Chapter 4

It had been two days since their night in the wayward pine and Paine's wound had shown significant improvement the further from the cavern they got; it was almost as if the wound was tired to the wretched place. Rikku was skipping out ahead humming to herself while Yuna walked beside Paine at a brisk but comfortable pace.

Somehow they had stumbled across a somewhat visible path and decided to give it a shot and see where it led. At a particularly narrow portion they were forced into a file with Yuna bringing up the rear. It was nearly noon and her stomach growled but Yuna was too lost in her thoughts to feel the hunger.

'What had brought Paine to tears back in the cavern and again during her fever? I have heard that those with fevers often have hallucinations or nightmares but she didn't look afraid so much as distraught.' She sighed and glanced at the silver-haired warrior in front of her, amazed at her recovery and ease that she traversed the uneven ground in her boots. 'And just as import, what happened to her sword? I could never imagine her leaving it behind."

Suddenly she bumped into Paine who was stopped ahead of her. Paine almost toppled forward but spun and caught Yuna as she tripped over her own feet. Yuna blushed at her clumsiness. "Sorry."

Paine smiled a little and nodded. "It's alright, are you okay?"

Rikku looked back and stomped her feet. "Come on! I'm hungry!"

Giggling, Yuna nodded. "I'm fine. Let's hurry before Rikku throws a fit."

Ahead of them was a clearing that looked decent enough to rest for a short while. Paine had carved out some makeshift bowls from wood as they walked with her knife and Rikku had scouted any berries or tava-roots she could find. As they sat down in the soft grass, Yuna felt eyes on her and noticed Paine was looking down at her thighs. Immediately, a blush crept up her neck. "Paine!"

Looking up as if confused at Yuna's outburst, Paine tilted her head. "Yes Yuna?"

Unable to meet the intense ruby eyes of her comrade, Yuna studied her food. "Why are you staring?"

Paine blinked then let out an uncharacteristic giggle surprising the other two. "I was simply wondering when we would be able to replace your tattered skirt that you ruined on my dressing."

Glancing down, Yuna realized her skirt was a great deal shorter on one side now and looked ragged. "Oh, I see."

Not one to be left out of a conversation Rikku scooted closer to Paine. "You can stare at my legs all you want ya know!"

As Paine's eyes widened, Yuna burst into laughter along with Rikku. Shaking her head, Paine threw a berry at Rikku and continued to eat without a word.

A nearby rumble silenced the two girls and caused Paine to reflexively reach for her sword only to curse as she came up empty-handed. Pulling the knife from her boot instead, Paine stood to face the sound as it approached; now rattling the nearby trees with each quake.

Rikku got to her feet alongside Yuna and both drew their weapons but a cold look from Paine froze them both. "Stay behind me Yuna."

Shaking her head, Yuna took a step towards Paine. "But you don't have your sword! And your wound!"

A massive stone structure burst through the tree line north of them standing nearly twice the height of Paine. "That doesn't matter! Just stay back!" She turned to Rikku, her expression deadly serious. "If I tell you to run, you get Yuna the hell away from here do you understand?"

Rikku gulped hard, understanding the veiled threat. "I… I understand Paine."

As the massive golem rushed towards them Yuna opened up on it firing round after round just to have them bounce harmlessly off its stony hide. "My bullets are having no effect!"

Paine growled and suddenly sprinted towards the golem, dagger held defensively in her right hand. She knew the dagger was no match for the thick hide of a golem but hoped she could find a weakness in it to exploit to at least give the other two time to flee if needed. As she reached the golem she slid underneath a massive fist aimed at her torso and lashed out with the blade at the knee joint of the beast.

The beast was unharmed by the trivial damage but turned its attention away from the other two girls and brought both hands down together in an attempt to squash the pesky warrior, missing only by mere inches. As she sprang to her feet Paine looked over at Rikku. "Get Yuna out of here! Go south! I'll buy you some time and catch up later if I can!"

Rikku's mouth opened and closed a few times. "But-"

"NOW!"

Without hesitating a moment longer Rikku grabbed Yuna's arm and began dragging her away. "Yunie, we have to go!"

Yuna tried to pull away but was held fast by the surprisingly strong thief. "But Paine…"

Paine took a low stance, trying to simply dodge the attacks of the golem long enough for Rikku and Yuna to get a safe distance away. She had no thoughts of defeating it but figured she could at least spare her two friends and that was enough to bring a cold smile to her lips. "Let's dance."

Author's Note

Sheesh, Paine is just a trouble magnet no? It's okay, she's a tough cookie! Am I doing okay on keeping them IC? It's really hard after so many years. Sorry the chapter is so short, but it was where I ended it at the time!