**Ehehe...so I lied. It turns out that typing on my dad's new laptop from work is a lot of fun--and it makes typing the chapters up much easier. Its a lovely Dell Latitude with a hugantic screen and--I think--a 2 gigahertz processor. Wai~~I'm so happy! So, this chapter's not late, but EARLY! Wowee. So! As thanks, y'all should review. ^_~ Just kidding, but it does make me want to type up even more, to be honest. So, if ya feel like it, leave a review. Oh! To comment on one review--I know its following the temple pattern of the game--I'm using the strat guide as a reference. ^_^;; Also, meeting an Al Bhed at the Moonflow? That was an accident--I had forgotten that that was where the gang met Rikku, so...gomen. Still! ^_^;;; Enjoy the next chap, peoples! Ikimashou!**
Inside Guadosalam, Yueh ate quietly and very reserved. The way the Guado ate made you feel like a pig no matter how properly you chewed on your food. Niet ate in her normal way, but both Yueh and Katy were more or less picking at their food without touching too much of it. Arashi seemed to fit right in, which rather frightened Yueh to a certain extent.
Its like she was born here or something... Yueh stabbed a leaf of lettuce with her fork and chewed on it quietly, trying not to be noticed.
Katy still wore her goggles, trying to conceal what Yueh figured the Guado already knew. None of the Guado would speak to Katy directly, and acted as if she wasn't there. Yueh figured the sooner they got out of Guadosalam, the better for all of them.
Finally, someone spoke. Unfortunately, it was one of the Guado, with a voice twice as irritating as Seymour's.
"Lady Arashi, how is your pilgrimage faring?" The Guado who had guided them into the dining hall had posed the question. Arashi finished the bite she had in her mouth and answered.
"It is going rather well." She's back to her "proper summoner" role already... Arashi added more French dressing to the salad she was eating. "We have gone to all the previous temples with much success, and have had only..." Yueh noticed that Arashi almost choked. "...have had only one sending thus far on our journey, brought on by an unfortunate accident with an overly large sinspawn. Great Lord Ochu."
"Ah, yes, that particular sinspawn had been plaguing the area around the Moonflow for a few months now," the Guado, who had earlier identified himself as Lyskar, commented. He cut up his steak as he went on. "We had heard that the local Al Bhed had been stirring up the sinspawn in that area."
Yueh winced and kept her eyes closed as Katy's fork clattered to her plate. She didn't want to see what Katy would do at that accusation.
"I don't think that they were at fault, Lyskar Guado," Arashi spoke up in Katy's place. Yueh let out a silent sigh and opened her eyes, convinced that the situation had been resolved. Katy picked up her fork once more, her face flushing, and Arashi smiled. "I met a few of the Al Bhed out there. They were trying harder than the other people out there, in fact."
"Oh really?" Lyskal said. He had a slight sneer to his voice that made Yueh's blood boil. "I heard that one of them--" at this he took a meaningful glance at Katy "--bowled you over when you were trying to attack, almost getting you killed by the Ochu you and your guardians faced."
This time, Yueh replied. "As a matter of fact, that Al Bhed saved our lives several times during that fight. I'd like to see most people try to relay important info while tentacles fly overhead." Beat that, pointy-hair.
"I would think that, if it were important information, they would have told you beforehand so you were more prepared," he said before chewing on a piece of steak.
"Ish not like we 'ad much war'ing, a'yway," Niet put in around a particularly large mouthful of meat. She swallowed and continued. "So for her to tell us when she did was helpful enough."
"I suggest we get off the subject now, anyway," Arashi said finally. "What happened was no one's fault, and talking about it doesn't help anyone." She gave a final nod, and Yueh silently cheered her. Go Arashi...
Lyskal seemed stunned for a moment before he returned to eating his steak silently. All further conversation ceased for the remainder of the meal.
*-*-*-*-*
"I don't even see why she wants to go to the Farplane," Niet said, settling down into the stairway. "It sounded like a really depressing place in the book."
"Yevonites are hard to understand sometimes," Katy put in quietly. Yueh and Niet exchanged a glance before looking to Arashi, who was at the top of the stairway and about to enter.
"You want us to come with, Arashi?" Yueh shouted up the stairs. Arashi's golden mane waved wildly as she shook her head.
"I'll be out in a second, I just have to check something out." She gave a short salute. "Be back in a few." With that, Arashi stepped through the shimmering gate and into the Farplane.
"Wonder what she wants to check," Yueh murmured to herself. Niet heard and shrugged.
"Not a clue. Wish she'd give us some sort of idea," Niet said.
"Summoner's logic," Katy said simply. Niet and Yueh gave each other another look over Katy's head before both shrugging. "Her heart's in the right place, but she could do so much more if she didn't...didn't...sacrifice herself." She put total emphasis on the second to last word and shuddered. "Sin continues regardless..."
Yueh seated herself next to Katy and patted her on the shoulder. She looked up through her goggles as Yueh gave her a small, sad smile.
"You don't know how many times that runs through our minds, Katy. No clue."
Suddenly, a flustered Arashi came bounding out of the Farplane and halfway tumbled down the stairs. All three girls jumped out of the way as Arashi landed in a disheveled heap at the very bottom. The three froze and let out a sigh of relief as Arashi sat up and rubbed her head. She turned back to look at them, smiling behind her tinted glasses, but Yueh still noticed that her face was paler than normal. She was about to ask why when Arashi just hopped back on her feet and giggled insanely.
"Well, I'm okay! So! Time to get going!" She ran across the way and took the path that led to their wagon.
Yueh and Niet blinked slowly, while Katy simply shook her head.
"Summoner's logic..."
*-*-*-*-*
Yueh had to stop herself from singing as they left Guadosalam. She was driving the wagon as Katy sat next to her. Both girls were quite relieved to be away from that place, although for different reasons. Arashi and Niet were in the back of the wagon, waving to the slowly shrinking figures of Lyskal and O'aka (who was leaning on a crutch, his backpack still on his back).
"Sorry for running you over earlier, O'aka!" Niet yelled out as a goodbye.
"Take care, O'aka! And don't eat too much!" Arashi shouted. She continued to wave until O'aka was out of sight, and then giggled as she spoke in a stage whisper to Niet. "Although, for O'aka, I don't think its possible for him to eat 'too much.'"
"Arashi, can you grab the map for me?" Yueh asked, looking for a moment over her shoulder. "I want to see how much longer it is until Bevelle."
"I'll check!" Arashi said.
"Betcha I find it first!" Niet said. Yueh took another glance as Niet and Arashi dived into the piles of blankets, tents, and supplies, searching for Yueh's map. As things went flying inside the wagon, making Katy laugh quietly from the front, Yueh saw a small piece of rolled up parchment sitting in the very front right corner of the wagon's inside. She coughed loudly and both girls stopped tossing things in the back to look up at Yueh. A blanket landed on Arashi's head, and a few pieces of thrown fruit plopped on top of Niet's head, who didn't shout out, but did wince as each separate piece bonked her on the skull.
"...oops." Arashi and Niet blushed as Yueh laughed and grabbed the map for herself. She unfurled it and handed it to Katy.
"What's it look like to you?" Yueh asked, trying to keep her eyes on the road. More things sounded like they were flying in the back in some sort of pillow fight or something, which made it hard to keep her mind on driving.
"Um...we're the dot, right?" Katy removed her goggles and squinted at the map.
Yueh suppressed the urge to laugh. "Yes, we're the blinking dot. How much longer until Bevelle?"
"I think…well…" Katy's face turned a bright crimson. "I think I'm no good at reading maps." She handed the parchment back to Yueh, her face looking down at the passing ground. "I'm sorry, Yueh."
"Ah, don't worry! I, ehe…" It was Yueh's turn to have her face become red. "I didn't know. I'll take a look, you take the reins." Katy nodded and did so, and Yueh looked over the map for a few short moments. She did a few short measurements with her fingers before pronouncing, "We'll be there by next morning, if we take shifts driving all night to Bevelle." She looked back at Arashi, who had stopped flinging things around to listen. "…not including our resident bad driver, Arashi."
"Hey!" Arashi tossed an apple in Yueh's general direction, which luckily missed and went harmlessly over Yueh's shoulder. All three busted out laughing, while Katy felt slightly outcast once more, not quite getting the joke. Yueh took the reins once more, smiling at Katy.
"She nearly drove us off the road on the way to the Moonflow a couple nights ago," Yueh explained. "We don't let her drive anymore…"
"I was thinking of something else at the time! Important…summoner…stuff!" Arashi said, crossing her arms and pretending to pout. She stuck out her tongue, and then received a flying pillow to the back of the head from Niet. Arashi scoffed and grabbed another pillow to thwack Niet in the head as well. Unfortunately, the pillow released from Niet's grip and beaned Katy in the head instead.
There was a moment's silence as Katy grabbed the pillow and seemed to contemplate it. After a short moment, she leaped in the back, arms outstretched with the pillow in her hands, bumping Niet rather nicely on the shoulder.
Yueh sighed happily as the laughing and hitting sounds continued.
Death affects us…but things like pillow fights affect us more… She grinned as a feather flew over her head and wafted gently onto her lap. And quite frankly, they're much more enjoyable.
*-*-*-*-*
The sun was setting as Yueh continued down the road. The other three girls had fallen asleep just minutes earlier, having just finished the long pillow fight only moments before. Yueh now had the fun task of trying to stay awake while riding down the ever-darkening road to Bevelle.
She began humming lightly as she watched the sun set. It was a beautiful sight, with the sky turning bright oranges and yellows and even a few tinges of red. Staring at it for a while longer made her think back, however, to less pleasant times.
When Niet had a splinter embedded in her shoulder...and when Ben had nearly died because they hadn't killed the Chocobo eater quickly enough. She shook her head wildly. That was over with, she shouldn't think back to that now.
I can't think about that again. Yueh turned her chocolate eyes from the sun and instead stared down the road. If I did... She again shook her head, stopping the thought from progressing further. To take her mind of things, she began singing quietly the song that Arashi had imprinted into her head.
"Kaeru no uta ga, kikoete kuru yo, gwa, gwa, gwa, gwa, gero gero gero gero--"
"Gwa gwa gwa!" another voice finished. Yueh nearly jumped off the driver's seat before she saw Arashi, wrapped up in her blanket once more, climb up next to her. Arashi handed Yueh a separate blanket, which she gladly accepted. Arashi laughed quietly. "You memorized the frog song already?"
Yueh nodded, still holding the reins while wrapping herself up tight in the blanket. "Yeah. Hard not to when you sing it all the time." She tapped the reins, bringing the chocobo's pace up to a hearty gallop. "What does it mean, anyway?"
Arashi thought for a moment, tapping her chin lightly with a finger. "Well, I guess in English, you could sing it as...'This is the frog's song, we can hear it coming.' Then its a bunch of frog sounds in Japanese, so..." She grinned. "'Croak, croak, croak, croak, ribbit ribbit ribbit ribbit, croak croak croak.'"
Yueh cocked her head to one side. "That's...interesting."
"That's why I prefer the Japanese version," Arashi said, chuckling. There was an odd bit of silence after that as both girls simply stared at the road in front of them. Finally, one of them spoke.
"Am I the only one who has a really bad feeling about Bevelle?" Yueh asked.
Arashi rested her elbows on her knees and laid her head on her hands. She let out a sigh. "No, you're not. Something about that place..."
"...is unsettling to think about," Yueh finished. There was another bit of silence.
"Maybe its the giant worm that they have for a guardian."