Standard Disclaimer. I do not own FFX or the characters in it. They are owned by Square-Enix. I do own this story, and my original characters. The title of this chapter is from a song performed by Joni Mitchell.
From the campsite, all that the others had been able to see had been Auron dashing headlong down the road, another figure running in the distance towards their camp, and, finally, two dark silhouettes merging into one. Nothing more. Now, Yuna stood next to Tidus, watching the two figures draw near. She held his hand in hers, and felt it tremble in anticipation. Yuna studied the older woman as she approached, and recognized that Tidus' description had been surprisingly accurate. She saw a woman who she assumed must be around Sir Auron's own age, just a little taller than she herself was, but, as Tidus had said, a little shorter in stature than Lulu, with very short, very dark, brown hair, mixed with silver gray, but not as much as Sir Auron's, large, deep-set brown eyes, with a woman's shape that was, indeed, like Lulu's somewhat, but slimmer, or less overblown, and with a face that was very beautiful, because of the spirit and strength of the woman behind it. Her clothes were stained and dirty and threadbare, and she still wore her dignity like a queen. I wish I had the time to get to know her better, Yuna thought sadly.
Tidus couldn't contain himself any longer. There was something he'd been needing to say, and do, for four months now, and he thought he'd never have the chance. They were close enough that he could see their faces clearly now. It wasn't his place to run to her, that was Auron's place, but he thought he had the right to do this. He squeezed Yuna's hand gently, and then he let her go, and began to walk, fast but not too fast. Mercy saw him break away from the others, and unconsciously sped up. Auron deliberately slowed his own pace, letting them have this moment alone. The tears she hadn't shed in front of him four months ago were running down her face, but this time they were tears of joy. Tidus knew his own cheeks were wet, and he didn't care, as he wrapped her in a tight hug, backpack, swords, and all. She hugged him back so hard, one of her swords dug into his ribs. He whispered in her ear, "Love you," smiling and letting the tears fall. "Love you, too," she whispered back.
Yuna started to move forward, to share in the moment, but Auron caught her eye with his, and shook his head, telling her clearly that she should stay back, and she bowed to his judgment.
Tidus and Mercy looked into each other's faces, and started to laugh. She wiped away his tears with her hand, then she dried her face on the collar of his shirt. He hugged her again, still laughing, but let her go quickly when her sword hilt hit the same spot in his ribs a second time. They began walking toward the others, their arms still around each other in easy, open affection, as Auron prowled on Mercy's other side. At the edge of the campsite, Tidus began, "Hey, guys, this is Mercy…"
Tidus' voice trailed off as Auron slung his own arm around Mercy's shoulders, pulled her away from Tidus and fitted her against his own right side, as he finished the sentence with, "my wife." In spite of the pack she still wore, his hand cupped her shoulder, so that he could reach the bare skin on her neck with his long fingers and thumb, as he seemed to want to, because he was doing it. She had to suppress the warm shiver that ran down her spine. She slid her arm under the top half of his still-fallen coat, and rested her hand on his hip, just below his belt. Some things never change. You still get possessive. And I still enjoy it…in small doses. I just wonder when we're going to get to possess each other…
But he had drawn attention to himself with his actions, and they all finally registered the change in his appearance. They were all used to thinking of him as old, partly because he was older than they were, and more experienced, and partly because they had taken their cues from Tidus' familiar name for him, hearing Tidus call him 'old man' so often, they had come to think of him as an old man in truth. The facade he presented to the world had assisted in that illusion; except in battle, almost all they ever saw of him was his mane of graying hair. But now, the illusion was shattered. The man standing in their midst was clearly not 'three years older than Yevon', as they had always thought. Without his glasses, without his collar, and with his coat pulled all the way down, they all saw him for what he truly was, a very impressive man in his prime. The fact that his lips were still swollen, and that the woman at his side was very definitely his wife and very clearly had a small bruise on her neck made by those lips, made Yuna and Rikku both blush, and caused Lulu to fume inwardly. Belatedly, Auron realized the picture they presented, and he let his arm drop from around Mercy's shoulders, his own face red. Mercy wanted to kick him, but she let him go without a word.
Tidus, grinning eagerly, broke the sudden tension by turning to Mercy and saying, "Let me introduce you to everyone." She just nodded, consenting to the inevitable, knowing that she needed to get a handle on each of the personalities that made up this party as quickly as possible. Yuna was standing by his side, her shoulder brushing against his arm. He and Yuna shared a brief look, then Tidus placed his hand in the small of her back, and began, "Mercy, this is Yuna, our Summoner."
Even if I didn't know, I would know, Mercy thought. The way he touches her, even the way he says her name, and the way she looks back at him. This is what I hoped for him to find. But not to lose, especially not so soon. "Yuna, I am glad to meet you. Auron told me so many stories about his journey with your father, that I feel as if I already know you, at least a little," Mercy said, smiling at the young woman Tidus had chosen.
Yuna's bi-colored eyes, in fact her whole head, swung from Auron to Mercy and back again, as she tried to take everything in. In the end, she addressed Auron first, in a voice breathy with excitement. "Sir Auron, this is so wonderful," she cried, her hands clasped in front of her. Then, she turned to Mercy and bowed very deeply, a gesture of great respect. Mercy was surprised, but not half as surprised as when Yuna began speaking to her, saying "Lady Mercy, I am so honored to meet you. It is a miracle that you were also able to make the journey from the other Zanarkand to Spira.
Sir Auron...him...Mr. I'd rather grunt than talk...with a title? Yeah, right. And Lady Mercy sounds like somebody's granny. No way Yuna means me. Mercy saw something out of the corner of her eye, a look, a sort of eye roll, that Tidus was clearly sharing with Auron over her head. Oh great, it's a guy thing now, and the joke is on me. I just hate it when they do that.
Kimahri stepped up next to Yuna, and Mercy was forced to look up, way, way, up to meet his yellow eyes. So this is a Ronso. Wow! Auron's descriptions didn't even come close to doing him justice. Unfortunately, just at that moment she saw him share that same sort of 'guy thing' expression with Tidus, and presumably Auron, just before he looked down at her. Oh great, I guess 'male bonding' translates cross-species. I so didn't need to know that. Still, Kimahri's deep bass voice was respectful as he said, "Kimahri also glad to meet Lady Mercy."
Whatever joke the 'boys' were sharing at her expense, Mercy was awfully glad to meet Kimahri, too, even if the Ronso was considerably more impressive, and somehow more exotic, than Auron's long ago descriptions had led her to expect. She'd been saving something up for a long time, just in case this moment ever arrived. Mercy bowed low to the Ronso, the same gesture of deep respect that Yuna had given her a few minutes earlier. Kimahri's tail swished in surprise as Mercy told him, "I am honored to meet you, Kimahri. Auron told me everything you did for him, at your first meeting, ten years ago." She placed a slight emphasis on the word 'everything', and Kimahri slowly blinked in understanding.
"It is Kimahri who is honored, Lady."
"Thank you, Kimahri, for everything," she replied. He inclined his head in acknowledgement. As Kimahri retreated to his accustomed place guarding Yuna's back, Mercy repeated Kimahri's words in her mind. Lady again. Lady who? Lady had Auron forgotten to tell me something? Damn the man, she cursed inwardly.
A small blonde woman-child bounced up and silently handed Auron his abandoned glasses. He absently stuffed them somewhere inside his coat. Amazing! The damn thing must have pockets facing all directions. I wonder what'll happen if he tries to pull it back on. She stifled a giggle. I must be getting punchy. Thank goodness he's leaving them off, anyway. The rest of this evening will be a lot easier if I'm not trying to read his face through those damn glasses. Mercy forced her attention back to Rikku's swirling green eyes.
"Hi, I'm Rikku. Pleased to meet you."
"Hello, Rikku. I'm pleased to meet you, too. I've never met an Al Bhed before. Auron told me that your people salvage machina and repair it. Is that right?"
"Yep," Rikku agreed happily.
"I don't suppose you've found any music machina, by any chance?" Mercy asked intently.
"There's a big one on Pops' airship, it's part of the ship," the girl answered, puzzled.
"That's not quite what I meant," Mercy said, shaking her head. "Something about so high," she held her hand up at her own waist, "on wheels maybe. Or a little box, about so big," she made a shape in the air, "and after all this time, I expect it sounds pretty sad if you try to play it," she laughed softly.
"Nothing that size that I know of," Rikku answered slowly, "but I'll ask Pops if you can look." She brightened for a second. "I'll even help you. I promise." Then the girl's shoulders slumped. "But first, we gotta…think of something."
Mercy reached out, and put her hand on the young girl's shoulder for just a moment. "I know, Rikku, I know."
Rikku nodded, as Mercy's hand fell away, and the Al Bhed stepped back a little, so that Wakka could come forward to greet the newcomer.
Auron had been watching the entire…performance was probably the best word, he decided, with fascination. She is…what did she used to call it…I remember…'working the room'…that was it…even if this place hardly qualifies. I used to watch her do this, back in Zanarkand, the few times I would have to go with her to some…function… she called them. She said it was not natural behavior for her, but that she had learned the manner of it, because it was necessary for her job. She would tease me; say I was undoing all her hard work, by standing next to her and glowering. I can see that she is trying so hard right now…attempting to make some impression of her own on as many of them as possible. She is hoping that some of them will accept her…at least a little for herself, so that she does not have to…how would she put it…totally ride in on my…coattails. He studied her face closely, and then crossed his arms over his chest. And I believe she has almost determined the nature of my little 'surprise', as well. Back in Zanarkand, I never knew that she would ever come here to be surprised, or I would have told her then. Now, the wrong word from Wakka will settle the matter. And Wakka usually manages to say exactly the wrong word. I should feel sorry for him, but he will get over this. I am the one who will catch the full force of her anger, later.
As the big Blitzball player stepped forward, Mercy found herself wondering, Why does he torture his hair that way? Doesn't he know that looks ridiculous on a grown man?
The moment Tidus finished introduced the big Blitzball player, Wakka opened up his mouth and unknowing stuck both his feet into it, by starting his speech with, "Lady Mercy, it is truly the blessing of Yevon that you are here."
Whatever else Wakka had intended to say, he never went past that first sentence, and Mercy didn't hear anything more than his first two words, because something exploded in her brain after she heard that phrase, "Lady Mercy" for the third time. This is ridiculous. Never mind, this is insane! She turned her head, saw the lazy grin on her husband's face, and pivoted her whole body to face him. Damn you, you've been waiting for this, haven't you, she thought at him, but didn't say. They stared each other down for a moment, oblivious to everyone else in the vicinity. One corner of his mouth quirked up slightly and she wasn't sure whether she wanted to slap his face, or eat him up with a spoon. Some of the heat of that thought must have showed in her face, because his eyebrow shot up knowingly, and she had to suppress a laugh, because she was still extremely annoyed with him.
"Auron?" her low voice sounded displeased.
"Yes, my lady," his, on the other hand, seemed amused.
"I seem to have acquired a title somewhere along the way. There should have been a ceremony, but I don't seem to recall it." Now, she was being sarcastic.
His expression didn't change as he drawled, "But there was a ceremony." Then he tapped his wedding ring. "This one."
She sighed in resignation. "I thought that was what you were going to say. And you didn't tell me this because?" He opened his mouth as if to start speaking, and she motioned with her hands for him to stop. "No, never mind now, there's too much other stuff we all need to discuss, I think. We, just you and me, we'll talk about this later," she finished, favoring him with a dark look.
Tidus grinned at both of them. Their 'act' was so familiar to him, it was as though a part of his world that he hadn't been aware was unsteady had finally righted itself. Most of the others didn't quite know how to react. This was a side of Auron that they had not only never seen, had never expected to see, but had simply never had any idea could even possibly exist. They were still recovering from the shock of it all.
Lulu, however, was furious, jealous, and envious, all at the same time, so she spoke up, from behind the others, without waiting to be introduced. "It seems very…convenient…your appearance here. How did you manage to arrive at just this time? Where have you been the last four months? What have you been doing?" The mage's voice was colder than the snow on Gagazet.
Mercy knew a challenge when she heard one. "And you would be?" she asked, calmly, politely, even though she already knew the answer.
Wakka was the one who filled the silence, saying, "This is Lulu, our black mage."
So, Mercy wondered, Wakka, are you her champion, are you the only one who doesn't know she might have just stepped in it, or both? Aloud, she said graciously, "Thanks for the introduction, Wakka. Why don't we all sit by your campfire, and swap stories? I would be more than happy to go first."
Mercy couldn't help herself; she studied the group as they settled around the fire, trying to figure out what the relationships were, where she might make a place for herself, just trying to get a handle on things. She had to suppress a smile as she looked around the circle, unconsciously, they had ended up boy, girl, boy, girl, all around. I wonder what they did before I got here, and evened up the numbers? That thought did raise a small smile. She was 'home', in her accustomed place, Auron on her left, Tidus on her right. Tidus was sprawled on the ground, and Yuna was folded elegantly beside him, their hands linked on the sand. Kimahri stood next to her, standing guard, almost in the position that the old military textbooks called, 'Parade Rest'. Lulu next, glaring with hostile intent from across the circle. Wakka, then Rikku, both waiting eagerly for the story to begin, and then back to Auron again. I think that if I close my eyes, I can still tell exactly how close he is to me, just from his body heat. It would be so easy to lean into his shoulder. I just wish I could. But his back is so stiff; I don't dare touch him right now. Might as well start talking.
She flexed her shoulders, now free of the pack sitting on the ground behind her, and idly ran her fingers along the scabbard of one of her swords, resting on the ground in front of her. A last, sidelong glance at her husband revealed nothing more than his tense posture and the blind, scarred side of his face as he stared into the fire.
She began. "After…" and as soon as he heard her voice, his head turned, and their eyes met, so she told her story to him, as though the others weren't even there. "After you left, I went to the windows, to watch you go. I saw the tidal wave…it was absolutely massive…heading towards the city. It looked like it was coming straight for our building. The ball of water that was over it, it seemed different from the tsunami. It didn't look so nasty, I guess because it wasn't sending out those projectiles."
"The projectiles were Sinspawn," Tidus informed her.
"I know, hon…but all I saw at the time was that the water ball seemed less actively hostile than the tidal wave. It looked like the lesser of two evils. I grabbed my backpack, and headed for the roof of the building. I suppose I thought that if the 'ball' part got me, it would be gentler, or at least, less violent, so that I would have a better chance to reach your Farplane that way. As for why I picked up the pack, I don't know. Force of habit, I suppose." She looked away from Auron as she finished, and met Lulu's cold, assessing gaze.
The mage's voice broke in, sharper than any steel, "Why didn't Sir Auron take you with him? And why were you trying to reach the Farplane?" Lulu's words were weapons, aimed at Mercy's heart.
But Auron was the one who answered, his gravelly voice easily heard in the silence that followed the mage's harsh questions. "We knew Sin would come that night." He heard Tidus suck in a sharp breath, and met the young man's eyes in mute apology. Then his gaze swept the circle, before it returned to the fire. "But I did not take her with me because…I believed that Sin would destroy her before my eyes…if I tried to bring her to Spira." He closed his eye, clenched his jaw tight for a long moment. Guilt tore through him, for all the pain he put her through, along with a deep anger at himself, for all the time that he had wasted, when they might have been together on this journey. "I must have been mistaken," he finished, his words dropping into the silence that surrounded them.
Mercy wished that she had just talked fast enough to keep the witch from opening her mouth. "Auron, we don't know if you were right, or not," she offered soothingly, all that she could say in front of the others.
The silence stretched out around the party, until Yuna broke the tension by asking, "Please, Lady Mercy, would you continue with your story?"
Somewhat awkwardly, Mercy picked up the thread of the tale where she had been interrupted. "I waited for Sin's 'water ball form' up on the roof of our building. I don't know, maybe it was because our building was so tall, but, instead of being killed, I was swept up into the edge of the ball. Next thing I knew, I was here, still in Zanarkand, but in Spira."
"If you knew where you were, why didn't you just walk out? Why wait here?" Lulu's skepticism was clear in her tone.
"Not the most hospitable accommodations, are they?" Mercy laughed, but it was clear that she was being sarcastic. "Nor is this much like my Zanarkand, but yes, I knew exactly where I was. Auron told me about Spira. And that massive wreck up ahead is definitely the Blitzball stadium." She grinned with genuine affection at Tidus. "You dragged us to far too many games for me to ever forget the place." The young man grinned back at her in reply.
Mercy stared down into the fire again. "But the only way out of here is over Gagazet." She shivered. "Besides the fact that I have no cold weather gear," Her voice turned sharp, as she bit off each word, "My mother didn't raise any foolish children. One fighter, alone, can barely survive on this plain, if she is careful, and lucky, and keeps to the shadows. That would not have been possible on the mountain. There are too many fiends for one fighter traveling alone. I would have become a fiend myself weeks ago, if the Ronso hadn't found me first and killed me on sight. They would have assumed that I was a fiend, and only learned of their error when it was too late. At least the Ronso might have had me sent." Her eyes met Kimahri's, and he nodded at her assessment.
Mercy turned, and stared into Lulu's eyes. "Either way, I would not be here to trouble you now." Lulu girl, we can't always get what we want. Now back off, please. I can fence with you all night, but none of us need this now. Don't make Yuna choose between you, and Auron and Tidus, because that is what this will come down to, girl. And Yunalesca will make sure we all lose, come tomorrow. Back off! Whether some of her message got through, or Lulu simply realized that the others were all staring at her, that she had perhaps challenged this woman too many times in too short a span of time for no apparent reason, the black mage closed her eyes momentarily, and it allowed the tension to ease again.
Mercy decided it was time to wrap up her story, and quickly. She wanted to shift the focus of the group away from herself, as much as was possible under the circumstances, before they asked too many more questions. "So, I have been here, as I said, being very careful and keeping myself very much to the shadows, and thankfully I have been very, very lucky. The place has gone considerably downhill since my time." She tried to make it a joke, but it came out more as a strangled sob. She looked up into the stars for a moment, and blinked back tears, then began again. "I've been waiting for the first summoner's party to show up, so I could get news and cross back over the mountain with them. It's been four months! What took you guys so long?" she asked in mock indignation.
Tidus, of course, was the one who began to answer her. "Well, first…"
Mercy smiled at him indulgently and held up a hand to stop him, before he launched into his trademark non-stop talking mode. "Tidus, honey, I love you dearly, but can you please give me the really, truly, extremely short version, just this once?" She was grinning at him now, a wide, ear-to-ear grin filled with both knowledge and affection. After a tiny gasp at Mercy's casual use of the endearment in Tidus' direction, something Yuna wasn't used to hearing, the young summoner found herself trying unsuccessfully to stifle her laughter at the reaction on Tidus' face, a mixture of consternation and resignation. Mercy clearly knew him all too well. Yuna finally collapsed in giggles, as did Rikku. Tidus blushed furiously, as Wakka laughed out loud. Even Auron and Kimahri chuckled quietly. But Lulu did not find the byplay between Mercy and Tidus the least bit amusing. As Tidus began to regale Mercy with what he considered to be a condensed version of their journey, Lulu's face took on what could only be considered a derisive expression, but whether it was directed at Mercy's person or Tidus' storytelling, Mercy was unable to judge.
While Mercy fixed her attention on Tidus, and the others who could not resist chiming in as he related the tale of their early adventures, Auron stared into the fire and reviewed his wife's tale in his mind. There was something about her story that did not quite match his own recollections of that last, frantic race through the falling city. As he replayed the images as he remembered them, he also brought back the burning ache in his gut that he had left her behind to die alone, and had to fight back the bile that rose in his throat to see again what he needed to see, the tops of the buildings that Sin sucked in as it brushed past in its water ball shape before it spread out into the void that had sucked them in. Anything, and anyone, that had been brushed by that ball had been destroyed, he was certain. What really happened to her? Do I even care, as long as she is here? He turned his head to look at her profile, slightly turned away from him at the moment. I just need to know the truth, whatever it is. His attention returned to the story that Tidus was telling her, then he went totally and completely still, as he realized the place that the young man had reached. The tale had reached Guadosalam, and he recalled his moment of weakness on the stairs of the Farplane, asking at the last moment if Tidus would look for Mercy…who was not on the Farplane because she sat beside him now. He felt foolish, and angry, mostly with himself. I could have saved myself a great deal of grief if I had resisted that impulse that afternoon. Then he remembered the gnawing emptiness of even the earliest days of this pilgrimage. Perhaps not, he decided uneasily.
Mercy felt Auron staring at her, and turned her head to face him. Tidus, talking animatedly, had gotten most of the others to participate in this re-telling of their saga. He pretended not to notice the loss of his intended audience, because he believed he had attained his real goal. It looked like it was too late for them to set out tonight. He didn't care what else happened now.
So Mercy turned, and her eyes locked with Auron's, and the world fell away. He stopped thinking, and his raw need for her showed clearly on his face. She felt it too. The fire was suddenly too hot. She pulled her tunic away from her neck, and his eye followed her every movement avidly. He was so hard for her, he ached with it. He wanted to pick up her and throw her over his shoulder, just carry her off, to hell with the consequences. His heart hammered against his ribs, and he could hear her rapid breathing. She dropped her hand to the ground, slid it along the sand toward him, reaching out. He stared down at her hand, consciousness of the others creeping back. He hesitated. He took too long for her, she began to withdraw. Swiftly, he grabbed her hand, and laced his fingers intimately with hers.
Lulu watched them with a kind of terrible fascination; in the way that you watch yourself pull off a scab that you know will hurt horribly and ooze disgusting things. I wondered if he still burned, she thought to herself. I certainly know the answer now. He burns like a beacon in the night. But only for her. I do not understand it, but I see it with my own eyes. Her face twisted in contempt. The legendary guardian. Hah! He thinks his defenses are still intact, that he can retreat behind them whenever he wants. He does not see that they are crumbling around him. He reacts to her, even when he does not intend to. Fool!
Mercy didn't notice the black mage silently observing from across the circle. She only saw the promise in Auron's slow smile. He quirked an eyebrow, gestured with his free hand, indicating that she had better return her attention to the story that was being told for her benefit. Infuriating man, she thought. One minute, come here. The next minute, leave me alone. Zanarkand normal or Spira normal, whatever that is. Before she turned her attention back to Tidus, she began to stroke the inside of his wrist with her thumb as they clasped hands. His skin was sensitive there, and his eye half-closed as the pleasure ran through him. She stopped and he opened his eye to concentrate on her face. She licked her lips suggestively. His breath hitched, and he had to clench his jaw to suppress a groan. She smiled wickedly, then turned her attention back to the storyteller, still keeping her fingers twined with her husband's.
By the time the tale reached the Gagazet peak, Mercy began to wonder if she had misheard, or miscounted, something while she had been 'flirting' with Auron. "Wait a minute, just how many times have you killed this Seymour bastard? I think I've lost count, but it's definitely crazy, whatever the number is."
"Crazy is the word for Seymour, all right," Tidus answered her with a bitter laugh. "Macalania, Bevelle and Gagazet. Three times. That ought to be enough," he said with finality.
"Seymour was not sent," Auron told her. "He will return. He wishes to become the next Sin. He does not understand." Mercy squeezed his hand gently, but he withdrew from her. Suddenly she wondered, do any of them understand?
Tidus, not realizing the full import of what Auron had said, responded, "Yeah, that's right. He doesn't understand that we'll just keep killing him until he finally does understand. He's history." Auron turned his face away, withdrawing inside the darkness of his own thoughts. She distracts me, and…I reveal too much.
Then they all heard the rumble of thunder in the distance. Mercy, embarrassed, rubbed her hand over her empty belly. "Oops, sorry," she muttered, her face pink.
"You hungry?" Wakka asked in concern.
"I think the last time I ate was…midday maybe?" she confessed. "I'm starving. Have you got anything I could eat? I was lucky, my pack had most of the trail rations, but I hate trail rations, and anyway, I ran out of those a long time ago. And you know, there are a lot more fiends around here than beasts. I mean, those clouds of pyreflies are really pretty, and it's very tidy not having the carcasses lying around," she exchanged a look with Auron over that particular remark, then went on, "but there's nothing for the stewpot, if you know what I mean. I'd planned on going hunting today, because I was pretty much out of everything, then you lot showed up, and well, slight change of plans." She shrugged. "At this point, I'd eat anything, even trail rations," she grinned, "but I'd just about kill for some fruit. I haven't had any in ages and ages."
There were smiles all around, as everyone went through their packs, hunting for caches of dried fruit and whatever other goodies they had stashed away. After a few minutes, she had a meal consisting of travel bread, jerky, and, heavenly days, a tiny bag of raisins and one slightly wizened apple that Rikku had found at the bottom of her pack. Thanking them all profusely between mouthfuls, Mercy ate her 'dinner' while Tidus finished up the remainder of their tale. He and Wakka had snacks of their own, just so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable about eating alone.
When both the story and the impromptu meals were finished, Yuna announced, "I think we should camp here, for the night. Then we can get a fresh start in the morning." Tidus tried to keep the grin from his face. He had been right. It was too late to keep going on tonight, so telling Mercy the story of their journey had bought them an extra night before they had to meet Yunalesca. An awkward silence descended, as everyone tried to figure out how to handle the camping arrangements, now complicated by the latest addition to their party.
Kimahri's bass voice dropped into the stillness. "Camp here. Kimahri, Tidus, first watch. Wakka, Rikku, second watch. Kimahri, Lulu, last watch. Auron not watch. Auron and his lady camp on other side of hill. Come back in morning." His tail switched back and forth with every clipped sentence.
Everyone was nonplussed for several seconds. Mercy was the first to recover. She thought that being a Ronso must give Kimahri a tremendous advantage in situations like this. He simply didn't blush the way that humans did. She knew she was blushing furiously, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. She got up and bowed respectfully to the Ronso. "Thank you, Kimahri," she said. As she rose, she winked at the blue-furred warrior. Kimahri blinked slowly in reply. Mercy looked over at Auron. He was speechless, she was not surprised at this, but at least she saw that the man was moving. As she picked up her swords and her pack, she watched him while he collected his gear. His face was stained dark red under his tan, and there was an abruptness to his movements that further indicated his embarrassment. She hoped it was only the method he objected to, and not the result, although the way he had been acting tonight, she was nowhere near certain of anything. She called, "Good night, everyone," as they walked out of the camp together. The only sound out of Auron was, "Hmph," as he stalked off into the night.
End Chapter Twenty-Four