Dancing All Around Me : A Rikku x Gippal Fanfiction
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CHAPTER FIVE : Teyha
Meanwhile, the leader of the Al Bhed Machine Faction was just stepping away from Djose Temple, a small knapsack slung over his shoulder. This was what he had been waiting for. This was what he wanted, what he needed. But, upon stepping away from all that machinery noise and from the stuffy enclosure of the temple, he felt like he was missing something from somewhere deep within him.
Turning one last time to look upon the somewhat ominous stone temple looming over him, Gippal adjusted his knapsack.
Goodbye for now, he thought.
It was now that he realized just how important machina was to him. He had loved machina since he was young, even though the rest of Spira had viewed machina as forbidden weapons of destruction. He had fallen in love and grown up with machina. But he knew that machina would never serve as his partner for life; they lacked the many qualities and attributes people possessed. He couldn't imagine talking to machina and having a cup of tea with them. This thought seemed rather ridiculous, and he could barely restrain himself from laughing aloud.
Now, though, he had to get away from this place. He had spent much too long here at Djose; his life now called for more action, action that he had not experienced since his days training for the Crimson Squad with Nooj and Baralai.
With a sigh, he turned away from the temple and made his way towards Mushroom Rock. Around him, everything seemed to have frozen in time; nothing moved, everything was quiet. All that seemed audible was the thudding of his boots against the ground as he walked. The dirt beneath his feet stirred in his wake, leaving clouds of dust hovering behind him. The sun was still young for the day; the heat had not yet come.
Once Gippal was strutting his way down Mushroom Rock (in a steady, gradual pace, of course; he didn't feel the need to rush), he thought back to what his assistant had told him right before he left Djose.
"If you don't really have anywhere to go in the upcoming few weeks," Desta had said, "you could try entering this new competition they're holding in about two weeks from now."
Gippal, at the time, was only slightly interested. He had never really liked competitions; well, he was never really the competitive type.
"Really?" he had replied. "What kind of competition?"
"Oh, it's something about what they call 'ribbonhunting.' I heard that you teamed up with one other person and searched across Spira for these 'ribbons.' They're giving out huge prizes to those who get the most. It's actually quite interesting to me."
At that, Gippal had scoffed. To him, this so-called ribbonhunting seemed like something made up to replace spherehunting. "That doesn't sound very fun."
"But it will be!" Desta had protested. "They purposely set hidden obstacles at the ribbons' locations in order to give the competition a challenge. I think you'd do well to enter yourself into it."
After that, he had asked her where he would have to go and how he'd sign up for it, but Desta had settled it with "Don't worry, I'll sign you up for it. Just go to Bevelle within fourteen days."
Gippal smirked. Hah. That's so like her to sign me up herself. Never lets me do anything on my own.
Then he recalled the events that occurred a little over a year ago. The whole Lenne and Shuyin deal... with Nooj, Baralai, and Paine. And how could he forget the rest of the Gullwings? He'd remember that, of course.
Closing his eyes as he walked, he placed his hands behind his head, thinking. And just what could he be thinking about? His mind couldn't help but wonder about the blond-headed Al Bhed girl who had brought the sunshine into his life so long ago. He had always remembered those moments he had shared with her... and he admitted to himself that he missed it all.
Maybe, he thought, I'll be able to see her again.
He sighed. Opening his eyes (though he could only see with his left eye, since his right eye was covered with that black eyepatch of his), he stopped in his footsteps. His hands dropped to his sides. He gazed up at the blue sky, then lowered his gaze to his left... and there stood a Lupus, its fiery tongue hanging out from its canine-lined jaws.
Gippal, surprised at how quietly it had approached him, stepped back, away from the wolf-like fiend. In response, the Lupus growled menacingly, readying itself into a position to pounce him.
Shit. Gippal was a little less than prepared to battle. Apparently, he had not expected to encounter any trouble with fiends. That was the first mistake. Why didn't I carry any weapons with me? Damn.
The Lupus growled once more, baring its teeth in a most threatening manner. Gippal remained calm, silently trying to figure out some sort of plan.
He didn't have to think long, however. Unexpectedly, a feminine voice shouted from somewhere nearby.
"Thundaga!"
Lightning bolts struck down upon the unwary fiend, sending it to the ground with a whimper. Pyreflies emanated from its motionless corpse as Gippal searched for the whereabouts of his recent savior.
He turned around just as he noticed a girl running to him. She was most likely his age, if not one year younger. Her attire consisted of a long, light-purple robe and plain brown boots. She had silky, jet-black hair that flowed over her shoulders in waves, and a plum-colored ribbon was tied around a few strands of hair to the right of her face. She carried an intricate staff in her right hand; Gippal immediately knew her to be a Black Mage.
Once she approached him, he noticed that she had stunning, wine-red eyes. He studied her face as she leaned over to catch her breath.
"Hey," she panted.
Gippal blinked as he watched her recover her composure and stand up straight. "Hey there."
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?" He mentally cursed himself; what a stupid question! All she did was utter a spell and dispose of a fiend that had threatened to kill him. She didn't even get near the Lupus.
The girl laughed, her voice like a soothing melody to Gippal's ears. "Of course I'm okay. I'm glad you're not hurt, though."
Gippal felt something change within his heart. It seemed as if his spirits were lifted, as if he had been stripped of his worries... all because of this girl he had just met.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Gippal extended his hand. "Gippal."
The girl clasped his hand in her own, shaking it slightly as she smiled at him. "My name is Teyha. Pleased to meet you... Gippal."
He smiled in return, loving the way her hand felt in his; her skin was so soft! "Teyha... that's an Al Bhed name, isn't it?"
Teyha gently disengaged her hand from his. "Yes. My mother was Al Bhed."
Gippal noticed that she had used the past tense regarding her mother. "Oh... that's interesting." At first glance, he had not known that she was partially Al Bhed. She looked nothing like an Al Bhed; yet upon closer examination, he could see that her eyes possessed the swirls, though faint as they were.
Her smile brightened. "Interesting? How so?"
He was at a slight loss for words. "Uhh..." He ran a hand through his disheveled blond hair.
"It's rare that you come across a half-Al Bhed, isn't it." Teyha didn't seem to want the question answered, for she walked past him before he could answer. Gippal turned around before she could get away.
"Hey, where are you going?" Gippal caught up with her, keeping pace with her firm strides. "Um, mind if I come along? I have to get to Bevelle in about two weeks."
Teyha paused and turned to face him. She smiled up at him, sending a warm feeling down his spine. "Sure, come if you'd like. I'm heading for Bevelle, too."
As the two continued their way down Mushroom Rock, Gippal couldn't help but wonder if Teyha was heading to Bevelle for the competition, too.
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A/N : Hey! :D;; I managed to get chapter 5 in pretty fast... just fixed a few mistakes. I hope you like what's happening so far... it'll definitely get better as the story goes on! Please review! Thanks!
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CHAPTER FIVE : Teyha
Meanwhile, the leader of the Al Bhed Machine Faction was just stepping away from Djose Temple, a small knapsack slung over his shoulder. This was what he had been waiting for. This was what he wanted, what he needed. But, upon stepping away from all that machinery noise and from the stuffy enclosure of the temple, he felt like he was missing something from somewhere deep within him.
Turning one last time to look upon the somewhat ominous stone temple looming over him, Gippal adjusted his knapsack.
Goodbye for now, he thought.
It was now that he realized just how important machina was to him. He had loved machina since he was young, even though the rest of Spira had viewed machina as forbidden weapons of destruction. He had fallen in love and grown up with machina. But he knew that machina would never serve as his partner for life; they lacked the many qualities and attributes people possessed. He couldn't imagine talking to machina and having a cup of tea with them. This thought seemed rather ridiculous, and he could barely restrain himself from laughing aloud.
Now, though, he had to get away from this place. He had spent much too long here at Djose; his life now called for more action, action that he had not experienced since his days training for the Crimson Squad with Nooj and Baralai.
With a sigh, he turned away from the temple and made his way towards Mushroom Rock. Around him, everything seemed to have frozen in time; nothing moved, everything was quiet. All that seemed audible was the thudding of his boots against the ground as he walked. The dirt beneath his feet stirred in his wake, leaving clouds of dust hovering behind him. The sun was still young for the day; the heat had not yet come.
Once Gippal was strutting his way down Mushroom Rock (in a steady, gradual pace, of course; he didn't feel the need to rush), he thought back to what his assistant had told him right before he left Djose.
"If you don't really have anywhere to go in the upcoming few weeks," Desta had said, "you could try entering this new competition they're holding in about two weeks from now."
Gippal, at the time, was only slightly interested. He had never really liked competitions; well, he was never really the competitive type.
"Really?" he had replied. "What kind of competition?"
"Oh, it's something about what they call 'ribbonhunting.' I heard that you teamed up with one other person and searched across Spira for these 'ribbons.' They're giving out huge prizes to those who get the most. It's actually quite interesting to me."
At that, Gippal had scoffed. To him, this so-called ribbonhunting seemed like something made up to replace spherehunting. "That doesn't sound very fun."
"But it will be!" Desta had protested. "They purposely set hidden obstacles at the ribbons' locations in order to give the competition a challenge. I think you'd do well to enter yourself into it."
After that, he had asked her where he would have to go and how he'd sign up for it, but Desta had settled it with "Don't worry, I'll sign you up for it. Just go to Bevelle within fourteen days."
Gippal smirked. Hah. That's so like her to sign me up herself. Never lets me do anything on my own.
Then he recalled the events that occurred a little over a year ago. The whole Lenne and Shuyin deal... with Nooj, Baralai, and Paine. And how could he forget the rest of the Gullwings? He'd remember that, of course.
Closing his eyes as he walked, he placed his hands behind his head, thinking. And just what could he be thinking about? His mind couldn't help but wonder about the blond-headed Al Bhed girl who had brought the sunshine into his life so long ago. He had always remembered those moments he had shared with her... and he admitted to himself that he missed it all.
Maybe, he thought, I'll be able to see her again.
He sighed. Opening his eyes (though he could only see with his left eye, since his right eye was covered with that black eyepatch of his), he stopped in his footsteps. His hands dropped to his sides. He gazed up at the blue sky, then lowered his gaze to his left... and there stood a Lupus, its fiery tongue hanging out from its canine-lined jaws.
Gippal, surprised at how quietly it had approached him, stepped back, away from the wolf-like fiend. In response, the Lupus growled menacingly, readying itself into a position to pounce him.
Shit. Gippal was a little less than prepared to battle. Apparently, he had not expected to encounter any trouble with fiends. That was the first mistake. Why didn't I carry any weapons with me? Damn.
The Lupus growled once more, baring its teeth in a most threatening manner. Gippal remained calm, silently trying to figure out some sort of plan.
He didn't have to think long, however. Unexpectedly, a feminine voice shouted from somewhere nearby.
"Thundaga!"
Lightning bolts struck down upon the unwary fiend, sending it to the ground with a whimper. Pyreflies emanated from its motionless corpse as Gippal searched for the whereabouts of his recent savior.
He turned around just as he noticed a girl running to him. She was most likely his age, if not one year younger. Her attire consisted of a long, light-purple robe and plain brown boots. She had silky, jet-black hair that flowed over her shoulders in waves, and a plum-colored ribbon was tied around a few strands of hair to the right of her face. She carried an intricate staff in her right hand; Gippal immediately knew her to be a Black Mage.
Once she approached him, he noticed that she had stunning, wine-red eyes. He studied her face as she leaned over to catch her breath.
"Hey," she panted.
Gippal blinked as he watched her recover her composure and stand up straight. "Hey there."
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay?" He mentally cursed himself; what a stupid question! All she did was utter a spell and dispose of a fiend that had threatened to kill him. She didn't even get near the Lupus.
The girl laughed, her voice like a soothing melody to Gippal's ears. "Of course I'm okay. I'm glad you're not hurt, though."
Gippal felt something change within his heart. It seemed as if his spirits were lifted, as if he had been stripped of his worries... all because of this girl he had just met.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Gippal extended his hand. "Gippal."
The girl clasped his hand in her own, shaking it slightly as she smiled at him. "My name is Teyha. Pleased to meet you... Gippal."
He smiled in return, loving the way her hand felt in his; her skin was so soft! "Teyha... that's an Al Bhed name, isn't it?"
Teyha gently disengaged her hand from his. "Yes. My mother was Al Bhed."
Gippal noticed that she had used the past tense regarding her mother. "Oh... that's interesting." At first glance, he had not known that she was partially Al Bhed. She looked nothing like an Al Bhed; yet upon closer examination, he could see that her eyes possessed the swirls, though faint as they were.
Her smile brightened. "Interesting? How so?"
He was at a slight loss for words. "Uhh..." He ran a hand through his disheveled blond hair.
"It's rare that you come across a half-Al Bhed, isn't it." Teyha didn't seem to want the question answered, for she walked past him before he could answer. Gippal turned around before she could get away.
"Hey, where are you going?" Gippal caught up with her, keeping pace with her firm strides. "Um, mind if I come along? I have to get to Bevelle in about two weeks."
Teyha paused and turned to face him. She smiled up at him, sending a warm feeling down his spine. "Sure, come if you'd like. I'm heading for Bevelle, too."
As the two continued their way down Mushroom Rock, Gippal couldn't help but wonder if Teyha was heading to Bevelle for the competition, too.
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A/N : Hey! :D;; I managed to get chapter 5 in pretty fast... just fixed a few mistakes. I hope you like what's happening so far... it'll definitely get better as the story goes on! Please review! Thanks!