Alright, reviews are at the end, and chapter fourteen is now up! YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH! Anyways, let's get cracking! Oh, and for the song, those of you have played FF7, think along the lines of Cosmo Canyon.
Chapter Fourteen: Red Skies at Morning
Julia bounced Rinoa on her knee, marveling at her daughter's gurgling coos. "It's your birthday tomorrow!" she whispered into her daughter's ears, kissing her cheek gently.
"And our little birthday girl has to go to bed," Caraway stated, ruffling his daughter's hair.
"Oh, Reno, one last song?" she pleaded. He chuckled and nodded.
"How about the one your grandfather taught you?" he suggested. Instantly, a flow of notes erupted from her throat, all words Rinoa couldn't quite understand. However, four lines stuck with her the rest of her life, understood or not:
"Red skies at night,
Children's delight
Red sky at morning,
All people take warning"
Four years later, the Caraway's awoke to a blood-red sunrise. Julia kissed her daughter goodbye and rode away on one of their horses. She never came back…
The now-seventeen Rinoa stirred in her sleep, uneasy dreams haunting her from peace. As the first rays of morning stretched across the skies, she awoke. Light began to peek from behind the curtains, turning her room an unearthly red. Rinoa sat up, rubbed her eyes, and looked out the window. The sun had turned the skies a deep red hue, the prairie grasses flowing in the distance like a sea of blood. She turned too quickly to see a small figure dart amongst the brushes and tumbleweeds. As she slipped off her nightgown and pulled on her dress, the edges of the sky became blue, so that a tip of the sky was normal once more. Despite that fact, it was clear to Rinoa that something awful was to happen today. Lacing up her boots, she looked at her necklace, sitting innocently on the desk. She stood, and with one fluid motion, slipped it about her neck. Suddenly, a wave of questions swept over her as she gently touched the ring had given him. Shaking her head and clearing her mind, she stalked out of her room.
As her boots echoed along the frozen walls, a louder noise caught Rinoa off guard. Out of curiosity, she pressed her ear against Squall's door. With a snort of maniacal laughter, she realized three things: one, yes, the noise came from his room. Two, the noise was Squall's snoring, and three, he snored louder than one thousand gunshots erupting at once. Silent laughter erupted along her, as tears ran down her cheeks. Wiping the tears, she quietly padded down the rest of the stairs and slipped out of the door. The skies had changed the town a ghostly maroon, further confirming her fears. As the priest slowly toddled to the church, Rinoa realized with a start that a small, crouched, also robed figure was hobbling silently after him. The hooded face turned towards Rinoa, and she could see an almost deathly yellow glint from inside the hood as it approached her.
"Are you Lady Heartily?" the hooded person asked.
"Yes," she replied uncertainly. The figure heaved a sigh of relief and pulled down the hood. It was a girl, a young girl, probably about thirteen. Her hair hung down in clumps, and yellow eyes distorted the rest of her face. She was obviously very unhealthy and unkempt, and the way you could see her ribs through the thick, dark robes made her look like something from a Grimm Brothers Fairy Tale. "Who are you?" Rinoa asked.
"I am… Ashimoka," she said quietly, almost ashamed of her name. At Rinoa's look of confusion, she grinned slightly. "Look, I need your help. Only you can save us, you and a mister… Leonhart?" she said, screwing up her eyes in trying to remember. Rinoa frowned. The name sounded dreadfully familiar… of course!
"Squall?" she asked. Ashimoka nodded, and Rinoa turned towards the inn, looking at the second floor. "How did you get inside the town?" she asked. She shrugged.
"Used the roof," she said simply, miming leaping off the roof of the inn into the town. Rinoa cringed as she imagined free-falling from such a high distance.
"Why do you need our help?" she asked. The girl dropped all pretenses and shivered.
"The Queen of Wolves has me under her employment. She had assigned me to do… horrible things. I finally had enough when she killed Caraway. So, I broke away last night and traveled to the town." Rinoa sank to the ground, almost horrified at what had just been said.
"Cara-… Daddy is dead?" she asked quietly. Ashimoka nodded and placed a gnarled hand on her shoulder.
"Ultimecia had me pretend to be Julia, but he wasn't fooled. Seifer distracted him for a while, then Ultimecia pounced and killed him. I… truly am sorry," she whispered. Rinoa stood, not letting an ounce of emotion peek through her hardened face.
"Should I go get Squall?" she said, the care and softness gone from her voice. Ashimoka leapt back, cringing as if someone was to hit her and nodded. Rinoa turned and headed back into the building, walking up the stairs once more and stalking towards his room. The snores had disappeared, and Rinoa knocked on his door softly. Her fears were once more taking over. What if he didn't want to speak to her anymore? A sigh could be heard from inside, and a quiet voice shouted: "Come in,"
Rinoa pushed open the door, stepping as noiselessly as she could. Squall looked up and saw her enter his room. Instantly, he shot up in his bed, trying and failing to flatten his hair down. He stood, then sat down, then stood again. Finally, he stayed standing, watching her try her hardest not to giggle. "What is it?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound like a jerk.
"There's a girl outside who needs our help in defeating the werewolves." Squall stared at her, then turned.
"No. Don't count on me." Rinoa gasped gently and walked towards him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"But… why?" she said. Squall had a strong urge to knock her hand off his shoulder, but it felt like it was a part of his body for that second.
"I just… I… don't count on me," he said simply, feeling redundant and stupid. Before Rinoa could reply, a scream alerted both of them as Squall whipped into action. "Come on!" he said quickly, grabbing her hand and yanking her down the stairs with him. She followed almost as quickly, not pausing to realize that he had her hand in his.
"What made you change your mind?" she said, half meaning it as a joke.
"Reflexes!" he called, pulling open the door. As soon as they stepped outside, a horrible sight appeared in front of their eyes. Ashimoka lay on the ground, blood pouring from her face as a Wolf hung in front of her, snarling as blood dripped down its claws. She still seemed to be living as she screamed, the wolf lowering its jaws. Squall leapt into action, tearing the beast away from her and brandishing his gunblade. Rinoa leapt besides him, holding her pocket knife she always kept with her.
The blood pouring down the girl's face dripped onto the dust as she attempted to still it with her hands. Ripping a strand from the robe, she held it to her face, watching the two face off with the werewolf. As soon as it charged, four extra figures leapt besides them, Squall launching it backwards with his gunblade. Standing besides them were Selphie, Quistis, who were both clutching pocket knives, Irvine with his gun, and Zell, gloves that had metal studded where the knuckles should be.
"Couldn't resist coming and helping," Zell grinned. Squall looked to his right and left, seeing them clustered besides him, ready to fight. The wolf was frightened, but quickly joined by two more. They had now leveled the playing field. Squall smiled in spite of himself and raised his gunblade.
"Let's do this!" Selphie cried, pushing the pocket knife in front of her. In the instant, the wolves charged, all from different corners. Squall gasped in pain as one of their jaws clamped around his right arm, already damaged. He yelled in anguish, driving his gunblade through the monster's heart. It fell to the side, dead instantly. The other two ran, beaten and bruised, whining their hearts out as they pounded out of the town, allowing the warrior's their moment's rest. The girls cleaned the knives as Squall knelt down, blood seeping through his arm. Despite the pain, he pretended it wasn't there, standing again as he went to examine Ashimoka. The blood had slowed, but there were three deep gashes across her nose. The marks would never go away. As he looked about the group, he grinned gently, before falling to the ground in a dead faint.
Hee hee, this has to be the longest one I've written! The Balamb Brigade ((happy, Sammy-Chan?)) has fought their first fight together! Yay for that, then! I am SOOOO glad I finally got this out. Anyways, simply know that I am not dead, and reviews are down here from now on.
Ej- Yeah, you
were generally right about Ashimoka. And, yes, I finally have an idea
for the plot, I am no longer writing randomly. Yea for that, glad to
know you're still interested in this love/hyper fest!
Ayato- Welcome to the club! Glad to know there's a new reader, I'm glad you like it! Hope this chapter wasn't too horrible. You're dreadfully brisk in your replies, but who am I to judge? Lol:D
Wollff- Whazzap? Yeah, I wrote more! And this story WILL be completed, it shall not go on forever, though that'd be cool for me and annoying for you guys.
Anyways, hope you guys like this! And, maybe I'll put in Cid the fat man chief, it would certainly give me a laugh. Thanks for waiting for this, reward me with more reviews! Lol, j/k. -kisses fingers- Peace out!
-Greiverwings
