Sorry it's been awhile.  I've been busy with stuff.  Well, now I'm back, and I'm gonna finish this fic.  That's right. Squee!

BTW this chappie starts out in a flashback, thus the additional italics.

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            Her big brother told her to stay put as he went to investigate the farmhouse.  They're parents had left the previous day to tend to the animals and hadn't returned.  What was worse was the way the whole area seemed almost too still, like something was drastically wrong.

            And something was.

Teta shifted uncomfortably, staring at the door, waiting for her brother and parents.  What was taking so long?  Sighing, she walked towards the barn, clutching her doll tightly.   

She entered cautiously, her large brown eyes sweeping the area.  There was no one there.  She frowned and ventured further in. 

"Hullo?" she called.  "Mama?  Papa?"

No answer.  She peeked in the stalls.  The animals were sleeping.  Why were they sleeping in the middle of the day?  She walked up to the chocobo and gently patted it's beak.  It was cold. 

"Poor bocobo," she said sweetly and a blanket over the creature.  "There.  All better."

She wandered on, finding no one.  Finally she went to the farmhouse to look for her brother.  She had scarcely entered the door when he appeared.

"Teta!"  He grabbed her and exited quickly, heading towards the tool shed.  "I told you not to follow me," he said, sitting her down on a stool.

"But I was lonely…and you was taking so long…" she stammered.

He paused looking at her, his expression sad.  He hugged her close. 

"I'm sorry, Te.  I shouldn't have left you alone for so long.  I don't want to lose you."

"If you lost me, then you'd have to come find me," she said simply. 

He smiled at her. 

"Hullo!  Is there anyone alive out there?" 

            Teta's head snapped up and she looked around.  Algus stirred only slightly, his eyes glassy.  Frowning, Teta exited the shelter, looking for the source of the voice.  She knew that voice.

            "Weifgraf!?" she called.

            Weifgraf froze, nearly dropping a piece of debris on his foot when he heard the voice.  He turned and scanned the area, the stark contrast of purple to brown and white catching his eye.  He whistled for Boco and ran towards the girl.

            "Teta?  You're alive?"

            She gave him a look and crawled back into the shelter, reappearing a moment later, half-dragging, half-carrying Algus.

            "He's lost a lot of blood, and I could only scavenge a few potions.  Do you have any?  He needs to see a chemist."

            Had Weifgraf been holding anything, he would've dropped it.

*          *            *

            Teta looked out the window, watching the snow fall on the city streets.  Her chest still ached a bit, although she hadn't noticed until she learned Algus was going to be okay. 

            'I guess I was so worried about him that I blocked it out,' she thought.

            It seemed as if Weifgraf questioned her judgment in saving him every day.  She didn't mind, she had wondered herself more than once.  She supposed it was because of his past, and that she knew he had put the phoenix down on that bolt.  Perhaps it was even some subconscious whim to change the world.  Whatever it was, she didn't regret it.  At least not yet.

            Algus shifted slightly, wincing.  It still hurt to move.  As great as potions were, they didn't heal near fatal wounds in a day.  They just kept the heart beating, and even then, one could still die.  He had been lucky.  He owed Teta, a commoner, his life.

            He turned his head and looked out the window.  It was still snowing.  

            He sighed and rested his head back on the pillow. 

            "I really hate snow…" he muttered.