I no own FF IX.
Kuja was beginning to regret his choice. It was about and hour and a half's walk to the village, not that far but as he had discovered, there wasn't a proper path. Grumbling he speed up slightly and managed to catch up to his companion. "Why don't you live in the village itself?" He couldn't help but ask. Destiny shrugged.
"I was raised out here. Besides most of the plants I use are found deep in the forest." She skipped ahead humming softly. Grumbling he hurried to play catch up again. He had gotten use to ridding his dragon and forgotten that walking took a lot more strength. Luckily, Destiny waved to him from the next bend.
"Hurry it up Kuja, where nearly so quite grumbling." The genome obeyed her, something he had been doing a lot of lately and caught up to the young warrior. He was surprised at the size of the town below him; he had had a mental picture of half a dozen wooden huts clustered around a clearing. Instead he found at least a hundred houses, most where wooden as he had thought but at least a fourth where older houses made of stones, leading along the main road. Destiny led him down it calling occasional greetings to some of the other villagers as she past. He noticed that the area they where walking in must have held more houses at one point because they road they where walking on was paved with bricks. Destiny stopped outside a particular store, she looked back at him. "Coming inside Kuja?" She asked. He shook his head and leaned against the wall.
"I'll wait out here for you." He knew that a store like this one would be one of the places that received any out of town visitors, and all it would take was someone mentioning his name and the owner recalling it to get in trouble. It was safer to wait out here.
"Fine with me." The young women entered the store carrying the backpack that held the potions.
Sighing Kuja resettled himself against the wall looking around with some surprise. This road and quite a few of the larger ones where paved, weeds and grass stuck up throughout the cracks and he could see where older bricks had been replaced but it still looked usable. The larger houses, like this one, where also made of cut stone, like the road he could see signs of age and repair but overall it reminded him of some of the older districts in Alexandria. (Was this one a city built by Alexandria) He wondered (That they forgot about over time?) He muttered to him self and leaned back against the wall. Some of the town's people stopped to look over at him and whisper to their neighbors but when anyone tried to approach him he would level a glare a them daring them to come closer. Most saw fit to leave him alone. He settled back again and waited for Destiny to come out of the door.
Destiny entered the shop and looked up "Hello Emma."
Emma looked up from where she was stocking her shelves a smile on her face. "There ya are Destiny, did ya bring me the potions I asked ya for?"
Destiny smiled and walked over to Emma, like most of the town Emma treated the younger women with respect because of the danger she put herself in to protect the town. "Yea, here they are." Emma took them and smiled at her.
"Thank ya Destiny." As she moved to put them away Destiny spoke up again.
"Emma could you thank Mark for helping me the other day." Emma's son Mark had been one of the people that had helped her safely move Kuja.
"Sure child. Speaking of your patient, how is he doing?" Emma one of the gossips in the town would of course want to be the first to know.
"Very well, he's waiting outside. He didn't want to come in and I didn't want to press him too."
"Hmmm. Did ya ever find out why he was out there in the first place?"
Destiny shook her head at the older women. "No not really. The only thing he would tell me was that he had been in a fight earlier so he wasn't even able to fight off a little Serpion." Emma wagged her finger at Destiny.
"Don't under estimate him now Destiny. Ya know as well as I do that most of the village lads have trouble with those beasties and would rather that you take care of them."
"I know."
Emma looked out the window and said to her softly. "Did ya find out what caused the horrible roar last night?" Destiny looked at her startled.
"You heard it here too?"
"'Course we did! Lots of folks thought it was right outside but someone pointed out that it was echoing from the mountains. Must've been over where you live though." Destiny nodded.
"It was close, it could even feel its tremors. I went to see what it was but there wasn't anything there. Kuja thinks it may have flown over." Emma looked up at her.
"Kuja's that young man's name then?" She appeared thoughtful for a moment.
"What it is?" Destiny couldn't help asking.
"Seems like I heard the name Kuja before somewhere.., feh it's probably nothing! Have a nice day Destiny." Smiling the young women walked out the door.
(Finally) Kuja thought as Destiny exited the store. She motioned for him to follow and walked off pausing to make sure he was they continued. To his surprise Destiny led them a different way from they way the came.
"Why are we going this way?" Destiny turned back to look at him
"I like returning a different way."
Grumbling again Kuja followed. Destiny led the past a sheer cliff that seemed to rise into the clouds themselves. He paused for a second as he stood looking up at them. He turned to call at Destiny. "Weren't you affected by the mist here?" Normally humans would build on higher elevations to avoid the monsters that came out of the mist. Destiny looked back at him and shook her head.
"Not really, the end of the valley the town is built in is actually higher than the mist itself. The monsters still wander up form it but were used to it by now." She continued to walk. He hurried and caught up to her, hoping to ask where exactly they where when suddenly a soft growl filled the air.
"Arrrrrr."
Destiny's hand went to the hilt of the sword at her side and Kuja cursed (I am going to learn how to use a weapon!) He thought as he glanced around hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever was stalking them. After a moment the two relaxed slightly. Almost immediately the soft growl was repeated.
"Arrrrrr."
Kuja noticed that Destiny seemed wasn't holding her sword hilt anymore and appeared to be listing. "What are you doing?" He hissed at her.
"I don't think that whatever it is going to attack us, if you listen it sounds more like it's in pain more than anything else." Kuja listen and this time when the growl came he had to agree with Destiny's statement. Destiny walked over toward the cliff face.
"It sounds like it's coming from here." She said softly as she started to run her hand along the rock wall, suddenly it ran into an area that didn't offer resistance and Destiny started to lose her balance. Kuja rushed forward and steady her until she could stand. She smiled at him.
"Thanks." She said as she brushed away the curtain of ivy that had hidden the cave opening. "Thought so." She said as she stepped inside. Kuja stared at her.
"What are you doing? A wounded creature is in there."
"I know, if it's a monster or something mortally wounded then I can at least end it's suffering. If it's a normal animal then I'll do what I can to help."
"You don't even have a torch." He pointed out flatly. She looked up.
"There's light in here, come see."
"What?" Kuja followed her in surprised, phosphorus rocks or something was set in the walls after the turn in the tunnel and while the illumination was dim it did give enough light to see where they where going.
The tunnel went on for about fifty feet, as the neared the end he noticed that spaced evenly along the walls where bunches of carvings. He stopped and looked at one such cluster. What had onced seemed like random pictures now seemed not so random. He noticed that the carving ran from the floor to six feet up in a percet rectangle about three feet across. (A door?) he wondered and tranced one with his finger when he heard Destiny gasp. He whirled and ran over to where she stood at another turn. "What is it?" He asked. She swallowed.
"Kuja, I think I found what screamed last night." Kuja peeked around the corner and gave a small gasp of his own.
Plantress: I am ending here! My longest chapter yet, but this is one I've been waiting to write! Any way R and R pleas. Thank you.
Kuja was beginning to regret his choice. It was about and hour and a half's walk to the village, not that far but as he had discovered, there wasn't a proper path. Grumbling he speed up slightly and managed to catch up to his companion. "Why don't you live in the village itself?" He couldn't help but ask. Destiny shrugged.
"I was raised out here. Besides most of the plants I use are found deep in the forest." She skipped ahead humming softly. Grumbling he hurried to play catch up again. He had gotten use to ridding his dragon and forgotten that walking took a lot more strength. Luckily, Destiny waved to him from the next bend.
"Hurry it up Kuja, where nearly so quite grumbling." The genome obeyed her, something he had been doing a lot of lately and caught up to the young warrior. He was surprised at the size of the town below him; he had had a mental picture of half a dozen wooden huts clustered around a clearing. Instead he found at least a hundred houses, most where wooden as he had thought but at least a fourth where older houses made of stones, leading along the main road. Destiny led him down it calling occasional greetings to some of the other villagers as she past. He noticed that the area they where walking in must have held more houses at one point because they road they where walking on was paved with bricks. Destiny stopped outside a particular store, she looked back at him. "Coming inside Kuja?" She asked. He shook his head and leaned against the wall.
"I'll wait out here for you." He knew that a store like this one would be one of the places that received any out of town visitors, and all it would take was someone mentioning his name and the owner recalling it to get in trouble. It was safer to wait out here.
"Fine with me." The young women entered the store carrying the backpack that held the potions.
Sighing Kuja resettled himself against the wall looking around with some surprise. This road and quite a few of the larger ones where paved, weeds and grass stuck up throughout the cracks and he could see where older bricks had been replaced but it still looked usable. The larger houses, like this one, where also made of cut stone, like the road he could see signs of age and repair but overall it reminded him of some of the older districts in Alexandria. (Was this one a city built by Alexandria) He wondered (That they forgot about over time?) He muttered to him self and leaned back against the wall. Some of the town's people stopped to look over at him and whisper to their neighbors but when anyone tried to approach him he would level a glare a them daring them to come closer. Most saw fit to leave him alone. He settled back again and waited for Destiny to come out of the door.
Destiny entered the shop and looked up "Hello Emma."
Emma looked up from where she was stocking her shelves a smile on her face. "There ya are Destiny, did ya bring me the potions I asked ya for?"
Destiny smiled and walked over to Emma, like most of the town Emma treated the younger women with respect because of the danger she put herself in to protect the town. "Yea, here they are." Emma took them and smiled at her.
"Thank ya Destiny." As she moved to put them away Destiny spoke up again.
"Emma could you thank Mark for helping me the other day." Emma's son Mark had been one of the people that had helped her safely move Kuja.
"Sure child. Speaking of your patient, how is he doing?" Emma one of the gossips in the town would of course want to be the first to know.
"Very well, he's waiting outside. He didn't want to come in and I didn't want to press him too."
"Hmmm. Did ya ever find out why he was out there in the first place?"
Destiny shook her head at the older women. "No not really. The only thing he would tell me was that he had been in a fight earlier so he wasn't even able to fight off a little Serpion." Emma wagged her finger at Destiny.
"Don't under estimate him now Destiny. Ya know as well as I do that most of the village lads have trouble with those beasties and would rather that you take care of them."
"I know."
Emma looked out the window and said to her softly. "Did ya find out what caused the horrible roar last night?" Destiny looked at her startled.
"You heard it here too?"
"'Course we did! Lots of folks thought it was right outside but someone pointed out that it was echoing from the mountains. Must've been over where you live though." Destiny nodded.
"It was close, it could even feel its tremors. I went to see what it was but there wasn't anything there. Kuja thinks it may have flown over." Emma looked up at her.
"Kuja's that young man's name then?" She appeared thoughtful for a moment.
"What it is?" Destiny couldn't help asking.
"Seems like I heard the name Kuja before somewhere.., feh it's probably nothing! Have a nice day Destiny." Smiling the young women walked out the door.
(Finally) Kuja thought as Destiny exited the store. She motioned for him to follow and walked off pausing to make sure he was they continued. To his surprise Destiny led them a different way from they way the came.
"Why are we going this way?" Destiny turned back to look at him
"I like returning a different way."
Grumbling again Kuja followed. Destiny led the past a sheer cliff that seemed to rise into the clouds themselves. He paused for a second as he stood looking up at them. He turned to call at Destiny. "Weren't you affected by the mist here?" Normally humans would build on higher elevations to avoid the monsters that came out of the mist. Destiny looked back at him and shook her head.
"Not really, the end of the valley the town is built in is actually higher than the mist itself. The monsters still wander up form it but were used to it by now." She continued to walk. He hurried and caught up to her, hoping to ask where exactly they where when suddenly a soft growl filled the air.
"Arrrrrr."
Destiny's hand went to the hilt of the sword at her side and Kuja cursed (I am going to learn how to use a weapon!) He thought as he glanced around hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever was stalking them. After a moment the two relaxed slightly. Almost immediately the soft growl was repeated.
"Arrrrrr."
Kuja noticed that Destiny seemed wasn't holding her sword hilt anymore and appeared to be listing. "What are you doing?" He hissed at her.
"I don't think that whatever it is going to attack us, if you listen it sounds more like it's in pain more than anything else." Kuja listen and this time when the growl came he had to agree with Destiny's statement. Destiny walked over toward the cliff face.
"It sounds like it's coming from here." She said softly as she started to run her hand along the rock wall, suddenly it ran into an area that didn't offer resistance and Destiny started to lose her balance. Kuja rushed forward and steady her until she could stand. She smiled at him.
"Thanks." She said as she brushed away the curtain of ivy that had hidden the cave opening. "Thought so." She said as she stepped inside. Kuja stared at her.
"What are you doing? A wounded creature is in there."
"I know, if it's a monster or something mortally wounded then I can at least end it's suffering. If it's a normal animal then I'll do what I can to help."
"You don't even have a torch." He pointed out flatly. She looked up.
"There's light in here, come see."
"What?" Kuja followed her in surprised, phosphorus rocks or something was set in the walls after the turn in the tunnel and while the illumination was dim it did give enough light to see where they where going.
The tunnel went on for about fifty feet, as the neared the end he noticed that spaced evenly along the walls where bunches of carvings. He stopped and looked at one such cluster. What had onced seemed like random pictures now seemed not so random. He noticed that the carving ran from the floor to six feet up in a percet rectangle about three feet across. (A door?) he wondered and tranced one with his finger when he heard Destiny gasp. He whirled and ran over to where she stood at another turn. "What is it?" He asked. She swallowed.
"Kuja, I think I found what screamed last night." Kuja peeked around the corner and gave a small gasp of his own.
Plantress: I am ending here! My longest chapter yet, but this is one I've been waiting to write! Any way R and R pleas. Thank you.