Chapter 12
**((This is all made-up. I still don't own FFX or the characters. I just take liberties with them.))**
When Auron had finished dressing, he and Lulu set off.
Secretly, Lulu had watched Auron in his full glory while he had gone about his business. She did not help him with his clothes, partially because she felt he did not need her help, and partially because she was overcome with a particular shyness she had not felt in a long time. It behooved her, because she wasn't a virgin; she hadn't been a virgin when she'd gone to bed with Auron, and she hadn't been at all shy with Chappu when they had consumated their love before his leaving. But she did appreciate the knowing smiles that Auron gave her, and she did appreciate his lightening of mood.
How very strange to her, that two such sullen people could find themselves as giddy as the less sullen they were accustomed to traveling with!
She knew it was a little awkward for Auron, the way he came and wrapped her up in his arms, and kissed her on the lips. But she also knew it was sweet, and delicious, and ambrosia for them both. The awkwardness be damned. It would fade eventually.
And yet, even while she relished being in Auron's arms, she felt again as if she were playing the whore, and not being true to something. What, or who? Chappu, or Wakka?
Lulu thought on this while she and Auron traveled. The Sanubia Sands were vast, and she had plenty of time to ponder.
Auron and Lulu were not idiots. Besaid was tropical, and Kilika and Luca were as well, but no place had such rolling deserts like Bikanel Island.
The two walked in comfortable silence, and this was suitable for both of them. Lulu was thankful that she did not have to speak, and interrupt the pattern of her thoughts.
She had to be honest. When she thought of Auron, she didn't think of children, and their own little house, and the future. They merely understood each other. She did love him, yes. But she wasn't sure when that feeling of love sprang up, or where it had come from. She felt it, and she knew that it had been growing for a while. But there was also a nagging in the pit of her belly. She didn't set her expectations high, and hope for anything to come from her indiscretions with Auron other than a pleasent diversion. She didn't know why, but she felt with conviction that what she had with Auron would not last past the pilgrimage.
But on the other hand, Wakka would still be there after the pilgrimage. He would be there, repairing her hut, and tending to her flowers, and making sure she ate properly, and did not tire herself with her studies.
He was always there, insisting she come to the beach and watch the Blitz practices. He would be there, bringing her samples of the treats that some of the local women had concocted.
Truth be known, she wasn't sure if she could survive very well without Wakka doing the menial things for her.
"You're deep in thought.." Auron's voice interrupted her.
"I am." She admitted. "I am wondering how things will be, when I finally see Besaid again."
"They will be much changed."
It put a feeling of unease in Lulu's heart, the way he said that with such belief.
For a while, the two walked.
The sun beat down on them relentlessly. After a couple of hours, Auron shrugged off the sleeves to his red coat, and soon enough, sweat had soaked through the black shirt that he wore underneath. Lulu was uncomfortable enough in her dress. When she had constructed her black dress, she had still been in Besaid, and had just passed her trials to become a black mage. Her latent talent towards the magickal had blossomed early, and she had went to the temple for Yevon's blessing around the same time that her body had begun to flower. Thinking back, she could remember sitting in the cool rooms of the temple, and sewing together the dress that would mark her indeliably in the memories of the Besaid people as the resident black mage.
She had been tempted at the time to make the dress out of leather, or wool, or something heavy. The temple rooms had been so cool at the time that she shivered. But the old priest supervising her work had warned her that she would be wearing this much of the time. She would be traveling to foreign lands, and heavy fabric would not be comfortable. Now she thought back on the old priest and blessed him silently. The silk damask wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been, and for that, she was thankful.
Lulu would have been shocked though, if she'd known that every now and again, Auron was stealing glances at her. She would have been more shocked to know that he was envious of the beads of her necklace, resting between her breasts. He didn't mind the sweat on her brow. In fact, in Auron's eyes, it made her all the more real. More earthy...
"There'll be another oasis ahead. A smaller one...."
Auron was interrupted by the sound of a cry of pain. A loud shriek went up, and it took Lulu a second to recognize the sound.
"Tidus is somewhere around here!" Her eyes went wide and she looked around, searching for the battle. "You know how inept he is."
Meaning the little wanker would be dead meat if they didn't find him soon.
They crested a sand dune, and found the oasis Auron had been speaking of. Tidus was huddled over, sword clenched in hand, and one arm wrapped around his midsection. He was panting, and focused on a large, black bird which swooped in once more and attacked him.
Auron hefted his sword, and with a grunt, slid down the dune. When he reached the bottom, he swung his Murasame, catching the fiend in the gut. The bird was hurt, but not yet dead, and still a threat.
'What element would be good for the desert...?' Lulu thought frantically, and halted at the top of the sand dune. Fire would be ludicrous in such a hot place. Water would only invigorate. Ice....
"This is ridiculous.." She muttered. Her arms went up in a salute, and she bent, flinging the spell at the bird. The crackle of lightening, and thunder gathered, and she watched with satisfaction, as the giant bird was electrocuted.
It fell to the ground, dead, and burst into a cloud of pyreflies. Tidus slumped over in relief, and Auron began rifling about in his pack for a Hi-Potion.
"Are you alright?" Lulu called, as she began her descent down the sand dune.
"Yeah." Tidus replied. "The others?"
Lulu flushed red. She had not even thought about Yuna up until then. She was suddenly thankful for the sunburn on her cheeks.
"Haven't found them yet." Lulu said. Technically, this was not a lie. "We're supposed to stay in one place if we get split up."
As she said this, she cast a sideways glance at Auron. There was an amused expression on his face that Lulu could not decipher.
His good eye closed in a wink, and then he turned and started over the sands, walking away.
"Wait here if you want." Tidus began gulping the Hi-Potion. "He's not."
With a pained expression, and a small sound of displeasure, Tidus set off after Auron, trying to mirror his pace. A grin spread over Lulu's face.
'You're so hard on him, Auron. That's what was amusing you.' She chuckled. It was like pounding a piece of hard clay into shape. You had to get it pliant before you could craft it into a useful piece.
She hitched her skirt up into her hands, and followed the two.
********************************************************************
When the temperature reached it's peak, Wakka crawled back underneath the machina ruin, and rested against the wall of it. They were all supposed to stay in one place if they got seperated. And as soon as possible, he planned on kicking out of here and finding Lulu.
He was only inside the machina for an hour, when he heard voices. Jubilant, he launched up off the ground, and promptly banged his head on the ceiling of the ruin.
"Ow! Dammit!"
"Wakka! You alone?!" Tidus cried.
The blond boy was dashing to the ruin, just as Wakka was emerging from it, hand rubbing at the crown of his head.
"Mm-Hm." Wakka grunted.
As he was straightening up, Wakka caught sight of the other two people behind Tidus. For some reason, he froze as he saw Lulu. She looked.....better than he could ever remember her looking. She had such a flush in her cheeks, and there was a lightness around her. Almost as if she'd had a huge weight lifted from her back... Almost like in the old days, when she and Chappu had just fallen in love.
And then he saw the man standing beside her. He watched as Auron tipped his head towards her, and spoke something low, beneath his breath. He saw the faintest blush colour Lu's already-sunburnt cheeks. And then Wakka saw red. Such intense hatred and jealousy welled up inside of him that he almost couldn't control it. The hand that was not on top of his head, on the bump where he'd banged himself, clenched into a fist. His other hand dropped, the pain in his scalp suddenly forgotten.
He wanted to run up to Auron and kill the man where he stood.
The self-righteous son of a bitch had used Lulu.
Wakka could tell it. He could tell by how close Auron stood to Lulu. He could tell by the way Auron spoke to her. He could tell by Lulu's reaction.
Stiffly, Wakka turned to Tidus.
"Where's Yuna?" His body felt like it had gone to stone. His voice was wooden.
Tidus looked back at Lulu, as if for guidance. She shrugged helplessly, and then everyone looked to Auron, who stared ahead. There was silence.
"Dammit!" Wakka swore, and turned to kick the ruin. He lacked a better outlet, and though his toes now hurt terribly, as well as the bump on his head, he wanted to just go on kicking the ruin all day. "First I lose Yuna, and then I'm ambushed by machina. Great day I'm having."
In anger, Wakka turned, and strode off across the dunes. He did not know where he was going, and he was barely aware of the others following.
He was mostly only aware of the pain in his gut, and in his chest.
'Wonder if he held her hand all the way 'cross the desert?' Wakka thought. 'Wonder what they slept on top of?'
His eyes clenched shut for a second, and then his fists. When he opened his eyes, he was nearly blinded by the bright glare of the sun. It was so....hard...not to turn...and scream....
"Kimahri!" Tidus shrieked. The kid went running past Wakka. Wakka himself was thankful for the momentary reprieve.
Kimahri was trying to climb up a dune. The sand kept giving beneath his massive weight, and would fall down on the big, blue beast as he fell. But this didn't seem to bother Kimahri. The only expression registering on the cat's face was something like broken. Defeated.
"Yuna...gone." Kimahri grunted.
"It's not your fault!" Tidus grabbed Kimahri's forearm, and dragged him up out of the sand. The beast let himself be led, and in silence, the four of them set out once more...
**More to come**
**((This is all made-up. I still don't own FFX or the characters. I just take liberties with them.))**
When Auron had finished dressing, he and Lulu set off.
Secretly, Lulu had watched Auron in his full glory while he had gone about his business. She did not help him with his clothes, partially because she felt he did not need her help, and partially because she was overcome with a particular shyness she had not felt in a long time. It behooved her, because she wasn't a virgin; she hadn't been a virgin when she'd gone to bed with Auron, and she hadn't been at all shy with Chappu when they had consumated their love before his leaving. But she did appreciate the knowing smiles that Auron gave her, and she did appreciate his lightening of mood.
How very strange to her, that two such sullen people could find themselves as giddy as the less sullen they were accustomed to traveling with!
She knew it was a little awkward for Auron, the way he came and wrapped her up in his arms, and kissed her on the lips. But she also knew it was sweet, and delicious, and ambrosia for them both. The awkwardness be damned. It would fade eventually.
And yet, even while she relished being in Auron's arms, she felt again as if she were playing the whore, and not being true to something. What, or who? Chappu, or Wakka?
Lulu thought on this while she and Auron traveled. The Sanubia Sands were vast, and she had plenty of time to ponder.
Auron and Lulu were not idiots. Besaid was tropical, and Kilika and Luca were as well, but no place had such rolling deserts like Bikanel Island.
The two walked in comfortable silence, and this was suitable for both of them. Lulu was thankful that she did not have to speak, and interrupt the pattern of her thoughts.
She had to be honest. When she thought of Auron, she didn't think of children, and their own little house, and the future. They merely understood each other. She did love him, yes. But she wasn't sure when that feeling of love sprang up, or where it had come from. She felt it, and she knew that it had been growing for a while. But there was also a nagging in the pit of her belly. She didn't set her expectations high, and hope for anything to come from her indiscretions with Auron other than a pleasent diversion. She didn't know why, but she felt with conviction that what she had with Auron would not last past the pilgrimage.
But on the other hand, Wakka would still be there after the pilgrimage. He would be there, repairing her hut, and tending to her flowers, and making sure she ate properly, and did not tire herself with her studies.
He was always there, insisting she come to the beach and watch the Blitz practices. He would be there, bringing her samples of the treats that some of the local women had concocted.
Truth be known, she wasn't sure if she could survive very well without Wakka doing the menial things for her.
"You're deep in thought.." Auron's voice interrupted her.
"I am." She admitted. "I am wondering how things will be, when I finally see Besaid again."
"They will be much changed."
It put a feeling of unease in Lulu's heart, the way he said that with such belief.
For a while, the two walked.
The sun beat down on them relentlessly. After a couple of hours, Auron shrugged off the sleeves to his red coat, and soon enough, sweat had soaked through the black shirt that he wore underneath. Lulu was uncomfortable enough in her dress. When she had constructed her black dress, she had still been in Besaid, and had just passed her trials to become a black mage. Her latent talent towards the magickal had blossomed early, and she had went to the temple for Yevon's blessing around the same time that her body had begun to flower. Thinking back, she could remember sitting in the cool rooms of the temple, and sewing together the dress that would mark her indeliably in the memories of the Besaid people as the resident black mage.
She had been tempted at the time to make the dress out of leather, or wool, or something heavy. The temple rooms had been so cool at the time that she shivered. But the old priest supervising her work had warned her that she would be wearing this much of the time. She would be traveling to foreign lands, and heavy fabric would not be comfortable. Now she thought back on the old priest and blessed him silently. The silk damask wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been, and for that, she was thankful.
Lulu would have been shocked though, if she'd known that every now and again, Auron was stealing glances at her. She would have been more shocked to know that he was envious of the beads of her necklace, resting between her breasts. He didn't mind the sweat on her brow. In fact, in Auron's eyes, it made her all the more real. More earthy...
"There'll be another oasis ahead. A smaller one...."
Auron was interrupted by the sound of a cry of pain. A loud shriek went up, and it took Lulu a second to recognize the sound.
"Tidus is somewhere around here!" Her eyes went wide and she looked around, searching for the battle. "You know how inept he is."
Meaning the little wanker would be dead meat if they didn't find him soon.
They crested a sand dune, and found the oasis Auron had been speaking of. Tidus was huddled over, sword clenched in hand, and one arm wrapped around his midsection. He was panting, and focused on a large, black bird which swooped in once more and attacked him.
Auron hefted his sword, and with a grunt, slid down the dune. When he reached the bottom, he swung his Murasame, catching the fiend in the gut. The bird was hurt, but not yet dead, and still a threat.
'What element would be good for the desert...?' Lulu thought frantically, and halted at the top of the sand dune. Fire would be ludicrous in such a hot place. Water would only invigorate. Ice....
"This is ridiculous.." She muttered. Her arms went up in a salute, and she bent, flinging the spell at the bird. The crackle of lightening, and thunder gathered, and she watched with satisfaction, as the giant bird was electrocuted.
It fell to the ground, dead, and burst into a cloud of pyreflies. Tidus slumped over in relief, and Auron began rifling about in his pack for a Hi-Potion.
"Are you alright?" Lulu called, as she began her descent down the sand dune.
"Yeah." Tidus replied. "The others?"
Lulu flushed red. She had not even thought about Yuna up until then. She was suddenly thankful for the sunburn on her cheeks.
"Haven't found them yet." Lulu said. Technically, this was not a lie. "We're supposed to stay in one place if we get split up."
As she said this, she cast a sideways glance at Auron. There was an amused expression on his face that Lulu could not decipher.
His good eye closed in a wink, and then he turned and started over the sands, walking away.
"Wait here if you want." Tidus began gulping the Hi-Potion. "He's not."
With a pained expression, and a small sound of displeasure, Tidus set off after Auron, trying to mirror his pace. A grin spread over Lulu's face.
'You're so hard on him, Auron. That's what was amusing you.' She chuckled. It was like pounding a piece of hard clay into shape. You had to get it pliant before you could craft it into a useful piece.
She hitched her skirt up into her hands, and followed the two.
********************************************************************
When the temperature reached it's peak, Wakka crawled back underneath the machina ruin, and rested against the wall of it. They were all supposed to stay in one place if they got seperated. And as soon as possible, he planned on kicking out of here and finding Lulu.
He was only inside the machina for an hour, when he heard voices. Jubilant, he launched up off the ground, and promptly banged his head on the ceiling of the ruin.
"Ow! Dammit!"
"Wakka! You alone?!" Tidus cried.
The blond boy was dashing to the ruin, just as Wakka was emerging from it, hand rubbing at the crown of his head.
"Mm-Hm." Wakka grunted.
As he was straightening up, Wakka caught sight of the other two people behind Tidus. For some reason, he froze as he saw Lulu. She looked.....better than he could ever remember her looking. She had such a flush in her cheeks, and there was a lightness around her. Almost as if she'd had a huge weight lifted from her back... Almost like in the old days, when she and Chappu had just fallen in love.
And then he saw the man standing beside her. He watched as Auron tipped his head towards her, and spoke something low, beneath his breath. He saw the faintest blush colour Lu's already-sunburnt cheeks. And then Wakka saw red. Such intense hatred and jealousy welled up inside of him that he almost couldn't control it. The hand that was not on top of his head, on the bump where he'd banged himself, clenched into a fist. His other hand dropped, the pain in his scalp suddenly forgotten.
He wanted to run up to Auron and kill the man where he stood.
The self-righteous son of a bitch had used Lulu.
Wakka could tell it. He could tell by how close Auron stood to Lulu. He could tell by the way Auron spoke to her. He could tell by Lulu's reaction.
Stiffly, Wakka turned to Tidus.
"Where's Yuna?" His body felt like it had gone to stone. His voice was wooden.
Tidus looked back at Lulu, as if for guidance. She shrugged helplessly, and then everyone looked to Auron, who stared ahead. There was silence.
"Dammit!" Wakka swore, and turned to kick the ruin. He lacked a better outlet, and though his toes now hurt terribly, as well as the bump on his head, he wanted to just go on kicking the ruin all day. "First I lose Yuna, and then I'm ambushed by machina. Great day I'm having."
In anger, Wakka turned, and strode off across the dunes. He did not know where he was going, and he was barely aware of the others following.
He was mostly only aware of the pain in his gut, and in his chest.
'Wonder if he held her hand all the way 'cross the desert?' Wakka thought. 'Wonder what they slept on top of?'
His eyes clenched shut for a second, and then his fists. When he opened his eyes, he was nearly blinded by the bright glare of the sun. It was so....hard...not to turn...and scream....
"Kimahri!" Tidus shrieked. The kid went running past Wakka. Wakka himself was thankful for the momentary reprieve.
Kimahri was trying to climb up a dune. The sand kept giving beneath his massive weight, and would fall down on the big, blue beast as he fell. But this didn't seem to bother Kimahri. The only expression registering on the cat's face was something like broken. Defeated.
"Yuna...gone." Kimahri grunted.
"It's not your fault!" Tidus grabbed Kimahri's forearm, and dragged him up out of the sand. The beast let himself be led, and in silence, the four of them set out once more...
**More to come**