Chapter 17
The faintest periwinkle made its way around the candy-colored peach- orange the sky had blended during the flight to the Moonflow. Flutes, horns, and drums sounded as three diverse wood creatures played merrily, letting daylight go out with a sort of bang. The river rode up gently against the sandy banks that supported healthy, veiny lily pads, now empty. Like that of a greenhouse, a scent of intoxicating freshness from the forest, water plants, and the river itself produced a taste of vitality and lushness of the rich earth. The next best smell was after it had been raining elsewhere. But the Moonflow always smelled like this. Especially after what this night would bring, everyone believed the Moonflow was one place that would never die.
"This... isn't just a private concert," Tidus said to Auron when his eyes skimmed over the multitude of people that showed up. "Hell, I don't think you can even call it a party."
"A blowout," Auron called it. "This was supposed to be a 'private concert', wasn't it? Yuna's very popular. Not that she's never been, but just like her father, she makes a lot of friends, and she makes them well."
"So where is Yuna?" came a voice not far from them. Auron turned to see Wakka waving at them, with a blitzball tucked under his arm. Lulu stood beside him with their son strapped around her front in a popular-style shawl that could clearly be woven only in Besaid.
"Preparing for the concert, I guess," said Auron. "I didn't know you'd be here too."
"We thought we might enjoy some time at home, but it got boring. Besides, Tidus went ahead and invited the Aurochs, and badgered Wakka into coming along to play. So here I am," Lulu said with a sigh. "But I can't say I regret it. Yuna did a fine job setting this up."
"Hey, that's our Yuna, always wanting to make people happy, ya?" Wakka commented.
"Oh, I know. All too well." Auron particularly remembered how Yuna had once chosen to marry a maester who had become more of a twisted sorcerer, just to negotiate and bring happiness to Spira.
"You look... wonderful," Lulu said in amazement, her eyes shining. "What did you do?"
"Technology is a great thing," Auron said with a grin. "I mostly did it for Rikku, I guess. She's shown me a lot of kindness. I'm her date for tonight."
"How sweet!"
Auron wanted to blush.
"Come, let's talk some more. The music's playing nicely, and--oh, look, there goes Wakka and the rest of the men, blitzing already! Care to dance for a bit? We can chat longer."
"My pleasure." He extended his arm out to Lulu, who took it, and moved it around her waist when they found a clearing. A few couples had already been dancing when they got there. The three musicians blared on, seeing that there were people who actually listened, for a change.
"I miss the sunsets here," Lulu said, leading her hand to his shoulder. "This is really the first time that I've been here since he was born." The two of them smiled down upon the baby, cradled in the shawl between them. "I think he likes you."
"I forgot to say congratulations earlier. I wish the three of you great happiness."
"Why, thank you, Sir Auron."
Auron led her around a few times as the blazing orange of the sky became nearer and nearer toward the earth. He recognized Rin talking nearby, a tall and intelligent Al Bhed man with blond hair leading to his chin. Upon his and Lulu's next turn, he saw Rikku laughing at Brother, who was dancing with a woman in goggles... and she looked a lot like Rin.
"Who is that there, with Brother?" Auron asked his partner.
"That would be Nhadala. She oversees the excavations on Bikanel Island, a very busy woman. I didn't think she'd be here either. I've heard much about her, but we've never really talked." The gentle breeze blew a few of Lulu's braids against Auron's hand.
"Auron, you look so handsome tonight... Rikku must be so happy to accompany you. I wonder, whatever happened to Gippal?" Lulu continued on.
"It wasn't the most pleasant of dinner dates," Auron reported. "I couldn't really tell what was going on since they were speaking in Al Bhed the entire time, but she came up to me and said she wasn't having a good time, so we left together."
"How noble of you!" She poked him gently in the shoulder. "Rikku has certainly changed since you've been gone. No one to restrain her from doing rash things. Just look at her."
"I kind of like seeing her changes," Auron admitted. "Not my thing, of course, but she's got style. She's more daring, more confident. A way a former guardian should be, in some way."
"No complaints here, either. And if you'll pardon me for saying so... I really think it's a good idea for you to spend time together, especially on Valentine's Day."
"An old man like me, with her? She's so pretty, but so full of youth. I could never keep up with her standards."
Lulu laughed slightly. "Oh, Auron. Well, I definitely choose you over Gippal."
"Seems everyone does."
"They've known each other for a long time, and although Gippal means well, he and Rikku cannot establish anything no matter what they both believe. A mere passing attraction, at least that's what it looks like to me. Girls mature faster than boys do. That's why Gippal doesn't understand love, and cannot give love, which is what I think Rikku subconsciously wants."
"Paine said something like that earlier. You know, she kind of reminds me of you."
"I take that as a compliment. I'm happy knowing there is a touch of me in someone who can be a new, different sort of guardian to Yuna, while I'm at home with a family."
"So what is it you suggest?"
"Go to Rikku," Lulu sighed, "and stay by her, for as long as you can. I noticed as early as when you arrived in Besaid. You make her flustered, just like a little girl. If I know Rikku well, which I'm sure I do, she needs someone like you so that she doesn't lose sight of herself in the whirlwinds of growing up and experiencing new things. That is... sigh... that is how Chappu was to me. And that kind of bond between two people is worth anything to a girl her age. Trust me."
As Lulu drew away from her partner, she cradled her son in her arms and watched as the sun touched the horizon. Auron absorbed the breathtaking view as the river turned passionate colors. If it hadn't been for the silhouettes of Tidus, Wakka, and the Besaid Aurochs practicing blitzball moves in the river, and if Lulu was away, Auron might have moved his arm around Rikku's waist and pulled her close to him. Perfection, her slim body near him while the night was young and they were too, her arms up around his shoulders and neck and his hands on her stunning silk dress.
When stars dotted the smoky purple sky, the crowd moved in and Yuna took her stance up on a platform. Multicolored lights shifted in beams and illuminated her, standing there in a dress that was indigo at the top and had slate-blue frills around her neck as a collar and trailing down the middle until it billowed out into a multi-layered skirt at the bottom. Her brown suede boots reached high up to her knees. Cords strung around her arms and tied purple folds of satin around her forearms.
"She has a habit of making formal speeches before she sings," Lulu told Auron discreetly. "They're very profound. She speaks with a wisdom you would be proud of."
"All my songs tonight," Yuna said into the microphone, "will be about love. Not just because it's Valentine's Day, but because lately, and today especially, I saw love all around me of all kinds. This morning I was woken up with a kiss and I was told those words, 'I love you'. I visited my friends in Besaid this afternoon, and the way their faces lit up with joy when they looked after their son showed me they love him. Just now I saw a friend dancing with a friend, most likely discussing things that really mattered. But importantly, today I saw love starting, in action. Tonight let us hope that two souls present here will bare themselves as two who love each other, because feelings unexpressed for two years have brought them this far. So I hope you two dance before the night is over, because through these songs, and the looks of everyone watching me now, I know all of our hearts are with you."
The faintest periwinkle made its way around the candy-colored peach- orange the sky had blended during the flight to the Moonflow. Flutes, horns, and drums sounded as three diverse wood creatures played merrily, letting daylight go out with a sort of bang. The river rode up gently against the sandy banks that supported healthy, veiny lily pads, now empty. Like that of a greenhouse, a scent of intoxicating freshness from the forest, water plants, and the river itself produced a taste of vitality and lushness of the rich earth. The next best smell was after it had been raining elsewhere. But the Moonflow always smelled like this. Especially after what this night would bring, everyone believed the Moonflow was one place that would never die.
"This... isn't just a private concert," Tidus said to Auron when his eyes skimmed over the multitude of people that showed up. "Hell, I don't think you can even call it a party."
"A blowout," Auron called it. "This was supposed to be a 'private concert', wasn't it? Yuna's very popular. Not that she's never been, but just like her father, she makes a lot of friends, and she makes them well."
"So where is Yuna?" came a voice not far from them. Auron turned to see Wakka waving at them, with a blitzball tucked under his arm. Lulu stood beside him with their son strapped around her front in a popular-style shawl that could clearly be woven only in Besaid.
"Preparing for the concert, I guess," said Auron. "I didn't know you'd be here too."
"We thought we might enjoy some time at home, but it got boring. Besides, Tidus went ahead and invited the Aurochs, and badgered Wakka into coming along to play. So here I am," Lulu said with a sigh. "But I can't say I regret it. Yuna did a fine job setting this up."
"Hey, that's our Yuna, always wanting to make people happy, ya?" Wakka commented.
"Oh, I know. All too well." Auron particularly remembered how Yuna had once chosen to marry a maester who had become more of a twisted sorcerer, just to negotiate and bring happiness to Spira.
"You look... wonderful," Lulu said in amazement, her eyes shining. "What did you do?"
"Technology is a great thing," Auron said with a grin. "I mostly did it for Rikku, I guess. She's shown me a lot of kindness. I'm her date for tonight."
"How sweet!"
Auron wanted to blush.
"Come, let's talk some more. The music's playing nicely, and--oh, look, there goes Wakka and the rest of the men, blitzing already! Care to dance for a bit? We can chat longer."
"My pleasure." He extended his arm out to Lulu, who took it, and moved it around her waist when they found a clearing. A few couples had already been dancing when they got there. The three musicians blared on, seeing that there were people who actually listened, for a change.
"I miss the sunsets here," Lulu said, leading her hand to his shoulder. "This is really the first time that I've been here since he was born." The two of them smiled down upon the baby, cradled in the shawl between them. "I think he likes you."
"I forgot to say congratulations earlier. I wish the three of you great happiness."
"Why, thank you, Sir Auron."
Auron led her around a few times as the blazing orange of the sky became nearer and nearer toward the earth. He recognized Rin talking nearby, a tall and intelligent Al Bhed man with blond hair leading to his chin. Upon his and Lulu's next turn, he saw Rikku laughing at Brother, who was dancing with a woman in goggles... and she looked a lot like Rin.
"Who is that there, with Brother?" Auron asked his partner.
"That would be Nhadala. She oversees the excavations on Bikanel Island, a very busy woman. I didn't think she'd be here either. I've heard much about her, but we've never really talked." The gentle breeze blew a few of Lulu's braids against Auron's hand.
"Auron, you look so handsome tonight... Rikku must be so happy to accompany you. I wonder, whatever happened to Gippal?" Lulu continued on.
"It wasn't the most pleasant of dinner dates," Auron reported. "I couldn't really tell what was going on since they were speaking in Al Bhed the entire time, but she came up to me and said she wasn't having a good time, so we left together."
"How noble of you!" She poked him gently in the shoulder. "Rikku has certainly changed since you've been gone. No one to restrain her from doing rash things. Just look at her."
"I kind of like seeing her changes," Auron admitted. "Not my thing, of course, but she's got style. She's more daring, more confident. A way a former guardian should be, in some way."
"No complaints here, either. And if you'll pardon me for saying so... I really think it's a good idea for you to spend time together, especially on Valentine's Day."
"An old man like me, with her? She's so pretty, but so full of youth. I could never keep up with her standards."
Lulu laughed slightly. "Oh, Auron. Well, I definitely choose you over Gippal."
"Seems everyone does."
"They've known each other for a long time, and although Gippal means well, he and Rikku cannot establish anything no matter what they both believe. A mere passing attraction, at least that's what it looks like to me. Girls mature faster than boys do. That's why Gippal doesn't understand love, and cannot give love, which is what I think Rikku subconsciously wants."
"Paine said something like that earlier. You know, she kind of reminds me of you."
"I take that as a compliment. I'm happy knowing there is a touch of me in someone who can be a new, different sort of guardian to Yuna, while I'm at home with a family."
"So what is it you suggest?"
"Go to Rikku," Lulu sighed, "and stay by her, for as long as you can. I noticed as early as when you arrived in Besaid. You make her flustered, just like a little girl. If I know Rikku well, which I'm sure I do, she needs someone like you so that she doesn't lose sight of herself in the whirlwinds of growing up and experiencing new things. That is... sigh... that is how Chappu was to me. And that kind of bond between two people is worth anything to a girl her age. Trust me."
As Lulu drew away from her partner, she cradled her son in her arms and watched as the sun touched the horizon. Auron absorbed the breathtaking view as the river turned passionate colors. If it hadn't been for the silhouettes of Tidus, Wakka, and the Besaid Aurochs practicing blitzball moves in the river, and if Lulu was away, Auron might have moved his arm around Rikku's waist and pulled her close to him. Perfection, her slim body near him while the night was young and they were too, her arms up around his shoulders and neck and his hands on her stunning silk dress.
When stars dotted the smoky purple sky, the crowd moved in and Yuna took her stance up on a platform. Multicolored lights shifted in beams and illuminated her, standing there in a dress that was indigo at the top and had slate-blue frills around her neck as a collar and trailing down the middle until it billowed out into a multi-layered skirt at the bottom. Her brown suede boots reached high up to her knees. Cords strung around her arms and tied purple folds of satin around her forearms.
"She has a habit of making formal speeches before she sings," Lulu told Auron discreetly. "They're very profound. She speaks with a wisdom you would be proud of."
"All my songs tonight," Yuna said into the microphone, "will be about love. Not just because it's Valentine's Day, but because lately, and today especially, I saw love all around me of all kinds. This morning I was woken up with a kiss and I was told those words, 'I love you'. I visited my friends in Besaid this afternoon, and the way their faces lit up with joy when they looked after their son showed me they love him. Just now I saw a friend dancing with a friend, most likely discussing things that really mattered. But importantly, today I saw love starting, in action. Tonight let us hope that two souls present here will bare themselves as two who love each other, because feelings unexpressed for two years have brought them this far. So I hope you two dance before the night is over, because through these songs, and the looks of everyone watching me now, I know all of our hearts are with you."