Stupid horse.
Yuna wouldn't stop grinning at me, Tidus kept winking at me, Wakka kept saying "Ya?" and Auron kept looking at me...funnily. Is that a word? Whatever. I don't care at this point.
Stupid horse.
It was all Ixion's fault, anyway. Well, Yunie's, too. She had to go and tell Ixion to grant me a wish, which I SO did not happen to know I made at the time. I hate horses. As much as I hate lightning. And a combo of the two is worse than...well, something really bad. It'll come to me eventually. Really.
I grumped halfway into the Calm Lands, and then I grumped halfway out. My shoes stomped into the lush grass, which is greener than grass should be. The stuff just didn't look real. I was sure smoke was coming out my ears. I was mad, I was happy, and the only word I had to explain it was PMS.
Stupid horse.
Auron and I hadn't spoken much since Macalania, but I wasn't too upset about that. He was a lot warmer than he usually was, and that surprised me. This was a lot more normal. I guess I felt a little relieved about that. I couldn't help but feel like I was standing on a path of shaky ground with an earthquake, avalanche and tsunami headed for me all at once.
Boy, wouldn't that feel lovely? Oh yes, indeed.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and I whirled, ready to bite whoever was behind me. Who it was reminded me of how much I hate horses, or had I not already said that I can't stand them? Me thinks I was pretty clear on that area of the map.
Auron stood behind me, a warm smile on his face. Woah.
"Are you feeling alright?" he asked me with concern in his voice.
BAM! The avalanche hit me like a rock. And I was six feet under, upside down.
What fun.
"Um, yeah, I guess so," I said, feeling like an idiot even as my thoughts were so...anti-horses. Yeesh, I guess my thoughts were idiotic too.
Auron nodded at me and matched his stride to mine, though he didn't match my stomping. I looked mad, cute and scary at the same time. He just would have looked like a Tidus wannabe. I laughed at the thought, and the rest of the company gave me a quizzical look. Except Auron. Impassive as always.
Well, not always. He has his moments, I suppose. If someone dies, maybe he'll blink a little. Or when the electrified aeon messes with his head some.
Oh...Tysh.
Was that all the night in Macalania was? A spell cast from a wish I didn't know I made? The warm smiles, holding me till I fell asleep, even after, and the caresses on my shoulder...none real? I could tell my stomach was going to fall into my toes in about six seconds and my heart was already in my throat. I swore out loud, (rather vulgarly) and ran lightly (Translation: Stomped loud enough to wake the dead and bring them back complaining from the Farplane) over to Yunie.
"Summon Ixion," I told her flatly.
"What?" she asked me, her light voice full of surprise. "But, why, Rikku? It will be hard to summon him if a great need isn't apparent."
"You did it in Macalania, didn't you?!"
"Rikku!" Yunie chided softly, and I realized I had yelled a little. "...That wasn't Ixion. Not really. Um, may we talk about this later? We're going to set up camp soon when we arrive at the lodge. We'll talk tonight, alright?"
I smiled in relief, grateful that Yunie had patience and it wasn't Ixion. (Not really.) My steps lightened as I began to walk again, ignoring the stares I was getting from everyone (especially Tidus. Auron was impassive.) due to my outburst at Yuna. Well, what was I supposed to do? Um, okay. Skip that question.
I started grinning like a fool after about twenty steps, my thoughts just about as sober as I looked. If it wasn't Ixion, who the hell was it? I mean, a wish can't just be granted like, you know, presto, can it? Hm, that's a nice thought. Granting wishes at the sound of a little 'presto'. I wanted to be able to do that.
Auron continued to watch me. I kept shifting so I was walking on his blind spot, trying to avoid his gaze, but nooooo, he had to go and walk a little more to the right just so he could stare some more. My mind kept yelling at me to say, "I'm flattered you're staring at how everything sticks to me from the after effects of our beloved Mother Nature's new and improved 'Static Electricity Effect' (and fresh from the Thunder Plains!), but could you tone your ocular down a bit? I'm feeling a teeny weeny uncomfortable."
Tysh ed, whether it was Ixion or not, I hate horses.
I soon discovered, as I stomped oh so merrily across the Calm Lands, that the sarcasm wasn't helping my mood to improve at all. Gee, go figure. Er, yeah. No sarcasm. Sarcasm bad. Though sarcasm interesting, sarcasm bad.
Once again attempting a shift a little farther to the right, I realized just how far I had drifted from the rest of the group. Well, Auron had drifted too, but he WAS following me. Um, I think. Maybe I was just going left more than I thought I was? But then I'd be following him. I thought he was following me? Wait a second. I'm not making any sense, am I? Er, I meant to do that. Honest.
I snuck a glance over at Auron, only to see a Marlboro trying to grab his hips. Yeah, yeah, I know that didn't sound right. But this is a Marlboro. And not (I hope) female. Shaking my head, the seriousness of the situation not quite registering in my muddled up brain, I tossed a couple grenades in quick succession behind Auron. He yelped and spun, his blade already out, slicing it deep into the Marboro's skin. The thing never had a chance.
I looked at the Marlboro in puzzlement as it drifted and faded into many shining pyreflies. I wondered what it was like to die, and go to the Farplane. Was every single fiend we had fought a person who had refused to believe they had died? That was such a sad life, or death.
Suddenly all the sarcasm left me as I continued on with the rest of the group, my efforts of trying to avoid Auron's gaze forgotten. Was life really that harsh? A simple statement of denial leading to an afterlife filled with hatred and morphing into monsters, only to be killed at the hands of the very people who was trying to save the world from you. Where were they when you needed saving from the other fiends? And what about those fiends?
As I trudged through the Calm Lands, my feet began to take heavier steps, as if effected by the melancholy of it all. I only then realized that Spira was in six feet under and falling. The earthquake chose that moment to show up and rock my world, turning all of my views on life upside down. I prayed the change was temporary. It's not fun to go from happy pappy to fall down and die depressed, you know? And it didn't help matters that I still had no idea what was going on with Ixion.
Stupid horse. This was going to be a long day.
***
Rolling over in my "sleep", I contemplated what had happened in the past two days. Was it even possible that the world could change so much in two days? Um, no, that isn't right. Is it ever possible that MY world can change so much in two days? If it is, it sure as hell ain't supposed to.
Okay. Back track.
Auron gets all nice all of the sudden. I start feeling happy and comfort him. I get giggly. He gets giggly. What the hell is WRONG with this picture? Or is it just me? Tysh ed, don't let it be me. I'm crazier than pops if it's just me. Anyway. I give Yunie a flower to do something nice for Tidus. They moved me from my bedroll to Auron's, and shove one of the very same flowers under my nose. I wake up in heaven and get laughed at. Auron comforts me til I fall asleep. I wake up only to find out that the lightning is harassing me and limbs really do get tangled impossibly. Auron tells me I talk in my sleep. Oh, what fun! Then today, I find out it isn't the horse that was harassing me, not really, but Yunie won't tell me what is it. I can't tell who was following who between me and Auron today, and then I get all philosophically grumpy.
I hate horses.
Rolling over again, my hip bone smacked onto a rock from beneath my bedroll. I groaned and cursed under my breath in pain. Why, of WHY, did I have to choose here of all places for a bedroll? I might as well have set it up in a quarry.
I opened my eyes grumpily only to be stared at by Auron's own russet eye. Argh! He's looking at me again!
"You should go to sleep," he murmured tiredly.
"Tell that to my head!"
"Go to sleep," he said again, aiming the words in the general direction of my forehead and rolling over. I grinned despite myself. Oh, that man was a walking enigma.
Enigma? The heck? Where did a word like that come from? I sighed, burrowing my face deeper and deeper into my pillow, wondering what the next day would bring.
Stupid horse.
A/N: I felt like writing some more on this, even if this chapter is shorter. Let me know if I should keep going! ^.~
Yuna wouldn't stop grinning at me, Tidus kept winking at me, Wakka kept saying "Ya?" and Auron kept looking at me...funnily. Is that a word? Whatever. I don't care at this point.
Stupid horse.
It was all Ixion's fault, anyway. Well, Yunie's, too. She had to go and tell Ixion to grant me a wish, which I SO did not happen to know I made at the time. I hate horses. As much as I hate lightning. And a combo of the two is worse than...well, something really bad. It'll come to me eventually. Really.
I grumped halfway into the Calm Lands, and then I grumped halfway out. My shoes stomped into the lush grass, which is greener than grass should be. The stuff just didn't look real. I was sure smoke was coming out my ears. I was mad, I was happy, and the only word I had to explain it was PMS.
Stupid horse.
Auron and I hadn't spoken much since Macalania, but I wasn't too upset about that. He was a lot warmer than he usually was, and that surprised me. This was a lot more normal. I guess I felt a little relieved about that. I couldn't help but feel like I was standing on a path of shaky ground with an earthquake, avalanche and tsunami headed for me all at once.
Boy, wouldn't that feel lovely? Oh yes, indeed.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and I whirled, ready to bite whoever was behind me. Who it was reminded me of how much I hate horses, or had I not already said that I can't stand them? Me thinks I was pretty clear on that area of the map.
Auron stood behind me, a warm smile on his face. Woah.
"Are you feeling alright?" he asked me with concern in his voice.
BAM! The avalanche hit me like a rock. And I was six feet under, upside down.
What fun.
"Um, yeah, I guess so," I said, feeling like an idiot even as my thoughts were so...anti-horses. Yeesh, I guess my thoughts were idiotic too.
Auron nodded at me and matched his stride to mine, though he didn't match my stomping. I looked mad, cute and scary at the same time. He just would have looked like a Tidus wannabe. I laughed at the thought, and the rest of the company gave me a quizzical look. Except Auron. Impassive as always.
Well, not always. He has his moments, I suppose. If someone dies, maybe he'll blink a little. Or when the electrified aeon messes with his head some.
Oh...Tysh.
Was that all the night in Macalania was? A spell cast from a wish I didn't know I made? The warm smiles, holding me till I fell asleep, even after, and the caresses on my shoulder...none real? I could tell my stomach was going to fall into my toes in about six seconds and my heart was already in my throat. I swore out loud, (rather vulgarly) and ran lightly (Translation: Stomped loud enough to wake the dead and bring them back complaining from the Farplane) over to Yunie.
"Summon Ixion," I told her flatly.
"What?" she asked me, her light voice full of surprise. "But, why, Rikku? It will be hard to summon him if a great need isn't apparent."
"You did it in Macalania, didn't you?!"
"Rikku!" Yunie chided softly, and I realized I had yelled a little. "...That wasn't Ixion. Not really. Um, may we talk about this later? We're going to set up camp soon when we arrive at the lodge. We'll talk tonight, alright?"
I smiled in relief, grateful that Yunie had patience and it wasn't Ixion. (Not really.) My steps lightened as I began to walk again, ignoring the stares I was getting from everyone (especially Tidus. Auron was impassive.) due to my outburst at Yuna. Well, what was I supposed to do? Um, okay. Skip that question.
I started grinning like a fool after about twenty steps, my thoughts just about as sober as I looked. If it wasn't Ixion, who the hell was it? I mean, a wish can't just be granted like, you know, presto, can it? Hm, that's a nice thought. Granting wishes at the sound of a little 'presto'. I wanted to be able to do that.
Auron continued to watch me. I kept shifting so I was walking on his blind spot, trying to avoid his gaze, but nooooo, he had to go and walk a little more to the right just so he could stare some more. My mind kept yelling at me to say, "I'm flattered you're staring at how everything sticks to me from the after effects of our beloved Mother Nature's new and improved 'Static Electricity Effect' (and fresh from the Thunder Plains!), but could you tone your ocular down a bit? I'm feeling a teeny weeny uncomfortable."
Tysh ed, whether it was Ixion or not, I hate horses.
I soon discovered, as I stomped oh so merrily across the Calm Lands, that the sarcasm wasn't helping my mood to improve at all. Gee, go figure. Er, yeah. No sarcasm. Sarcasm bad. Though sarcasm interesting, sarcasm bad.
Once again attempting a shift a little farther to the right, I realized just how far I had drifted from the rest of the group. Well, Auron had drifted too, but he WAS following me. Um, I think. Maybe I was just going left more than I thought I was? But then I'd be following him. I thought he was following me? Wait a second. I'm not making any sense, am I? Er, I meant to do that. Honest.
I snuck a glance over at Auron, only to see a Marlboro trying to grab his hips. Yeah, yeah, I know that didn't sound right. But this is a Marlboro. And not (I hope) female. Shaking my head, the seriousness of the situation not quite registering in my muddled up brain, I tossed a couple grenades in quick succession behind Auron. He yelped and spun, his blade already out, slicing it deep into the Marboro's skin. The thing never had a chance.
I looked at the Marlboro in puzzlement as it drifted and faded into many shining pyreflies. I wondered what it was like to die, and go to the Farplane. Was every single fiend we had fought a person who had refused to believe they had died? That was such a sad life, or death.
Suddenly all the sarcasm left me as I continued on with the rest of the group, my efforts of trying to avoid Auron's gaze forgotten. Was life really that harsh? A simple statement of denial leading to an afterlife filled with hatred and morphing into monsters, only to be killed at the hands of the very people who was trying to save the world from you. Where were they when you needed saving from the other fiends? And what about those fiends?
As I trudged through the Calm Lands, my feet began to take heavier steps, as if effected by the melancholy of it all. I only then realized that Spira was in six feet under and falling. The earthquake chose that moment to show up and rock my world, turning all of my views on life upside down. I prayed the change was temporary. It's not fun to go from happy pappy to fall down and die depressed, you know? And it didn't help matters that I still had no idea what was going on with Ixion.
Stupid horse. This was going to be a long day.
***
Rolling over in my "sleep", I contemplated what had happened in the past two days. Was it even possible that the world could change so much in two days? Um, no, that isn't right. Is it ever possible that MY world can change so much in two days? If it is, it sure as hell ain't supposed to.
Okay. Back track.
Auron gets all nice all of the sudden. I start feeling happy and comfort him. I get giggly. He gets giggly. What the hell is WRONG with this picture? Or is it just me? Tysh ed, don't let it be me. I'm crazier than pops if it's just me. Anyway. I give Yunie a flower to do something nice for Tidus. They moved me from my bedroll to Auron's, and shove one of the very same flowers under my nose. I wake up in heaven and get laughed at. Auron comforts me til I fall asleep. I wake up only to find out that the lightning is harassing me and limbs really do get tangled impossibly. Auron tells me I talk in my sleep. Oh, what fun! Then today, I find out it isn't the horse that was harassing me, not really, but Yunie won't tell me what is it. I can't tell who was following who between me and Auron today, and then I get all philosophically grumpy.
I hate horses.
Rolling over again, my hip bone smacked onto a rock from beneath my bedroll. I groaned and cursed under my breath in pain. Why, of WHY, did I have to choose here of all places for a bedroll? I might as well have set it up in a quarry.
I opened my eyes grumpily only to be stared at by Auron's own russet eye. Argh! He's looking at me again!
"You should go to sleep," he murmured tiredly.
"Tell that to my head!"
"Go to sleep," he said again, aiming the words in the general direction of my forehead and rolling over. I grinned despite myself. Oh, that man was a walking enigma.
Enigma? The heck? Where did a word like that come from? I sighed, burrowing my face deeper and deeper into my pillow, wondering what the next day would bring.
Stupid horse.
A/N: I felt like writing some more on this, even if this chapter is shorter. Let me know if I should keep going! ^.~