had seen the man ill…
Tidus had only been what, maybe ten years old? He had been participating in the junior blitzball tournament in the early morning, he remembered the sunlight filtering through the sparkling water of the arena. He had returned home after being dropped off by a friend a little late, expecting Auron to scold him. Upon entering the house, he was surprised to see no sign of his impromptu guardian. Somewhat worried, he'd boldly journeyed into his father's old bedroom, something he did rarely, regardless if his old man was gone or not. Upon the large bed, he found Auron, enwrapped within the white sheets. Even then, Tidus found this odd, for the man never slept past dawn, it seemed.
Hauling his young body onto the bed, Tidus had found Auron on his stomach, bare back partially covered by the thin sheet. His was face pressed into the pillows, eyes hidden while an arm was tossed over his head. Not knowing what to do, Tidus poked a small finger into the older man's muscled side, but received no response. Tidus made a face, Auron's side was all gross and sweaty. And hot. Was he sick?
Tidus crawled over to the man's side, two small hands on Auron's back, and started to shake the body. A small muffled grunt emerged from the pillows. Ok, progress. Auron's large hand rose a few inches, swatting away the annoyance. Tidus tried again, his small form not doing much damage. In a groan of protest, Auron lifted his head, eye half open. Tidus stared into the russet eye, suddenly uncomfortable.
"Aren't you going to your tournament today?" rasped Auron, his low voice raw, his shoulder muscles bunching as he turned to look behind him, at the boy.
"Um…" Tidus glanced around. "I just got back."
"What?"
Tidus swallowed. "It's noon, I already played today." Auron stared at the boy in disbelief. The man struggled to turn himself around, the sheets twisting along with him. As he sat up, the world seemed to explode into bright light and he was overcome with dizziness. He seemed to be unaware that he had fallen to the pillows until he realized he was once more parallel to the ceiling. "I think you're sick," muttered Tidus in his high- pitched voice, stating the obvious.
In the cage, Tidus smirked at the memory. Auron spent that day being fairly miserable as he remembered, obviously not used to his body having an illness. Tidus recalled that as being the only time he had even seen the man sick or injured, well, before the pilgrimage. And Auron had not had a piece of metal forced through his body. Tidus shuddered against the cage's cold bars, his back grating against the rust. They needed to get out of here. Tidus wondered about Yuna… if she was all right.
Beside him, Auron groaned, his face rubbing against Rikku's warm throat. Wincing, he opened his heavy eyelid to a dirty metal floor, streaked with parallel shadow and faint light. "…Auron?" whispered Tidus from seemingly far away. Auron's world blurred and smeared as he barely managed to turn his head, turning away from the comfort of Rikku's neck and to the voice. "Are you alright?"
"Mmm," wheezed the swordsman, closing his eyes from the intense pain his nerves reported to his brain. "W'happened?" he slurred, unaware of his unarticulated words. "Where are we?"
Tidus sighed. "Prisoners of Yevon. In a big, ugly, freezing cold cage," He complained softly. His blond hair dipped forward as he met Auron's gaze. "You going to be ok?" Auron grunted in response, returning to the safety of Rikku's throat. He felt her small arms grip his stomach tightly.
"Was anyone else injured?" Auron asked, forcing his quaking voice to even out. Tidus shook his head, strands of blond floating in front of his blue eyes. Auron winced, he could feel his shoulder throbbing, the metal probably still imbedded in his muscle. The swordsman sighed, at least he had been the only one to be hit with one of the damn things.
He cuddled his face into Rikku's skin, thankful that the girl was alright. She moaned softly, arms tightening around his midsection. How long had they been there? How long had he been unconscious? Where was Yuna? Was she safe?
Questions tore across the swordsman's fevered mind, and at first he thought he only imagined Kinoc's voice.
"Come on, your punishment has been decided," voiced the pudgy man slowly from behind them, his voice bouncing through the decaying metal bars. Auron groaned, forcing his body to move. Rikku jumped, startled by her heavy blanket's sudden movement. She stood quickly, she and Tidus helping Auron shakily get to his feet.
"You mean our execution," Hissed Auron, fighting back his nerves as they screamed, his scapula sliding beneath his skin. Rikku grasped his good arm tightly, helping support his swaying weight.
"Oh course not, Auron. Who would kill his old friend?" Kinoc replied evenly.
Auron struggled out of the cage onto the awaiting platform, assisted by the younger guardians. His pained eye trained itself on Kinoc as they passed, walking to what could very possibly be their deaths.
"… You would."
***mrrr. Stupid? I dunno. Kinda stressed, does it show in my writing?
-Spazkit