Onward to the Moonflow!
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Chapter Eighteen
In the morning, everything was starting to look brighter. Tidus felt like he could almost forget about the disastrous Operation Mi'ihen. But he couldn't. He never would.
The beds at the temple inn were all full of wounded Crusaders, so the party had slept on the floor. Still, there was a roof over their heads, and Tidus was just glad to be alive. Now, he stretched away the stiffness from sleeping on the ground and headed outside. Everyone else was already awake. Yuna still hadn't come to bed at the time Tidus went to sleep, so he figured he should find her and see how she was.
"Hey! Good morning!" Wakka called out, sounding cheerful. Tidus grinned back in reply.
"We're leavin' once Yuna gets here," Wakka continued.
"Right," Tidus nodded. "Where is Yuna, anyway?"
"She slept inside the temple," Lulu explained. "I hope she got enough sleep."
"I'll go check on her," Tidus offered.
"Go." Auron nodded. "We need to leave soon if we plan to reach Guadosalam today."
Tidus pushed his way through the temple's heavy stone doors. Inside, several priests went about their business with a somber air. A few Crusaders hung around, too. Tidus spotted Gatta standing near the stairs to the Cloister of Trials and walked up to him.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Tidus asked. Gatta turned to face him, seeming much closer to his former self.
"I'm alright," he replied. "I'm going back to Besaid. With Luzzu gone…" Gatta looked at the ground.
"Yeah, it'd be hard fighting alone, wouldn't it?" Tidus agreed.
"Most of the other Crusaders have already left," Gatta said, lifting his gaze from the floor. "I'll go soon."
"Well, have you seen Yuna?" Tidus asked.
"She was preforming a sending last night," Gatta answered. "I think she's over in the nun's quarters now."
"Right. Thanks," Tidus replied with a nod.
"Good luck to you," Gatta said as Tidus turned to leave. "I hope we meet again someday."
"Yeah," Tidus called back. "Same to you."
Tidus walked up to one of the nuns near the main door.
"Hey, um, have you seen Yuna, the summoner that was here?" he asked her. "I'm one of her guardians, and I'm not sure where she is."
"Oh, yes," the nun replied. "Lady Yuna is over in the nun's chambers, just this way." She motioned towards one of the doors leading farther into the temple. "I'll take you to her."
"Oh, thanks," Tidus replied.
The nun brought Tidus into the nuns' quarters, which was mostly occupied by wounded soldiers. On a bed in the corner, Yuna was fast asleep.
"She was working until dawn," the nun explained, "healing the wounded, sending the fallen."
"Okay," Tidus nodded, watching Yuna as she slept. She seemed so peaceful, and so tired. It was obvious to anyone that she had given her all tending to the Crusaders. Tidus felt bad to wake her.
"I guess I'll just let her sleep for now," he said with a shrug.
Just as he spoke, Yuna started to stir. She let out a quiet sigh and sat up, still looking half asleep.
"Ah! Good morning!" Tidus called to her cheerfully.
"What? Morning?" Yuna looked around frantically.
"Don't worry!" Tidus said with a chuckle.
"But it's morning!" Yuna leaped out of bed, scrambling to gather her few things. "I'm so sorry! I-I'll get ready right away! Just a moment!"
"Don't worry!" Tidus chuckled again. "It's okay!"
Yuna didn't seem to hear him and continued scrambling around the room. Tidus moved towards the doorway.
I'll go tell the others Yuna will be right along.
Outside, the rest of the group was still waiting.
"Yuna's gonna be right here!" Tidus said as he came up to join them. Yuna came sprinting out of the temple just behind him, still all in a dither.
"Yo! Sleepy head!" Wakka called out to her.
"Sorry!" Yuna called back. "I'm so sorry!"
She ran up to Auron and bowed quickly. "Please forgive me!"
"Really, there's no rush," Lulu said calmly. A rare smile grew on her face as she rested one hand on Yuna's head. "Here, your hair…"
Yuna took a quick step backward and combed her fingers through her hair, frantically trying to remove the static that still clung from her short night's rest.
"A summoner with bed hair!" Wakka chuckled. "What's the world coming to?"
"You could have woken me!" Yuna turned on Wakka.
"Oh, we called to you," Lulu said, the teasing tone obvious in her voice, "but with all that snoring…"
Yuna let out a gasp, and a smile started to form on her lips.
"Hmm…" she said. "What is it today? Everyone's picking on me!"
Everybody laughed, except Auron. Once the laughter died away, Tidus could hear even the stern, serious man in the cloak chuckling.
"You too, Sir Auron?" Yuna asked, turning to Auron. She was smiling wider than Tidus had seen in a long time.
A slight smile dawned on Auron's face. "Once Lady Yuna fixes her hair, we leave!"
Everybody laughed again. It felt so good to laugh like that. Tidus hadn't laughed so hard in a long time, maybe not since he'd lived in Zanarkand. Maybe not even then. It would take a long time before he realized that the only one really laughing that day was him.
Laughter must have been the only thing keeping them going…
…
The party traveled back down the path they had taken to the Djose temple towards a fork they had passed earlier on. According to Lulu, that would take them to the Moonflow. They were crossing a bridge on the road to the temple when they ran into Captain Lucil. She was mounted on a chocobo with Elma, and their third member, Clasko, was nowhere to be seen.
"Off so early?" Lucil asked with a prayer bow. "Lady Yuna, you must be exhausted after working so hard last night. Will you be okay?"
Yuna bowed back. "I feel that I have rested enough. But, thank you for your kindness! Will you be leaving too?"
"Yes." Lucil saluted. "First, we cross the Moonflow, and then we head north in search of chocobos to replace those we have lost."
"Once we find chocobos," Elma said with a smile, "our Mounted Forces will ride again!"
"Aren't you missing someone?" Tidus commented, looking around for Clasko. He spotted him racing down the path from the temple.
"Captain!" he shouted. "Wait for me!"
"What took you so long?" Elma asked, looking down from the chocobo's back at her comrade who stood panting on the ground. "We're leaving!"
"You expect me to keep up with a chocobo!?" Clasko panted, obviously exhausted from his jog.
Lucil shook her head, then turned back to Yuna with another salute. "Lady Yuna, I wish you good fortune."
Lucil turned back to her knights. "Elma! Clasko! Let's go!"
"Ma'am!" Elma exclaimed brightly from her perch behind Lucil. Clasko let out a groan, still bent over and trying to catch his breath.
"Eh?" he panted. "C-can't I just rest for a sec…?"
"No complaints!" Elma said, smiling. The chocobo took off, Clasko in hot pursuit.
"You think they'll find what they're looking for?" Tidus said, watching the knights leave with his hands clasped behind his head.
"Who knows?" Lulu replied with a shrug. "For now, we need to leave."
"Right!" Tidus said. "Where to next?"
"We cross the Moonflow," Lulu answered.
"Gotcha!" Tidus exclaimed. "Moonflow, baby, here we come!"
…
"Wow! This place is nice!" Tidus exclaimed, taking in the scenery. Lush, green foliage flanked the well-traveled pathway, scattered with tiny blossoms. In the distance, deciduous trees sprouted up into a dense forest. The path lead straight into the woodland, disappearing into the shadows of the trees.
"So, is this the Moonflow?" Tidus asked, turning to Lulu. She always seemed to have the answers he was looking for.
"Technically, the Moonflow is a river that passes through this area," Lulu answered. "But, the areas along the banks of the Moonflow are often referred to as 'the Moonflow,' as well."
"Ah-ha," Tidus nodded, processing this new information.
"We're headed for the riverbank," Wakka added, "where we can take a shoopuf to the other side."
"Let's hurry," Auron said, moving to the front of the group. "We have a ways to go if we are to reach Guadosalam by nightfall."
The party continued down the path, headed for the woodland up ahead. They were nearly to the woods when they ran into a pair of Ronso. If Tidus remembered correctly, these were the two who had picked a fight with Kimahri in Luca. Again, Tidus was reminded that, even though Kimahri towered over the rest of them, these two made Kimahri look small. Kimahri approached the two warily, and Tidus followed him. Maybe it wasn't the wisest thing to do, but he was curious to see what was going on.
"Look! One of Kimahri's friends!" Biran laughed, pointing to Tidus. "Looks just like him."
"What?" Tidus scoffed. He wasn't sure if that was a complement or an insult.
"Both follow summoners on all fours!" Biran continued. "Hornless goatlings!"
Definitely an insult, Tidus decided.
"Hornless! Hornless!" Yenke mocked.
"You come to insult Kimahri?" Kimahri asked coolly.
"Wrong," Biran answered, suddenly sounding serious. "We come to warn little Kimahri."
"Summoners disappear," Yenke said. "Never return."
It's just like Maroda said, Tidus thought.
"Next will be Kimahri's summoner," Biran said, his voice dark.
"Poor Kimahri!" Yenke began to taunt the smaller Ronso again. "Lost his horn, next lose his summoner!"
"Pitiful Kimahri!" Biran snickered. "Howl alone! Howl alone!"
Still guffawing, the two Ronso left, walking down the pathway into the woods.
"Do those two got something against you?" Tidus asked, turning to Kimahri.
Kimahri just shook his head.
"What, they were just picking on you?" Tidus found it hard to believe that anyone, even those two, would act that way with no reason.
"Kimahri will deal with them," Kimahri said.
"And I'll help!" Tidus declared. But Kimahri turned a sharp glare to him.
"Kimahri alone."
"But-" Tidus began, but Wakka cut him off.
"It's Kimahri's problem. We can't interfere; it's a rule."
What kind of silly rule is that? Tidus thought.
"I'm worried," Lulu spoke up.
Wakka turned to her, clearly getting exasperated.
"Let the Ronso deal with Ronso problems, ya?" he said firmly. "That's how it's always been."
Lulu glared at him. "I mean I'm worried about these summoners disappearing."
"They aren't just disappearing into thin air," Auron said.
Tidus sighed. "Hey, if we guardians do our job, no problem, right?"
"Confident," Lulu said.
"Yeah!" Tidus answered. "Now, we're in a hurry, right? Let's get going!"
Things were calm as the party passed through the woods, and they had little trouble from fiends. The trees' full branches of wide leaves cast dappled shadows over the forest floor, giving the place a mysterious but not unpleasant air. With the daylight scattered by the tree cover, the whole place felt like it was in perpetual sunset. Insects were constantly chirping from the undergrowth, filling the air with a lively serenade. They had to keep moving, but Tidus found several times he just wanted to stop and listen to the sounds or stare up at the swaying treetops. This forest wasn't like the jungles of Kilika, or even the bright woodlands of Besaid. It felt… older, and more alive, but in a quieter way. It was yet another completely new thing that he had never seen before, but Tidus wasn't surprised. This was Spira, not Zanarkand, and he didn't expect things to be the same. They would never be the same.
After a while, the forest opened out onto the shore of the Moonflow. Tidus had thought the woods had been beautiful, but the river was even more so. Its waters glimmered like silver, with thousands of small purple flowers floating on top. Pyreflies flickered slowly through the air, skimming the water's surface.
"Whoa…" Tidus breathed, taking in the scene.
"This is the Moonflow," Lulu said.
Tidus let out a breath, just watching the gentle dance of the pale lighted pyreflies as they dipped in and out of the river.
"Oh, these are moonlilies!" Yuna exclaimed, crouching down at the water's edge. She reached out to touch one of the delicate purple flowers.
Yuna let out a sigh. "They say that clouds of pyreflies gather here when night falls.
"The entire river glows," Lulu continued, "like a sea of stars."
"Really?" Tidus tried to envision what the spectacle would look like. It'd be great if we could all see that…
"Hey, I got an idea!" Tidus declared, but Auron cut him off before he could finish.
"We're not waiting till nightfall."
Tidus floundered for a moment before continuing. "Then, once we beat Sin, we're coming back."
No one spoke. Apart from the quiet chirping of various insects, there was silence on the shore. What did I say?
"Hey," Wakka spoke up, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "We better hurry or we'll miss the shoopuf!"
"Shoopuf?" Tidus asked. "That some kind of boat?"
Wakka pointed down the riverbank, directing Tidus' gaze towards a massive creature lumbering along the side. It was sort of like a huge elephant, with fins along its back and its trunks all curled up. A large carriage-like structure was strapped to its back, presumably for carrying passengers.
"Whoa, what the… whoa!" Tidus' mouth dropped open in shock.
Wakka grinned at Tidus' astonishment. "This is a shoopuf."
"Wow." Tidus nodded, all else forgotten. "Okay then, let's ride! Come on, let's go!"
"Alright!" Wakka said with a grin. "We board soon as we're ready, ya?"
The group dispersed around the shoopuf dock, looking at maps and checking out merchants. Tidus walked around aimlessly, just taking in the scenery. After wandering the dock platform for a bit, Tidus spotted Lucil and her chocobo knights arguing with the shoopuf driver. The driver himself was a strange little blue person with massive, googly eyes; Tidus assumed he was of some other Spiran race, like the Guado or the Ronso.
"Noo, I don shink sho," the driver mumbled in a strange accent, waving his webbed hands. "Ish bad idea, yesh."
"Please, we beg of you!" Lucil pleaded.
"Imposhibibble! Imposhibibble!" the driver exclaimed, still waving his hands. Tidus approached the conversation, curious as to what was going on.
"What's wrong?" he asked, trying not to stare at the weird little person who the shoopuf driver.
It was Elma who answered. "This guy won't let our chocobo on the shoopuf!"
Tidus looked back and forth between the knights' big yellow bird and the compartment strapped to the shoopuf's back.
"Ah," he said with a nod. "It is kinda big."
"It's not fair!" Elma exclaimed with a bit of a pout.
"Uh, he does have a point, thought," Clasko spoke up.
"So what?" Elma rounded on her comrade. "We just leave him behind?"
"Hey, I didn't say that!" Clasko defended. "Just…"
Lucil let out a sigh. "It's no good. We will have to find another way. We'll find a ford where we can cross on foot."
"Yes, Captain, sir!" Elma replied cheerfully with a salute.
"But… that'll take days!" Clasko exclaimed, clearly not as excited as Elma.
Lucil turned back to her knights. "Where there's a will, there's a way!"
"Oh, boy…" Clasko sighed. Clearly the pep talk was lost on him. Elma, however, was beaming.
"That's our captain!" she said, wearing a wide smile. Leaving it at that, the three knights and their chocobo rushed off.
Where there's a will, there's a way. Those words would stick with Tidus for a long time to come.
Tidus climbed up on the boarding platform, where the shoopuf now stood, ready to receive passengers. The creature was enormous, larger than any Tidus had ever seen. He had to tip his head all the way back just to see the top of it.
Tidus spotted Auron on the other end of the platform. He, too, was staring at the shoopuf. I thought Auron was from Spira? Why is this shoopuf so interesting to him?
Tidus walked over to his old friend, intending to ask his questions. But, as soon as Tidus was near, Auron spoke.
"Ten years ago…" he began.
"A history lesson?" Tidus groaned.
"Jecht saw his first shoopuf here," Auron continued, ignoring Tidus. "Surprised, he drew his blade a struck it."
"Why?" Tidus asked.
"He was drunk," Auron explained. "Thought it was a fiend."
"Oh, brother," Tidus sighed. That was a familiar story.
"We offered all the money we had as an apology," Auron continued. "Jecht never drank again."
Auron looked back over the shoopuf, studying the long scar across one of its back legs. "It would seem that same shoopuf still works here."
Tidus left Auron to his memories and continued on around the dock.
"Hey, you there!" Tidus turned to face a warrior monk who called out to him. The man stood near the bottom of the shoopuf platform, looking tense.
"You talking to me?" Tidus asked.
"Yeah, you're part of the summoner's party coming through here, right?" the monk asked.
"Yeah, I am," Tidus replied. "What's up?"
"I just wanted to ask you to keep a look out for Al Bhed," the monk said. "There have been several sightings in this area."
"Is that unusual?" Tidus asked, feeling a little uncomfortable.
"Of course!" the monk sounded surprised. "The Al Bhed usually stay on their side of Spira, unless they have a special reason for being here. How could you not know that?"
"Oh, yeah, ha ha…" Tidus tried to think of an excuse, but the monk carried on, unfazed.
"Well, if you see any Al Bhed, be sure to inform a member of the warrior monks right away!"
"But why?" Tidus asked, starting to get a little tired of this. "They're probably just refugees from Operation Mi'ihen. Why would you need to catch them? And besides, how do I know if someone's an Al Bhed, anyway?"
"All Al Bhed have green eyes with a distinctive swirl pattern," the monk explained, ignoring all Tidus' other questions.
"Yeah, I'll try to remember to tell you." Tidus sighed and turned to, figuring this guy wasn't planning to explain any further. Why would he need to explain common knowledge? Just another reminder I'll never belong in Spira.
Yuna leaned on the bench, breathing in the scent of river water carried on the breeze. Kimahri stood beside her, silent. She stared out over the serene waters of the Moonflow, remembering the last time she had been here. Lost in her memories, she was almost oblivious to the world outside. Was it really all so long ago?
"Look." Kimahri pulled Yuna from her daydreaming, pointing toward the shoopuf platform. "Tidus is coming this way."
Yuna looked up and saw Tidus coming towards them down the path. She stood up from the bench and faced him.
"Shoopufs!" she commented. "I haven't ridden one in so long!"
"What? You've been on one of these?" Tidus asked, seeming shocked. Yuna reminded herself he'd probably never heard of a shoopuf before today.
"Well, just once," she replied. "Ten years ago, with Kimahri." Yuna turned to her tall, feline guardian. "Remember?"
Kimahri began his own retelling of the tale. "Shoopuf shook. Yuna fall in water. Shoopuf scoop up Yuna with long nose."
She had only been seven at the time, but Yuna still remembered that day like yesterday, how warm the waters of the river had been, the slippery feel of the shoopuf's trunk…
Kimahri continued. "Yuna jump in three more times for fun. Kimahri worried."
Oh, I'd almost forgotten that… Yuna felt guilt well up inside her.
"Whoops!" she said contritely.
If he could, Yuna was sure Kimahri would be smiling. "Yuna had fun," he said. "Kimahri happy."
Yuna knew what he meant.
"Should we be headed soon?" Tidus asked.
"Oh, yes," Yuna replied. "Can you gather everyone up?"
"Roger!" Tidus said with a smile, the walked off.
Yuna remembered her last ride on a shoopuf well. Ten years ago, just a few weeks after her father had died…
