A/N: ::coughs and rubs throat:: Thanks, CPMiko. X_x; Feathers are only for dire situations, you know!
Anyways, thanks for the reviews. ^_^ I know I'm beating a dead horse with a stick (whoo, cliché-ieness), but I'm so glad that this fic has some level of popularity! Yay! Pllllease continue reviewing!
Before I begin, however, I also wanna express my gratitude to those who commented on the fluff level. xD I really needed that!
Vernal Equinox
"Arrgh . . . damn . . ."
The woman lifted her face from the dirt it had been pushed in, spitting out a mixture of what was grime, blood, and phlegm. Azure eyes locked on the hideous monster looming over her, hatred flaring in their bluish depths. The youma was a huge eagle, roughly twenty times the size of one found on Earth. Its beak was stained with blood from battles past, and its hooked talons on each foot were tense, ready to dig into fresh meat.
I won't let you take me down, thought Sawn. I won't.
She stood shakily, blood streaking from the many cuts about her body and from the main gash in her left shoulder, where a talon had gotten the best of her. One of her wings was broken, now useless to her in the battle. Maybe if she had been more alert, maybe if she had sensed the attack coming, she could have prevented her injuries. Sawn clenched her main wound in an attempt to stifle the blood flow, feeling like a fool. If only she hadn't stumbled into the monster's territory unknowingly, she wouldn't be in such a predicament!
Suddenly, she saw a flash of movement before her. The youma was diving at Sawn, beak wide open, ready to deliver the final blow. The faerie gritted her teeth and dove to the side, tucking and rolling to brief safety. I can't fight back. I don't have any time to conjure a spell. The realization of the matter hit Sawn like a hammer to the head.
She might not make it out of this alive . . .
***
Meanwhile, back in the castle of Cephiro, everyone was gathered around the table. Gardina and Lafarga talked quietly, heads close together. Hikaru and Lantis were holding another conversation, while Primera beat futilely on Hikaru's arm with tiny fists. Other small, friendly banter was made about the table. All were present, except . . .
"Hey, where's Fuu?" Presea asked between bites of her exotic, Cephiro-native cuisine.
"I believe she's still in bed." Clef responded.
Ferio stood. "I'm going to go check on her--"
"Sit down, Romeo," Primera scoffed haughtily, haven given up on attacking Hikaru. "Fuu's just sleeping. Leave her be."
Ferio reluctantly sat down, nodding his head slowly.
"I guess you're right."
***
Fuu had awoken a while ago, and was staring at the ceiling listlessly, wanting to get out of bed but too fatigued to do so. Sleep wouldn't claim her; that picture of the woman who had saved her life earlier was haunting her. Why would a stranger from a seemingly extinct race save me without even leaving her name? It made no sense to her, and she couldn't stand it. Fuu was always the kind of person who wanted things to be black or white, not indecisive, or grey. However, grey was the perfect color for this situation—as grey as the fog that was clouding her mind at the moment.
Fuu jumped at the sudden sound of shattering glass. She realized at once that it was coming from her room—the window adjourning the bed. Feeling rejuvenated, Fuu swung her legs off her quilts and darted to the scene, careful to not cut her feet on the razor sharp shards of glass littering the floor.
There, hovering before her very eyes, was Sawn.
She was not the heavenly figure she once was. Her face was pale and sunken, blood streaming down from a crack in her forehead. The faerie gripped her side in obvious pain, her once-magnificent robe ripped and torn in many places. Her actually body was translucent, like that of a ghost or spirit. Sawn reached out a hand—it was bleeding—to Fuu.
"You're the one who saved me, aren't you?" Fuu whispered, and took Sawn's hand.
An explosion of warmth filled Fuu's body, and the next thing she knew, she was flying alongside the ghostly figure of Sawn. The Sea of Cephiro laid below them, waves crashing against the rocks on the shoreline. The forest where Fuu had fallen was ahead of them.
"What's your name?" Fuu asked her companion quietly.
Sawn made no move to answer. She just stared at their approaching destination.
"Are you a faerie?"
Fuu, once more, was answered only by silence. She gave up trying, and just let the faerie take her wherever it was she needed to go.
***
Meanwhile...
Everyone back in the dining hall of the palace were starting to mill away from the dinner table, when the muffled noise of breaking glass met their shocked ears.
Without another word, Ferio and Clef proceeded immediately to where they believed the source of the sound had come—Fuu's room.
Ferio was the first to arrive. His handsome face paled when he found himself amongst a sea of glass, Fuu nowhere to be found. "What the hell happened?" He muttered in disbelief. For a moment, he thought Fuu might have leapt, and he felt his heart pound unusually hard in his chest, but then he remembered that Fuu had had no reason to do so. He picked up a relatively large piece of the shattered pane and clenched it in his fist.
Ferio felt the blood trickle down his wrist in a hot, sticky stream. Fuu, where did you go?
"Fuu's not in any of the other rooms," Clef popped back in, expression solemn. Ferio and Clef met each other's eyes.
"Do you think she was kidnapped?"
"We have no way of knowing. First, we have to tell the others and then conduct a more thorough search of the castle. We mustn't panic." Clef left the room, robes flying behind him as he moved in a hurry. Ferio was hot on his heels...
A/N: Short chappie! Sorries! ^^; I also apologize for the long time it took me to update this thing! Well, nothing else to really say, buuuttt... PLEASE REVIEEWWWW!
