Wild Rose
"The Rift again..." Firion thought, as they arrived at yet another familiar place.
How could he not get upset? They were just going in circles for sure for now: backtracking through every place they'd already been to before Laguna's information - which was the last thing either of them had intended.
He looked ahead at Lightning as she continued walking, seemingly unfazed by such a thought. She was clearly more determined to find the rose with each place they came across – a compulsion he wished he had. Why didn't he though? Really, he should feel just as eager as her after all of their frantic searching. Why wasn't he? It was troubling to him, to say the least.
Still, it was intriguing how someone could be so driven even when things didn't look promising. He wished he had the same motivation as her, but over the past few hours…he realized exactly how little he knew about himself – an uncomforting realization that he couldn't quite grasp.
"Lightning?' he asked, quietly.
She stopped walking and turned toward him almost instantly upon hearing her name. Really, he was surprised at how quickly she'd come to responding to his voice. But, he knew better than to get ahead of himself now, thinking no further than that as he spoke again.
"I just…" he mumbled.
He choked on his words for a moment, taking a deep breath as she looked at him in anticipation. She had learned to grow a little more patient with him by now. Though it wasn't necessarily something she was willing to get too accustomed to, her travels with Firion had, at the least, eased her impatience – but, only as far as he was concerned. Having gotten to know him better through this whole experience, understanding him more and more, had made it easier for her to accept the things about him that would usually have set her off by now.
"…What?" she asked, still waiting for him to continue his sentence.
He looked at her as he spoke again.
"I was curious…about something."
She turned her head a little, like she was suspicious of something, as she kept her eyes on him. Her body language said for him to get on with it, while her face showed a hint of concern – despite the uncomfortable look she appeared to give him. The latter made him shiver a little, but he got over it as he went to speak again.
"Do you truly believe we'll-"
"FIRION!" a voice shouted.
He and Lightning looked in the direction the call had come from to see another friend of theirs, Onion Knight, quickly approaching. It reminded them of when Laguna had found them at Crystal Tower. Lightning could only imagine what news he had for them.
Still, being more dependable than Laguna, Lightning decided to amuse him as he stopped in front of them – both waiting to hear what he had to say.
"I've been looking for you." he said.
That much had been obvious, and it was beginning to feel like déjà vu for real now – at least for Lightning. Firion, however, listened to the tone in his voice and found himself overcome with curiosity. This time, he didn't care that something had interrupted another moment between them. He hadn't even really had anything to say - he had just been speaking on a whim.
He looked at the young warrior.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
Onion Knight caught his breath and looked up at his two friends. He didn't know what was going on as far as them being together went, but he didn't really care. Having caught word of something pertaining to Firion, he'd known he had to find them.
"I heard you two were looking for Cecil."
Lightning and Firion perked up a bit at his words. The tone in his voice had sounded so promising that they couldn't ignore what might follow.
"Well…yes. We are." Firion said, trying not to sound too eager.
"You've seen him?" Lightning asked, nearly jumping at his words.
Onion Knight only nodded in response as his next words were the most promising thing they'd heard in a while.
"Yeah. He's at Crystal Tower."
Despite his news, Firion found himself a bit upset by it. It had seemed so promising until that final bit.
"Again?" he asked, a bit agitated now.
He looked at the ground in disbelief.
"How many times must we go there? No ones ever there – and we've been twice already." he thought.
Onion Knight looked at him upon noticing his reaction.
"Are you okay, Firion?" he asked.
Lightning looked at Firion, knowing full well what he was thinking. She could understand his reaction to the news. However, though it didn't seem so promising with those last few words, she still wasn't going to take any chances
She looked at the Onion Knight and nodded, signifying their gratitude.
"Thanks for the update."
"Sure." he replied.
He glanced at Firion for a moment – a clear look of concern on his face.
Lightning read his expression and sent him off with a few last words.
"He's fine. It was a long walk."
She looked at Firion for a moment as the Onion Knight nodded, still a little unsure, but convinced Lightning would take care of it.
"Well…okay. I'll see you two later."
He quickly walked off, leaving them with his news and feeling proud of having delivered it to them – blissfully unaware of their struggles up to this point, thus Firion's reaction to his words. In the end, they really hadn't helped him as much as he'd hoped. It just made things seem even more unlikely as this "news" only led them to what he believed would be another dead end. Why should he get his hopes up? He'd done that enough and so far…it hadn't amounted to anything but disappointment. Right now…he was through with trying to be positive. It hadn't served to do him any good in a long time.
He sighed as Lightning looked at him.
"Hey." she said, softly.
He slowly lifted his head – not really wanting to look at her, but finding himself unable to resist anytime she spoke.
The smile she had on her face, despite everything that they had endured up to now – he found to be a bit encouraging, but nothing more. Just that it was Lightning, was the only reason he could smile. Right now…she was the only one whom could help him get through this – even indirectly.
"I know what you're thinking, and I don't blame you. It seems we're just walking in circles and not making any real progress." she said.
She looked at him closely as she kept speaking.
"But, trust me on this one. Every road, no matter how long and hard, has an end – and, Cecil is ours."
She stepped towards him and he lifted his head as she came closer, his eyes meeting hers as he stood up straight.
"I know it doesn't seem like it now. But, despite what I may want to believe at this point…even I can't see why everyone would play games with our minds like this." she said.
She looked at the ground for a moment as she let out a light sigh. It wasn't easy to encourage someone – especially after something like this…but, she still had to try. Firion being in a slump didn't help their efforts, and furthermore – truthfully…she couldn't stand to see him like this.
She looked up at him again – her light green eyes instantly attracting his full attention. They held so much certainty and truth…the exact kind he'd needed since right before their encounter with Bartz. It only served to make his fascination with Lightning more apparent – and amazing. At that moment, whether or not they'd found the rose…he didn't really feel it would mean all was lost anymore. After all, it was because he'd lost the rose in the first place, that he had been able to spend so much time with Lightning. If he hadn't lost it…he never would have come to know her so well and even come to understand what he felt about her. Even if she didn't know about the latter - he did. Find the rose or not…he'd tell her everything. He couldn't stand for her not to know after all they'd been through together.
"Let's go to Crystal Tower." she said, gently.
Firion just nodded lightly as she turned away from him – another light smile on her face as she started walking.
He closed his eyes for a moment and breathed a sigh of relief. Even if Onion Knight and Laguna's words hadn't given him much hope, Lightning had. Whether or not she knew or had intended it – she was the only reason he could still keep going.
*Author's Note* - Okay, I know it's not one of my best, but I still tried. Sorry for such…weird writing this time around. Felt like I was dancing around with this one - I apologize.