Anywho, I'm back with another chapter.
Oh, and to answer your question, yeah Taira and Kiro will be in this more, but maybe not much longer. I have to make a big choice for the second half of MOW. ^_^;
Chapter Seventeen: On the Road AgainGuardian whistled appreciatively in my mind as the airship approached the docks. I've been on airships before, but that's huge! He chuckled and said thoughtfully, A lot of things have changed in twenty years.
Huh?
Never mind, just forget about it, he replied in a final sounding tone.
I frowned. As much as I liked having Guardian around, he was very confusing and he refused to relent and release a few of the secrets that he held within himself. I tried annoying him into talking, but he seemed immune to it. He had simply laughed and said, I've used that trick way too many times for it to work on me, Destiny. I'd given up after that.
It had been exactly a week since Guardian had first spoken up. The airship that was taking us to Zanarkand had been obliged to finish a tour before swinging around to pick us up, but with the word of Cid they had been more than happy to come. I had finished packing what little that I had the day before, all the while trying to ignore Guardian's snide remarks. You'd figure that after me rescuing both a village AND a ship they'd at least be grateful and give you some gil. I used to get it just from killing fiends. Maybe I should teach you how to fight.
Oh yes, perfect idea. Let's go kill some fiends with my BARE FISTS to get some gil. Why not?
He'd simply chortled and remarked once again about how his newfound presence seemed to have affected me. I was acting more and more like I should each day, and he'd told me that rediscovering my emotions would be the first step in finding myself.
I've been with you this entire time, and for a while I was worried. You've been acting shy and sort of awkward. That's a bad thing. Maybe it would help if I described the OLD you, and he'd paused as if awaiting an answer. So I'd replied quickly.
Please?
Aright. Since you asked nicely, and I sensed that he would've winked good-naturedly at me if he had the physical form to. You were more outgoing, sort of eccentric. Energetic, gleeful, ready to go, and such. WE were brave, if not incredibly stupid and reckless. You didn't like settling for the lesser side of the deal, and you spoke your mind. You were definitely NOT quiet, shy, or anything that you are now.
Would it help if I tried to act more like I feel?
Sometimes, but not all of the time. You've got to remain a bit inconspicuous. One of the reasons I've not been worried is your thoughts. You think what I feel, and that is some consolation. Though I wouldn't go about following your instincts and punching obnoxious Crusaders in the nose, if you get the picture, he'd said warmly, and had flashed me one of his smiling visions. He seemed to grin and smile a lot. I'd asked him once about his own past, but he'd refused to speak of it. It doesn't do to dwell on the past too much. I've got to be happy with what I've got now. He'd said it in a dull, sad sort of tone, so I hadn't inquired further.
Now we watched as the airship hovered closer, and I could see the words Angelic Queen painted on the side in golden letters, counteracting with the salmon pink paint that covered the entire ship. I heard some people on the deck talking back and forth in a strange language that didn't make the slightest bit of sense to me, and I sighed.
That's Al Bhed. Don't worry; we have Rikku and Ruka as translators, Guardian said in a sort of bored voice, knowing that I was clueless about the world.
They're.. Al Bhed? Geez. How many other languages are spoken in Spira? I asked in exasperation, surveying the ship and catching snatches of Al Bhed.
Only these two, as far as I know. There're other species of peoples on Spira, like the Ronso, which you're already met, and the Guado, who guard the Farplane, Guardian replied.
The Farplane? But isn't that like an afterlife sort of deal? It exists physically? I asked him as the ramp to the airship began to lower.
"C'mon!" Sanya said, grabbing my hand and grinning at me. "Let's get going! Zanarkand is a really pretty place, I've been there once before."
Have fun with your friends now, I'll explain later on when we're alone.
I mentally thanked Guardian and followed Sanya up the ramp. Ruka was talking in fluent Al Bhed to one of the men on the ship. She turned to us as we approached. "He says that we'll be in Zanarkand before midnight if we don't have to stop on the way."
Sanya grinned. "Good! I want to go to the beach tomorrow."
The ramp began to pull up as Oryon, the last of us, strode onto the Angelic Queen with a huff. He looked like he was in a bad mood.
"Whatsa matter?" I asked as he approached us.
He let out a string of curses, inserting the name Ryuu between a few, and I laughed. He sneered. "You won't be laughing for long. I live in Zanarkand, so I figured that after the incident on the Draconis that I could just go home, and I can, but that pompous," and he stopped, once again cursing Ryuu, "is coming with us."
Guardian let out a vehement exclamation and I almost echoed him, but restrained myself. "But why?"
Oryon grunted and said, "Some get together or other that he insists on attending. I believe that Lady Yuna, her guardians, and their family have been invited as well. It's an unavoidable thing for me, since I am Ryuu's second in command."
"Looks like I'll get left out of all the fun," I said, frowning. Where would I go while everyone was at the party?
Oryon laughed. "Don't count on it. Ryuu has requested your presence in return for what your little aeon did."
I frowned. The dream came rushing back at me, and for a moment I had a thought of Ryuu's tiger coming at me, his claws thrust forward and his teeth bared, growling furiously. I shook the vision out of my head, and Guardian said encouragingly, Don't worry about it. I've faced that kitty cat before, and I was the victor. Don't think that I can't crush him again.
I was curious on what Guardian had just said, but I decided not to comment until we could be truly alone, and I had the feeling that he would refuse to tell me, even if I did question him. I had a feeling that Guardian and the tiger held some sort of grudge between each other, but I wasn't sure what.
The ramp had almost finished retracting into the ship when two voices began to yell in unison.
"Wait!"
"Not leave us here! Wait!!"
Sanya looked over the rail and smiled. "It's Taira and Kiro!"
Sure enough, the two Ronso blitzers were hurrying towards the airship, bags slung over their shoulders. They stopped and panted, yelling for the ship to lower the ramp again. "We coming too!"
One of the Al Bhed men looked at Yuna, and she nodded. "They're our friends," she said quietly, indicating that they should do as the two Ronso asked.
The Al Bhed nodded and rapped out some orders to the two men who controlled the ramp and it was soon lowering to let Taira and Kiro on. They grinned nonchalantly as they scampered up and Taira hugged her father quickly before returning to her brother's side. "We decide," she said, "that we come to Zanarkand. We not have game for another week and a half, so we take some time off." She looked to her father for approval, and Kimahri nodded. Her brother grinned at everyone and waved.
"Hiyo, how's it doing?" he said, confusing the sentence a bit. His sister giggled and corrected him.
"It's 'Hiyo, how you doing?'" she said, patting him on the shoulder encouragingly. "Don't worry, you get it right someday!"
Her brother yanked her tail, in a teasing sort of way, and she growled at him, but they scampered off quickly, looking like naughty children. Kimahri sighed and rolled his yellow eyes, issuing a laugh from the entire group.
~*~*~*~
The ship hummed and buzzed like a peaceful bee, floating through the sky towards the snow-topped mountains in the distance. The sky had begun to take on a lazy pinkish color, and everyone was in a rather serene mood, even Sophia, who had taken to gazing out of the window with a thoughtful expression on her face.
There's something strange about her, Guardian began, though I'm not quite sure what.
She's just different. Everyone has a different temperament, hers just happens to be like a volcano. Hissing and boiling one second, and then calm the next, I thought, watching her as I sipped some sweet juice out of a paper cup and wondered what kind of fruit had been used to make it.
That's not what I meant, Guardian said, snorting. She feels different than everyone else. Consequently, I get the same feeling from Oryon, but it's not as bad with him. I feel like I know him.
That's the feeling that I get, I thought, crumbling my cup into a ball and shooting it at the nearest garbage can. It went in.
Good shot, Guardian commented.
Thankya.
Ruka came in and sat next to me. She looked a bit upset, and I looked at her quizzically. She sighed. "I'm tired of being mad at Oryon, but he's such a jerk! He won't even give Ryuu a chance."
He's smart, grunted Guardian, and I shooed him out of my thoughts for the time being.
"I don't like Ryuu much either, you know
that, right?" I said, pulling my knees up to my face.
She frowned, "Yes, and I still can't
figure out why. He's handsome, he's brave," and her speech was interrupted in
my mind by a snort from my draconic side.
"What has he done that classifies him as brave? Where was he when the fiend was tearing up the Draconis? The Crusaders should've had that thing down before Guardian even had the chance to go and tear it up," I said, and then paled, realizing my mistake.
Oh, now you've gone and done it. I don't want people knowing that you can speak to me, Destiny! That could cause problems.
I ignored the dragon and thankfully Ruka hadn't caught what I'd said. She just turned her head a bit away and said, "He must've done something right to have been accepted as the leader of the Crusaders, y'know?"
If I know him, the only thing he ever did right was find the right kind of suckers to buy all of his crap, Guardian growled. I silently agreed, but said nothing to Ruka. I didn't really understand. It's no fault of hers. She simply has a good heart and is willing to accept all kinds of people. It's a good way to be, but a lot of people lose that sort of innocence the hard way.
Ruka stared at Sophia and changed the subject, almost as if she was avoiding my answer. "What d'you think she's thinkin' about? She's so mysterious. It's like a cloud covers her, keeping her from the sight of the world."
I nodded, lowering my voice so that the red-haired woman wouldn't hear us. "That's about what I was thinking. She's sort of unreadable, and I doubt she ever opens up to anyone."
Ruka giggled slightly. "It seems like she lives to make Sanya miserable. Sanya doesn't hate a lot of people, but I'll be Sophia's ranked at the top of her list about now."
I don't blame her. I'd never be able to get along with someone like her. She's sadistic, Guardian commented lazily. I generally like people too, but I tend to like 'em a bit more if they're not boring, cruel, or obnoxious.
Do you ever stop talking?
Nope. Live with it. We're going to be together for quite a while. I've had to live the past month as a mute savior, now I'm going public.
I sighed and stood up, stretching. Some of Guardian's boredom was rubbing off on me, and I was incredibly happy when Ruka asked, "You wanna go eat something? We're not going to be in Zanarkand for another few hours, so we might as well do something."
Finally, Guardian said.
You're not happy being an aeon, are you? I asked.
Guardian sighed. When you live the best of lives and then wake up in the body of a dragon, sleeping soundly in the seas of Zanarkand, undisturbed for almost a thousand years, you get a little bit unhappy with yourself, and you realize just how much you had. Life is good, Destiny, live it.
I tried to do what he always did and formed a picture of myself winking at him, he chuckled.
Don't worry, Guardian, if it's my choice we'll both live good lives in the nicest parts of Spira, and you won't be a dragon. If there's anything that I'm beginning to learn, it's that there is a good side to everything. Don't give up hope on yourself just yet!
~*~*~*~
^_^ Long one! Whee.. And we draw closer to part two of MOW.
I'm working fast.. Eeeh.. ^_^ No more writers' block. Happiness, joy, and lots of tea for me!