'Is she fine?'

Am I? I don't think so…

'Yes, I think so…'

You think I am…?

'Really? Thank goodness,'

For what?

'I thought she was dead for a moment,'

Ha…ha…ha…did I really look dead?

'Hush, she's waking up…'

Reis blinked. She was lying down on a soft white bed. Silvery snow could be just visible in the narrow window at the side. A face appeared above her.

'Good morning,' the girl said shyly, 'Are you OK?'

'Yes, I am feeling quite healthy, thank you for your concern,' Reis replied, attempting to smile, but failed. She remembered saving a girl, but which one…

'I'm Aeris, who are you?' the girl asked her, offering her a hand.

Aeris. That was her name. This was the girl that I saved.

'I'm Reis, it is good to meet you, Aeris,'

'I thought you were dead back then in the Forgotten City,'

Really…

'I guess it was pure luck that I survived,'

'I think so too…that wound that you took…(she indicated to the bandaged part of her stomach) …seemed fatal at first. But thank the Planet for letting you live, and I thank you for saving me from death,'

Reis tried to sit up. An agonizing sensation of muscle being torn spread through her lower body. Lowering herself back down, she placed a hand on her wound.

It was a deep cut into her stomach, just below her ribs. So deep that it went right through her. It was a miracle that I survived, she thought.

Aeris quickly worked a spell on Reis, with the aid of a small green stone. Instantly, she felt no more pain, but she could tell the would was not mended yet. Hoisting herself off the bed, she hugged Aeris.

'I can never tell you how much I am grateful for you taking me here,' Reis said, tears trickling from her eyes.

'Oh, no, it should be ME that is thanking you. Had you not pushed me out of the way I would have been dead by now,'

'Either way, we owe each other something…'

The two smiled at each other. By an odd twist of fate, the stranger that Reis rescued had healed her. Strange, how people who you rescue save you in the end.

'Are you feeling alright?' Aeris asked her, 'You look really tired and badly in need of rest,'

Reis nodded, and then walked over to the mirror. There she was, reflected in the mirror. Not the old Reis. Her golden sheets of hair had streaks of darker and duller blonde in them, and her already-slim body had thinned out further to reveal bony ribs and very little stomach. Fair-skinned she was before-but pale, even in comparison with the snow, now.

She shook her head. I could not believe this, she thought. Once a beautiful woman beyond measure, she had now degenerated into a less beautiful, but still attractive, woman. The pain began to prick at her wounds again, and she was forced to return to her bed and lay down.

Aeris took up a light snack and a cup of steaming tea to Reis. She had realized that in her joy to meet her beloved Beowulf again, she had not eaten a thing for at least two days. Politely thanking Aeris, she took the meal and began to eat.

'So, Reis, where did you come from?' Aeris asked.

'I came here through a strange machine from the land of Ivalice,' Reis replied, setting down an empty cup of tea and refilling it.

'Ivalice…I've heard of that name somewhere,' Aeris replied, gazing blankly into space, 'I think I might have heard it from the spirits of the Planet,'

She can talk to the dead? That's incredible…

'Really?' Reis queried, wiping her mouth with the napkin, 'I didn't expect anyone to believe me,'

'Of course I do,' Aeris replied, smiling widely. It was one of the sweetest smiles Reis had ever seen.

The door burst open and Reis nearly dropped the breakfast tray in shock.

'Yo, Aeris, is that girl fine now?' asked a dark man with a vast gun for an arm. He looked fearsome, with that day-growth of beard and the awesome size of the gun.

'Yes, I think so, Barret. At least she isn't bleeding copiously like when we took her from the Forgotten City,'

'She's got to be one of the finest chicks that I've seen,' he said, 'Second to Tifa though,' he quickly added, after a young woman stood next to him with arms crossed.

Really? He thinks that of me?

'Come on, Aeris, we have to get to the Northern Cave to stop Sephiroth,'

Wait…there's something I forgot to ask…

'Aeris, please wait a second for me,' Reis called to the doorway, struggling to her feet again. The pain began to stab again at her stomach but she didn't care.

Aeris walked back into the room, and steadied Reis.

'What is it, Reis?'

'Well…it's that I might be able to help you…' she started, fingers crossed, 'but if only I could become invisible for a second to not have to endure great embarrassment,'

'What do you mean?' Aeris asked, puzzled.

'Oh-er...uh…well, I can transform into a dragon,' Reis answered, blushing a light pink, 'But then I must avoid destroying my clothes at the same time,'

'That's simple enough,' Aeris told her, 'Use this,'

She tossed over a small, round, green stone, carved all over with runic inscriptions.

'How do I use this?' Reis asked, feeling foolish.

'Wish to the Planet that you want to become invisible for the time,'

Reis concentrated for a moment, grasping the small green stone tightly in her hand. She felt a heated sensation spreading through her body, from her heart to her fingertips. Looking down at her hand—or where it was a second ago—there was nothing there.

'How do I become visible again?'

'The same way you became invisible,'

She wished again, and her hand materialized in front of her.

'YO! AERIS!' a loud voice shouted from the bottom of the stairs, 'AIN'T YOU GONNA BE COMIN' ALONG!'

'Yes, I will, Barret! However it won't be today, it's too late for us to leave today,' Aeris shouted back. Turning to Reis, she said, 'I'm sorry about that,'

'It's alright,' Reis replied, smiling. Being with this person…has a comforting feeling about it.

'So, tell me…about Ivalice…and what brought you here,' Aeris said, eyes looking curiously at Reis.

She began to tell her life story, about her meeting with Ramza at Goland Coal mines, her grief during those times, the joy of meeting her long-lost love again and all the events up to the defeat of St. Ajora. Aeris nearly cried during a few of the stories that Reis told, her pity for Reis greater than ever before. The tragic deaths of Ramza and Beowulf apparently touched Aeris' gentle soul.

Aeris led Reis down the staircase, helping her along. Barret and Tifa were sitting at a table in the side hall, enjoying a rather noisy drinking game (though no alcohol; the red dog next to Barret kept knocking the wine bottles over as soon as they arrived). The two kept descending the wooden staircase, until they arrived in a small stone chamber.

There was a tub of steaming water in the corner, large enough to fit a person in it. Soaps lay stacked along the wall, the excess water flowing away into a rusting steel drain. Aeris guided Reis over to a wooden stool, where she carefully slid off the dragoner's silk skirt and dress.

'You need to clean your wounds and get the blood out of your hair,' she explained, seeing as Reis was about to protest, 'Otherwise you would get a possible infection from the wound and attract attention from everyone,'

Reis stopped protesting, allowing her blood-stained bandages to be removed gently by the Ancient. Underneath them was a section of matted, dried blood, punctured in the middle by a deep incision into Reis' soft skin. Aeris gently washed the wound, hesitating when she saw the agonized expression on the other woman's face; but when Reis muttered 'It's ok, I'll be fine' she resumed the cleansing of the wound.

After the wound had been cleaned thoroughly of blood (to no little pain on the account of Reis), Aeris produced a bottle of sweet-smelling fluid from within one of her pockets. She dabbed some of this on the wound with a soft cotton fragment, which immediately caused Reis to cease her pained groans.

Next came the hair; Reis' hair was covered in her own dried blood, a reminder of the amount of blood spilled by Sephiroth when his blade sliced through her body. The thick golden locks Aeris washed over with a bucketful of water, and rinsed over again with another. Reis was quite enjoying this—rarely had she been attended to as such.

Hoisting Reis to her feet, Aeris pulled her over to the large tub of steaming water. Reis gingerly placed herself into the hot water, until little by little, she was sitting quite comfortably in the heat, head resting back against the cool stone wall. Letting out a soft 'ahh' of comfort, Reis relaxed in the calm heat of the bath.

Down came Aeris with a splash into the tub; she had undressed and jumped into the same bath as Reis. Wading slowly over to Reis, she stroked the dragoner's lean, long legs.

'You're very beautiful,' Aeris spoke, her voice strangely purring.

'Er-thank you,' Reis replied, feeling a little sheepish.

Aeris sat down next to Reis, recounting away her years of life. She told Reis about her upbringing; how her parents had died before she grew up, how she was raised in a slum by a foster mother, how she realized that she had special powers to talk to the Planet. The two spent another half hour in the tub, discussing their similarities and differences, telling each other of their exploits and adventures.

At last came the time to get out of the hot bathtub. Aeris bent down over Reis, pecked her twice quickly on each cheek, and skipped off to put on her dress. Reis burned with embarrassment. Could she possibly like this…Aeris?

Nevertheless, she stood up, the steam still rising about her slim body, vaulting herself over the wall of the tub. Slipping on the dress and skirt, she followed Aeris up the staircase…

A/N

I noticed that there's really only one person reading this (or that I am aware of). It's not as though I am complaining or anything, but I would appreciate a few more reviews by readers. I write this story as I do my homework (cough cough, don't tell any of my teachers plz :P) and I will keep writing it. But I will appreciate more feedback. As it is right now, I've very little motivation to keep me going. The quantity of schoolwork that I receive is enormous; it is unimaginable (even to me) how I can still keep up with schoolwork when I have to stay up till 2am in the morning to finish it, let alone write this story.

So please, remember to write some reviews.