Chapter Two
Six Years Later
"Ready… BEGIN!" As the instructor's voice rang out, the gate in front of the sixteen-year-old girl swung open, and she dashed out from the dark preparation tunnel into a sunlit open field, populated by wildflowers, random insects and birds, and a single fiend—a Bomb. The creature bobbled up and down, making incomprehensible crackling sounds to itself… then again, the crackling could have just been the fact that the Bomb was on fire.
Neirana swore to herself, fingering the handle of her blade subconsciously. A Bomb… why did it have to be a Bomb? Bombs were some of the most deadly fiends to attack travelers, to have a student face one in a training session would be just like murder, wouldn't it?
Trying to fight off the panic that threatened to well up inside her, Neirana took several deep, calming breaths and tried to analyze the situation in her mind. She wasn't going to die… if it came to the worst, the instructors would come in and save her, and there were plenty of certified Healers and Healers-In-Training around to fix her up should she be injured. As she realized this, Neirana felt her breathing begin to slow, become more regular, and she felt ready and confident for this battle.
Focusing her emerald gaze on the Bomb, Neirana shifted her grip on her sword to a one-handed one, holding it in her right hand. She brought the hilt up to waist height, and held it in a defensive stance, covering all her vitals from her stomach up. Crouching down low to present a smaller target, Neirana sidestepped towards the Bomb, waiting for it to make the first move. As she approached it, she ran over what she knew about Bombs to be safe.
Bombs, and their brethren throughout Spira, were unique in the fact that they did not carry nutrients through liquid-based means, i.e. blood. Instead, nutrients and other necessary items for life were transported through pathways filled with highly flammable and explosive gases. Why evolution had seen fit to put this in fiends that were ON FIRE, well, Neirana had no idea. It was an oddity, but nevertheless, it was true.
This made it hard for adventurers to fight Bombs, because if they opened a cut in the Bomb's body that was too big… there would be a very large explosion. And while the explosion would annihilate the fiend, it would at the very least do painful damage to the traveler. Thankfully, the gas pathways were deep within the Bomb's body, and therefore required a deep slash to be punctured.
The Bomb shook in its tracks, and then swooped down low, its flames lapping out and catching on to some of the wildflowers, as it tried to ram Neirana. However, the girl was prepared for it, and as the fiend sped at her, she pivoted on her left foot, removing herself from the Bomb's path. Neirana continued her spin, and slashed the fiend in the back as it went by. Her sword cut a clean, surgical line, and Neirana gave thanks to her father's skill as a swordsmith.
The instructors provided most of the trainees with weapons, yet many of the students were not comfortable with someone else's sword, or lance, or staff, or whatever their weapon of choice was. Masa Sutir was fully aware of this.
He had spent several hours taking all of Neirana's measurements, factoring in her agility, her height, her weight, her speed, and her muscle strength. Masa had asked her whether she preferred to stab or to slash, if she was an offensive or defensive fighter, how she held the sword, if she had any favorite techniques, and many other things. After he had gotten all that information, Masa had gone into his smithery and forged his daughter a blade.
It was a thin sword, almost like a rapier in thickness, yet about an inch wide. It was completely straight except for where it went into a zigzag pattern three or so inches above the hilt. The hilt was a brilliant silver, like the blade, and inlaid with a brilliant emerald at the bottom, "To mirror your eyes," Masa had said. It was an unbelievably fast and accurate sword, matching Neirana's own speed and accuracy, and it cut cleanly. Neirana had named it Quicksilver.
Angry at the 'thing' that had bitten it, the Bomb turned and hissed some more at its opponent. Thankfully, Neirana's slice had not hit one of the gas veins. She brushed her blonde ponytail over her shoulder, and lifted Quicksilver up in a salute, before sinking down into another defensive stance. Neirana was laughing inside. This was almost too easy!
"C'mon 'Rana! Let's go!" Kecci was cheering her on from the sidelines, from behind the chain link fence that surrounded the training arena. Neirana spared a second to look at her best friend, and she gave him a smile.
Kecci was dressed in the long, flowing white robes of the Healers, a sharp contrast to her own tight blue shorts and formfitting gray top, designed to hamper movement as little as possible. His dark eyes were twinkling as he cheered for her, his arm pumping in the air. Kecci's hair was longer than it had been as a child, but it wasn't what anyone would refer to as 'long', being only right above his eye level.
Frankly, Neirana thought that his haircut looked stupid, and told him so every other day. As Kecci's best friend, that was her duty.
She focused her attention back to the task at hand, however. And not a moment too soon, for the Bomb rushed at her a second time bare seconds afterward. However, again, she simply pivoted to avoid the attack. Once more, Quicksilver struck, slashing deeper this time, but still not deep enough to burst a vein.
Now infuriated by the sharp pains it was surely feeling, the fiend tried a different tactic this time. The flames surrounding the Bomb grew bigger, and it suddenly formed a fireball and threw it at the girl. Neirana, expecting another rush, was unprepared for this attack, and it hit her square in the midsection.
Neirana felt herself being picked up and thrown backwards; landing in a patch of wildflowers that luckily cushioned her fall. And then the pain of being burnt hit her, and she fought back the urge to scream. 'No… I still have to finish this…' Neirana thought to herself. Fighting the pain and waves of nausea, Neirana shakily climbed to her feet.
She caught a glimpse of the look of worry on Kecci's face, and she gave him a quick wave to reassure him, let him know she was okay. Neirana passed a hand over her eyes to try and clear her blurry vision, and in that moment, she became aware of the Bomb making one final rush at her, hoping to take out its opponent at last. And so, being caught out of her carefully planned defensive stance, Neirana did the only thing she could do.
Quicksilver came up, and stabbed straight through the Bomb, spitting it all the way through.
The move was a mistake, and Neirana knew it. For even as the pyreflies wisped out from the fiend's body, they were joined by the hissing of explosive gas from the Bomb's veins.
The next thing Neirana knew was fire, and an unbelievable noise. She felt herself being thrown back against the fence, and then an unimaginable pain… and then Neirana knew only darkness.
* * *
Neirana never expected to wake up at all. And if she did expect to wake up, she was expecting to wake up crippled for life, or something like that. Okay, maybe just in incredible pain. However, she was most definitely NOT expecting to wake up feeling soft, and warm, and pleasant, and comfortable, and all those nice things in general.
She moaned, and then heard a quiet, loving, voice whisper to her. "Shh… save your strength. You almost died out there." Neirana felt warm hands on her stomach, sending waves of pleasant energy into her, greatly speeding up her body's own self-repair capabilities.
Shrugging off the urge to return to the blessed plane of unconsciousness, Neirana willed her eyes open, and saw that she was in her room, on her bed. It was dark outside—'How long have I been asleep?' wondered Neirana—and she could barely make out the figure of someone sitting at her bedside, hands on her stomach. The soft rainbow glow of healing magic radiated from his—judging by the person's voice, he was male—fingertips.
Although Neirana was unable to see who the figure was, she knew inside. "K-Kecci?" She murmured.
"Yep. It's me, 'Rana…"
Neirana weakly grabbed his hand with her own, and her best friend willingly held it comfortably. "How'd I get here…?" she whispered.
Kecci squeezed her hand gently. "The instructors rented a chocobo to take you back into the city, I volunteered to come with you. You were in need of some healing magic, big-time… and I AM the top of the class. We brought you home, took you up here, got you changed into some less-burnt clothes, and put you in bed. I've been healing you ever since."
Laughing softly, Neirana clung to Kecci's hand like it was the last thing connecting her to life, finding comfort in the pure reality and warmth of his touch. "You… were always… a liar, Kecci. You know… you just wanted to… see me… naked."
"Of course, Neirana. Of course." Although she couldn't see him, Neirana could hear his smile in his voice. Kecci was just glad she was okay. "Seeing you naked is always a plus."
She closed her eyes again and relished in the warmth that flooded her body. What was this feeling…? "My parents? Quicksilver?"
With his other hand, Kecci gently stroked her cheek, and Neirana smiled softly to herself. He felt so alive. "Your parents were worried, of course… what parents wouldn't be? But when they saw that you were in good hands, they calmed down a bit… and the instructors managed to get Quicksilver for you! Your father really is an amazing swordsmith, 'Rana. I mean, that sword was caught in the middle of a huge explosion. It wasn't even singed!"
"Mmm…" Neirana was feeling an almost uncontrollable urge to go to sleep… why fight it? "Hey, Kecci?"
"Yes?"
"Will you just hold me?"
"Of course…" And he did as he said, and held her… and she drifted off into the blessed realm of dreams.
