Chapter 1: Skinks

Late, late, late, LATE! Why didn't my moggle wake me up like I asked him too?

"Come on Mai."

"Haha, Mai slept in."

"Oh shut up you two!" I shouted out loud and to my linkshell. Repearmirg and BD can be so immature most of the time. Good thing no one was around, or they'd think I was crazy. My breath hitched in, as I jogged along towards Jeuno. The stupid chocobo had left me to die! It just so happens that my time was up and the stupid bird had kicked me off in front of a skeleton!

"Temper, temper Mai." The mischievous voice of Repearmirg called out.

"Why didn't you guys try waking me up!" It couldn't have been hard of a task.

"We did, you just happen to snore on as we screamed your name about a million times."

Oh how dare he...

"Me? Snoring! Your the one that brings down the whole building when it comes to snoring!"

"No I d-"

"That's enough you two!" Uncle Fran reprimanded both me and Grim, annoyed. "No desert for you two after lunch."

"..."

"..."

"That's much better."

Before I could have a say in this "punishment" I spotted ahead of me a Saromugue Skink. I came to a halt and looked around it for another way through. To the left I could make out another Skink. So I made my way carefully to the right of the Skink's, towards the gates of Port Jueno.

"Hey guys, how long 'til I got to make the airship?"

The blue and white striped raptor creature had turned away. I smiled to myself, silently praying to the god that was watching over me as I made a quick silent dash forward. Taking on a Skink would be hell, considering how weak my level still was. I'd die in less then 5 minutes with it.

"Less then half an hour. Where ya at now?"

"In Sauromugue Champaign. About almost to the gate of Port Jueno."

"Okay, good. You'll make it out just fine."

As Grim assured me, a streak of pain ripped through my back. A white blinding light entranced my vision for a moment or two before letting up and finding myself face to face with dirt ground.

"Damn... this sucks." I muttered as I heard the footsteps of an approaching Skink.

"Mai?" Grim called out in an unusually high-pitched tone.

"What happened?" Black Dragon asked worriedly.

I lifted my self off the ground growling in aggravation. "I'm not gonna make it end like this..." Taking up a sprint and ignoring the pain, I saw ahead of me the gate way to the port. Chancing a glance back, the skink was hot on my trail.

"Mai quit scaring us like this!"

Picking up on my pace, I nearly avoided a chomp to the right shoulder. The gate was nearing, my stomach giving a small flip. My frown turned upright into a smile, but disappeared as soon as it came as I clumsily stumbled over a good sized rock. Back on the ground I was and the Skink was practically standing over me.

The unsheathing of a sword, a slash that left an open wound to splutter a black sticky substance all over my back unwound itself in an instant; driven by instinct and fear. It's blood started to mix with mine and into the three streaks. The raptor howled in pain, tumbling down onto its left side. I took another swing under his right foot and without any more time lose got up once again and ran as fast I could.

"Open the gate!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

Immediately the enormous doors parted slowly. Squeezing through the small opening easily. I fell on all fours on the cobbled stoned streets of Jueno. Great relief engulfed me as a Cure III was casted on me. The warm light surrounded me, its majestic misty fingers weaved my open wounds shut. Leaving only pink streaked flesh of where the wound originally was.

"Thanks." I looked up and came face to face with a tiny tarutaru robed mage.

"No problem." She replied in this squeaky voice, doing some kind of dance with her arms flapping. "You alright?"

"Yeah... I think so." Standing up and dusting myself off, I turned towards the airship then back to the taru. "Uhh... hey I gotta go. Sorry I can't thank you properly, but the airships gonna leave me behind if I don't get goin'."

I gave her an embarrassed smile, rubbing my left arm nervously. The taru shook her head understandingly, returning a jubilant smile of her own.

"It's ok, as long as you're fine."

"Before I go, may I know the name of my savior?" I bowed to her, earning a giggle.

"It's Minamaru."

"Maiva." I quickly picked her up into a hug. "Thanks so much, I hope we meet up again Minamaru." Setting down the startled white mage and giving a quick wave. I weaved through the crowded streets of Jueno towards the airship.

"Please don't leave me."

"We would never do that Mai, but you better hurry up before the airship leaves and we have to wait for the next one."

"Aww that's so sweet of you to say Tmac." Ticket in hand, I walked quickly out to the fresh sea air where the airship awaited for boarding.

"There she is!" An elvaan with raven hair pulled back to a ponytail clad in armor took me up into a bone-crushing hug.

"So what held my lil' Mai back up for so long?" A bald hume clad in the same armor as the Elvaan called out. "Grim, give her some air already."

Grim grinned sheepishly and finally let me go for air.

"I'll tell you all about it on the way to Jung Hell." I was not about to miss that airship after all that work. I passed them, walking towards the airship sluggishly. I could hear a few intakes of breathes being taken. Why- oh yeah my back.

"Come on you guys!" I called back to them. "It'll leave us if you guys-"

A pair of long arms had picked me off the ground, carrying me bridal style. "After all that traveling, I figured you'd be tired." An elvaan with a mess of blonde hair clad in the same red mage armor as her smiled at her.

"Tmac! Me Redmage buddy!" Oh yeah life was great. We were finally getting Samurai.