******************
Black Dreams, White Dreams
By Lulu-san
Chapter 4 - Eventful Departures
**************************
The next two days past quickly in Besaid and the sun was beginning to rise on the set day. Lulu was fast asleep, having only managed to drop off a few hours before. Troubled and anxious thoughts had been circling in her mind, and she had been unable to fall asleep. And when she was able to finally succumb to slumber, she had dreamt the same troubling nightmare. Thus, Lulu's nights were often broken up and her sleeping patterns disturbed.
Lulu's face was a peaceful mask, as she slept in dreamless exhaustion. She slept as the small stirrings of life began to show in Besiad. She slept as the light poured through every crack in her small house. She slept as people waked past her house, chattering excitedly.
A loud thumping interrupted her sleep, but she rolled over and subconsciously tugged the sheets further over her head.
A high voice was added to the thumping, and as Lulu slowly awoke the words became recognizable.
"Lulu! Lulu!" it was calling. "Are you in there? Open up! Lulu!"
Lulu sat up slowly, pushing away her stray hair. She rubbed her eyes, and pushed off her sheets.
"Lulu! Wake up already!"
"Rikku?" Lulu wondered. "What's she doing here so early?"
Lulu's eyes flicked automatically to the small clock on her bedside table.
It read '11:47'.
She quickly swung her bare legs out of the bed and gazed in dismay at her barren surroundings.
"Oh.sh-"
Thanks to Lulu's constant procrastinating, she had packed.nothing.
"Lulu! Get a move on!" Rikku was impatiently yelling. "The ferry leaves at 12:00!"
Lulu hurriedly stripped off her thin nightdress, and pulled on her favourite dress, the one she had wore on the pilgrimage. And it wasn't an easy dress to put on. She grunted impatiently as the belts twisted inside each other, and the corset strings at the back knotted. Lulu ran her fingers through her hair impatiently. She stopped suddenly. Her hair.She had to do her hair. Lulu groaned inside.
"Why?" she thought in frustration. "Why did I have to sleep in today?"
Although Lulu was extremely quick at braiding, it would still take her at least 10 minutes to do them all. Neglecting her half attached dress, she grabbed a comb and began to work efficiently through the mass of thick ebony hair.
And Rikku wasn't helping.
"Lulu! Lulu! At least speak to me so I know you're not dead in there!" she was yelling and banging on the door.
"I'm coming right now!" Lulu lied as she tied off another braid, while attempting to pull on a stocking at the same time.
"Lu? Are you OK in there?" a different voice called.
Lulu froze, and dropped the pins that she was holding.
"Wa-Wakka?" she mumbled. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the pier?"
"I came to see where you were, ya?" he answered. "Not like you to be late, ya."
"Hurry!" Rikky added.
Lulu finished the last braid, and pulled her hair into a bun at the top of her head, securing it with her many ornaments.
"You two go down!" she ordered. "I'll meet you down there."
Wakka listened to the mage, and turned to Rikku.
"O~kay. Rikku, you do down there, ya, and tell them that we're coming, ok?" He told the young Al Bhed.
"But, what about you? You should go! You run faster!" she complained.
"No. You go now. I'll help to carry Lu's stuff down." He told her.
"Fine." she agreed reluctantly, before dashing off towards the pier.
"Lu?" Wakka asked, knocking on the door again. "I'm coming in, kay?"
"Uhh." Lulu looked up from her mirror. She was just finishing doing her make up, and was attempting to stuff some clothes and books into a small travel bag.
Wakka pushed against the thick wooden door. Unlike most of the residents of Besaid, Lulu chose to have a wooden door instead of the normal cloth type. Wakka had helped her to make it - well, he had made it while she had hovered around giving instructions. She had gotten quite irritated with him after he had carved her name on the front, when she wasn't looking. But he thought it looked cute.
Lulu was just finishing zipping up her bag when Wakka came in.
"Maybe it was a good thing I haven't got much stuff." She thought to herself, looking at the small bag of books and clothes.
"Morning Wakk- what?" she asked him coldly. Wakka was doing a terrible job at suppressing his laughter.
"Your.your dress." He told her.
"Mm?" Lulu looked down. She hadn't gotten around to putting it on properly, and while the bottom half was fitting properly, the corset had twisted around so the back lacing was at the side. Luckily, it wasn't revealing anything.
"You really did sleep in, ya!" he laughed.
"Yes." Lulu said coldly, annoyed at herself. She struggled with the corset, but it just got more twisted.
"Damn."
"Here, let me help!" Wakka said apologetically.
"I can do it!" she snapped.
"Whoa, ok!" he retreated, hands face up in the air.
But no matter how much she struggled, she was stuck.
"Actually." she muttered, annoyed at the stupidity of the situation. "A little help might be ok."
Wakka laughed, and helped her to straighten it out, finally lacing it up at the back.
"See! I'm not all clumsy, ya!"
He bent down to pick up her small bag.
"This all you're taking?" he asked. "Not much."
"It's adequate."
Lulu grabbed her moogle doll from the bed, and shooed Wakka out.
"Aah!" Wakka suddenly exclaimed. "The ferry's about to go!"
"What? It can't be!"
Lulu squinted. She could just make out Rikku's figure, jumping up and down, waving at the furiously.
"C'mon!" Wakka said, grabbing her by the wrist. Together, they ran down to the pier, Lulu nearly falling and braining herself every few steps.
"Slow.slow down!" she panted, as she stumbled again.
"No can do, ya!" Wakka grinned.
"He's really enjoying this!" she thought in angry disbelief.
They reached the pier just as the ferry was leaving.
"Damn." Lulu said breathlessly, wiping her brow.
"It's not over yet, ya!" Wakka said determinedly. "Give me your mog."
Lulu passed the doll over grudgingly.
"What are you going to do?" she demanded.
"Rikku!!" he yelled. "Catch, ya!"
Lulu closed her eyes in horror as Wakka threw over her luggage and her precious doll to Rikku's expectant arms.
"Nice shot!" Rikku called back.
"I am a blitzer, you know!" he stated smugly.
"It's no good though!" Lulu told him, as the ferry drove further and further away. "We'll have to get the next one.
"No, we won't." Wakka chuckled. "It's not that far away. Hup!"
"Wha-" Lulu exclaimed as Wakka scooped her up in his arms as easy as he would a baby.
"She really has lost weight." He thought, surprised at her lightness.
"Wait.this really isn't a good idea. Put me down" Lulu ordered him.
Wakka was supporting her back with one hand, and holding her underneath her knees with the other.
"Hold on, ya!" he told her. "Don't want you falling in!"
Lulu squeezed his neck with her arms, and shut her eyes, fearing the worst. She hated getting wet, especially with her clothes on.
"Here we GO!" Wakka yelled as he took a run up.
Rikku was cheering, Yuna was covering her eyes and Tidus was yelling out unrecognizable encouragements at the top of his lungs.
Wakka jumped.and missed.
Lulu braced herself, preparing for the cold rush that would occur when they hit the water.
It never came. She opened her eyes a little bit, peering through her thick eyelashes. They they were suspended just above the water. Looking up, she saw that Wakka had grabbed onto some wiring of the boat with one hand, while still supporting both their weights with the other.
"Wakka.what are you doing?" she demanded.
"You.hate getting wet, ya? And.it would be embarrassing to be a man-over- board, you know." he said, giving a laugh through clenched teech..
"Wakka, Don't be stupid! You-" Lulu began, but stopped as she noticed his blood drip from the wiring. The wire was slowly cutting through his hand as they were pulled down further and further.
"Wakka!" she gasped.
"Ergh?" Wakka was giving her a confused look.
"I don't care! I'll get wet! You've got the tournament to do, you can't be injured! Don't be an idiot!" she growled.
Suddenly, a thick rope with many knots dropped right in front of Lulus nose.
"We've got you!" Rikku yelled far too happily, waving the other end of the rope. "Grab on."
Wakka let go of the wiring with relief, and immediately grabbed the rope. Rikku and Tidus slowly pulled the two of them up, until they were safely on a solid surface again. Lulu and Wakka collapsed into a flopped sitting position on the ground, while Yuna immediately set about healing Wakkas hand. It was quite a deep cut.
"Don't you ever to that again, you imbecile!" Lulu said harshly, once she had caught her breath. Then her stare softened a little bit.
"Sorry." She said quietly, so that nobody else could hear. "And.thanks, I think. How's you hand?"
"Good." He said, waving the bandaged lump. "Yuna's done a darn good healing spell, it'll be right as rain before the tournament, ya."
"That's good." She said, giving a small smile of relief.
"What were you thinking, Lulu!" Rikku frowned. "You could have missed the ferry."
"Sorry." Lulu said shortly, looking away from the group. Rikku kneeled down in front of the older woman.
"Hey.Are you Ok, Lulu?" she asked, giving her a concerned look.
"I'm fine." She answered coldly. "Where's my doll?"
"Here!" Rikku answered jumping up and tossing Lulu the moogle. "And Tidus put your luggage in your room. We're lucky. We all get separate rooms this time!"
"Ah. Good."
"Right." Rikku said, taking charge. She circled the sitting group, with a smug smile on her face. "We should get there in the early morning tomorrow. Before then, we have the run of the ship and dinner is at 7:30 in the main room. Ok?"
"Oh yeah, that's right!" Tidus said unexpectedly. "Where are the other Aurochs, Wakka?"
"They'll meet us there, or so they said. Cid's giving them a lift later on, I think." Wakka replied.
"So why didn't we go with them, again?" Tidus asked.
"Are you listening!!" Rikku interrupted, scowling.
Lulu abruptly stood up, unable to bear the endless chatter any longer. She was becoming more and more intolerant and unsociable, and that fact alone didn't make her feel any better.
"I'll see you at dinner." She said over her shoulder, as she headed downstairs from the deck to take a look at the room she had been allocated.
"Was it something I said?" Tidus asked, as the group stared after her in silence.
************************** Hello again! Well, originally this chapter was part of chapter 5, but when I realised how long chapter 5 was I had to split it up into two. So that explains why this chapter might seem a bit.incomplete maybe??? I don't know ^_^ Anyway, sorry for taking so long to update! I've been really, really busy! But, now I've gotten back into writing it, I should update more frequently! Oh yeah, and thanks to all those wonderful people who gave me reviews! *Thanks to you guys, I was able to sit down and write this! (hmm, maybe I should put this after chapter 5, the LONG chapter.so read on!* Heh heh, If you want me to update sooner, just give a review! They're such nice things to read! ^_^
Black Dreams, White Dreams
By Lulu-san
Chapter 4 - Eventful Departures
**************************
The next two days past quickly in Besaid and the sun was beginning to rise on the set day. Lulu was fast asleep, having only managed to drop off a few hours before. Troubled and anxious thoughts had been circling in her mind, and she had been unable to fall asleep. And when she was able to finally succumb to slumber, she had dreamt the same troubling nightmare. Thus, Lulu's nights were often broken up and her sleeping patterns disturbed.
Lulu's face was a peaceful mask, as she slept in dreamless exhaustion. She slept as the small stirrings of life began to show in Besiad. She slept as the light poured through every crack in her small house. She slept as people waked past her house, chattering excitedly.
A loud thumping interrupted her sleep, but she rolled over and subconsciously tugged the sheets further over her head.
A high voice was added to the thumping, and as Lulu slowly awoke the words became recognizable.
"Lulu! Lulu!" it was calling. "Are you in there? Open up! Lulu!"
Lulu sat up slowly, pushing away her stray hair. She rubbed her eyes, and pushed off her sheets.
"Lulu! Wake up already!"
"Rikku?" Lulu wondered. "What's she doing here so early?"
Lulu's eyes flicked automatically to the small clock on her bedside table.
It read '11:47'.
She quickly swung her bare legs out of the bed and gazed in dismay at her barren surroundings.
"Oh.sh-"
Thanks to Lulu's constant procrastinating, she had packed.nothing.
"Lulu! Get a move on!" Rikku was impatiently yelling. "The ferry leaves at 12:00!"
Lulu hurriedly stripped off her thin nightdress, and pulled on her favourite dress, the one she had wore on the pilgrimage. And it wasn't an easy dress to put on. She grunted impatiently as the belts twisted inside each other, and the corset strings at the back knotted. Lulu ran her fingers through her hair impatiently. She stopped suddenly. Her hair.She had to do her hair. Lulu groaned inside.
"Why?" she thought in frustration. "Why did I have to sleep in today?"
Although Lulu was extremely quick at braiding, it would still take her at least 10 minutes to do them all. Neglecting her half attached dress, she grabbed a comb and began to work efficiently through the mass of thick ebony hair.
And Rikku wasn't helping.
"Lulu! Lulu! At least speak to me so I know you're not dead in there!" she was yelling and banging on the door.
"I'm coming right now!" Lulu lied as she tied off another braid, while attempting to pull on a stocking at the same time.
"Lu? Are you OK in there?" a different voice called.
Lulu froze, and dropped the pins that she was holding.
"Wa-Wakka?" she mumbled. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the pier?"
"I came to see where you were, ya?" he answered. "Not like you to be late, ya."
"Hurry!" Rikky added.
Lulu finished the last braid, and pulled her hair into a bun at the top of her head, securing it with her many ornaments.
"You two go down!" she ordered. "I'll meet you down there."
Wakka listened to the mage, and turned to Rikku.
"O~kay. Rikku, you do down there, ya, and tell them that we're coming, ok?" He told the young Al Bhed.
"But, what about you? You should go! You run faster!" she complained.
"No. You go now. I'll help to carry Lu's stuff down." He told her.
"Fine." she agreed reluctantly, before dashing off towards the pier.
"Lu?" Wakka asked, knocking on the door again. "I'm coming in, kay?"
"Uhh." Lulu looked up from her mirror. She was just finishing doing her make up, and was attempting to stuff some clothes and books into a small travel bag.
Wakka pushed against the thick wooden door. Unlike most of the residents of Besaid, Lulu chose to have a wooden door instead of the normal cloth type. Wakka had helped her to make it - well, he had made it while she had hovered around giving instructions. She had gotten quite irritated with him after he had carved her name on the front, when she wasn't looking. But he thought it looked cute.
Lulu was just finishing zipping up her bag when Wakka came in.
"Maybe it was a good thing I haven't got much stuff." She thought to herself, looking at the small bag of books and clothes.
"Morning Wakk- what?" she asked him coldly. Wakka was doing a terrible job at suppressing his laughter.
"Your.your dress." He told her.
"Mm?" Lulu looked down. She hadn't gotten around to putting it on properly, and while the bottom half was fitting properly, the corset had twisted around so the back lacing was at the side. Luckily, it wasn't revealing anything.
"You really did sleep in, ya!" he laughed.
"Yes." Lulu said coldly, annoyed at herself. She struggled with the corset, but it just got more twisted.
"Damn."
"Here, let me help!" Wakka said apologetically.
"I can do it!" she snapped.
"Whoa, ok!" he retreated, hands face up in the air.
But no matter how much she struggled, she was stuck.
"Actually." she muttered, annoyed at the stupidity of the situation. "A little help might be ok."
Wakka laughed, and helped her to straighten it out, finally lacing it up at the back.
"See! I'm not all clumsy, ya!"
He bent down to pick up her small bag.
"This all you're taking?" he asked. "Not much."
"It's adequate."
Lulu grabbed her moogle doll from the bed, and shooed Wakka out.
"Aah!" Wakka suddenly exclaimed. "The ferry's about to go!"
"What? It can't be!"
Lulu squinted. She could just make out Rikku's figure, jumping up and down, waving at the furiously.
"C'mon!" Wakka said, grabbing her by the wrist. Together, they ran down to the pier, Lulu nearly falling and braining herself every few steps.
"Slow.slow down!" she panted, as she stumbled again.
"No can do, ya!" Wakka grinned.
"He's really enjoying this!" she thought in angry disbelief.
They reached the pier just as the ferry was leaving.
"Damn." Lulu said breathlessly, wiping her brow.
"It's not over yet, ya!" Wakka said determinedly. "Give me your mog."
Lulu passed the doll over grudgingly.
"What are you going to do?" she demanded.
"Rikku!!" he yelled. "Catch, ya!"
Lulu closed her eyes in horror as Wakka threw over her luggage and her precious doll to Rikku's expectant arms.
"Nice shot!" Rikku called back.
"I am a blitzer, you know!" he stated smugly.
"It's no good though!" Lulu told him, as the ferry drove further and further away. "We'll have to get the next one.
"No, we won't." Wakka chuckled. "It's not that far away. Hup!"
"Wha-" Lulu exclaimed as Wakka scooped her up in his arms as easy as he would a baby.
"She really has lost weight." He thought, surprised at her lightness.
"Wait.this really isn't a good idea. Put me down" Lulu ordered him.
Wakka was supporting her back with one hand, and holding her underneath her knees with the other.
"Hold on, ya!" he told her. "Don't want you falling in!"
Lulu squeezed his neck with her arms, and shut her eyes, fearing the worst. She hated getting wet, especially with her clothes on.
"Here we GO!" Wakka yelled as he took a run up.
Rikku was cheering, Yuna was covering her eyes and Tidus was yelling out unrecognizable encouragements at the top of his lungs.
Wakka jumped.and missed.
Lulu braced herself, preparing for the cold rush that would occur when they hit the water.
It never came. She opened her eyes a little bit, peering through her thick eyelashes. They they were suspended just above the water. Looking up, she saw that Wakka had grabbed onto some wiring of the boat with one hand, while still supporting both their weights with the other.
"Wakka.what are you doing?" she demanded.
"You.hate getting wet, ya? And.it would be embarrassing to be a man-over- board, you know." he said, giving a laugh through clenched teech..
"Wakka, Don't be stupid! You-" Lulu began, but stopped as she noticed his blood drip from the wiring. The wire was slowly cutting through his hand as they were pulled down further and further.
"Wakka!" she gasped.
"Ergh?" Wakka was giving her a confused look.
"I don't care! I'll get wet! You've got the tournament to do, you can't be injured! Don't be an idiot!" she growled.
Suddenly, a thick rope with many knots dropped right in front of Lulus nose.
"We've got you!" Rikku yelled far too happily, waving the other end of the rope. "Grab on."
Wakka let go of the wiring with relief, and immediately grabbed the rope. Rikku and Tidus slowly pulled the two of them up, until they were safely on a solid surface again. Lulu and Wakka collapsed into a flopped sitting position on the ground, while Yuna immediately set about healing Wakkas hand. It was quite a deep cut.
"Don't you ever to that again, you imbecile!" Lulu said harshly, once she had caught her breath. Then her stare softened a little bit.
"Sorry." She said quietly, so that nobody else could hear. "And.thanks, I think. How's you hand?"
"Good." He said, waving the bandaged lump. "Yuna's done a darn good healing spell, it'll be right as rain before the tournament, ya."
"That's good." She said, giving a small smile of relief.
"What were you thinking, Lulu!" Rikku frowned. "You could have missed the ferry."
"Sorry." Lulu said shortly, looking away from the group. Rikku kneeled down in front of the older woman.
"Hey.Are you Ok, Lulu?" she asked, giving her a concerned look.
"I'm fine." She answered coldly. "Where's my doll?"
"Here!" Rikku answered jumping up and tossing Lulu the moogle. "And Tidus put your luggage in your room. We're lucky. We all get separate rooms this time!"
"Ah. Good."
"Right." Rikku said, taking charge. She circled the sitting group, with a smug smile on her face. "We should get there in the early morning tomorrow. Before then, we have the run of the ship and dinner is at 7:30 in the main room. Ok?"
"Oh yeah, that's right!" Tidus said unexpectedly. "Where are the other Aurochs, Wakka?"
"They'll meet us there, or so they said. Cid's giving them a lift later on, I think." Wakka replied.
"So why didn't we go with them, again?" Tidus asked.
"Are you listening!!" Rikku interrupted, scowling.
Lulu abruptly stood up, unable to bear the endless chatter any longer. She was becoming more and more intolerant and unsociable, and that fact alone didn't make her feel any better.
"I'll see you at dinner." She said over her shoulder, as she headed downstairs from the deck to take a look at the room she had been allocated.
"Was it something I said?" Tidus asked, as the group stared after her in silence.
************************** Hello again! Well, originally this chapter was part of chapter 5, but when I realised how long chapter 5 was I had to split it up into two. So that explains why this chapter might seem a bit.incomplete maybe??? I don't know ^_^ Anyway, sorry for taking so long to update! I've been really, really busy! But, now I've gotten back into writing it, I should update more frequently! Oh yeah, and thanks to all those wonderful people who gave me reviews! *Thanks to you guys, I was able to sit down and write this! (hmm, maybe I should put this after chapter 5, the LONG chapter.so read on!* Heh heh, If you want me to update sooner, just give a review! They're such nice things to read! ^_^