Chapter 8

Yuna awoke with a yawn and slowly rose up to prop on an elbow. Sitting by the fire eating some kind of meat was Rikku and beside her was the man who had shown up the day before, Sarion. Blinking in realization, Yuna slowly turned to look at the figure still slumbering beside her and gasped.

"Paine!" Throwing caution to the wind, Yuna flung her arms around the sleeping girl and squeezed her tightly. "You're okay! I knew you'd be okay!"

Startled awake by the sudden assault, Paine went rigid. Her initial reaction was to want to pummel the person touching her but that it was Yuna caused a strange warmth to spread through her. After enduring the embrace a moment longer, Paine scowled down at the other girl. "Of course I am fine. Now let go."

Yuna did as commanded and sat back to inspect the silver-haired warrior. "I'm sorry Paine, I was just so happy to see that you made it. What happened? Were you able to defeat the golem?"

Paine looked at the ground ashamed that she had required help in a battle she had declared her own. Before she could speak however, Sarion interjected. "It was quite magnificent Miss Yuna. I came across the remains of the beast shortly before encountering you. Your friend is quite formidable."

Looking from Sarion to Paine, Rikku frowned. 'That is not at all what happened, but I guess he already knows how proud Paine is.' Swallowing the last bite of her breakfast, Rikku skipped over to the other girls with a wide grin. "Sarion says he knows the way to a village nearby! But that means it's time to get up and at 'em!"

Smiling widely, Yuna stood and adjusted her clothing as best she could. "I am certainly ready for a change of clothes. Are you okay to get going Paine?"

Using her sword to push herself to her feet, Paine nodded. "We've wasted enough time. Let's go." Noticing Yuna's eyes widening at the presence of her previously lost sword, Paine waved the question off.

Before long, the fire had been doused, the food wrapped and placed into a pack on Sarion's back and the group was walking towards their new destination. The sun was still low in the sky and the air a bit chilled but the clear sky made for pleasant weather. Green leaves still hung tightly to their trees as the summer refused to succumb to the chill of the impending fall.

The paths were barely existent and much of their walking involved wading through tall grass and brushing branches aside. After a few hours of walking in silence apart from Rikku's humming they finally came across a break from the thick foliage and found themselves at the edge of a massive clearing. Looking out across the dirt and gravel, the girls shared a look of curiosity. Where had all the plant life gone?

Seeing their confusion, Sarion spoke up. "This area was once a small civilization of farmers and merchants, rich with produce and trade." He held his hands up in an apologetic gesture. "Sadly, no one knows exactly what occurred, but one day the trade simply stopped. When nearby villages sent scouts, this is all they saw. There was no request for help, not even a single hint of life existing in this area."

Eyes wide, Yuna put a hand over her mouth. "So all those people…"

Paine frowned and looked around. "I have heard no such tale, nor have I seen such a place. We've been all over Spira, how is this possible?" Her question had a cold edge on it.

Before Sarion was able to answer, a roar shook the ground they stood upon and turned their gaze to the sound. It had come from the south side of the clearing, not far from their western edge. While Rikku looked around, trying to spot the source, the ring of steel was heard as Sarion and Paine both drew their weapons.

Advancing from the wood line just a hundred paces away, came a horde of green beasts brandishing massive weapons. Sarion began walking towards them. "I doubt they came out to offer a history lesson."

Paine flicker her hair out of her eyes. "Easy."

Looking from the incoming horde to Paine, Yuna blanched. "You think so?"

Rikku pulled her daggers out. "Less talk! More fight!"

As the group crashed into the ugly monsters assailing them, they couldn't help but notice a change in the mannerisms of the beasts they fought compared to those they had in the past. These creatures seemed smarter and more tactically sound; the minute one missed with a swing, another was there aiming for the newly made gap.

Yuna found herself ducking and diving between two rather persistent creatures before managing to finally land a well-placed round into the throat of one, causing it to collapse with a gurgle as it drowned in its own blood. This action however cost her precious time and she could hear the whistle of a spear as it was brought down upon her, a thunderous 'Crack!' as the weapon splintered.

Blinking in wonder at the lack of agony Yuna looked back to see Paine standing at her back, her sword still raised from blocking the powerful blow. In the length of a heartbeat Paine spun to the side of a sloppy thrust and brought her sword around in an arc, separating head from body of the creature before her. Without so much as a glance back, Paine rushed into another beast, bringing her sword down with unrestrained fury; the blow shattering the defending blade and cleaving from shoulder to hip. Kicking the creature from her blade she spun and dove into another fight, her bloodlust unquenched.

Rikku pulled her daggers from the eyes of a fallen monster and looked back to see Paine tearing through the creatures like a death wind. Strike, parry, duck, slice, roll, upswing, thrust. In a matter of moments Paine had slain more creatures than Rikku had in the entire battle. She couldn't help but feel her pulse quicken as she watched the warrior, her lip between her teeth as she stared. 'Incredible.'

Sarion was also impressed by the female warrior; any fatigue or soreness she may have felt appeared to have vanished as she moved from beast to beast bringing her sword around in a dance of death. Ducking under a mace, a quick thrust from his blade and the beast before him fell leaving the clearing as silent as when they had arrived.

Approaching the panting girl covered in gore, Yuna offered a smile. "Are you alright Paine?"

Standing straight and rolling her shoulders, Paine shrugged. "Sloppy victory."

Rikku bounded over. "Better than a sloppy defeat!"

Approaching the girls, Sarion sheathed his sword. "I think it's safe to say we found at least part of what might have caused the devastation here. We should go before more come; we're quite exposed out here."

With a nod, Yuna holstered her pistols. 'Only a few shots left, I really need to find a way to fix that.' A nudge interrupted her from her thoughts and she saw Rikku looking up at her as they walked; a playful grin on her face. "Hmm?"

"So," Rikku leaned close. "Why were you cuddling with Paine last night?"

Yuna went red and looked forward again. "It was not cuddling," she mumbled. "it was really cold."

Rikku giggled and skipped away. "If you say so!"

Swatting at the pesky thief, Yuna's blush deepened. "I do say so!" She covered her mouth at her outburst, noticing that Paine's ruby eyes glanced her way but remained silent. "So Sarion, how far is this village anyhow?"

Looking back over his shoulder he offered a smile. "We should reach it by nightfall." He looked back at the slaughter behind them. "If we are uninterrupted."

Crossing the barren land in silence, Yuna couldn't help but allow her mind to wander to the questions she wanted to ask. Who was this man really and why was he willing to go through so much to help them? Where were they? She hoped they would be able to find a place to rest and give her some time to question the mysterious stranger.

As the sun slowly worked its way down towards the horizon, the group continued east towards their destination. Clouds made their first appearance since the girls had been out of the cavern and were threatening rain. Before they knew it, the skies had opened up and the rain came in sheets, hurrying the pace of the four caught in the storm. Over the horizon they could make out the lights of a village and their pace quickened. With luck, they would sleep indoors tonight.

Author's Note

So, first let me apologize for my writing style! I've gotten a few questions about it and figured I'd explain it very quickly in a note. Yes, my punctuation is NOT always proper English, nor is the sentence structure. I write how I want it to sound. A comma denotes a pause or emphasis on the following statement. As for miss-types, I proof everything I enter but I am a natural "skimmer", I never fully read things so it's difficult for me. Feel free to message me any corrections!

On the story though, I hope everyone is enjoying! I'm slowly building towards that "OHMYGODWHAT?!" moment, hence the chapters that "go nowhere". Know that I have a plan!

To my private reviewers: Thank you! Unlike a lot of writers, I find updating once a week or less is terribly unfair to readers! So as long as I have readers, I will continue to strive for multiple weekly updates!

Extra special thanks to a private reviewer who mentioned I forgot to have Sarion give his name to Paine in chapter 6! Good catch! I adjusted the end of the chapter, feel free to re-read it if you like.