Chapter 7

It was cold. The sun still hid beyond the horizon and the moon above was struggling to fight through the branches that covered the slumbering girls. The fire had gone out at some point and the incoming fall season was trying to get a foothold in the usually warm summer month. The campsite was completely silent apart from Rikku's quiet snoring; the man watching over them was a short distance away keeping the perimeter safe.

Shivering as a particularly cold wind howled through, Yuna lifted her head though her eyes were still have closed, and crawled over to a dark figure nearby. She could feel the warmth emanating from the person and curled up next to them, pressing her back against their surprisingly soft chest. 'Shouldn't he be keeping watch? Oh well. I hope he doesn't get offended at my presumptuousness but it's so cold!' With a contented sigh, Yuna shrugged and was back asleep before her head even settled into her arm.

Stumbling through the dark forest, Paine stopped and dropped to a knee, leaning heavily on it as she gasped for air. She was all alone; something she had never feared before but now was tearing her apart. "Yuna! Rikku! Sarion!" she panted for air, her lungs burning. "Where are you?!"

Looking around she felt hopeless as the area looked exactly the same as every other place she had been There were no signs of life anywhere she looked and right now she'd even welcome an enemy to distract her. The overwhelming loneliness threatened to crush her and it was maddening. 'Since when do I care about being with others?' she thought to herself bitterly as the tears in her eyes threatened to release their hold.

"Since you allowed yourself to become weak around those two children." The voice was cold, unfeeling and terribly familiar.

Paine spun to face the sound and felt her breath catch. Before her stood a silver-haired warrior with red eyes and a deep scowl. "This is impossible, you… you're me!"

Laughing coldly, the copy of Paine narrowed her eyes. "No, little girl. I was you, before you allowed pointless feelings to infiltrate your heart and weaken you. You are nothing but a shell of what you could be, what WE could be."

Staggering back, Paine reached for her sword only to realize it was no longer there but in the hands of the woman standing before her. "You're not real. None of this is real."

A cruel smile appeared on the lips of her tormentor. "Oh I'm not real? How very oblivious you are." In a blink, she stood before Paine with the sword buried into the wound caused back in the cavern forcing a gasp from the wounded girl.

Agony. That was the only thing Paine could grasp at the moment. The insurmountable amount of pain that was coursing through her body, threatening to make her go mad. How was this possible? She knew this world couldn't be the true world but pain was not registered in dreams!

Smiling at the convulsing girl before her, the copy removed the blade from the wound and allowed Paine to collapse into a heap. "You will never amount to anything as weak as you are. You are a disgrace to yourself, me, us. You allowed your heart to open to what avail? So that you can be shot down and wallow in depression and self-pity? So you can be denied for the love of another? Or in the off chance you succeed, temporarily, to slowly watch it fall apart because you don't deserve such things? You cannot have forgotten your past dear girl, our past. You needed me then and you will need me again. Do not think you are worthy of love, of trust, of anything resembling happiness. You will forever be alone, even surrounded by others you will be alone and you will die alone."

With a sneer the double dropped the sword and walked away, leaving a now sobbing Paine to lie in a pool of her own blood. Stopping after a short distance she looked back, a cold look in her eyes. "You may try to forget the past Paine, but the past will never forget you. And when the time comes, you will not be ready." With that she turned and walked into the darkness leaving Paine alone in her despair.

Dawn came and the sun lazily made its way over the horizon, attempting to push back the night chill. The fire was going again in the camp and the subtle smell of cooking meet filled the air. Before long, yellow hair bounced and the young girl beneath it sprang to her feet, eyes still closed as she sniffed the air.

"I smell something delicious!" Eyes still shut, Rikku stumbled around, following the scent with her nose outstretched. This was no rabbit over a fire, no, this had the aroma of spices and much thicker, juicier meat.

It wasn't long until she discovered the source and opened her eyes at last, gasping at what she saw. Sarion stood before the fire with his back turned to her, his shirt folded neatly on a nearby log. Though his physique made her neck heat as a blush crept up, it was not that which forced a gasp from her. From his shoulders down to his waist were scars mapping out his entire back. Some appeared to be from blades, others from whips, and others still she could not discern.

Hearing her gasp, Sarion sighed and turned to face the young girl, his arms crossing his chest. "You do realize you're the worst thief I've ever met, right?"

Giggling and leaning forward to peer up at him, Rikku grinned playfully. "I happen to be one of the greatest sphere hunters of all time! You just happen to be a bit more alert than most of Spira!"

Sarion smirked and gestured towards the fire, the sight instantly making Rikku's jaw drop and mouth water. At some point in the night he had placed a metal grate of some sort over the fire pit to allow for better cooking. To the side of the fire pit was a pile of cooked meat placed out on a blanket that appeared waterproof. Rikku looked from the meat to Sarion, who nodded, before approaching the meat.

It was no small amount, Rikku figured there to be a week's worth or more of the meat and the smell was magnificent. As she looked at it curiously, trying to determine its origin, a loud rumble from her stomach interrupted her thoughts. She blushed and looked to Sarion with a giggle. "I guess my tummy doesn't care what it is!"

With a laugh, Sarion gestured at the food. "Eat up, I promise you it is not harmful and it's not too terrible tasting."

She needed no more invitation and before he finished the sentence she was already biting into a piece, causing juice from the meat to run down her hands and forearms. Looking up, eyes wide, she stared at Sarion. "It'sh sho delishush!" she mumbled through a mouthful causing Sarion to laugh.

"I am very glad you like it Rikku, but keep it down. The others are still sleeping still and the rest is much needed."

Looking over, Rikku almost choked on the food in her mouth. Yuna lay a short distance away, curled up against Paine who had an arm draped over the smaller girl, holding her close. After a double-take, Rikku looked at Sarion curiously.

Shrugging, Sarion went back to setting out some of the meat to dry in the sun for their journey. "I spoke with Paine when she arrived. She is unhurt, fear not. I figured you both needed sleep so told her to get some rest." He looked over at the two before getting back to work. "The migration of Yuna to Paine however, I am not sure if it was a conscious thing or simply seeking warmth."

With a giggle, Rikku swallowed her bite. "They are just adorable like that. I wonder if Paine is going to flip out when she wakes up." Noticing Sarion's questioning gaze she explained. "Paine hates to be touched."

Recalling their meeting earlier, Sarion couldn't help but laugh. "I can believe it."

As he went back to preparing food, Rikku happily ate while watching the two sleeping girls. 'I wonder what they are dreaming about? I hope it's something naughty." She giggled and continued her breakfast. This was definitely going to be an adventure.

Author's Note

I was considering making this into a LONG chapter and doing the next scenes here but I admit, it's 11pm and I work 10 hours tomorrow in a very boring clinic. So I could stay up and make sloppy mistakes or sleep and forget portions of what I wanted to add by tomorrow night. So I'll end it here, and either tomorrow or the day after jump back to it with renewed vigor!

I own neither Yuna, nor Rikku, nor Paine. I do own Sarion. Hope you're all enjoying so far! This chapter wrote itself honestly; I had to STOP myself during that flashback. Longest dialogue by one person of all time? Maybe not, but it is for me! Hope it was okay? Read and review and let me know! Hopefully in time for me to adjust for the next chapter!