Chapter 1: Setting Out
Sheena awoke first that morning, sunshine gently caressing her cheek. After dressing, eating breakfast, and generally preparing for her and Lloyd's journey, she finally decided to go wake Lloyd up.
She walked up the stairs into his room. Seeing the way the sunlight hit his face, she simply stood there for a moment, gazing at his peaceful face.
"Wha-" Lloyd said, sitting up in the bed. Quickly looking up at the clock on the wall, Sheena realized she'd been standing there watching Lloyd sleep for over half an hour!
"Lloyd, you sleepyhead," Sheena sighed.
"Sho," Lloyd began through a mouthful of breakfast, "whe' we goi'g to go to ge' ri' off de Exshfears?"
"I dunno..." Sheena murmured thoughtfully. "We should probably go ask Yuan to help, he should know a good place to start."
"Yesh... Weyll, whi' I fi'ish eaing, why do't you ad Dad pac up fo' de trip?"
"Uh... sure," Sheena said, even though she was unsure of what he had said. She walked outside to find Dirk packing Lloyd's and Sheena's things onto their Rheiards.
"Oy, lassie," Dirk said in greeting.
"Hi, Dirk." Truth-be-told, Sheena had barely ever talked to Dirk. She walked over to help him, and a conversation ensued.
"You an' Lloyd are goin' ta go dastroy all the Exspheres, eh?" Dirk began.
"Yeah," Sheena replied. "It's gonna be a long journey..."
"It may," Dirk said, "but I'm sure Lloyd'll keep ya safe." At this, Sheena had nothing to say.
"Ya like him, don't ya?" Dirk asked shrewdly.
"N- n- no, we- we're just- just friends," Sheena stuttered, her face a brilliant tomato red.
"Ya cahn't dany it, Sheena," Dirk commanded. "I've seen tha way ya act ar-ound 'im. It's ahbvious."
"Well, if it's so obvious, why doesn't he know?" Sheena asked, frustrated.
"Ah, you know Lloyd," Dirk replied casually. "Cahn't see som'thin' unless it's right in frount of his face." He chuckled.
Sheena chuckled, too, but a bit weakly. "I just wish... I could pluck up the courage to tell him..."
"He'll fig'yar it out ahventu'lly," Dirk reassured her. "Joust give tha laddie some toyme."
At that moment, Lloyd stumbled out of the house, hindered by the enormous amounts of food he had just eaten. "Hey, Dad, Sheena. Almost ready to go?" He waddled over to them and got on one of the Rheiards.
"We're completely ready, as a matter of fact," Sheena answered, mounting the other.
"Good-boi, Lloyd! Good-boi, Sheena!" Dirk called to them as they flew away, heading towards the Sylvarant Base.
Lloyd's Rheiard landed in the hangar of the Base, shadowed by Sheena. Both riders unmounted. "I have a bad feeling about this," Sheena muttered, noticing that there were no guards nor any machinery currently running.
"Yeah, so do I," Lloyd replied. "Something's happened here..."
Lloyd pushed open the door into Yuan's room, and pressed his hand to the touch pad light switch. The fluorescent lights slowly turned on, but the dim light barely allowed him and Sheena to see.
Sheena sighed. "Leave this to me," she said smugly, before chanting, "I call upon the light of the heavens... I summon thee! Come, Luna!"
Luna, the Summon Spirit of Light, appared in a flash of bright light, illuminating the room. "There's... nothing here." Lloyd's face fell as he looked around.
"Summoner, how would you like me to help?" Luna asked.
"Luna," Sheena commanded, "Have you any idea as to the location of a man called Yuan?"
"The companion of Mithos?" Luna asked questioningly. "No, I have no idea."
"Hey, Sheena," Lloyd called over to her. "Look... I found some kind of map."
Sheena took the map and examined it. "Look... it's a map of the Flanoir region. And this cave is circled."
Lloyd took back the map. "And it's labelled... Zubenhakrabi."
"Let's head there now!" Sheena said decisively. "He must have gone there for some reason."
"But look," Lloyd said, "on the back there's a note: Zubenhakrabi, south."
"Whatever, it probably means he's in the south end of the cave or something," Sheena dismissed the idea. "Let's go."
"Yeah!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"If I may say-" Luna began.
Sheena shook her head. "Nah, we've figured it out. We don't need any help, Luna, but thanks anyway. You can go now."
Luna sighed, and disappeared in a flash of light, the room dimming again. Sheena walked confidantly outside, and Lloyd followed behind her. They each mounted a Rheiard, and flew off into the late morning sky.
This one is probably one of the shorter chapters... but aren't the first few chapters of any story the shortest :P
