Recently I found out something very pleasant- there's a chance I may have missed two of my college application deadlines. This is obviously not good. I'm stressing out a lot, but this story is still finding time to get itself written somehow. I might have to hold off a bit, however, until I can finish my college applications. I'm already terribly late. Not only that, but I have a great deal of schoolwork to do for the end of the quarter. *sigh* But it's not bad news your guys, because I'm well into Chapter 12 of Waking Dreams, while this chapter that I'm posting is the seventh. So there will still be regular updates.
Anyway, here's Chapter 7. Al Bhed translations are at the bottom, as always. I particularly like this chapter because it features a familiar FFX character that I particularly like. ^_^ Hope you enjoy.
Wish me luck with the college game, please!
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Chapter 7
Unexpected Encounters
Brother was infinitely annoyed. He might've known that the prissy Guados wouldn't be willing to buy any spare machina parts, and unfortunately he had nothing else to sell. He wouldn't even have come here in the first place if he weren't completely broke, without even enough money to pay for the fuel to get his little machina boat across the water to Bikanel Island.
Of course, it was difficult in the first place to convey his problem when he only spoke a few words of Spiran and that was all the Guados spoke, besides their own very secret language. Then to have them simply turn their noses down when he'd gone through all that trouble made him want to kick something.
"Now what am I going to do?" Brother sighed in his native language, leaning against a wall outside the shop in Guadosalam, a bag of the useless machina parts at his feet. He chewed his lower lip for a moment, thinking. "I wonder if there are any merchants around who'd be interested in buying something. There are always merchants wandering all over."
Passing Guados gave him odd looks as he thought out loud. "Yeah, keep staring, you big ugly jerks," he said pleasantly in Al Bhed, flashing them a smile. "You don't even know that I'm insulting you, you're so stupid. Holed up in your dumb city, thinking you're all high and mighty-"
Brother halted abruptly as the sound of sobbing reached his keen ears. Who was crying? Was it a Guado? Didn't the rest of them care? Apparently not, as the Guados wandered by without a glance in the direction of the sobbing. Brother shook his head, thinking how Cid liked to tease him for being overly sensitive. Well, Dad's not here right now, he thought rebelliously, and went in search of the poor, sad soul.
He found her around a bend, crouching in a corner with her back to him, hands over her face. Chestnut brown hair fell about her shoulders and she wore a white top and purple skirt embroidered with flowers. Something about her appearance struck him as very familiar, but he ignored that for a moment in light of the harsh sobs that wracked her small shoulders.
"Yna oui ugyo?" he asked her kindly, doubting she'd understand him, for she didn't look like an Al Bhed.
She started at his voice, then turned to look at him with large, utterly recognizable eyes that were one green and one blue. His jaw dropped. "Y-Yuna?"
"Brother!" she cried in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
He didn't understand that, but the sight of tears streaming from her beautiful eyes made his heart break. He scooted close to her and crouched, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Fryd ec fnuhk?" he asked gently.
She seemed to understand that he was asking what the matter was, and quickly banished her tears with a hand as though ashamed of them. "It's n-nothing," she answered, shaking her head.
She doesn't want to talk about it, he gathered from that. He might have pursued the matter, if only they could understand each other beyond a few words and hand gestures. Mentally resolving to learn Spiran, as he should have done years ago, Brother sat down beside Yuna and gingerly put an arm around her shoulders. Yuna was his cousin, but he liked to think she was his real sister just as much as Rikku was. In any case, she didn't seem to mind his company. She even put her head on his shoulder, which made him smile.
"Rikku's here," Yuna said after a moment or two.
"Hm?" Brother said at the familiar name.
"Rikku. She's, ah, she's with me." Yuna pointed to herself, and he understood what she was saying. The two young women were perhaps traveling together. Brother felt a flash of indignation, wondering why his sister was not here comforting her friend in his stead.
"Druikrdmacc Rikku," he muttered. Yuna blinked but said nothing.
* * *
The next day dawned bright, clear, and cold on Gagazet. Tidus winced at the sunlight reflecting off the snow as he emerged from their dark cave, wishing he had a pair of sunglasses like Auron's. As if he had heard Tidus's thought, Auron's hand descended suddenly and heavily on his shoulder.
"Good morning, sunshine," he said wickedly. "Did you have a good time with your dad last night?"
"Oh yeah, it was a party, all right," Tidus replied dryly, although the sight of Jecht emerging sleepily from the cave didn't make him want to kick something, as it might have only a day ago.
Auron had made Jecht use his bandana to bind his shoulder wound, but he seemed to miss it being on his head. He glowered at Tidus and Auron, shoving hair out of his eyes. "Something for you?" he barked.
"Nothing," Tidus replied quickly, stifling a grin.
Kimahri yawned widely as he appeared, displaying all of his large, sharp teeth. "We go down mountain today," he rumbled. "Maybe reach Calm Lands before nightfall."
"Does this trip seem shorter to anyone, or is it just me?" Tidus demanded as the four got underway. "We never went through the caves or the Fayth's sanctuary."
Kimahri nodded. "This shorter route. No need to go in caves."
"A summoner's road was a bit out of the way," Auron explained. "They were obligated to visit the Fayth's home and pay their dues. Few ever took the shortcut, and those who did...well, it didn't turn out the better for them."
"Why?" Tidus asked curiously.
"Because no matter what Yevon's teachings say, no matter what the priests advocate, no matter what anyone thinks, it is the Fayth, and the Fayth alone, who may make or break a summoner. The wisest summoners know this, and Yuna was one of them."
"Yevon says we traitors, but Fayth know better," Kimahri added.
Auron nodded. "The Fayth are what made it possible for us to continue the pilgrimage even when all of Spira had turned against us."
Jecht stared at them all in turn, his face blank. "Spira turned against you? How come?"
"It's a long story," Auron sighed. "Mainly it was because we killed one of the maesters and accepted the Al Bhed's help. In the end, however, we defied Yevon completely, and you can imagine the trouble that caused."
Jecht didn't say any more. Tidus watched him out of the corner of his eye. I wonder if Dad even knows how we managed to get rid of Sin for good, he thought. He must've known about Yu Yevon. He told us it was coming in the end.
Jecht looked as though he were lost in his own thoughts, his eyes unusually dark. Tidus bet he knew what his father was thinking about. It was the one question he wanted to ask the most, and the one he could never dare- how it must have felt to be Sin.
* * *
After a while, Yuna decided she had better stop acting like a baby and go find Lulu and Rikku. She did her best to convey this to Brother, who insisted on accompanying her once he understood. He seemed mad at Rikku for some reason, or perhaps it was just her imagination. In any case, Yuna was glad for his company.
What a surprise to find Brother here, of all places, Yuna thought as the two of them headed to the entrance of the Farplane. She liked him, had liked him ever since they met on her pilgrimage, even though each of them barely understood a word from the other. He had a proper Al Bhed name, Yuna remembered, but it was something long and impossible for her to pronounce. Rikku referred to him as Brother, and Brother he was, even among his own people.
Yuna had never told the others that it was Brother himself who'd finally succeeded in kidnaping her, all those years ago. Alone in the Sanubia Sands, deposited there by Sin far from her guardians, she'd wandered through the desert until Brother found her and lured her to Home with the promise of shelter and water. Even then she had trusted him, though she was not so naive that she hadn't realized what he was doing. Still, he treated her well, as did the rest of the Al Bhed, and she appreciated their efforts to save her from Seymour's followers. The whole incident had long since been forgiven and forgotten, and Yuna saw no point in bringing it up amongst her friends.
At the Farplane's gate, Yuna asked the eccentric guard whether he'd seen her friends leave. When he reported that he had, she couldn't repress a small sigh of relief, glad that she didn't have to return to the world of the dead. For all she knew she would start hallucinating in front of Brother. Though there's no reason that couldn't happen right here, she thought gloomily as the two of them wandered through Guadosalam's twisting halls. She couldn't understand it, why everything else simply melted away when Tidus appeared to her. I must be going crazy. That's the only explanation.
And now Lulu and Rikku knew. They'd seen her speaking to him as though he were really there, witnessed the whole scene. The thought of what they'd say made her cringe.
At least Brother didn't know. As long as Rikku didn't spill the beans, none of the other Al Bhed, who generally adored her, need know that she was certifiably insane.
Where are you, Tidus? Yuna thought, desperately missing the one person with whom she was never on her guard, never depended upon, never expected to be anything more than herself. Yuna loved her friends dearly, but with Tidus, the word love was not enough to convey the way she felt. With him, she knew who she really was.
Brother suddenly halted and grabbed her arm to stop her, jerking her from her thoughts. She looked to see what had caught his attention. In the main hall below the walkway on which she stood, a small group of people were milling around, attended to by the Guados.
"Muug," Brother said quietly, pointing. Yuna blinked in shock at the sight of men dressed in familiar uniforms, standing at the perimeter of the circle with rifles in hand.
"Warrior monks," she said dazedly. "They must be from Bevelle. But what are they doing...?" She exchanged a grim look with Brother and glanced down to the group again.
As if she'd heard their comments, a woman standing at the center of the circle was gazing up at them. She was young and lovely, full lips pursed in an elegant face, eyes of a dark crimson fixed on them. Her silky hair fell past her waist, white with a silvery sheen. She wore a long blue robe embroidered with silver, full cuffs ending past her wrists and hemline sweeping the ground. Her skin, where it showed, was as white as snow.
"Bneacdacc," Brother muttered, and Yuna recognized the Al Bhed word for priestess.
"I guess she is," she said slowly in reply as the beautiful woman's eyes scrutinized her. Yuna felt Brother tensing beside her as if ready to do battle, and he closed a protective hand around her elbow as they descended the walkway to pass the group.
Her company seemed busy conversing with the Guados, but the priestess elbowed politely through the crowd to stand before them, blocking their path. Yuna stared at her uncertainly, wondering what she wanted.
"Good day," the woman said courteously. Her voice was deep and clear, each word spoken with a sort of deliberation. "May I ask if I am addressing Grand Summoner Yuna?"
Yuna blinked in surprise. Few people used that title, directly acknowledging her as the destroyer of Sin- fewer still were Yevon priests and priestesses. "I am Yuna."
The woman's perfect lips curved into a smile. "It is an honor to meet you, Grand Summoner," she said, extending a slender white hand.
Yuna took it, aware of Brother shifting restlessly beside her. "The pleasure is mine," she replied, slightly confused. "Please, you needn't address me like that. Just Yuna is fine." When the woman only smiled, she added hesitantly, "And you...?"
"I am Mirana. Bevelle sent me to visit Guadosalam," the woman explained, confirming their suspicions. She eyed Brother for a moment. "Your companion doesn't seem to like me, Lady Yuna."
"Fryd tu oui fyhd fedr Yuna?" Brother demanded of her.
Mirana arched a delicate eyebrow. "An Al Bhed. That explains something."
Yuna laid a hand on Brother's arm, attempting to calm him. "This is simply an unexpected encounter, Lady Mirana."
"Indeed," Mirana said wryly, then shrugged. "I shall not waste any more of your time. I merely wished to pay my respects." Her dark eyes lingered on Yuna for a moment, then she smiled. "If you ever come by Bevelle, please stop in and visit me."
"Thank you, Lady Mirana, I'll do that," Yuna replied steadily, although she knew she wouldn't take the priestess up on her offer. "It was a pleasure to meet you."
"A pleasure and an honor," the lady replied, bowing graciously. She returned to her company, most of whom were now staring at Yuna and Brother.
"She's the first Yevon follower I've met who didn't try to rope me into the new religion," Yuna said softly to Brother, though he couldn't understand her.
"Bneacdacc," Brother said again as though it were a dirty word. Yuna couldn't exactly blame him.
"Let's go," she suggested, but before they could move on, a familiar voice called from the walkway overhead.
"Yuna?"
Yuna halted in her tracks, biting her lower lip. Brother glanced upward in her stead. "Muug, Yuna. Edc Rikku yht Lulu."
"I know," Yuna said quietly, not daring to look as her friends descended the stairway and joined them.
"Brother!" came Rikku's surprised cry. "Fryd yna oui tuehk rana?"
"Luswundehk ouin buuk vneaht," Brother snapped at her, but Yuna didn't hear the rest, for Lulu's strong, comforting hand was upon her shoulder.
"Yuna?" Lulu asked softly. "Are you all right?"
Yuna put on a smile as she turned to face her. "Of course, I'm just fine. Brother kept me company. Don't worry about me, I'm perfectly all right."
But Lulu grasped her hand and pulled her aside into a corner away from the rest. "You needn't be ashamed," she said gravely, her penetrating eyes gazing into Yuna's. "And you needn't pretend nothing happened, either. We're here for you."
"I'm fine," Yuna whispered.
"I know," Lulu said simply, and she put her arms around Yuna and pulled her head down to her shoulder. The bitter tears came and Yuna wept in her friend's arms, her guard broken and each raw emotion finally revealed.
* * *
To be continued.
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Translations
Yna oui ugyo? - Are you okay?
Druikrdmacc Rikku - Thoughtless Rikku
Muug - Look
Bneacdacc - Priestess
Fryd tu oui fyhd fedr Yuna? - What do you want with Yuna?
Edc Rikku yht Lulu - It's Rikku and Lulu
Fryd yna oui tuehk rana? - What are you doing here?
Luswundehk ouin buuk vneaht - Comforting your poor friend