Visionless Visitor
She fears what she can't see, because the memories stay.
Anita was happy she had listened to the boasting tales the Dragon Warriors had told when she was young. They had talked of the best ways to keep the vicious monsters they met away. Anita found herself applying these, screaming and waving her hands at a monster she couldn't even see, until she heard it walk away, feet pounding against the ground.
Anita followed the scent of the Burmecians, running endlessly across the soft grasses. After a day full of running, the grasses became something she couldn't recognize. It felt grainy to her feet and hands, and when she sniffed it, some of the stuff got up her nose, making her sneeze. She couldn't identify it, but she could identify the smell of Burmecians on this odd stuff. So she kept running over the strange stuff.
Within many hours, she heard a voice.
"Stop."
Anita came to a stop, hearing an odd accent within the voice. She sniffed the air, and the musty smell of plants came to her nostrils. She also detected a scent similar to a Burmecian's, but still different. Soon, she felt a hand on her arm - a furry hand. She sniffed it curiously.
"Who are you?"
"Anita," Anita replied. "I came from Burmecia."
"Of course. Are others with you?"
"Not that I know of," Anita answered.
"I see." The voice paused. "I welcome you to Cleyra. I am the Sand Oracle Strea."
Anita quickly matched scent to voice and name. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Follow me to Cleyra, if you will."
How am I supposed to follow? Anita thought.
Anita heard Strea's footsteps fading, and she quickly followed the fading sound. Her back and arms ached from the grainy ground getting into the burns and slashes, but she still kept a good pace. Soon, however, she heard the roaring that had seemed so distant became louder. She felt a harsh wind blowing the grainy stuff into her face. She stopped moving.
"Where are we going? There's a storm," Anita protested.
She heard Strea stop walking, and heard him turn toward her.
"Yes, yes, I know. The sandstorm protects Cleyra. It will protect you too," Strea said gently, as if talking to a five-year-old.
"Protect? Sandstorm? What is a sandstorm?" Anita asked.
"Why, a storm made of sand," Strea replied.
"And what is sand?" Anita asked.
"The stuff beneath your feet."
"The stuff that is making my wounds ache? Sand is making me aggravated, not protecting me."
"Do not worry, child. Once you get into Cleyra you can get help."
Strea's footsteps began again, and Anita felt she could only follow. The roaring blocked out any other noises. She felt the - the sand blow into her and get into her eyes, nose and mouth. She closed her eyes to keep away the stinging pain, then began to sneeze. She certainly didn't feel protected at that moment. Strea's footsteps, however, clearly continued, and Anita tried her best to follow.
Suddenly, the ground underneath Anita became less sandy and softer. The roaring wind seemed to be behind her, though wisps of wind still brought sand to her. Strea's footsteps kept on going upward, and Anita followed.
"Soon we will reach the settlement," Strea assured her as they walked.
Anita was trying to catch all the smells of the area, but the sand kept making her sneeze. She finally gave up, though it was against her will, and kept walking upward. After a few minutes, the roaring seemed to surround her, but it was faint. Sand no longer got stuck in her nose, and when she sniffed the air, she caught the scents of plants, what she assumed to be Cleyrans, and Burmecians. Her heart nearly leapt with joy. Burmecians were here!
"Another?" a Cleyran voice said.
"Yes," Strea said. "She's injured, not much though. Bad burn on her back though."
Anita heard a sigh. "If only the Burmecians didn't favor such violence. They no doubt would've been spared."
"Doubtful," Anita found herself blurting out. "We didn't do a thing to even provoke an attack. They just came in with their killing beasts."
"Of course not, child," Strea said doubtfully, yet sweetly. "You didn't do anything, of course. But Burmecians in general have such violent ways that they no doubt caused the attack to come on them."
"Are you saying we deserved the attack?" Anita asked, insulted.
"No, no!" Strea said quickly. "I'm just -"
Anita had already walked off, sniffing the air to locate Burmecians. She walked slowly and soon found herself faced with what she assumed to be stairs. She descended carefully, only to find the stairs weren't much. She soon found herself on flat ground. She sniffed the air, only to find the scents of the Burmecians to still be far. She began to wander, stumbling over things in her attempt to find her one kind.
"Calm down. You're going no where quick."
Anita heard footsteps, and soon furry flesh touched her nose. She sniffed it, and immediately smiled. She recognized the smell immediately.
"Hello Din!" she said happily. "Glad to know you made it!"
"Same to you! How you did I have no clue, but it's still nice to know!" Din said, and Anita heard the smile in her brother's voice. "I just got back from seeing the King to see who made it so far. Unfortunately, very few of us are here."
"I suppose I can be added," Anita said.
"How 'bout we go see the King again? He seems highly worried about Puck and I think seeing people is helping him get distracted," Din said. "Come! Let's go!"
Din grabbed Anita's arm and began to lead her. Anita sniffed the air constantly, trying to match scents to locations, but they were going too fast. As they walked, Anita heard water splashing to her left, and she wondered how water got here. She could hear voices - Cleyran voices - talking pleasantly. Anita wondered how anyone could be at such peace after what she had gone through in Burmecia.
"Ah, here we are!" Din said, letting go of Anita's arm.
Anita walked forward nervously, hand out. She felt a smooth, curved glass-like surface. She carefully felt the indentations on the glass-like surface. She moved her hand until she felt air.
"Is it a building?" Anita asked Din after sniffing the air to confirm his presence.
"Yep!" Din said proudly. "It's the cathedral. The King's in there, along with the Cleyran High Priest and a really pretty harp."
Carefully Anita began to walk forward, using the smooth glass-like structure to guide her. Her footsteps echoed softly within the chamber, as did Din's. Soon, the echoing stopped, and she assumed she was in a larger room. She stopped moving and sniffed the air. She caught three different scents, and one she recognized.
"Hello m'lord," Anita said, doing her best curtsy. "It is good to know you are alive and well."
Anita heard someone rise.
"It is good to see you as well, Anita," the King said.
"Who is this?" a Cleyran voice asked.
"She is a civilian, and if you were to use your eyes properly, you would see that she is blind," the King said.
Anita heard two gasps of surprise, and she heard Din chuckle softly behind her. Footsteps approached, and Anita felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She felt herself being turned around.
"Tell the Cleyrans that I request a nice bed at the inn for you, and treatment for those wounds," the King said.
The hand left, and automatically Anita spun about and curtseyed.
"Thank you," she said.
"Pleasure," the King said.
"Come on, Ms. Over-Polite!" Din said teasingly, spinning Anita around. "How about we stop being polite and actually go to the inn?"
"All right, all right," Anita said, smiling. "I'm coming!"
"You better be, or I'll be dragging you!" Din said.
"I think you'll be dragging me anyway," Anita pointed out as Din grabbed her arm and began to tug her along.
"Well, if you'd move your feet we'd make more progress."
"If you'd stop dragging me I'd be able to move my feet."
"Oops." Din stopped moving with a laugh.
Anita put her feet firmly on the ground. Din began to walk, and Anita quickly followed him. She memorized the path they took, using mostly smells, but also some direction. She heard Din open a door, and she swiftly followed.
"The King of Burmecia requests a nice bed for Anita here," Din said.
"All right," a Cleyran voice said. "Anita?"
Anita stepped forward until she felt herself hit wood. She felt as if someone was staring at her.
"Right this way," the Cleyran said, and Anita followed the footsteps she heard.
Anita followed the footsteps until they died. She then walked a bit forward. She managed to brush by the Cleyran, and she felt something in front of her. She knelt down to feel it, and discovered something soft.
"It's a bed, Anita," Din explained behind Anita.
Anita carefully climbed onto the bed. She felt it carefully. It seemed soft and comfortable. She felt for the pillow, and quickly found it. Suddenly the exhaustion of having ran for hours on end came back to her. Yawning sleepily, Anita laid her head on the pillow and curled up. She fell asleep in minutes.
Anita woke late the next day. It was around noon when she at last woke up due to a commotion outside. She rose, yawned, and carefully got out of the bed. Her back was stiff, and she felt it curiously. Her fingers felt rough bandages. When Anita felt her arms, she found bandages on her arms as well. Shrugging this off, Anita padded slowly and carefully out of the inn.
"What's going on?" she asked, but no one answered. The commotion seemed to be too great.
"Anita!"
Anita recognized Din's voice through the noise.
"What's going on?" Anita asked.
"Some kid was attacked by an antlion," Din said with a snort. "Why they keep such a dangerous beast there I don't know. Anyway, I guess things are quieting down now. Sounds like the kid's out."
Anita heard familiar voices.
"Puck? Freya?" Anita guessed.
"Oh, yes! I forgot to tell you! Freya came back, along with three friends. One of them is a killing beast, though. Anyway, Puck came back too, and supposedly Fratley's somewhere, though no one knows where."
The commotion had ended, and Anita heard footsteps fading. She heard Puck's shouting, then suddenly a rush of wind as someone whizzed by. A sniff of the air confirmed the someone to be Puck. More footsteps then came. Anita padded forward a bit, sniffing the air.
Something rammed into Anita, knocking her to the ground. The thing ran off, making the ground shake. Anita rose to a sitting position.
"Are you all right?"
"Oh brilliant, now what did Quina do?"
Anita recognized the first voice, but not the second. She soon felt furry flesh against her nose. She sniffed it, and immediately recognized the scent.
"Hello, Lady Freya," Anita said. "I'm all right. Just a little surprised."
"The commotion?" Freya guessed.
"Quite. It woke me up. A kid was attacked by an antlion?" Anita asked.
"Yeah," said the unfamiliar voice.
"Who are you?" Anita asked, turning her head in the direction of the voice and sniffing the air.
"Let her sniff you, Zidane," Freya said.
Anita felt the vibrations as someone fell to their knees. She felt flesh against her nose and she sniffed it. It smelled human, but at the same time it did not. There was a smell to it Anita could not recognize.
"You have a curious smell, Zidane," Anita commented.
"Huh?" Zidane asked.
"You smell human, but at the same time you don't. Are you a demi?" Anita asked.
"Last time I checked, no," Zidane said with clear confusion.
"Oh," Anita said. "What was that thing that crashed into me?"
"A Qu," Zidane replied, sounding disgusted. "A stupid Qu."
Anita heard someone rise. She heard the scraping of claws against the sandy ground.
"Shall we go?" Freya asked.
"Yeah, I guess so," Zidane said, accompanied by someone rising. "See you around, erm."
"Anita," Anita provided.
"Oh yeah. Well, see you later!" Zidane said.
Anita heard footsteps in the direction behind her.
"Best wishes," Freya said.
More footsteps faded away. Anita rose to her feet. She sniffed a bit and caught Din's scent nearby.
"I wonder, where are they going?" Anita asked Din.
"The Cathedral, I suppose," Din said. "Hey, where are you going?"
"The Cathedral," Anita said simply.
Carefully Anita walked the path she recalled taking when Din led her to the King. She held out her hand, and carefully shoved by people. Soon, she found herself feeling the material that made up the Cathedral. She heard voices from within it.
"Doing so will help me," Anita heard Freya said.
The soft music of a harp came to Anita's ears. Mesmerized by its beauty, Anita stayed where she was, leaning against the wall while listening to the lovely music. The soft tapping of feet came to Anita's ears.
Then, suddenly, she heard a snap. The music stopped, as did the footsteps.
"The strings have snapped," said a soft feminine voice. "A terrible omen this is."
Anything else that may have been said was drowned out by a massive roar. Startled, Anita jumped to a rigid position. The roaring continued, and high winds came. Panicked Anita rushed to the right, only to trip over something. She slammed to the ground. The roaring made her ears ring, and she tried to hide her head under her arms.
Then, suddenly, the roaring stopped. Only echoes of it remained in Anita's ears. The wind was gone suddenly as well. Around her Anita heard startled gasps.
"The sandstorm is gone!"
"We are being punished!"
"What's going on?"
"Help!"
The shouts confused Anita further. The sandstorm was gone? They were being punished? Why was a person shouting "help"? What was going on anyway? Confused, Anita rose to her shaky feet. She sniffed the air, and detected nothing suspicious. Quickly she felt for the object she had tripped over, and used it to jog back to the Cathedral.
". Someone is trying to invade Cleyra," Anita heard the King say as she came close.
"I fear you may be right m'lord," a Cleyran voice said.
"I only hope our enemies don't come up the trunk," the King moaned, and Anita heard his worry.
Anita's blood ran cold, and her heart skipped a beat. Invasion? Enemies? What was going on? Confused, Anita sniffed the air again. The air still smelled sweet, with no danger. Footsteps came from within the Cathedral, and Anita felt a rush of air, and Zidane's scent came to Anita's nostrils.
"Zidane, what is going on?" Anita asked.
"I don't know," Zidane said, and Anita heard his footsteps stop. "The sandstorm's gone from breaking harp strings, and -"
More footsteps came from the Cathedral. Anita recognized them as a Burmecian's footsteps, but before she could get a word, they were gone.
"-And there goes Freya. Sorry, Anita, but I can't talk!" Zidane said, and Anita heard him leave.
Now Anita was not only confused, but worried. She rushed down the path she understood led to the inn, but she constantly collided with confused Burmecians and Cleyrans, and they constantly bumped into her. At last, she stopped moving, exhausted from the constant collisions.
"Din! Where are you?" Anita shouted, but she got no answer. "Din!"
Still no answer. Anita sniffed the air frantically, but she couldn't smell her brother. She began to try and make it through the crowd that was forming, but she couldn't. No one would move.
"DIN!" Anita screamed, and she heard frantic footsteps. When she held out a hand, she found the crowd to have suddenly dispersed. Relieved, Anita rushed forward, trying to get to the inn.
"Hey, calm down!"
Anita felt her arm being grabbed, and she kicked out without sniffing for the scent.
"Relax, it's me! Dan!"
Anita calmed down immediately. She felt her arm being released, and once again flesh was against her nose. She sniffed it, and recognized Dan's scent.
"I'm sorry," Anita said. "But I can't find Din. Have you seen him?"
"Afraid not," Dan said downheartedly.
Immediately Anita sniffed the air. She faintly detected Din's scent, and automatically headed toward it. She soon tripped over stairs and fell to the ground. Soon, however, she felt someone lift her to her feet.
"Hey, calm down," Din said gently. "What's wrong?"
"What's going on?" Anita asked frantically.
"I don't know," Dan admitted. "It's all too confusing." He paused. "Come, we're in the way."
Anita followed Din's footsteps back to the inn. She heard Zidane and Freya's voices, but she didn't pay attention. She was too giddy and nervous. She heard footsteps head down the trunk and fade. She heard softer footsteps coming from the direction of the Cathedral.
"Why are we all crowding about?" a voice asked, and Anita identified it as Puck.
"Confusion, nervousness, and all the crap! Puck, aren't you nervous?" Dan asked.
"No," Puck replied.
"Brilliant," Dan muttered.
That was when a high-pitched squeaking noise filled the air. Everyone was silent. Anita looked about with confusion. She heard more strange noises as the squeaking noise ended.
"KILL!"
Anita's heard nearly stopped with fear. She heard spells discharge, and people screamed. She heard metal scraping leather.
"Anita, run. RUN!" Din shouted, shoving Anita to the side.
Anita automatically ran, only to crash into something. It felt soft yet hard at the same time, and she fell over.
"KILL!"
The shout came from directly above her. Startled, Anita rolled to the side and to her feet. She then rushed forward, only to trip over raised ground and to the ground. Behind her, some turned around. She heard a spell fire, but it never hit her.
Someone screamed above her, and someone slammed into her. The body rolled off her and to the ground. Anita sniffed the ground, and she smelled more than charred flesh and blood. She smelled Din.
"DIN!" Anita screamed, rising into a sitting position and shaking the body beside her. "DIN!"
The response she got was so soft only Anita could hear it.
"Get out of here, now," Din whispered softly.
Beneath her shaking hands, Anita felt Din's body go limp. She shook it again, screaming his name, but got no response. She stayed on the ground for a while, then suddenly scrambled to her feet and fled. She felt wetness around her eyes, but she didn't understand what it was. She kept running, and soon tripped over something soft.
"KILL!"
Something hot whizzed over Anita's fallen body and slammed into someone. The person screamed and fell. Anita lied still, playing dead. She heard footsteps.
"KILL!"
Suddenly something hot whizzed over Anita. The killing beast screamed, startling Anita. It then fell on top of her. Quickly Anita rolled away and to her feet.
"You're alive?"
The voice was shy and young, and Anita couldn't identify it. She sniffed the air, and she detected the scent of a killing beast - an alive one right in front of her.
"Keep away from me," Anita snapped. "Don't hurt me!"
"I-I won't hurt you. I-I'm not with the others," the young voice said nervously.
It could've been true, but Anita didn't trust it. She turned around and fled. She could hear screams of pain, death, and confusion. The whole place was confusing. Anita kept running, not knowing where she was going. Soon she tripped over raised ground once more and fell.
"What was that?"
The voice was human, and Anita immediately kept herself still.
"Look over there!"
"It's a rat."
"Is it alive?" Anita felt flesh hit her thigh.
"It doesn't look wounded."
"Hey! Leave her alone!"
Anita immediately recognized Zidane's voice. She heard a spell discharge, and one of the humans cried out in pain. She then heard the other let out a gurgling sound after footsteps rushed toward it.
"Hey, you okay?" Zidane asked.
Anita rose to her shaky feet, nodding.
"Yes," she managed to say.
"Okay, good. Go find a place to hind, okay?" Zidane told her, and Anita heard footsteps leave her.
More footsteps came and went. Anita felt for someplace to hide. She located using her fingers a bush and crawled into it. Nervously she curled up in the brush.
Footsteps came and went constantly. Screams filled the air. Anita began to shake with nervousness. She heard voices from the Cathedral, but she understood nothing that was going on. After a while, the screams left, and she nervously got out of the brush.
The high-pitched squeaking noise returned, and it came from everywhere. Highly confused, Anita began to run toward the inn once more. She tripped over many bodies in her extreme confusion. Soon, she didn't even know where she was going. She was running endlessly, in a panic.
She heard a powerful roar from the sky. A huge wind came down on her, knocking her to the ground. She heard panicked cries. She then heard a haunting call, soon followed by Puck's voice.
"Hey Fratley! GRAB HER!"
Anita was given no time to think as someone suddenly grabbed her. Anita kicked out, panicked, and continued to struggle. She knew she was being carried, and suddenly she felt her feet leave the ground. She felt a bunch of brush and sticks. Behind her, she heard a rough explosion.
Then, suddenly, she felt nothing but whoever held her. Behind her, the explosion was becoming louder and drowning out any screams that would normally be heard. Anita felt herself fall, and she struggled again. She tried to free herself, but soon she felt the grip on her tighten and she felt herself being pulled closer in an attempt to stop her struggles.
"Calm down, you're safe," she heard a male voice mutter.
She recognized the voice. She sniffed the air, and could scarcely believe it. She was falling with Sir Fratley and Prince Puck!
Something exploded behind her, and suddenly extreme heat wrapped around Anita like a blanket. An explosion roared in her sensitive ears, terrifying her. She buried her face into what she assumed was Fratley's arm, trying to hide herself from the oblivion.
"Ya sure we'll make it through this?" Puck asked, his voice barely heard over the noise.
"Of course. I would never put you in danger, Lord Puck," Fratley said.
"I'm not a Lord! Get that through your thick skull, Fratley!" Puck bellowed angrily.
"I will try, Lord Puck," Fratley replied.
"Great Dragon, help me," Puck moaned.
Anita was starting to feel sick, and she felt as it she was fading away.
"Am I dying?" Anita asked.
"Nah, I doubt it," Puck replied. "After all, I'm riding on Fratley's shoulders and I feel fine. You're probably just not used to the heat."
"You mean you've been through things worse than this?" Fratley asked, sounding interested. "You'll have to tell me!"
"Oh Fratley," Puck moaned.
Anita was feeling herself slowly fade away. She took a deep breath.
"I can't be dying," she muttered.
"You're not dying!" Puck shouted. "God, you'd think Fratley would be dying since he's the one holding us all."
"Am I dying?" Fratley asked, though he sounded like he was joking.
"Oh Fratley," Puck moaned. "Fratley, Fratley, Fratley."
Whatever else may have been said was lost to Anita as she fell unconscious.
------------- And here's another short story following Anita through the attack. I know, I know, I made Fratley kind of stupid, but he lost his memory, so I felt he would have a few "stupid" problems. But he's smart, don't worry =) Anyway, I feel "Sightless Sanctuary" was better but this one is longer so I guess they both have their flaws =) I hope you like this, and please review!
This story is copyright to me. Some characters, events, locations, and Gaia in general are copyright to SquareEnix.
She fears what she can't see, because the memories stay.
Anita was happy she had listened to the boasting tales the Dragon Warriors had told when she was young. They had talked of the best ways to keep the vicious monsters they met away. Anita found herself applying these, screaming and waving her hands at a monster she couldn't even see, until she heard it walk away, feet pounding against the ground.
Anita followed the scent of the Burmecians, running endlessly across the soft grasses. After a day full of running, the grasses became something she couldn't recognize. It felt grainy to her feet and hands, and when she sniffed it, some of the stuff got up her nose, making her sneeze. She couldn't identify it, but she could identify the smell of Burmecians on this odd stuff. So she kept running over the strange stuff.
Within many hours, she heard a voice.
"Stop."
Anita came to a stop, hearing an odd accent within the voice. She sniffed the air, and the musty smell of plants came to her nostrils. She also detected a scent similar to a Burmecian's, but still different. Soon, she felt a hand on her arm - a furry hand. She sniffed it curiously.
"Who are you?"
"Anita," Anita replied. "I came from Burmecia."
"Of course. Are others with you?"
"Not that I know of," Anita answered.
"I see." The voice paused. "I welcome you to Cleyra. I am the Sand Oracle Strea."
Anita quickly matched scent to voice and name. "Pleasure to meet you."
"Follow me to Cleyra, if you will."
How am I supposed to follow? Anita thought.
Anita heard Strea's footsteps fading, and she quickly followed the fading sound. Her back and arms ached from the grainy ground getting into the burns and slashes, but she still kept a good pace. Soon, however, she heard the roaring that had seemed so distant became louder. She felt a harsh wind blowing the grainy stuff into her face. She stopped moving.
"Where are we going? There's a storm," Anita protested.
She heard Strea stop walking, and heard him turn toward her.
"Yes, yes, I know. The sandstorm protects Cleyra. It will protect you too," Strea said gently, as if talking to a five-year-old.
"Protect? Sandstorm? What is a sandstorm?" Anita asked.
"Why, a storm made of sand," Strea replied.
"And what is sand?" Anita asked.
"The stuff beneath your feet."
"The stuff that is making my wounds ache? Sand is making me aggravated, not protecting me."
"Do not worry, child. Once you get into Cleyra you can get help."
Strea's footsteps began again, and Anita felt she could only follow. The roaring blocked out any other noises. She felt the - the sand blow into her and get into her eyes, nose and mouth. She closed her eyes to keep away the stinging pain, then began to sneeze. She certainly didn't feel protected at that moment. Strea's footsteps, however, clearly continued, and Anita tried her best to follow.
Suddenly, the ground underneath Anita became less sandy and softer. The roaring wind seemed to be behind her, though wisps of wind still brought sand to her. Strea's footsteps kept on going upward, and Anita followed.
"Soon we will reach the settlement," Strea assured her as they walked.
Anita was trying to catch all the smells of the area, but the sand kept making her sneeze. She finally gave up, though it was against her will, and kept walking upward. After a few minutes, the roaring seemed to surround her, but it was faint. Sand no longer got stuck in her nose, and when she sniffed the air, she caught the scents of plants, what she assumed to be Cleyrans, and Burmecians. Her heart nearly leapt with joy. Burmecians were here!
"Another?" a Cleyran voice said.
"Yes," Strea said. "She's injured, not much though. Bad burn on her back though."
Anita heard a sigh. "If only the Burmecians didn't favor such violence. They no doubt would've been spared."
"Doubtful," Anita found herself blurting out. "We didn't do a thing to even provoke an attack. They just came in with their killing beasts."
"Of course not, child," Strea said doubtfully, yet sweetly. "You didn't do anything, of course. But Burmecians in general have such violent ways that they no doubt caused the attack to come on them."
"Are you saying we deserved the attack?" Anita asked, insulted.
"No, no!" Strea said quickly. "I'm just -"
Anita had already walked off, sniffing the air to locate Burmecians. She walked slowly and soon found herself faced with what she assumed to be stairs. She descended carefully, only to find the stairs weren't much. She soon found herself on flat ground. She sniffed the air, only to find the scents of the Burmecians to still be far. She began to wander, stumbling over things in her attempt to find her one kind.
"Calm down. You're going no where quick."
Anita heard footsteps, and soon furry flesh touched her nose. She sniffed it, and immediately smiled. She recognized the smell immediately.
"Hello Din!" she said happily. "Glad to know you made it!"
"Same to you! How you did I have no clue, but it's still nice to know!" Din said, and Anita heard the smile in her brother's voice. "I just got back from seeing the King to see who made it so far. Unfortunately, very few of us are here."
"I suppose I can be added," Anita said.
"How 'bout we go see the King again? He seems highly worried about Puck and I think seeing people is helping him get distracted," Din said. "Come! Let's go!"
Din grabbed Anita's arm and began to lead her. Anita sniffed the air constantly, trying to match scents to locations, but they were going too fast. As they walked, Anita heard water splashing to her left, and she wondered how water got here. She could hear voices - Cleyran voices - talking pleasantly. Anita wondered how anyone could be at such peace after what she had gone through in Burmecia.
"Ah, here we are!" Din said, letting go of Anita's arm.
Anita walked forward nervously, hand out. She felt a smooth, curved glass-like surface. She carefully felt the indentations on the glass-like surface. She moved her hand until she felt air.
"Is it a building?" Anita asked Din after sniffing the air to confirm his presence.
"Yep!" Din said proudly. "It's the cathedral. The King's in there, along with the Cleyran High Priest and a really pretty harp."
Carefully Anita began to walk forward, using the smooth glass-like structure to guide her. Her footsteps echoed softly within the chamber, as did Din's. Soon, the echoing stopped, and she assumed she was in a larger room. She stopped moving and sniffed the air. She caught three different scents, and one she recognized.
"Hello m'lord," Anita said, doing her best curtsy. "It is good to know you are alive and well."
Anita heard someone rise.
"It is good to see you as well, Anita," the King said.
"Who is this?" a Cleyran voice asked.
"She is a civilian, and if you were to use your eyes properly, you would see that she is blind," the King said.
Anita heard two gasps of surprise, and she heard Din chuckle softly behind her. Footsteps approached, and Anita felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She felt herself being turned around.
"Tell the Cleyrans that I request a nice bed at the inn for you, and treatment for those wounds," the King said.
The hand left, and automatically Anita spun about and curtseyed.
"Thank you," she said.
"Pleasure," the King said.
"Come on, Ms. Over-Polite!" Din said teasingly, spinning Anita around. "How about we stop being polite and actually go to the inn?"
"All right, all right," Anita said, smiling. "I'm coming!"
"You better be, or I'll be dragging you!" Din said.
"I think you'll be dragging me anyway," Anita pointed out as Din grabbed her arm and began to tug her along.
"Well, if you'd move your feet we'd make more progress."
"If you'd stop dragging me I'd be able to move my feet."
"Oops." Din stopped moving with a laugh.
Anita put her feet firmly on the ground. Din began to walk, and Anita quickly followed him. She memorized the path they took, using mostly smells, but also some direction. She heard Din open a door, and she swiftly followed.
"The King of Burmecia requests a nice bed for Anita here," Din said.
"All right," a Cleyran voice said. "Anita?"
Anita stepped forward until she felt herself hit wood. She felt as if someone was staring at her.
"Right this way," the Cleyran said, and Anita followed the footsteps she heard.
Anita followed the footsteps until they died. She then walked a bit forward. She managed to brush by the Cleyran, and she felt something in front of her. She knelt down to feel it, and discovered something soft.
"It's a bed, Anita," Din explained behind Anita.
Anita carefully climbed onto the bed. She felt it carefully. It seemed soft and comfortable. She felt for the pillow, and quickly found it. Suddenly the exhaustion of having ran for hours on end came back to her. Yawning sleepily, Anita laid her head on the pillow and curled up. She fell asleep in minutes.
Anita woke late the next day. It was around noon when she at last woke up due to a commotion outside. She rose, yawned, and carefully got out of the bed. Her back was stiff, and she felt it curiously. Her fingers felt rough bandages. When Anita felt her arms, she found bandages on her arms as well. Shrugging this off, Anita padded slowly and carefully out of the inn.
"What's going on?" she asked, but no one answered. The commotion seemed to be too great.
"Anita!"
Anita recognized Din's voice through the noise.
"What's going on?" Anita asked.
"Some kid was attacked by an antlion," Din said with a snort. "Why they keep such a dangerous beast there I don't know. Anyway, I guess things are quieting down now. Sounds like the kid's out."
Anita heard familiar voices.
"Puck? Freya?" Anita guessed.
"Oh, yes! I forgot to tell you! Freya came back, along with three friends. One of them is a killing beast, though. Anyway, Puck came back too, and supposedly Fratley's somewhere, though no one knows where."
The commotion had ended, and Anita heard footsteps fading. She heard Puck's shouting, then suddenly a rush of wind as someone whizzed by. A sniff of the air confirmed the someone to be Puck. More footsteps then came. Anita padded forward a bit, sniffing the air.
Something rammed into Anita, knocking her to the ground. The thing ran off, making the ground shake. Anita rose to a sitting position.
"Are you all right?"
"Oh brilliant, now what did Quina do?"
Anita recognized the first voice, but not the second. She soon felt furry flesh against her nose. She sniffed it, and immediately recognized the scent.
"Hello, Lady Freya," Anita said. "I'm all right. Just a little surprised."
"The commotion?" Freya guessed.
"Quite. It woke me up. A kid was attacked by an antlion?" Anita asked.
"Yeah," said the unfamiliar voice.
"Who are you?" Anita asked, turning her head in the direction of the voice and sniffing the air.
"Let her sniff you, Zidane," Freya said.
Anita felt the vibrations as someone fell to their knees. She felt flesh against her nose and she sniffed it. It smelled human, but at the same time it did not. There was a smell to it Anita could not recognize.
"You have a curious smell, Zidane," Anita commented.
"Huh?" Zidane asked.
"You smell human, but at the same time you don't. Are you a demi?" Anita asked.
"Last time I checked, no," Zidane said with clear confusion.
"Oh," Anita said. "What was that thing that crashed into me?"
"A Qu," Zidane replied, sounding disgusted. "A stupid Qu."
Anita heard someone rise. She heard the scraping of claws against the sandy ground.
"Shall we go?" Freya asked.
"Yeah, I guess so," Zidane said, accompanied by someone rising. "See you around, erm."
"Anita," Anita provided.
"Oh yeah. Well, see you later!" Zidane said.
Anita heard footsteps in the direction behind her.
"Best wishes," Freya said.
More footsteps faded away. Anita rose to her feet. She sniffed a bit and caught Din's scent nearby.
"I wonder, where are they going?" Anita asked Din.
"The Cathedral, I suppose," Din said. "Hey, where are you going?"
"The Cathedral," Anita said simply.
Carefully Anita walked the path she recalled taking when Din led her to the King. She held out her hand, and carefully shoved by people. Soon, she found herself feeling the material that made up the Cathedral. She heard voices from within it.
"Doing so will help me," Anita heard Freya said.
The soft music of a harp came to Anita's ears. Mesmerized by its beauty, Anita stayed where she was, leaning against the wall while listening to the lovely music. The soft tapping of feet came to Anita's ears.
Then, suddenly, she heard a snap. The music stopped, as did the footsteps.
"The strings have snapped," said a soft feminine voice. "A terrible omen this is."
Anything else that may have been said was drowned out by a massive roar. Startled, Anita jumped to a rigid position. The roaring continued, and high winds came. Panicked Anita rushed to the right, only to trip over something. She slammed to the ground. The roaring made her ears ring, and she tried to hide her head under her arms.
Then, suddenly, the roaring stopped. Only echoes of it remained in Anita's ears. The wind was gone suddenly as well. Around her Anita heard startled gasps.
"The sandstorm is gone!"
"We are being punished!"
"What's going on?"
"Help!"
The shouts confused Anita further. The sandstorm was gone? They were being punished? Why was a person shouting "help"? What was going on anyway? Confused, Anita rose to her shaky feet. She sniffed the air, and detected nothing suspicious. Quickly she felt for the object she had tripped over, and used it to jog back to the Cathedral.
". Someone is trying to invade Cleyra," Anita heard the King say as she came close.
"I fear you may be right m'lord," a Cleyran voice said.
"I only hope our enemies don't come up the trunk," the King moaned, and Anita heard his worry.
Anita's blood ran cold, and her heart skipped a beat. Invasion? Enemies? What was going on? Confused, Anita sniffed the air again. The air still smelled sweet, with no danger. Footsteps came from within the Cathedral, and Anita felt a rush of air, and Zidane's scent came to Anita's nostrils.
"Zidane, what is going on?" Anita asked.
"I don't know," Zidane said, and Anita heard his footsteps stop. "The sandstorm's gone from breaking harp strings, and -"
More footsteps came from the Cathedral. Anita recognized them as a Burmecian's footsteps, but before she could get a word, they were gone.
"-And there goes Freya. Sorry, Anita, but I can't talk!" Zidane said, and Anita heard him leave.
Now Anita was not only confused, but worried. She rushed down the path she understood led to the inn, but she constantly collided with confused Burmecians and Cleyrans, and they constantly bumped into her. At last, she stopped moving, exhausted from the constant collisions.
"Din! Where are you?" Anita shouted, but she got no answer. "Din!"
Still no answer. Anita sniffed the air frantically, but she couldn't smell her brother. She began to try and make it through the crowd that was forming, but she couldn't. No one would move.
"DIN!" Anita screamed, and she heard frantic footsteps. When she held out a hand, she found the crowd to have suddenly dispersed. Relieved, Anita rushed forward, trying to get to the inn.
"Hey, calm down!"
Anita felt her arm being grabbed, and she kicked out without sniffing for the scent.
"Relax, it's me! Dan!"
Anita calmed down immediately. She felt her arm being released, and once again flesh was against her nose. She sniffed it, and recognized Dan's scent.
"I'm sorry," Anita said. "But I can't find Din. Have you seen him?"
"Afraid not," Dan said downheartedly.
Immediately Anita sniffed the air. She faintly detected Din's scent, and automatically headed toward it. She soon tripped over stairs and fell to the ground. Soon, however, she felt someone lift her to her feet.
"Hey, calm down," Din said gently. "What's wrong?"
"What's going on?" Anita asked frantically.
"I don't know," Dan admitted. "It's all too confusing." He paused. "Come, we're in the way."
Anita followed Din's footsteps back to the inn. She heard Zidane and Freya's voices, but she didn't pay attention. She was too giddy and nervous. She heard footsteps head down the trunk and fade. She heard softer footsteps coming from the direction of the Cathedral.
"Why are we all crowding about?" a voice asked, and Anita identified it as Puck.
"Confusion, nervousness, and all the crap! Puck, aren't you nervous?" Dan asked.
"No," Puck replied.
"Brilliant," Dan muttered.
That was when a high-pitched squeaking noise filled the air. Everyone was silent. Anita looked about with confusion. She heard more strange noises as the squeaking noise ended.
"KILL!"
Anita's heard nearly stopped with fear. She heard spells discharge, and people screamed. She heard metal scraping leather.
"Anita, run. RUN!" Din shouted, shoving Anita to the side.
Anita automatically ran, only to crash into something. It felt soft yet hard at the same time, and she fell over.
"KILL!"
The shout came from directly above her. Startled, Anita rolled to the side and to her feet. She then rushed forward, only to trip over raised ground and to the ground. Behind her, some turned around. She heard a spell fire, but it never hit her.
Someone screamed above her, and someone slammed into her. The body rolled off her and to the ground. Anita sniffed the ground, and she smelled more than charred flesh and blood. She smelled Din.
"DIN!" Anita screamed, rising into a sitting position and shaking the body beside her. "DIN!"
The response she got was so soft only Anita could hear it.
"Get out of here, now," Din whispered softly.
Beneath her shaking hands, Anita felt Din's body go limp. She shook it again, screaming his name, but got no response. She stayed on the ground for a while, then suddenly scrambled to her feet and fled. She felt wetness around her eyes, but she didn't understand what it was. She kept running, and soon tripped over something soft.
"KILL!"
Something hot whizzed over Anita's fallen body and slammed into someone. The person screamed and fell. Anita lied still, playing dead. She heard footsteps.
"KILL!"
Suddenly something hot whizzed over Anita. The killing beast screamed, startling Anita. It then fell on top of her. Quickly Anita rolled away and to her feet.
"You're alive?"
The voice was shy and young, and Anita couldn't identify it. She sniffed the air, and she detected the scent of a killing beast - an alive one right in front of her.
"Keep away from me," Anita snapped. "Don't hurt me!"
"I-I won't hurt you. I-I'm not with the others," the young voice said nervously.
It could've been true, but Anita didn't trust it. She turned around and fled. She could hear screams of pain, death, and confusion. The whole place was confusing. Anita kept running, not knowing where she was going. Soon she tripped over raised ground once more and fell.
"What was that?"
The voice was human, and Anita immediately kept herself still.
"Look over there!"
"It's a rat."
"Is it alive?" Anita felt flesh hit her thigh.
"It doesn't look wounded."
"Hey! Leave her alone!"
Anita immediately recognized Zidane's voice. She heard a spell discharge, and one of the humans cried out in pain. She then heard the other let out a gurgling sound after footsteps rushed toward it.
"Hey, you okay?" Zidane asked.
Anita rose to her shaky feet, nodding.
"Yes," she managed to say.
"Okay, good. Go find a place to hind, okay?" Zidane told her, and Anita heard footsteps leave her.
More footsteps came and went. Anita felt for someplace to hide. She located using her fingers a bush and crawled into it. Nervously she curled up in the brush.
Footsteps came and went constantly. Screams filled the air. Anita began to shake with nervousness. She heard voices from the Cathedral, but she understood nothing that was going on. After a while, the screams left, and she nervously got out of the brush.
The high-pitched squeaking noise returned, and it came from everywhere. Highly confused, Anita began to run toward the inn once more. She tripped over many bodies in her extreme confusion. Soon, she didn't even know where she was going. She was running endlessly, in a panic.
She heard a powerful roar from the sky. A huge wind came down on her, knocking her to the ground. She heard panicked cries. She then heard a haunting call, soon followed by Puck's voice.
"Hey Fratley! GRAB HER!"
Anita was given no time to think as someone suddenly grabbed her. Anita kicked out, panicked, and continued to struggle. She knew she was being carried, and suddenly she felt her feet leave the ground. She felt a bunch of brush and sticks. Behind her, she heard a rough explosion.
Then, suddenly, she felt nothing but whoever held her. Behind her, the explosion was becoming louder and drowning out any screams that would normally be heard. Anita felt herself fall, and she struggled again. She tried to free herself, but soon she felt the grip on her tighten and she felt herself being pulled closer in an attempt to stop her struggles.
"Calm down, you're safe," she heard a male voice mutter.
She recognized the voice. She sniffed the air, and could scarcely believe it. She was falling with Sir Fratley and Prince Puck!
Something exploded behind her, and suddenly extreme heat wrapped around Anita like a blanket. An explosion roared in her sensitive ears, terrifying her. She buried her face into what she assumed was Fratley's arm, trying to hide herself from the oblivion.
"Ya sure we'll make it through this?" Puck asked, his voice barely heard over the noise.
"Of course. I would never put you in danger, Lord Puck," Fratley said.
"I'm not a Lord! Get that through your thick skull, Fratley!" Puck bellowed angrily.
"I will try, Lord Puck," Fratley replied.
"Great Dragon, help me," Puck moaned.
Anita was starting to feel sick, and she felt as it she was fading away.
"Am I dying?" Anita asked.
"Nah, I doubt it," Puck replied. "After all, I'm riding on Fratley's shoulders and I feel fine. You're probably just not used to the heat."
"You mean you've been through things worse than this?" Fratley asked, sounding interested. "You'll have to tell me!"
"Oh Fratley," Puck moaned.
Anita was feeling herself slowly fade away. She took a deep breath.
"I can't be dying," she muttered.
"You're not dying!" Puck shouted. "God, you'd think Fratley would be dying since he's the one holding us all."
"Am I dying?" Fratley asked, though he sounded like he was joking.
"Oh Fratley," Puck moaned. "Fratley, Fratley, Fratley."
Whatever else may have been said was lost to Anita as she fell unconscious.
------------- And here's another short story following Anita through the attack. I know, I know, I made Fratley kind of stupid, but he lost his memory, so I felt he would have a few "stupid" problems. But he's smart, don't worry =) Anyway, I feel "Sightless Sanctuary" was better but this one is longer so I guess they both have their flaws =) I hope you like this, and please review!
This story is copyright to me. Some characters, events, locations, and Gaia in general are copyright to SquareEnix.