~Chapter 11~
Auron led the Summoner party back into Luca and took them to a long, tall staircase leading north out of the city. Tidus was walking near to him. "Did you take this route last time?"
"Yes," Auron said shortly. It seemed as though he didn't want to discuss the past while in the company of the others, especially Yuna, who made it a point to stay near to him.
The group climbed the stairs and emerged, not in a city environment, but instead on a dirt road that stretched further than the eye could see. The group took a short time to look at the trek ahead.
"We won't make D'Jose in one day," Auron said, stating the obvious. "There is an Inn about halfway down to Mushroom Rock Road. We will stop there when we arrive there." With that, he turned and started to walk down the Highroad. The others shrugged and followed.
The Highroad was easily the most boring part of Spira in Tidus' mind. They walked, and walked, and walked, but the road seemed to be like a treadmill; they seemed to be moving nowhere.
It was Wakka who felt it first: a steady, repeating thump that sounded through the ground. It got louder and louder, which meant it was drawing closer.
"What is that?" Tidus asked apprehensively.
Suddenly, over a small hill in front of the group, large, yellow- feather ostrich-like creatures appeared, three to be exact, each carrying a person on its back. When the people saw the Summoner party, they stopped, and formed a triangular formation, which gave Tidus the distinct impression that this was some sort of military-or something of the sort.
The woman at the head of the formation spoke from the back of the great bird. "Greetings, Summoner," she said. "I am Lucille, the Commander of the Chocobo Knights, in charge of guarding the Mi'hen Highroad. Please be careful-we have been tracking a fiend that has a taste for Chocobos. Please be careful if you are to rent any."
She said this all very quickly, as though she didn't want to be here. Tidus also noticed that birds were very fidgety the longer they stood still. Perhaps their masters had some things in common with their steeds.
Suddenly, Tidus was brought back to Earth by the pounding of the Chocobo's feet; they had gone, leaving the Summoner party in a cloud of dust. "A fiend that eats Chocobos." Tidus said, his hands behind his head.
"What of it?" Auron asked.
"We should go get it!"
"Why?"
"It's the right thing to do!"
Auron chuckled and Tidus frowned. "What'd I say now?" Tidus asked.
"Nothing," Auron said, still chuckling. "It's just that Jecht used to say that a lot, too." He started to walk away, but he turned and said, with a hint of humor, "And every time he did, it always meant trouble for Braska and I."
The sun was rapidly going down as the Summoner party came into view of the Inn. "We rest here tonight," Auron said.
"No way," Wakka said flatly. "That's an Al Bhed place. I don't stay in any Al Bhed place."
He said it like it was a curse-word, and Tidus thought back to what Auron had told him. Perhaps Wakka was prejudiced.
"We need the rest," Auron said, and Tidus knew his tone; Auron didn't like disagreements.
"I'm not tired!" Wakka said defiantly.
"I am," Auron said in a dangerous voice that indicated the conversation was over. He walked over to the Inn's door and stepped in, which, for some reason, seemed to irritate Wakka. Lulu and Kimarhi remained silent (it wasn't a very far stretch for Kimarhi) and Yuna seemed perfectly fine with the Inn. Tidus was rather sleepy as well, and hungry, so he followed the others inside and privately felt glad that Auron was such a badass.
The sun was just sitting on the horizon when Tidus reemerged from the Inn. He looked at the sunset and gasped. "Oh, wow."
He saw Yuna sitting alone on the bluff over looking the ocean in front of the Inn and decided to join her. "Watcha up to?" he asked her. She turned abruptly and saw him, and quickly stuffed something into the folds of her dress. Tidus didn't see this, and mistook her startled surprise. He stopped, but without words she beckoned him forward and he sat on the grass next to her.
The two of them just sat on the bluff and watched the sun for a while, until Yuna finally spoke. "I am nervous about the journey from here on out. I here the road up ahead has many fiends on the trail."
"We'll be fine," Tidus assured her. "We've got Auron, after all."
Tidus' thought drifted away and he found them landing on Seymour. "What do you know about that Seymour guy?" he asked Yuna.
"I really don't know that much about him," Yuna said, frowning. "Why?"
"Nothing. He just. He's kind of creepy, is all."
"Oh," Yuna said. The two were silent for a bit longer before Yuna said, "You know, someday, we are going to Zanarkand."
Tidus looked at her.
"All the pilgrimages end there. There must be a powerful Aeon in the temple there at Zanarkand. My father. Sir Auron."
"What happened to your dad? Is he still in Zanarkand?"
"No," Yuna said quietly. "He is not in Zanarkand anymore."
"What happened to him?"
Yuna hesitated. "I am not sure," she said at last. Tidus decided not to pester her about it.
"When my father defeated Sin," Yuna started, "there was a huge celebration in Bevelle. All of the streets were flooded with people. Everyone was happy. I was lost. I couldn't find my father. And then."
Yuna fell silent, and turned around. Auron stood there, looking down at the two. "Time for bed, Yuna," he said in an almost paternal way. Yuna stood, and walked away from the two. Tidus looked at Auron.
"Our journey to Zanarkand begins," mused Auron. "So now you know."
"Know what?" Tidus asked.
"A small extent of what you are now involved in. Much will be revealed later."
"Will you just give me a straight answer?" Tidus asked angrily.
"Good night," Auron said, and walked back to the Inn, leaving Tidus alone.
Tidus awoke the next morning, fully refreshed and ready to face the new day. He walked out into the main hallway and looked around. Lulu was reading a heavy volume, Wakka was loudly chatting with several non-Al Bhed patrons about Blitzball, and Auron just sat and gazed, occasionally looking around to make sure everything was still in order. Kimarhi was standing at the entrance to Yuna's room down the hallway-she hadn't come out yet.
Suddenly, a man bumped into Tidus. Looking around, Tidus saw a young man, early thirties at least facing him. "Fredaula toak," he said.
"Oh," Tidus said, realizing he must be an Al Bhed, "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
"I said, excuse me," the man said again, through what Tidus thought was a heavy French accent. At first, Tidus thought he was offended, but the man smiled and held out his hand. "I am Rin. I own this establishment. Hali do saud qui. It means, nice to meet you."
"Oh, in that case, helly do sad we to you too," Tidus said, also smiling, and shaking the man's hand.
"I run several Inns and shops throughout Spira, although business has been a bit lacking in the traveling area and, unfortunately, booming the medical and supplies area. It is a sad bit of circumstances. So tell me, young friend-where are you from?"
"Luca," Tidus said with no hesitation. Auron slightly relaxed, having been listening. Rin brightened.
"Ah, yes, I recognize you now! You played as a replacement player for the Besaid Aurochs, did you not?"
"That's me."
"You play quite a game. Now, normally, I root for the Al Bhed Pshycs, but this year, I had a feeling about the Aurochs."
Suddenly, the door burst open and a young girl ran in. "Mr. Rin!" she cried. "That thing that's been eating the Chocobos. Its back!"
Auron and Tidus looked at each other. "That's our cue," Auron said, standing up. Lulu looked up over her book at him.
"What do you mean, that's our cue?"
"Tidus said we should stop whatever is killing the Chocobos. Take it up with him." With that, Auron swept out of the Inn.
"We haven't got time to slay monsters that eat giant birds!" Lulu said to Tidus scathingly.
"I got plenty of time," Wakka said, and he rushed out after Auron.
Lulu watched him go and sent a dark look at Tidus. Tidus turned to Kimarhi and yelled down the hall:
"Keep her in here! We'll be right back!"
Kimarhi nodded and resumed his watch. Tidus ran back to his room and came back with his water-like sword. "Coming?" he asked Lulu, who resignedly put her book down and followed him out of the Inn.
Outside, Auron and Wakka stood facing a large, squat creature, with a wide gaping mouth, two-yes, two tongues-and long, muscular arms that were longer than its entire body. It had its mean little eyes on the two men in front of it, and it had a Chocobo in its grasp.
Tidus stopped next to Auron, who was standing with his huge sword swung over his shoulder, like before. "What do we do?" Tidus asked his mentor.
"We can go about this in one of two ways: we can straight out kill it, or we can knock it over the bluff."
"Which is easier?"
"The second, I'd say."
"Everyone!" Tidus yelled. "Knock it over the edge!"
The three men rushed forward while Lulu stood back, muttering under her breath and forming rings of fire, ice, lightning, and water around her body. After Tidus, Auron, and Wakka attacked, the four rings of magic shot forward and hit the creature right in its face. Stunned, the creature stepped back and dropped the Chocobo.
"Again!" Tidus yelled. They again charged the creature, but it swung its long arm and knocked all three of them a good yard and a half away. Tidus scrambled to get to his feet, because the creature was no longer interested in the Chocobos; it wanted the Guardians instead. And it was racing right at Tidus.
"Oh, Hell," Tidus said.
Auron led the Summoner party back into Luca and took them to a long, tall staircase leading north out of the city. Tidus was walking near to him. "Did you take this route last time?"
"Yes," Auron said shortly. It seemed as though he didn't want to discuss the past while in the company of the others, especially Yuna, who made it a point to stay near to him.
The group climbed the stairs and emerged, not in a city environment, but instead on a dirt road that stretched further than the eye could see. The group took a short time to look at the trek ahead.
"We won't make D'Jose in one day," Auron said, stating the obvious. "There is an Inn about halfway down to Mushroom Rock Road. We will stop there when we arrive there." With that, he turned and started to walk down the Highroad. The others shrugged and followed.
The Highroad was easily the most boring part of Spira in Tidus' mind. They walked, and walked, and walked, but the road seemed to be like a treadmill; they seemed to be moving nowhere.
It was Wakka who felt it first: a steady, repeating thump that sounded through the ground. It got louder and louder, which meant it was drawing closer.
"What is that?" Tidus asked apprehensively.
Suddenly, over a small hill in front of the group, large, yellow- feather ostrich-like creatures appeared, three to be exact, each carrying a person on its back. When the people saw the Summoner party, they stopped, and formed a triangular formation, which gave Tidus the distinct impression that this was some sort of military-or something of the sort.
The woman at the head of the formation spoke from the back of the great bird. "Greetings, Summoner," she said. "I am Lucille, the Commander of the Chocobo Knights, in charge of guarding the Mi'hen Highroad. Please be careful-we have been tracking a fiend that has a taste for Chocobos. Please be careful if you are to rent any."
She said this all very quickly, as though she didn't want to be here. Tidus also noticed that birds were very fidgety the longer they stood still. Perhaps their masters had some things in common with their steeds.
Suddenly, Tidus was brought back to Earth by the pounding of the Chocobo's feet; they had gone, leaving the Summoner party in a cloud of dust. "A fiend that eats Chocobos." Tidus said, his hands behind his head.
"What of it?" Auron asked.
"We should go get it!"
"Why?"
"It's the right thing to do!"
Auron chuckled and Tidus frowned. "What'd I say now?" Tidus asked.
"Nothing," Auron said, still chuckling. "It's just that Jecht used to say that a lot, too." He started to walk away, but he turned and said, with a hint of humor, "And every time he did, it always meant trouble for Braska and I."
The sun was rapidly going down as the Summoner party came into view of the Inn. "We rest here tonight," Auron said.
"No way," Wakka said flatly. "That's an Al Bhed place. I don't stay in any Al Bhed place."
He said it like it was a curse-word, and Tidus thought back to what Auron had told him. Perhaps Wakka was prejudiced.
"We need the rest," Auron said, and Tidus knew his tone; Auron didn't like disagreements.
"I'm not tired!" Wakka said defiantly.
"I am," Auron said in a dangerous voice that indicated the conversation was over. He walked over to the Inn's door and stepped in, which, for some reason, seemed to irritate Wakka. Lulu and Kimarhi remained silent (it wasn't a very far stretch for Kimarhi) and Yuna seemed perfectly fine with the Inn. Tidus was rather sleepy as well, and hungry, so he followed the others inside and privately felt glad that Auron was such a badass.
The sun was just sitting on the horizon when Tidus reemerged from the Inn. He looked at the sunset and gasped. "Oh, wow."
He saw Yuna sitting alone on the bluff over looking the ocean in front of the Inn and decided to join her. "Watcha up to?" he asked her. She turned abruptly and saw him, and quickly stuffed something into the folds of her dress. Tidus didn't see this, and mistook her startled surprise. He stopped, but without words she beckoned him forward and he sat on the grass next to her.
The two of them just sat on the bluff and watched the sun for a while, until Yuna finally spoke. "I am nervous about the journey from here on out. I here the road up ahead has many fiends on the trail."
"We'll be fine," Tidus assured her. "We've got Auron, after all."
Tidus' thought drifted away and he found them landing on Seymour. "What do you know about that Seymour guy?" he asked Yuna.
"I really don't know that much about him," Yuna said, frowning. "Why?"
"Nothing. He just. He's kind of creepy, is all."
"Oh," Yuna said. The two were silent for a bit longer before Yuna said, "You know, someday, we are going to Zanarkand."
Tidus looked at her.
"All the pilgrimages end there. There must be a powerful Aeon in the temple there at Zanarkand. My father. Sir Auron."
"What happened to your dad? Is he still in Zanarkand?"
"No," Yuna said quietly. "He is not in Zanarkand anymore."
"What happened to him?"
Yuna hesitated. "I am not sure," she said at last. Tidus decided not to pester her about it.
"When my father defeated Sin," Yuna started, "there was a huge celebration in Bevelle. All of the streets were flooded with people. Everyone was happy. I was lost. I couldn't find my father. And then."
Yuna fell silent, and turned around. Auron stood there, looking down at the two. "Time for bed, Yuna," he said in an almost paternal way. Yuna stood, and walked away from the two. Tidus looked at Auron.
"Our journey to Zanarkand begins," mused Auron. "So now you know."
"Know what?" Tidus asked.
"A small extent of what you are now involved in. Much will be revealed later."
"Will you just give me a straight answer?" Tidus asked angrily.
"Good night," Auron said, and walked back to the Inn, leaving Tidus alone.
Tidus awoke the next morning, fully refreshed and ready to face the new day. He walked out into the main hallway and looked around. Lulu was reading a heavy volume, Wakka was loudly chatting with several non-Al Bhed patrons about Blitzball, and Auron just sat and gazed, occasionally looking around to make sure everything was still in order. Kimarhi was standing at the entrance to Yuna's room down the hallway-she hadn't come out yet.
Suddenly, a man bumped into Tidus. Looking around, Tidus saw a young man, early thirties at least facing him. "Fredaula toak," he said.
"Oh," Tidus said, realizing he must be an Al Bhed, "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
"I said, excuse me," the man said again, through what Tidus thought was a heavy French accent. At first, Tidus thought he was offended, but the man smiled and held out his hand. "I am Rin. I own this establishment. Hali do saud qui. It means, nice to meet you."
"Oh, in that case, helly do sad we to you too," Tidus said, also smiling, and shaking the man's hand.
"I run several Inns and shops throughout Spira, although business has been a bit lacking in the traveling area and, unfortunately, booming the medical and supplies area. It is a sad bit of circumstances. So tell me, young friend-where are you from?"
"Luca," Tidus said with no hesitation. Auron slightly relaxed, having been listening. Rin brightened.
"Ah, yes, I recognize you now! You played as a replacement player for the Besaid Aurochs, did you not?"
"That's me."
"You play quite a game. Now, normally, I root for the Al Bhed Pshycs, but this year, I had a feeling about the Aurochs."
Suddenly, the door burst open and a young girl ran in. "Mr. Rin!" she cried. "That thing that's been eating the Chocobos. Its back!"
Auron and Tidus looked at each other. "That's our cue," Auron said, standing up. Lulu looked up over her book at him.
"What do you mean, that's our cue?"
"Tidus said we should stop whatever is killing the Chocobos. Take it up with him." With that, Auron swept out of the Inn.
"We haven't got time to slay monsters that eat giant birds!" Lulu said to Tidus scathingly.
"I got plenty of time," Wakka said, and he rushed out after Auron.
Lulu watched him go and sent a dark look at Tidus. Tidus turned to Kimarhi and yelled down the hall:
"Keep her in here! We'll be right back!"
Kimarhi nodded and resumed his watch. Tidus ran back to his room and came back with his water-like sword. "Coming?" he asked Lulu, who resignedly put her book down and followed him out of the Inn.
Outside, Auron and Wakka stood facing a large, squat creature, with a wide gaping mouth, two-yes, two tongues-and long, muscular arms that were longer than its entire body. It had its mean little eyes on the two men in front of it, and it had a Chocobo in its grasp.
Tidus stopped next to Auron, who was standing with his huge sword swung over his shoulder, like before. "What do we do?" Tidus asked his mentor.
"We can go about this in one of two ways: we can straight out kill it, or we can knock it over the bluff."
"Which is easier?"
"The second, I'd say."
"Everyone!" Tidus yelled. "Knock it over the edge!"
The three men rushed forward while Lulu stood back, muttering under her breath and forming rings of fire, ice, lightning, and water around her body. After Tidus, Auron, and Wakka attacked, the four rings of magic shot forward and hit the creature right in its face. Stunned, the creature stepped back and dropped the Chocobo.
"Again!" Tidus yelled. They again charged the creature, but it swung its long arm and knocked all three of them a good yard and a half away. Tidus scrambled to get to his feet, because the creature was no longer interested in the Chocobos; it wanted the Guardians instead. And it was racing right at Tidus.
"Oh, Hell," Tidus said.