Author's Note: As Phabrizoe pointed out, I am terrible with romance. To this, I feel the need to say: I told you so, nyah nyah nyah nyah! Ahem. Seriously though, I feel I should apologise for it. I mean, I no longer just write these stories for fun, I have people who read them too, and I kinda feel I'm letting you all down by writing things I can't write. Unfortunately, I can't go back and just get rid of the romance, and it would ruin the story if I did. Soon a plot will develop where it's important, but you won't get any more sickening Disney-esque love scenes. If anybody out there has any tips on writing a better romance, I'll happily listen, keeping in mind it is supposed to be sickeningly sweet (I don't want an angsty relationship, I want one where they come off as truly ridiculously in love). But, as proven, I can't write it. So, any tips I'll happily listen to and take on board. Other than that, I do apologise for taking on the idea of writing a romantic subplot when I quite clearly can't, because it can't be very fun to read for you guys.

Despite that, this chapter is largely romantic, but I tried a slightly different approach. They're more mocking and playful rather than just sickening. It might work better, I don't know. Sorry to do another 'love' chapter, but I wanted to give our heroes a break before the next bad thing happens.

Also, it's come to my attention that I am English. No, I was aware of that all the time, but it means I sometimes will appear to 'misspell' words, such as 'armour' and such. I know in American it's spelt 'armor' for example, but I'm going to stick to what I know! Just so you know I'm not horribly misspelling some words all the time. That said, I'm sure I've mis-spelt a lot properly.

Finally, I notice all stories have a disclaimer. This, I forgot to do. So here it is. I don't own FFXI, or Square, or these characters etc. If you think I did, then I dunno what was wrong with you. I mean, I'm writing fan fiction, instead of swimming in money. I'm clearly not in charge of a large computer game company. But you know, easy mistake to make I guess…

PART XVII

Vivli was in a dark tomb. She didn't know how she got there, but it really didn't occur to her. She looked around, and suddenly saw Zinkata lying on the floor. She ran to him as quickly as she could. He seemed to be unconscious. Or dead. He was dressed in huge and heavy silver armour with a long red cape spread out underneath him, looking like blood.

"ZIN!" Vivli screamed as she saw him, running to him. He seemed alive. Vivli could just tell. There was suddenly a rumbling. A stone door began to slowly come down at the exit to the tomb. Vivli grabbed Zinkata and tried to pull his body out before the door crashed down. She strained, but couldn't move him. The armour and dead weight of the warrior was too heavy. "ZIN! Wake up! Please!" She sobbed, trying feebly to move him. The door got lower, but she couldn't get Zinkata out. Just before it hit the floor, she found herself running. She dove under the door and it sealed. There was a pause. It dawned on her. She had just left Zinkata behind. She had just doomed him.

"ZINKATA!" She sobbed, pounding on the stone door.

"I'm right here Viv." Came his voice. She jolted awake. She had been asleep in his arms. She slid around in his arms, and threw her own around him. "What's wrong?" He asked, noticing she had been crying. She wiped her tears away, embarrassed.

"Just a nightmare." She said, shaking her head. "How'd I get here?" She quickly added, noticing the two were somewhat awkwardly in her rather small bed back in the monastery.

"You fell to sleep on the airship. I didn't really have the heart to wake you, so carried you back here." Zinkata answered. "Of course, I didn't have the heart to let you go either."

"Oh." Vivli muttered. "Wait? I fell asleep on the airship?" She was stunned. She usually spent time on the airships being airsick.
"Yeah, I'm proud of you too." Zinkata sarcastically said. Vivli smiled.

"What time is it?" She asked curiously, rubbing her eyes.

"Not sure. Still dark outside." Zinkata observed. "So why don't you get some more sleep?" Vivli sunk against Zinkata, not answering, but cuddling up to him. "Viv?" He heard a gentle purring, which usually suggested she was asleep. "Oh." He said, playfully pushing her hair back so that he could look at her. He sighed, and decided to sleep himself.

There was a loud thud. Vivli woke up instantly.

"Ow." She groaned. She had apparently rolled over in her sleep to where there was no bed, and fallen out. It wasn't the first time she had done that. Of course, this time she had an excuse, two of them were squeezed on her tiny bed. She got up wearingly, rubbing her eyes and looking around.

"Alright Viv?" Zinkata asked, from across the room. Apparently he had been washing his face. "I get up, let go of you for a second, and you fall out of bed." She realised this meant her excuse for falling out didn't work; Zinkata was already up. She just laughed nervously.

"Guess you'll just have to hold me until I wake up in future." She suggested.

"I had this nice romantic plan for today, but it sounds like it's been ruined." Zinkata sighed.

"You? Plan something romantic?" Vivli gently mocked.

"The festival finishes today. I mean, despite that everything that happened they were going to run it anyway. And it ends with the big dance in the evening." Zinakta explained.

"So why's it been ruined?" Vivli asked, sounding disappointed.

"Well, it's supposed to take place outside, in the streets, on a warm evening. You know, that kind of atmosphere." Zinkata told her. "Listen." Vivli did so. She sighed.

"Rain." She groaned, walking to a window to look out over the town. "Lots of rain." She observed, looking at the overcast sky and water that was splashing down hard in the streets. "It's not supposed to rain in Windurst." She grumbled, sounding like a disappointed child.

"I think the climates been messed up ever since the entire plains outside turned to lava. That can have some side effects on the weather, I hear." He said with a smirk.

"Are you patronising me?" Vivli asked, smirking also.

"Well, Bootus wasn't around. Somebody had to." Zinkata joked.

"What happened to the staff?" Vivli decided to change the subject.

"It's safe." Zinkata answered. "This time they have guards." He added with a bitter smile. The two walked out of Vivli's room and through the monastery. They arrived at the exit and looked out at the thundering rain.

"I hate rain." Vivli muttered.

"Why am I not surprised?" Zinkata grumbled.

"What did you say?" Vivli said playfully, knowing fully well that Zinkata would lie or apologise to avoid upsetting her.

"Urm, I said, 'Man, I'm glad my clothes aren't colour dyed.'". Vivli chuckled. "The colour would run out, you see."

"You're a master of rhyming." Vivli told him.

"I thought it was quick witted." Zinkata smirked. They both clearly knew what he had actually said.

"Besides, all the mithra hate the rain." Vivli shrugged.

"Viv, I think everybody hates the rain." Zinkata told her.

"Yeah, but most people hate it because they wear stupid armour that turns to freezing metal in the wet." She told him. "Not my fault if your too stupid to wear robes." She smiled. "Makes you less comfortable to hug as well." Zinkata laughed.

"Well, hell, if that's not a reason to change out of armour, I dunno what is." He told her. She hugged him anyway.

"Don't expect me to do that once you're all wet." She said.

"Urm, where are we going anyway?" Zinkata asked curiously.

"To find Bootus and Voldos?" She suggested. The four were very rarely apart, and it was perfectly natural for them to meet up in the mornings. The two looked at each other, pondering where they might be.

"The tavern." They said together.

"Race ya." Zinkata challenged playfully.

"You just want to run so you don't get too wet." Vivli guessed.

"Yep." Zinkata answered. He paused for a moment. "GO!" The two bolted out of the door.

The door to the tavern burst open and Zinkata ran in laughing. He waited for a while, before Vivli caught up, panting.

"I thought mithra were supposed to be fast." He laughed.

"I'm short!" She protested. "You have longer legs than me! Besides, I wasn't raised my mithra, remember?"

"This is Windurst." Zinkata pointed out.

"The Monastery isn't run by mithra." Vivli told him.

"Are you patronising me?" Zinkata said playfully. It was actually strange that the High Priestess wasn't a tarutaru or a mithra, but a hume. That had never occurred to him before.

"Well, Bootus wasn't around. Somebody had to." She playfully deepened her voice to try and sound like Zinkata. He laughed.

"I'm right here." Bootus said, and Vivli jumped. "About time you two got here." He told them. "You've been at it that long?"

"What?" Vivli asked naively.

"We slept in the same bed last night, Viv." Zinkata explained. "What do you think Bootus thinks we got up to?"

"Board games?" Vivli suggested. Zinkata smiled. He couldn't decide if she was being intentionally naïve or not.

"We spent the whole time asleep, actually." Zinkata told the galka.

"Whatever you say." Bootus laughed. Vivli looked around curiously.

"What's wrong with Voldos?" She asked.

"What do you mean? Something's wrong?" Bootus answered with his own questions.

"Well, the tavern is full of girls in wet clothes, I'd of expected him to be hitting on everybody and anybody." She commented. "I can't even see him."

"Oh, he's out looking for Emilen." Bootus answered. The three suddenly fell silent.

"You don't think-" Zinkata began. He couldn't quite finish.

"Voldos?" Bootus pondered. "A girl? Actually liking her and not just hitting on her? That doesn't seem right."

"A lot of strange things have been happening lately." Zinkata admitted.

"HEY!" Vivli cried. "Am I meant to be strange now?" She said, playfully hugging Zinkata.

"Not me and you." Groaned Zinkata. Vivli quickly pulled away as Zinkata's cold armour pressed through her wet robe. She shivered from the cold. "I was referring to the narrowly averted apocalypse." He said.

"Oh, that." Vivli replied, as if she hadn't given it a second thought.

"Well, shall we grab drinks?" Bootus suggested. "We aren't going anywhere fast with the weather like this." He added.

"I don't want to drink." Vivli said, a little embarrassed.

"Ah, come on, it'll be fun." Bootus told her, running over to the bar and ordering three of the strongest drinks they had. Vivli and Zinkata sat down, holding hands.

"Is it a bad thing you look more attractive when soaked to the skin?" Zinkata asked. Vivli sighed dreamily, looking back at him. She hugged him tightly, this time not minding the cold. She remembered her nightmare. "What is it, Viv? What's wrong?" Zinkata asked, noticing Vivli looked tearful.

"Just the dream I had last night. That's all." She said. Zinkata paused, considering it. He could guess what happened to make her this sad. He looked out the still open tavern door. The rain thundered down outside.

"You know, they might move the dance inside." He said. "We could still go." She smiled.

"I'd love to." She paused. "I'd dance in the rain if it was with you."

"Please!" Bootus sighed, holding drinks and sitting down at the table. "Do you have a book of 'corny romantic lines' or something?" He paused, placing the drinks down. "If I'm sick today it won't be from drinking too much."

"Bootus, you are the ultimate mood killer." Zinkata told him.

"Thank you." Bootus grinned. "Drink up!" Zinkata and Bootus did so, guzzling down their drinks. Vivli took a sip, and made an incredibly sour face, coughing. "And this is the strongest stuff they serve?" Bootus laughed. Vivli coughed a little more, before stopping, feeling queasy.

"It's strong." She winced.

"You only took a sip!" Bootus protested. Zinkata coughed a little.

"It was fairly strong, to be fair." Zinkata said.

"You downed it in one!" Bootus pointed out. "You have to expect it to be strong when you do that." Vivli pushed her mug away from her.
"Maybe I should go and find Voldos." She suggested.

"Hey! I paid for that drink! You can drink it!" Bootus cried. Vivli took a mouthful, and coughed uncontrollably, spluttering it all over the table.

"I don't think I can." She choked. Bootus laughed. Zinkata hugged her with a warm smile.

Voldos was stood in the plains outside of Windurst, soaked to the skin.

"Why do I have to do this?" He groaned.

"A ranger must be in touch with his or her environment no matter what." Emilen told him softly. "You can't run away just because it rains."

"But how am I supposed to track anything? The ground is soaked!" Voldos pointed out.

"Oh no, you might have to use a little skill." Emilen mocked gently.

"Well, I think it looks like a goblin or something was heading this way." He said, examining the footprints. "No, two. Fairly large. Quite heavy. One was lighter than the other."

"Voldos. Those are our footprints." Emilen laughed.
"We're goblins?" Voldos cried in surprise. The two shared a good laugh before becoming more serious again. "Okay, these marks were made by a crawler." Voldos decided. "Headed north, probably up by the river."

"Very good." Smiled Emilen. "See? You're getting the hang of it."

"Now if I can just learn to forge an umbrella from leaves and sticks." Voldos sighed as the rain pounded down on them.

"Maybe we should take a break." Emilen suggested.

"You hungry?" Voldos asked.

"You asking me out for lunch?" She joked.

"I'm Voldos Loneheart. You should be begging to go out for lunch." He said with a cocky grin. She laughed aloud.

"You really are something." She smirked.

"Something good, right?" Voldos did a double check.

Back in the tavern Vivli was mopping up the drink she had split everywhere when she 'accidentally' knocked over the mug.

"Hey, Viv, check it out!" Zinkata called.
"What is it?" Vivli asked, walking over to him.

"Not me." He laughed. "The door. Look." She peered out the door, and saw that it had stopped raining. "So the dance then?" She asked.

"I'll go if you want to." He said with a smile.

"You know I love dancing." She gave in answer. "You are alright with it?"

"Could be funny." Smirked Zinkata.

"Is that implying something?" Vivli shot with a sarcastic smile.

"You're a beautiful dancer." Zinkata said gently. "You don't need to worry."

"Afraid you'll get embarrassed?" Vivli mocked with a smile.

"Nah, was more picturing Bootus and Voldos at a dance." Zinkata smiled back. Vivli paused.

"You know, we could go alone. Just us." She suggested, putting her hands on his shoulders and looking up at him.

"I like that idea." Zinkata said gently. Vivli rose up on her tip toes to kiss him. Embarrassingly, she fell short, not being tall enough. Zinkata smirked, noticing this. He bent down and the two kissed anyway.

Elsewhere in the bar, Bootus rolled his eyes.

"To hell with this!" He muttered, throwing open the tavern door. "I'm going to find Voldos!" Little did he know, Voldos wasn't far from being in a romance of his own.