(A/N: IT HAS BEEN WRITTEN! It took me three days to write this story. But here it is! YAY! You can read it now, enjoy!)
Chapter 4
The Things You Do
"Right, right, right," mumbled Rayn. "I think the next day was my birthday..." Standing up, she walked off to the side and stared off onto the woods, her arms crossed.
"Is that a bad thing?" Tidus asked, turning his head to watch his sibling.
When the twenty-seven year old turned around, she had tears in her eyes. "It was horrible..." she managed to squeak out.
Flashback
When Rayn awoke, she was in a tent. She tried to get to her feet but ended up falling back to her knees. She still hadn't recovered from practically having the life scared out of her the day before. She crawled out of the pavilion on her hands and knees. Upon getting out on the grass, she sat up on her legs and looked to her right. The tent had been set up on the ledge at the far left of the Calm Lands.
The sun was starting to set and it shown directly on her body, making her squint and casting a long shadow behind her. For a while, she stared at the darkening sky. But when a soft voice behind her said, "You're awake now?" she spun around quickly and toppled over the ledge.
The speaker, Auron, ran over and caught her by her wrist. He grabbed on with both of his hands and pulled her up. He took her up in his arms when she was back on land and it took Rayn a few minutes to realize what was going on.
When she snapped back to reality, she pulled away from him, drew back, and slugged him in the face. Auron fell backward and landed on his back, he covered his face with his hands. At that, Jecht and Braska ran over. "Auron," muttered Braska, "We said slow; to take things slow does not mean..." he trailed off as he caught the angry expression on the face of Jecht's daughter. "I'm going to shut up now," he gulped.
Rayn looked from the summoner to the injured Auron. "Try it again," she growled, "And I swear to Yevon I'll castrate you." She then trudged away.
Glancing at his only the blitzball player, Braska asked, "How would she do that? She doesn't have a knife."
In response, Jecht said, "She'll smash it; she does have a staff after all."
Quickly getting to his feet, Auron turned in the direction Rayn had gone and shouted after her, "What the hell is your problem?" The only response the metal duster wearing girl gave was to shoot him the bird as she kept walking.
Scratching his head, Jecht replied, "That's not the way to go."
Braska added in, "Definitely not the safest path to tread on."
When Rayn returned to the others around the time night fell, they were sitting a few feet away from the ledge, looking up at the sky, star-gazing. She stopped came to a stop a few yards away from them. She had her hands in her pockets and was looking out at the horizon.
Looking to his daughter, Jecht asked, "Why don't you join us?"
Turning her head to look at her father, her eyes shot to Auron and she replied, a sort of nasty tone in her voice, "Hud frema ra'c ynuiht." ("Not while he's around.") Her father looked to her with a puzzled facial expression and Braska tried to stifle his own laughter. At that, Rayn looked to the summoner. "Oui cbayg Al Bhed?" ("You speak Al Bhed?")
The summoner nodded and replied, "I should, I married one." He got to his feet and walked over to the girl. "And might I ask, how do you know the language?"
Summoning her staff, the teen replied, "I picked it up from the fisherman who gave me this staff." Clutching onto the golden weapon she whispered, "I owe that man my life."
Getting up, Auron walked over to them and said, his voice a bit hateful, "Wait a minute, I thought they were the bad guys, the Al Bhed. Isn't machina outlawed by Yevon?"
Shooting the staff outward, past Braska, and right under Auron's chin, the girl said to him, "Don't ever say anything bad about the Al Bhed while I'm around." The warrior monk backed away and Rayn growled, "Those people raised me, and I won't let you insult them."
Braska moved out of the way and Auron spat at the girl's feet. "Yeah, they taught you how to be a thief!"
The girl lowered the staff and returned it to her pocket in its sphere form. Not even a second after that, she sprang upon the warrior monk, knocking him to the ground. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt as she sat upon him and punched him furiously in the side of his face. "You don't understand!" she shouted.
Jecht got to his feet and went to stand next to Braska. They stared in disbelief as the girl continuously pummeled her fellow guardian. When Jecht was going to step in to stop it, Braska stopped him and shook his head. They then just continued to watch as Auron forced himself not to hit back.
Hitting him again and again, now alternating fists, Rayn shouted, "You don't understand! You just don't understand what I've been through!" Hitting him once more, she grabbed his shirt collar roughly and shouted in his face. "That man died protecting me!" She hit him again. "It's my fault he's dead!" And again. "You insult him and his people and you... you..." She hit him once more but it was just a bare tap. She hunched over on top of him and began crying.
Auron brought his arms up and around her. He hugged her tightly against him. He had no words to undo what he said earlier.
As she sobbed on his shoulder, Rayn choked out, "You've got the IQ of a fucking lima bean." She then buried her face against him.
He looked down at her and muttered, "What?"
Jecht smirked and said, "She said you have the IQ of a f-"
"JECHT!" Braska interrupted at the right time.
"Oops," Jecht laughed and headed back to the tent for the night. He left Rayn there with Auron hoping that they he would fix the problem he had made. Braska must have thought the same, for he too went to the tent; plus, he enjoyed what the warrior monk had gotten for making fun of his wife.
Rayn sat up and slipped off of Auron, breaking his hold on her. Her tears were quiet now, but they still came down. Sitting up behind her, he whispered, "I'm sorry."
"Saying sorry isn't going to bring him back, so just don't say it..." Rayn retaliated, her voice weak and moist from her sadness and tears.
Silently, the warrior monk brought his right arm around her, she smacked it away. He tried again, but the same smack was his response. Three more times he tried, but it always resulted the same. He sighed, feeling a bit defeated. But then, he leaned forward and embraced her tightly.
Her entire body tensing up, Rayn lowered her head and bit him on the arm, he didn't let go. She bit down harder, but still no release. Pulling her closer to him, he whispered in her ear, "I'm not afraid of you." Raising her hands up, she gripped onto his arm and dug her nails into his skin as she continued to bite down harder.
Soon, the angry girl had punctured his skin with her nails, and blood began to flow freely from the wounds. Moving her hair back with his chin, the warrior monk whispered softly, "Then take my blood as an apology if you would not have it in words." And he tenderly kissed her neck.
Rayn's grip on his arm loosened and she dropped her hands back to her sides. She released his arm from her teeth and looked up to the stars. As Auron rested his head on her shoulder, tears welled up in her eyes once more as her gaze into the heavens seemed never ending.
Upon waking up the next day, Rayn was still in Auron's arms. They lay on their right sides, facing the cliff, but a bit of a distance between them and the fall. "You awake yet?" came a voice. The girl looked up and saw her father staring down at her. She then felt two inches tall as she rolled away from the sleeping Auron and got to her feet. "What do you have to say for your self young lady?" he asked, crossing his arms and all of a sudden seeming extremely father-like.
Rayn shrugged while raising her hands just a bit said, "Wobba-bobba?" with an extremely innocent yet confused expression on her face.
"That's not even a reasonable answer," came Braska's voice from not to far away. Rayn turned around and the summoner was standing right there.
Rayn looked to the ground and shuffled her right foot from side to side and tapped her index fingers together. "Why do you two now have to act like grown-ups?" she mumbled.
"What?" Jecht asked and looked to Braska. "What's a 'grown-up'?"
Braska shrugged and said, "Beats me, I don't have a clue." The two then smirked and Rayn felt a bit freaked out.
Jecht then pulled out a small box from behind his back and held it out to her. "Happy birthday, kid," he said, taking her hand and putting the box in it.
Rayn looked at him like he was stupid. She hadn't gotten a gift for her birthday since she got to Spira and didn't know how to react. "Hey stupid," muttered Jecht. "Didn't I teach you to say thank you?"
"No, Mom taught me that, stupid," Rayn replied. Braska got a laugh out of that, but hid it well. She looked down at the box in her hand and then opened it. Inside was a necklace with a silver ornament on it. The pendant was the same design as the black mark that was on Jecht's chest.
The blitzball player took the necklace out of the box and slipped it over his daughter's head. Stepping back, he looked at his daughter as she held the silver jewel in her right hand. She seemed to be caught up in her own little world as she stared off into space.
Getting to his feet, Auron looked to Jecht who slightly glared at him but then smiled. The warrior monk laughed nervously and then looked to Braska who was watching Rayn with a slight grin on his face.
Tears silently drizzling down her cheeks, Rayn leapt forward and hugged her father. "Thank you," she whispered, "you don't know how much this means to me." It had been so long since she had received a gift from anyone. Spira was a harsh place for a ten-year old girl to practically raise herself. And such a place can harden the spirit of a young person to where they never cry. Nut now Rayn cried, for the first time since before she arrived in this world known as Spira.
End Flashback
"I know what you're thinking," Rayn whispered to Tidus. "It wasn't that horrible, it was just sappy." She sniffled and wiped her eyes with her hands. "But my birthday wasn't over yet. That same day, I would be born again."
"Born again?" Tidus asked. His sibling nodded. "What do you mean?"
Sighing slightly, Rayn replied, "Time to continue..."
(A/N: Hey, if you like this story, I humbly ask you read my story "Quest for the Lost Pants". It's an FFX-2 fic. It's not really a serious story, it's not even a romance (For those of you that like them) but it's something out of my ordinary groove. Well, have a good day, all of you!)
Chapter 4
The Things You Do
"Right, right, right," mumbled Rayn. "I think the next day was my birthday..." Standing up, she walked off to the side and stared off onto the woods, her arms crossed.
"Is that a bad thing?" Tidus asked, turning his head to watch his sibling.
When the twenty-seven year old turned around, she had tears in her eyes. "It was horrible..." she managed to squeak out.
Flashback
When Rayn awoke, she was in a tent. She tried to get to her feet but ended up falling back to her knees. She still hadn't recovered from practically having the life scared out of her the day before. She crawled out of the pavilion on her hands and knees. Upon getting out on the grass, she sat up on her legs and looked to her right. The tent had been set up on the ledge at the far left of the Calm Lands.
The sun was starting to set and it shown directly on her body, making her squint and casting a long shadow behind her. For a while, she stared at the darkening sky. But when a soft voice behind her said, "You're awake now?" she spun around quickly and toppled over the ledge.
The speaker, Auron, ran over and caught her by her wrist. He grabbed on with both of his hands and pulled her up. He took her up in his arms when she was back on land and it took Rayn a few minutes to realize what was going on.
When she snapped back to reality, she pulled away from him, drew back, and slugged him in the face. Auron fell backward and landed on his back, he covered his face with his hands. At that, Jecht and Braska ran over. "Auron," muttered Braska, "We said slow; to take things slow does not mean..." he trailed off as he caught the angry expression on the face of Jecht's daughter. "I'm going to shut up now," he gulped.
Rayn looked from the summoner to the injured Auron. "Try it again," she growled, "And I swear to Yevon I'll castrate you." She then trudged away.
Glancing at his only the blitzball player, Braska asked, "How would she do that? She doesn't have a knife."
In response, Jecht said, "She'll smash it; she does have a staff after all."
Quickly getting to his feet, Auron turned in the direction Rayn had gone and shouted after her, "What the hell is your problem?" The only response the metal duster wearing girl gave was to shoot him the bird as she kept walking.
Scratching his head, Jecht replied, "That's not the way to go."
Braska added in, "Definitely not the safest path to tread on."
When Rayn returned to the others around the time night fell, they were sitting a few feet away from the ledge, looking up at the sky, star-gazing. She stopped came to a stop a few yards away from them. She had her hands in her pockets and was looking out at the horizon.
Looking to his daughter, Jecht asked, "Why don't you join us?"
Turning her head to look at her father, her eyes shot to Auron and she replied, a sort of nasty tone in her voice, "Hud frema ra'c ynuiht." ("Not while he's around.") Her father looked to her with a puzzled facial expression and Braska tried to stifle his own laughter. At that, Rayn looked to the summoner. "Oui cbayg Al Bhed?" ("You speak Al Bhed?")
The summoner nodded and replied, "I should, I married one." He got to his feet and walked over to the girl. "And might I ask, how do you know the language?"
Summoning her staff, the teen replied, "I picked it up from the fisherman who gave me this staff." Clutching onto the golden weapon she whispered, "I owe that man my life."
Getting up, Auron walked over to them and said, his voice a bit hateful, "Wait a minute, I thought they were the bad guys, the Al Bhed. Isn't machina outlawed by Yevon?"
Shooting the staff outward, past Braska, and right under Auron's chin, the girl said to him, "Don't ever say anything bad about the Al Bhed while I'm around." The warrior monk backed away and Rayn growled, "Those people raised me, and I won't let you insult them."
Braska moved out of the way and Auron spat at the girl's feet. "Yeah, they taught you how to be a thief!"
The girl lowered the staff and returned it to her pocket in its sphere form. Not even a second after that, she sprang upon the warrior monk, knocking him to the ground. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt as she sat upon him and punched him furiously in the side of his face. "You don't understand!" she shouted.
Jecht got to his feet and went to stand next to Braska. They stared in disbelief as the girl continuously pummeled her fellow guardian. When Jecht was going to step in to stop it, Braska stopped him and shook his head. They then just continued to watch as Auron forced himself not to hit back.
Hitting him again and again, now alternating fists, Rayn shouted, "You don't understand! You just don't understand what I've been through!" Hitting him once more, she grabbed his shirt collar roughly and shouted in his face. "That man died protecting me!" She hit him again. "It's my fault he's dead!" And again. "You insult him and his people and you... you..." She hit him once more but it was just a bare tap. She hunched over on top of him and began crying.
Auron brought his arms up and around her. He hugged her tightly against him. He had no words to undo what he said earlier.
As she sobbed on his shoulder, Rayn choked out, "You've got the IQ of a fucking lima bean." She then buried her face against him.
He looked down at her and muttered, "What?"
Jecht smirked and said, "She said you have the IQ of a f-"
"JECHT!" Braska interrupted at the right time.
"Oops," Jecht laughed and headed back to the tent for the night. He left Rayn there with Auron hoping that they he would fix the problem he had made. Braska must have thought the same, for he too went to the tent; plus, he enjoyed what the warrior monk had gotten for making fun of his wife.
Rayn sat up and slipped off of Auron, breaking his hold on her. Her tears were quiet now, but they still came down. Sitting up behind her, he whispered, "I'm sorry."
"Saying sorry isn't going to bring him back, so just don't say it..." Rayn retaliated, her voice weak and moist from her sadness and tears.
Silently, the warrior monk brought his right arm around her, she smacked it away. He tried again, but the same smack was his response. Three more times he tried, but it always resulted the same. He sighed, feeling a bit defeated. But then, he leaned forward and embraced her tightly.
Her entire body tensing up, Rayn lowered her head and bit him on the arm, he didn't let go. She bit down harder, but still no release. Pulling her closer to him, he whispered in her ear, "I'm not afraid of you." Raising her hands up, she gripped onto his arm and dug her nails into his skin as she continued to bite down harder.
Soon, the angry girl had punctured his skin with her nails, and blood began to flow freely from the wounds. Moving her hair back with his chin, the warrior monk whispered softly, "Then take my blood as an apology if you would not have it in words." And he tenderly kissed her neck.
Rayn's grip on his arm loosened and she dropped her hands back to her sides. She released his arm from her teeth and looked up to the stars. As Auron rested his head on her shoulder, tears welled up in her eyes once more as her gaze into the heavens seemed never ending.
Upon waking up the next day, Rayn was still in Auron's arms. They lay on their right sides, facing the cliff, but a bit of a distance between them and the fall. "You awake yet?" came a voice. The girl looked up and saw her father staring down at her. She then felt two inches tall as she rolled away from the sleeping Auron and got to her feet. "What do you have to say for your self young lady?" he asked, crossing his arms and all of a sudden seeming extremely father-like.
Rayn shrugged while raising her hands just a bit said, "Wobba-bobba?" with an extremely innocent yet confused expression on her face.
"That's not even a reasonable answer," came Braska's voice from not to far away. Rayn turned around and the summoner was standing right there.
Rayn looked to the ground and shuffled her right foot from side to side and tapped her index fingers together. "Why do you two now have to act like grown-ups?" she mumbled.
"What?" Jecht asked and looked to Braska. "What's a 'grown-up'?"
Braska shrugged and said, "Beats me, I don't have a clue." The two then smirked and Rayn felt a bit freaked out.
Jecht then pulled out a small box from behind his back and held it out to her. "Happy birthday, kid," he said, taking her hand and putting the box in it.
Rayn looked at him like he was stupid. She hadn't gotten a gift for her birthday since she got to Spira and didn't know how to react. "Hey stupid," muttered Jecht. "Didn't I teach you to say thank you?"
"No, Mom taught me that, stupid," Rayn replied. Braska got a laugh out of that, but hid it well. She looked down at the box in her hand and then opened it. Inside was a necklace with a silver ornament on it. The pendant was the same design as the black mark that was on Jecht's chest.
The blitzball player took the necklace out of the box and slipped it over his daughter's head. Stepping back, he looked at his daughter as she held the silver jewel in her right hand. She seemed to be caught up in her own little world as she stared off into space.
Getting to his feet, Auron looked to Jecht who slightly glared at him but then smiled. The warrior monk laughed nervously and then looked to Braska who was watching Rayn with a slight grin on his face.
Tears silently drizzling down her cheeks, Rayn leapt forward and hugged her father. "Thank you," she whispered, "you don't know how much this means to me." It had been so long since she had received a gift from anyone. Spira was a harsh place for a ten-year old girl to practically raise herself. And such a place can harden the spirit of a young person to where they never cry. Nut now Rayn cried, for the first time since before she arrived in this world known as Spira.
End Flashback
"I know what you're thinking," Rayn whispered to Tidus. "It wasn't that horrible, it was just sappy." She sniffled and wiped her eyes with her hands. "But my birthday wasn't over yet. That same day, I would be born again."
"Born again?" Tidus asked. His sibling nodded. "What do you mean?"
Sighing slightly, Rayn replied, "Time to continue..."
(A/N: Hey, if you like this story, I humbly ask you read my story "Quest for the Lost Pants". It's an FFX-2 fic. It's not really a serious story, it's not even a romance (For those of you that like them) but it's something out of my ordinary groove. Well, have a good day, all of you!)