Hello there people!!!! I took a break from this because 1) I was lazy and 2) I took last Friday off to write a fic that only one person read. I shoulda just updated this! ; Anyway, this chapter is kinda short… it's another Yuna chapter. I intro a lot of people… sorry if it gets annoying. I always write my chapters in a notebook before typing them up and whilst writing in my notebook I wanted to strangle myself!!! I hated this chapter at first but then as I typed it up I added things and it wasn't as useless as before. Whoopie!
Shout-outs!/Reviewer appreciation time!
Hidama:Yes, I told Baralai and he refuses to listen. And Gippal is getting more and more attentive, so I'm kinda worried…. Wait, no I'm not! HEY! Baralai, do me a favor…
NAPtune: YOU ROCK my socks. I have an entire memory card filled with 10-2 scenes that I like. Hehehe. "Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever been this close to an author bef—HEY NO RAPING!!!"
Magenta Fox: I AM OLDER THAN YOU!!
Yunis: Wow… I got you to like yaoi!!! ::blushes:: Best compliment ever!!
Alice Valentine: ::holds up Casey's rat and chases you with it::
I don't want to take up too much space… sorry ;; I love you all, really!! ::blows kisses::
Chapter Four: Praetor
"I don't believe that you are saying that 'rebels' from Zanarkand killed Praetor Baralai!"
Yuna's wings were straightened upward in her anger. She was speaking with the Council of Maesters of Bevelle. The room was filled with tension over the death of the praetor, but the most furious was definitely Yuna. The people in the room included the Maester of Bevelle, the leader of all of the other maesters, Maester Mika and his advisor, Isaaru. Mika was a very old maester and knew the teachings of Yevon like the back of his old hand. Isaaru, on the other hand, was very young, a year or two older than Yuna, in fact, and was good friends with her.
There was also Maester Kinoc who led the peoples of Lower Spira. He was allowed in Bevelle and never discriminated against, but you could tell that he wasn't happy being wingless. His advisor was a young girl named Shelinda who was very talkative whenever she was around Yuna. Yuna liked Shelinda, but Yevon could that girl talk!
Two other races inhabited Spira as well. The Ronso and the Guado. The Ronso were giants with feline qualities. They came from Mount Gagazet, a snowy, cold mountain about twenty acres from Zanarkand. The Guado were recently allowed into the religion of Yevon. The previous maester of the Guado brought a truce between Humans, Bevellians, and themselves. They are now a trusted race. The Guado are very lanky and keep to themselves about many things. They are the sworn protectors of the Farplane or the place where the dead roam free in their afterlives.
The Maester of the Guado was the son of the very first Guado maester, Jyscal. The new maester was young, as his father's death was unexpected, and he was rumored to be very close to Praetor Baralai. His name was Seymour, a very tall Guado who was actually half-human. He lost his human mother when he was very small and his father had died a short time ago. His advisor was a very timid Guado named Tromell who had also been a friend of Seymour's father.
Maester Kelk of the Ronso was a very wise and calm maester. He towered over the other maesters and was easy to spot with his rich blue fur. His advisor was the silent Kimahri, whom Yuna had known since before her father died. Besides Baralai, Kimahri was the person she had known the longest. Kimahri was protective of Yuna, as were all of her friends.
Yuna played the position as an outside look upon situations. Her advisor was Lulu, another friend she had known for a while. Lulu helped her with topics as emotional as the one that day. Lulu was aware that Yuna was afraid that a war would erupt between Bevelle and Zanarkand which would tear her apart from the inside out. Maester Seymour eyed Yuna.
"The praetor's coat was found in Zanarkand, was it not?" he asked.
"That means nothing," Yuna continued to try to defend Zanarkand. Maester Kelk shook his head.
"It means everything, Lady Yuna. The groundlings in Zanarkand are hostile. Their militia despises us."
"Not all of them do," spoke Shelinda, fussing with her headdress. "They can be calmed."
"Highly doubtful," said Maester Mika. "Over the years the hatred in their hearts has since grown. Very soon, war will be made."
"But can't we stop all of that?" asked Yuna. "Perhaps if we were better to them, all of this could stop--"
"Lady Yuna, this is not the time to speak of that," said Maester Kinoc. Yuna stopped herself from pointing out the irony of the Lower Spiran tribe leader turning his back against them. "Whether we are nice to them or not, they still killed the praetor. They must answer for this."
"If I may ask just one thing," started Lulu. "Have we proved that it was Zanarkand? How do we know that it wasn't--"
"Indeed. It could have been an Al Bhed act," Seymour put in. "The Al Bhed are always looking for a way to get back at the rest of the groundlings. This would be a perfect opportunity to hurt the Bevellians and the groundlings at the same time."
"But isn't Zanarkand supplied with machina from the Al Bhed Machina Faction?" asked Isaaru, speaking for the first time. "I doubt that they would turn against their only buyer."
"Luca buys from them, too," Tromell added. Mika shook his head.
"The blame for the praetor's death shall be placed soon enough. For now, we need to discuss upon someone to replace Baralai."
They began little chatterings and Yuna listened in, not aware of Seymour's silence. More correctly, no one was aware of Seymour's silence until he spoke.
"In the risk of sounding selfish, I nominate myself."
Yuna and the others stared at him. Yuna was angry enough that they were so quick to replace Baralai, let alone Seymour nominating himself?
"Why do you feel as though you are prepared to become praetor?" asked Kinoc sourly. "You haven't even been a maester for very long."
"Before taking over my father's position as the Maester of the Guado, I was Praetor Baralai's closest advisor. I know about the responsibilities as a praetor inside and out. I trust I won't fail you," Seymour bowed his head. Kinoc glared over.
"But is it possible for you, being a Guado, to stay in Bevelle for long periods of time?"
"No, but neither can you nor Maester Kelk, but we are here and also expected to be here as maesters of Yevon."
Lulu crossed her arms.
"This discussion is more about whether or not Maester Seymour has what it takes to be praetor. Outside matters can be remedied."
"Yes, Lady Lulu, that is correct," said Mika. "Maester Seymour, did Praetor Baralai teach you anything before he died?"
Yuna's fists were shaking. She couldn't believe that they could talk about his death so… so uncaringly! At that moment, they all disgusted her, even Lulu. Lulu was on Seymour's side! How could that be possible! It was unfair. Yuna was worried about Zanarkand and Bevelle and also silently and secretly grieving for her friend. She hadn't been given time to think over his death. As soon as she returned to Bevelle, the meeting began.
None of them even cared about Baralai, it seemed, just the position he was in and how to refill it. Yuna's head slowly tilted down as she thought about him, her eyes brimming with tears. He was her closest friend. They knew each other growing up and were always together. Baralai, being the older one, was protective of her. For a little while, as she learned of what love could be, she had incredible feelings for him. However, they were soon diminished.
Yuna had known about homosexuals but when Baralai told her…
"Yuna… I appreciate your feelings," Baralai had told her. She was thirteen. He was fifteen. "But I only see you as a friend, I'm sorry."
Yuna, who hadn't expected that due to their closeness, looked to him, shocked.
"Why? Why only as a friend?"
Baralai stretched his incredible wings in nervousness and gripped the bar of the fence in front of him. He wasn't even looking at her he was so scared.
"Because… I'm not attracted…"
Yuna had expected to hear "to you" at the end of that. However, Baralai finished with something completely different.
"… to girls."
She froze.
"A-ah?" was all she had managed to say before she ran off, then soared into the sky. His eyes had followed her and he silently apologized, his wings folding sadly.
"Lady Yuna?"
Yuna snapped out of her memory and saw Lulu looking at her. She realized that tears were streaming down her face.
"Lady Yuna, do you need to be excused?" asked Mika.
"Y-yes," she said. She bowed and then walked from the room, hands to her face. She then started to run to an outside patio and dropped to her hands and knees, sobbing. She didn't expect for Baralai's death to hit her so hard. She was used to death--her mother, her father, Lulu's parents, Wakka's younger brother and parents, Maester Jyscal, and now Baralai.
Suddenly, she started choking. Being half Al Bhed, her lungs were weak and occasionally, she found that she couldn't breathe Bevelle's thin air. She put her hands to her throat and coughed, struggling to move.
Luckily, strong, tan arms picked her up and carried her into a nearby shop. In her hazy vision, she wasn't sure who it was. She began to breathe the tampered air and felt better. She looked up expecting, or wishing it was either Tidus or Baralai.
"Wakka!"
"You gotta be careful, ya? Rest here for a bit. I'll get ya a drink," he told her. He walked over to a counter and spoke with the clerk. Yuna watched him as she wiped her eyes hastily. Lulu came in.
"Yuna!"
She stepped to her, kneeling down.
"You know to be careful outside."
Yuna nodded. Wakka gave Yuna the drink. Lulu flicked at Wakka's hair.
"What would you have done if he wasn't there? And if I hadn't seen you go down?"
Yuna was silent as she drank the juice. Lulu sighed.
"What happened in there?"
"I was thinking about Praetor Baralai."
She attached the word "praetor" to his name to hide the fact that it was the person she missed and not the praetor. Lulu didn't buy it for a second.
"I know how you feel. You and Baralai have been close since you were very little. And to lose him so suddenly and in such a… terrible way must be devastating to you."
"And groundlings from Zanarkand did it, ya?" asked Wakka, though it sounded more as though he was confirming it rather than asking about it.
"That I doubt," said Yuna, regaining her voice. Wakka was a firm believer in Yevon and looked down upon groundlings and loathed the Al Bhed. Yuna had never even told him about her own lineage nor about Tidus.
Wakka folded his arms and looked to Lulu.
"Lu? You take Yuna back to her place so she can get some rest. I'm sure she could use it, ya?"
Wakka's accent was that of Besaid, one of the only Lower Spiran towns that was inhabited by Bevellians due to the trading oppourtunities. Wakka grew up there and decided to move up to Bevelle after his brother had died. In Bevelle, he met Lulu and they have been close ever since. ((what does she see in him?))
Yuna looked up to the couple as a big brother and sister. They were, like most of Yuna's friends, very protective of her. Lulu was closer to Yuna, however, and therefore tried to let nothing bad happen to her. Lulu placed a finger on Yuna's chin.
"Yuna, you know that it's okay to cry if you're sad."
Yuna nodded, silent. Lulu let go, standing up from her kneel, helping the other girl up. Yuna gave the cup back to Wakka.
"Come, Yuna," Lulu beckoned at the door, holding it open.
The stars were always close to Bevelle, of course. Yuna wanted to reach up and touch one, but for now she settled just looking up to them, thinking of many things.
Whew. Lotsa crap goin' on. Um, I didn't mean to have so much… Yunalai? … Yuna/Baralai ness in this chapter. It's better than Gipku, but I prefer her with Tidus, and Baralai with Gippal. ::holds up Crimson sphere #3:: It's all thanks to this sphere, folks, with the trio on the Winno talking about Sin. I saw how close Baralai and Gippal were sitting together and thought about the possibility. And of course, when they went off together in Crimson Sphere #8. What were they gonna together had Nooj not shot them?
Hmmm… next chapter up… sometime laaaate next week. Though I have another, less serious fic that I might be putting up instead. But as for next week, I have another con to go to… AnimeNext, y'all!!! Anyway, see you, folks. Please review, you wonderful little readers!
Shout-outs!/Reviewer appreciation time!
Hidama:Yes, I told Baralai and he refuses to listen. And Gippal is getting more and more attentive, so I'm kinda worried…. Wait, no I'm not! HEY! Baralai, do me a favor…
NAPtune: YOU ROCK my socks. I have an entire memory card filled with 10-2 scenes that I like. Hehehe. "Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever been this close to an author bef—HEY NO RAPING!!!"
Magenta Fox: I AM OLDER THAN YOU!!
Yunis: Wow… I got you to like yaoi!!! ::blushes:: Best compliment ever!!
Alice Valentine: ::holds up Casey's rat and chases you with it::
I don't want to take up too much space… sorry ;; I love you all, really!! ::blows kisses::
"I don't believe that you are saying that 'rebels' from Zanarkand killed Praetor Baralai!"
Yuna's wings were straightened upward in her anger. She was speaking with the Council of Maesters of Bevelle. The room was filled with tension over the death of the praetor, but the most furious was definitely Yuna. The people in the room included the Maester of Bevelle, the leader of all of the other maesters, Maester Mika and his advisor, Isaaru. Mika was a very old maester and knew the teachings of Yevon like the back of his old hand. Isaaru, on the other hand, was very young, a year or two older than Yuna, in fact, and was good friends with her.
There was also Maester Kinoc who led the peoples of Lower Spira. He was allowed in Bevelle and never discriminated against, but you could tell that he wasn't happy being wingless. His advisor was a young girl named Shelinda who was very talkative whenever she was around Yuna. Yuna liked Shelinda, but Yevon could that girl talk!
Two other races inhabited Spira as well. The Ronso and the Guado. The Ronso were giants with feline qualities. They came from Mount Gagazet, a snowy, cold mountain about twenty acres from Zanarkand. The Guado were recently allowed into the religion of Yevon. The previous maester of the Guado brought a truce between Humans, Bevellians, and themselves. They are now a trusted race. The Guado are very lanky and keep to themselves about many things. They are the sworn protectors of the Farplane or the place where the dead roam free in their afterlives.
The Maester of the Guado was the son of the very first Guado maester, Jyscal. The new maester was young, as his father's death was unexpected, and he was rumored to be very close to Praetor Baralai. His name was Seymour, a very tall Guado who was actually half-human. He lost his human mother when he was very small and his father had died a short time ago. His advisor was a very timid Guado named Tromell who had also been a friend of Seymour's father.
Maester Kelk of the Ronso was a very wise and calm maester. He towered over the other maesters and was easy to spot with his rich blue fur. His advisor was the silent Kimahri, whom Yuna had known since before her father died. Besides Baralai, Kimahri was the person she had known the longest. Kimahri was protective of Yuna, as were all of her friends.
Yuna played the position as an outside look upon situations. Her advisor was Lulu, another friend she had known for a while. Lulu helped her with topics as emotional as the one that day. Lulu was aware that Yuna was afraid that a war would erupt between Bevelle and Zanarkand which would tear her apart from the inside out. Maester Seymour eyed Yuna.
"The praetor's coat was found in Zanarkand, was it not?" he asked.
"That means nothing," Yuna continued to try to defend Zanarkand. Maester Kelk shook his head.
"It means everything, Lady Yuna. The groundlings in Zanarkand are hostile. Their militia despises us."
"Not all of them do," spoke Shelinda, fussing with her headdress. "They can be calmed."
"Highly doubtful," said Maester Mika. "Over the years the hatred in their hearts has since grown. Very soon, war will be made."
"But can't we stop all of that?" asked Yuna. "Perhaps if we were better to them, all of this could stop--"
"Lady Yuna, this is not the time to speak of that," said Maester Kinoc. Yuna stopped herself from pointing out the irony of the Lower Spiran tribe leader turning his back against them. "Whether we are nice to them or not, they still killed the praetor. They must answer for this."
"If I may ask just one thing," started Lulu. "Have we proved that it was Zanarkand? How do we know that it wasn't--"
"Indeed. It could have been an Al Bhed act," Seymour put in. "The Al Bhed are always looking for a way to get back at the rest of the groundlings. This would be a perfect opportunity to hurt the Bevellians and the groundlings at the same time."
"But isn't Zanarkand supplied with machina from the Al Bhed Machina Faction?" asked Isaaru, speaking for the first time. "I doubt that they would turn against their only buyer."
"Luca buys from them, too," Tromell added. Mika shook his head.
"The blame for the praetor's death shall be placed soon enough. For now, we need to discuss upon someone to replace Baralai."
They began little chatterings and Yuna listened in, not aware of Seymour's silence. More correctly, no one was aware of Seymour's silence until he spoke.
"In the risk of sounding selfish, I nominate myself."
Yuna and the others stared at him. Yuna was angry enough that they were so quick to replace Baralai, let alone Seymour nominating himself?
"Why do you feel as though you are prepared to become praetor?" asked Kinoc sourly. "You haven't even been a maester for very long."
"Before taking over my father's position as the Maester of the Guado, I was Praetor Baralai's closest advisor. I know about the responsibilities as a praetor inside and out. I trust I won't fail you," Seymour bowed his head. Kinoc glared over.
"But is it possible for you, being a Guado, to stay in Bevelle for long periods of time?"
"No, but neither can you nor Maester Kelk, but we are here and also expected to be here as maesters of Yevon."
Lulu crossed her arms.
"This discussion is more about whether or not Maester Seymour has what it takes to be praetor. Outside matters can be remedied."
"Yes, Lady Lulu, that is correct," said Mika. "Maester Seymour, did Praetor Baralai teach you anything before he died?"
Yuna's fists were shaking. She couldn't believe that they could talk about his death so… so uncaringly! At that moment, they all disgusted her, even Lulu. Lulu was on Seymour's side! How could that be possible! It was unfair. Yuna was worried about Zanarkand and Bevelle and also silently and secretly grieving for her friend. She hadn't been given time to think over his death. As soon as she returned to Bevelle, the meeting began.
None of them even cared about Baralai, it seemed, just the position he was in and how to refill it. Yuna's head slowly tilted down as she thought about him, her eyes brimming with tears. He was her closest friend. They knew each other growing up and were always together. Baralai, being the older one, was protective of her. For a little while, as she learned of what love could be, she had incredible feelings for him. However, they were soon diminished.
Yuna had known about homosexuals but when Baralai told her…
"Yuna… I appreciate your feelings," Baralai had told her. She was thirteen. He was fifteen. "But I only see you as a friend, I'm sorry."
Yuna, who hadn't expected that due to their closeness, looked to him, shocked.
"Why? Why only as a friend?"
Baralai stretched his incredible wings in nervousness and gripped the bar of the fence in front of him. He wasn't even looking at her he was so scared.
"Because… I'm not attracted…"
Yuna had expected to hear "to you" at the end of that. However, Baralai finished with something completely different.
"… to girls."
She froze.
"A-ah?" was all she had managed to say before she ran off, then soared into the sky. His eyes had followed her and he silently apologized, his wings folding sadly.
"Lady Yuna?"
Yuna snapped out of her memory and saw Lulu looking at her. She realized that tears were streaming down her face.
"Lady Yuna, do you need to be excused?" asked Mika.
"Y-yes," she said. She bowed and then walked from the room, hands to her face. She then started to run to an outside patio and dropped to her hands and knees, sobbing. She didn't expect for Baralai's death to hit her so hard. She was used to death--her mother, her father, Lulu's parents, Wakka's younger brother and parents, Maester Jyscal, and now Baralai.
Suddenly, she started choking. Being half Al Bhed, her lungs were weak and occasionally, she found that she couldn't breathe Bevelle's thin air. She put her hands to her throat and coughed, struggling to move.
Luckily, strong, tan arms picked her up and carried her into a nearby shop. In her hazy vision, she wasn't sure who it was. She began to breathe the tampered air and felt better. She looked up expecting, or wishing it was either Tidus or Baralai.
"Wakka!"
"You gotta be careful, ya? Rest here for a bit. I'll get ya a drink," he told her. He walked over to a counter and spoke with the clerk. Yuna watched him as she wiped her eyes hastily. Lulu came in.
"Yuna!"
She stepped to her, kneeling down.
"You know to be careful outside."
Yuna nodded. Wakka gave Yuna the drink. Lulu flicked at Wakka's hair.
"What would you have done if he wasn't there? And if I hadn't seen you go down?"
Yuna was silent as she drank the juice. Lulu sighed.
"What happened in there?"
"I was thinking about Praetor Baralai."
She attached the word "praetor" to his name to hide the fact that it was the person she missed and not the praetor. Lulu didn't buy it for a second.
"I know how you feel. You and Baralai have been close since you were very little. And to lose him so suddenly and in such a… terrible way must be devastating to you."
"And groundlings from Zanarkand did it, ya?" asked Wakka, though it sounded more as though he was confirming it rather than asking about it.
"That I doubt," said Yuna, regaining her voice. Wakka was a firm believer in Yevon and looked down upon groundlings and loathed the Al Bhed. Yuna had never even told him about her own lineage nor about Tidus.
Wakka folded his arms and looked to Lulu.
"Lu? You take Yuna back to her place so she can get some rest. I'm sure she could use it, ya?"
Wakka's accent was that of Besaid, one of the only Lower Spiran towns that was inhabited by Bevellians due to the trading oppourtunities. Wakka grew up there and decided to move up to Bevelle after his brother had died. In Bevelle, he met Lulu and they have been close ever since. ((what does she see in him?))
Yuna looked up to the couple as a big brother and sister. They were, like most of Yuna's friends, very protective of her. Lulu was closer to Yuna, however, and therefore tried to let nothing bad happen to her. Lulu placed a finger on Yuna's chin.
"Yuna, you know that it's okay to cry if you're sad."
Yuna nodded, silent. Lulu let go, standing up from her kneel, helping the other girl up. Yuna gave the cup back to Wakka.
"Come, Yuna," Lulu beckoned at the door, holding it open.
The stars were always close to Bevelle, of course. Yuna wanted to reach up and touch one, but for now she settled just looking up to them, thinking of many things.
Whew. Lotsa crap goin' on. Um, I didn't mean to have so much… Yunalai? … Yuna/Baralai ness in this chapter. It's better than Gipku, but I prefer her with Tidus, and Baralai with Gippal. ::holds up Crimson sphere #3:: It's all thanks to this sphere, folks, with the trio on the Winno talking about Sin. I saw how close Baralai and Gippal were sitting together and thought about the possibility. And of course, when they went off together in Crimson Sphere #8. What were they gonna together had Nooj not shot them?
Hmmm… next chapter up… sometime laaaate next week. Though I have another, less serious fic that I might be putting up instead. But as for next week, I have another con to go to… AnimeNext, y'all!!! Anyway, see you, folks. Please review, you wonderful little readers!