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moogle_workshop2011-06-01 10:08 pm
sai_salamander) wrote in moogle_workshop2011-06-01 10:08 pm
fic: Spira Infinita IX - Of Wings & Wind
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sai_salamander
Class: Thief
Chapter: IX - Of Wings & Wind
Summary: David Mitchell is a Summoner, Charlie Brooker and Robert Webb are his Guardians. This is their story. They take a different route to Yuna and Company, but it takes place around the same time, chronologically. There's also meetings with FFX characters, much about the Aeons and Fayth and how these are acquired and, I hope, lots of comedy &c.
The thing about boats, Charlie found, was that you never really got used to bobbing up and down like a rubber duck in the bath. Oh sure, eventually you got your sea legs and all that shit, but just as soon as you swapped back to the sanity of land again you were walking like you'd been buggered sideways with a battering ram the whole journey and looking like a total mentalist. It just wasn't natural.
It had taken Charlie half of the journey to the Moonflow to get his "sea legs" - in his case they were less sea legs and more vomitless legs - and he was feeling faintly disgusted about the whole process. Sure, he was fucking rejoicing for the sudden dearth of vomit in his life, but he couldn't help thinking that there was something worse coming along as a replacement. As it was, he spent most of his time on the deck anyway - the cabins were far too closed in for his liking, and the first night he'd stayed in one, on the way from Luca to Kilika, he'd spent the whole night imagining in great detail just how it would feel when Sin bashed their boat in and he got impaled on pieces of too-close wall and he just couldn't get out and that was not his idea of fun, thank you very much.
The ability to be sat on the deck, his legs hanging over the side and enjoying the breeze rather than hurling into it was definitely a new experience, and an enjoyable one at that. Charlie smiled up at David when he came to join him, shuffling over slightly to give him enough room to get his legs out between the railings.
"You look shockingly un-green today."
"I know, right? I don't know what happened. It's like I just woke up and my stomach lining'd taken a holiday from barfing up acid every two seconds. S'nice, really."
"I expect it is. I must admit, I was sort of wondering how long it was until you actually puked up your lungs or something."
"At least if I'd have done that, you'd have had something to lob at Sin. I mean, no one likes being hit in the nostril by a flying lung, right? Job done. Who needs a Final Aeon anyway?" Shit. Why did you mention the Final Aeon, you insensitive prick? Quick, change the subject! "Er. So how long is it til we get to the Moonflow?"
"I keep seeing it in my dreams," David said, quietly. He stared at the horizon. "Sin. And all I can hear is destruction, and the Hymn. Always the fucking Hymn. You're dead, you know. In my dreams. And Rob. And-" his voice broke. "I fail." He laughed - a bitter sound - and Charlie's heart contracted painfully.
Charlie bumped David with his upper arm, but he didn't move away afterwards. He leaned his head on David's shoulder and they sat in silence, not heeding the chilling wind or the fact that it soon started to rain heavily.
sai_salamander Class: Thief
Chapter: IX - Of Wings & Wind
Summary: David Mitchell is a Summoner, Charlie Brooker and Robert Webb are his Guardians. This is their story. They take a different route to Yuna and Company, but it takes place around the same time, chronologically. There's also meetings with FFX characters, much about the Aeons and Fayth and how these are acquired and, I hope, lots of comedy &c.
Chapter Summary: Besaid, the acquiring of Valefor of the wind and a journey on a Shoopuf.
Characters/Pairings: Yuna, Rin, all the Aeons, FFX party, random OCs. No pairings at first; but it's gearing towards Brooker/Mitchell.
Chapter word count: 3353
Cumulative word count: 14,453
Rating/warnings: Whatever rating there is for massive bad language, cos these guys are sweary mofos, yo. And also, I think this bears warning for, at some point there may what you could definitely call gay sex.
Charlie liked Besaid. It was quiet and small, and people didn't have huge expectations of him. Being on an island probably had its benefits when it came to hiding out from angry Yevonites. He suspected that they didn't get very updated news, and the range of publications probably wasn't massive, either. Although, he thought, that hasn't stopped the bloody Monks giving me the evil eye. Suspicious bastards.
The interior of the Temple was as peaceful as the village itself. Grey statues lined the walls; the latest of which, Charlie knew, was the High Summoner Braska's likeness. The father of the Summoner they had met at Mi'ihen, and the bringer of the last Calm. Charlie knew his story inside and out - there was some sort of fascination with Pilgrimages for him, and what it was that lay at their ending, so far away in Zanarkand.
Charlie sat on the floor, legs crossed, while David and Rob prayed before High Summoner Braska. When they were finished, they joined him on the floor. There was no-one to give them disapproving looks save the door guard, stood to one side of the opening into the Cloister. Charlie ignored him, a skill he'd picked up and perfected years ago. "All done?" he asked. A redundant question, but it broke the silence of the Temple adequately.
"Yes, I think so," David replied, tucking his feet underneath the excess material of his robe. He sat neatly, unlike Rob, who spread his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his hands. "You know, I think I might be okay to carry straight on after Valefor," he said, looking at his hands. The skin on his fingers had started the healing process, which could have taken a fraction of the time had David used his magic to help it along, but he had adamantly refused when Rob suggested it. Charlie reckoned that he was letting them heal on their own as some sort of offering to Ifrit, but he had a suspicion that there was some sort of underlying stubbornness and pride behind it, too. Like the way that he was reluctant to fully rely on Rob and Charlie as his Guardians, almost as if he thought they'd let him down, somehow, or as if he was afraid to get too close to them and bare a part of himself that he kept locked away.
I doubt you'll be in perfect condition after Valefor, Charlie thought, sourly. Fucking Aeons're almost more trouble than they're worth. "If you think so," he said, doubtfully. "She is the third though."
"Half way," Rob said.
"Almost more than half way." David settled his hands into his lap, palms upwards, careful to not let the healing skin touch anything. He'd essentially been out of commission since Ifrit. It's hard to hit a Fiend with your staff if your fingers are all skinned so raw you can't even touch it. The only shining light about being on the boat from Kilika was that there were almost guaranteed no battles. Unless Sin decided to strike, and if that was the case, they were pretty much fucked anyway. Sin didn't care much for being poked with a Summoning staff.
"Yeah, so after Valefor there'll only be Shiva and Bahamut left."
"Unless we're planning on exploring after those rumours," Rob said with a grimace. "Although saying that, I don't fancy our chances."
"I heard there was a Fayth in a cave somewhere near the Calm Lands," Charlie said, resting his head in his hands. "But I agree with Rob. There's bloody Tonberrys down there, not to mention Ghosts and all sorts of nasty fuckers."
"I knew someone who got on the wrong side of a Magick Pot." David's brow crinkled as he tried to conjure up the memory. "Sirius de Something."
"What happened to him?" Probably never seen again, Charlie thought. Fucking Pot probably ate the poor bastard and then spat out his shoes.
"He legged it." David smiled. "You would almost think he'd learned a lesson from you, Charlie."
"Cheeky bastard." Charlie shoved David's shoulder. "I'll have you know I wrote the fucking manual, damn right he learnt a lesson from me."
David laughed, loud and startling, and the door guard glared in their direction.
Rob grinned. "I don't think we're meant to be laughing, you know." He pulled a serious face. "Got to be stern, like him!" He nodded violently in the direction of the guard.
David's shoulders shook from trying to hold in his laughter. "Shh," he said, flapping a hand at Rob. "He won't let us into the Cloister if you piss him off!"
"Does he really look like he can stop us?" Charlie smirked. The guard was massive - he looked like a Blitzballer from his dress - and he had a rather magnificent glower currently attached to his face, which was partially covered by a metal mask in the shape of a hooked beak. "We all know Blitzballers can't stand up to the might of us."
Rob sniggered. "Yeah, he's probably heard about that team in Luca you decimated, Charlie."
"Precisely."
"The Fayth is ready for you, Lord Summoner Mitchell," the guard said. His voice was as large as his stature, and it echoed around the empty Temple strangely. He performed a prayer, and then walked down the short flight of stairs, where he stood pointedly, looking down both his nose and his beak at the group.
"Okay," said David, getting to his feet. "Are you two ready for the Trials?"
"As ready as you can be," said Charlie. He stood next to Rob, and they followed David up the stairs and into the Cloister of Trials.
It was cooler inside than Ifrit's had been, darker than Ixion's, but there was a distinct wind that was almost instantly noticeable. Charlie shivered, and wrapped his arms around himself. "It's a bit draughty in here," he complained. "I bet there's some Monks hidden in the walls with a load of giant bellows, just to fuck with us."
"Sounds about right," Rob agreed. "Here look, there's a Sphere in this door." He picked it out of the hollow and handed it to Charlie. "You keep hold of that one and I'll get the next one, okay?"
"Alright. David, keep an eye out for this sigil." Charlie held out the glowing white Besaid Sphere for David to see. "Shouldn't be too far away, I don't think."
David looked at the sigil and smiled. "This Cloister isn't very big, I'll go and have a look." Charlie looked dubious, and David batted him with the back of his hand. "Nothing's going to leap out and eat me, don't worry." He set off before Charlie could protest, his staff strapped diagonally across his back and the colours of his robes the brightest thing in their immediate world. He disappeared around the corner, and Charlie's heart fluttered embarrassingly with worry. Stop being so fucking irrational, you idiot. He's not going to get swallowed up by a Pot. Oh shit, he could get swallowed up by a Pot! Charlie set off in an undignified run and collided with David, who was rounding the corner to come back to them.
"Ow, fuck Charlie, what are you doing?"
"I thought there was a Pot," he mumbled, just as Rob appeared at his back with another Besaid Sphere.
"No, there's no Pots in Cloisters, idiot. There isn't even a tiny little spider in Cloisters. Yevon, anyone would think you'd been mugged in one of these places the way you're acting." Rob held out the Sphere. "Anyway, I found another one. I doubt there's any more."
"I have the last one," David said, holding out a different kind of Sphere. "It's a Glyph Sphere, see? Where did you get that first Besaid one from?"
Rob pointed to the second door they'd come through, and David took his Sphere over there. "Just stick this one in here and aah, there we go." David smiled triumphantly as the wall to his left lit up in a complex shape. He reached out to touch it and then drew back his hand with a hiss as the painful skin on his fingers caught on the rough wall. "Ow," he said, shaking his hand to dispel the pain.
Charlie looked disapproving. "I do wish you'd use a Cure on that, David."
"Shh," David said. "I can hear a door opening. Come on!" He set off back down the corridor, not looking back to see whether Charlie and Rob were following him. "There we go. Charlie, yours goes in there," he pointed at a pillar about waist-high, "and yours goes in that hole there, Rob," he pointed again to a setting that the Glyph Sphere had revealed.
Charlie and Rob placed their Spheres and then the wind grew in intensity as the final door of the Trials opened. "See, I told you it would be easy." David shot a smile at Charlie, but it wasn't enough to hide the nervousness that sparked behind his eyes.
Valefor's was the most different Fayth he'd seen yet. He knew from listening to Charlie's stories that she had been a young girl before she was a Fayth. Just a child, dreaming of wings and wind and trusting to her faith. Her wings were huge, and beautiful like nothing he'd ever seen. It would be so easy to underestimate her power, so easy to simply not try as hard, but David gathered his resolve and began the ritual of praying and motion and hoping.
It was chilly in the Chamber of the Fayth - that damned wind again - and David crooked a little smile thinking of what Charlie's reaction would be, his concentration broken for a split second.
Aeons are proud souls; their Fayths even more so. They do not suffer anything but pure will and faith.
The wind increased until it was near shrieking, tearing at David's robes until they flapped crazily about him. He felt like he was about to take off, but he squared his feet and tried to bring his body mass lower to the ground, like Rob had taught him. It seemed to help a little bit, or at least, he caught his balance and was in a bit less danger of being knocked right off his feet. The wind did not cease. If anything, it seemed to react to his new stance by redoubling its efforts in both noise and power.
It took every ounce of David's not-inconsiderable willpower for him to not clamp his hands over his ears when the pressure built, but he focused all his efforts on the motions of the prayer and managed to achieve a sort of odd detachment from the situation. He was aware of the pain, but the feelings that came with it were far away, as if muffled by leathery wings, just as he was aware that something wasn't quite right about his body. A massive shock-wave made him stagger back a pace, but it didn't appear to have done any damage, so he continued with his prayers until a small, child-like voice filled his mind.
"You have not unprodigious power, Summoner. So be it."
With pride, David noted that he had not fallen over this time. The concentration wore off, and he was made suddenly and painfully aware of what felt like a whole-body bruise. He winced with every step it took him to reach the Anteroom. It felt like he'd been caught in a massive vice for a week. He smiled weakly as Charlie and Rob came rushing over. Their worry was gratifying - it made him feel like he was a person and not just an Aeon-jar.
He saw Charlie's lips move, and then again, more urgently. Rob just looked at him, his stark white face standing out in the gloom. "What's the matter with you two?" David said. Oh. "Can you hear me?"
Charlie nodded rapidly. He reached out and took David's head between his hands, turning it gently to the left and then to the right. He made a wiping motion and brought his fingers in front of David's face. Blood. There was blood all over Charlie's fingers. "Fuck, am I bleeding?" David exclaimed. Charlie nodded again. And then it dawned on him. It wasn't his voice that was the problem. "I-it was the wind," he said.
Charlie's hand was still cradling his face, David noticed slowly. It was as if his brain was stuffed with cotton as well as his ears; all he could do was stare dumbly back at Charlie, whose fingers were twitching in his hair. Charlie's eyes widened and he snatched his hand away as if he just realised where it was. Charlie turned to Rob and they both glanced at him before breaking out into what David assumed was a heated conversation. He imagined there was shouting to accompany the hand-gestures.
They appeared to come to an agreement. Charlie took hold of David's left wrist and Rob took his right, and they led him out of the Anteroom like an invalid. I'm bloody deaf not blind, he wanted to yell, but he kept his mouth shut and allowed them to take him to the biggest hut in Besaid. He assumed that the woman sat cross-legged behind her low table was a shopkeeper, and he was proved right when Charlie handed over an obscene amount of gil for a small package, which the woman slid across the table with a wide grin.
Rob said something to David, his mouth moving meaninglessly before he caught himself and stopped, a flush of red creeping over his face. It was dark outside now, David noticed, and when he looked back at Rob he saw that one of them had got a notebook - probably one of Charlie's - and scribbled in it.
We got you a Remedy, it said. There was a little picture of a smiling stick man underneath, with what could either be a thumbs up on the end of his hand or some sort of pastry.
Charlie said something with a wry look on his face and Rob looked like he found it incredibly amusing. Holding out the Remedy, Charlie made a thumbs up gesture as David took it and examined the instructions, which were incredibly simple. He pulled out the stopper from the Remedy and swallowed the whole dose. It tasted faintly of lemons and flowers, and it burned right at the back of his throat. He coughed, hard, and then something went pop and all the sound poured into his ears. Besaid was far from peaceful when you've just recovered from being deafened by a pissed off Aeon. David could hear a dog barking and some children running around; the wind rustling leaves and the rattle of a spinning wheel in one of the other tents. He exhaled and smiled shakily at Charlie and Rob, who were looking as on edge as a tight-rope walker. He held up a thumb and Charlie grinned in relief.
"Thank fuck for that," Charlie said.
"Yeah," said Rob. "If you'd have carried on like that we'd have been deafened in a week with all your shouting."
David mock-glared, and bumped Rob with his shoulder. "Piss off," he said loudly.
Rob grimaced and twiddled a finger in his ear. "What did you say?" he yelled, and David dissolved into laughter.
Characters/Pairings: Yuna, Rin, all the Aeons, FFX party, random OCs. No pairings at first; but it's gearing towards Brooker/Mitchell.
Chapter word count: 3353
Cumulative word count: 14,453
Rating/warnings: Whatever rating there is for massive bad language, cos these guys are sweary mofos, yo. And also, I think this bears warning for, at some point there may what you could definitely call gay sex.
Charlie liked Besaid. It was quiet and small, and people didn't have huge expectations of him. Being on an island probably had its benefits when it came to hiding out from angry Yevonites. He suspected that they didn't get very updated news, and the range of publications probably wasn't massive, either. Although, he thought, that hasn't stopped the bloody Monks giving me the evil eye. Suspicious bastards.
The interior of the Temple was as peaceful as the village itself. Grey statues lined the walls; the latest of which, Charlie knew, was the High Summoner Braska's likeness. The father of the Summoner they had met at Mi'ihen, and the bringer of the last Calm. Charlie knew his story inside and out - there was some sort of fascination with Pilgrimages for him, and what it was that lay at their ending, so far away in Zanarkand.
Charlie sat on the floor, legs crossed, while David and Rob prayed before High Summoner Braska. When they were finished, they joined him on the floor. There was no-one to give them disapproving looks save the door guard, stood to one side of the opening into the Cloister. Charlie ignored him, a skill he'd picked up and perfected years ago. "All done?" he asked. A redundant question, but it broke the silence of the Temple adequately.
"Yes, I think so," David replied, tucking his feet underneath the excess material of his robe. He sat neatly, unlike Rob, who spread his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his hands. "You know, I think I might be okay to carry straight on after Valefor," he said, looking at his hands. The skin on his fingers had started the healing process, which could have taken a fraction of the time had David used his magic to help it along, but he had adamantly refused when Rob suggested it. Charlie reckoned that he was letting them heal on their own as some sort of offering to Ifrit, but he had a suspicion that there was some sort of underlying stubbornness and pride behind it, too. Like the way that he was reluctant to fully rely on Rob and Charlie as his Guardians, almost as if he thought they'd let him down, somehow, or as if he was afraid to get too close to them and bare a part of himself that he kept locked away.
I doubt you'll be in perfect condition after Valefor, Charlie thought, sourly. Fucking Aeons're almost more trouble than they're worth. "If you think so," he said, doubtfully. "She is the third though."
"Half way," Rob said.
"Almost more than half way." David settled his hands into his lap, palms upwards, careful to not let the healing skin touch anything. He'd essentially been out of commission since Ifrit. It's hard to hit a Fiend with your staff if your fingers are all skinned so raw you can't even touch it. The only shining light about being on the boat from Kilika was that there were almost guaranteed no battles. Unless Sin decided to strike, and if that was the case, they were pretty much fucked anyway. Sin didn't care much for being poked with a Summoning staff.
"Yeah, so after Valefor there'll only be Shiva and Bahamut left."
"Unless we're planning on exploring after those rumours," Rob said with a grimace. "Although saying that, I don't fancy our chances."
"I heard there was a Fayth in a cave somewhere near the Calm Lands," Charlie said, resting his head in his hands. "But I agree with Rob. There's bloody Tonberrys down there, not to mention Ghosts and all sorts of nasty fuckers."
"I knew someone who got on the wrong side of a Magick Pot." David's brow crinkled as he tried to conjure up the memory. "Sirius de Something."
"What happened to him?" Probably never seen again, Charlie thought. Fucking Pot probably ate the poor bastard and then spat out his shoes.
"He legged it." David smiled. "You would almost think he'd learned a lesson from you, Charlie."
"Cheeky bastard." Charlie shoved David's shoulder. "I'll have you know I wrote the fucking manual, damn right he learnt a lesson from me."
David laughed, loud and startling, and the door guard glared in their direction.
Rob grinned. "I don't think we're meant to be laughing, you know." He pulled a serious face. "Got to be stern, like him!" He nodded violently in the direction of the guard.
David's shoulders shook from trying to hold in his laughter. "Shh," he said, flapping a hand at Rob. "He won't let us into the Cloister if you piss him off!"
"Does he really look like he can stop us?" Charlie smirked. The guard was massive - he looked like a Blitzballer from his dress - and he had a rather magnificent glower currently attached to his face, which was partially covered by a metal mask in the shape of a hooked beak. "We all know Blitzballers can't stand up to the might of us."
Rob sniggered. "Yeah, he's probably heard about that team in Luca you decimated, Charlie."
"Precisely."
"The Fayth is ready for you, Lord Summoner Mitchell," the guard said. His voice was as large as his stature, and it echoed around the empty Temple strangely. He performed a prayer, and then walked down the short flight of stairs, where he stood pointedly, looking down both his nose and his beak at the group.
"Okay," said David, getting to his feet. "Are you two ready for the Trials?"
"As ready as you can be," said Charlie. He stood next to Rob, and they followed David up the stairs and into the Cloister of Trials.
- - -
It was cooler inside than Ifrit's had been, darker than Ixion's, but there was a distinct wind that was almost instantly noticeable. Charlie shivered, and wrapped his arms around himself. "It's a bit draughty in here," he complained. "I bet there's some Monks hidden in the walls with a load of giant bellows, just to fuck with us."
"Sounds about right," Rob agreed. "Here look, there's a Sphere in this door." He picked it out of the hollow and handed it to Charlie. "You keep hold of that one and I'll get the next one, okay?"
"Alright. David, keep an eye out for this sigil." Charlie held out the glowing white Besaid Sphere for David to see. "Shouldn't be too far away, I don't think."
David looked at the sigil and smiled. "This Cloister isn't very big, I'll go and have a look." Charlie looked dubious, and David batted him with the back of his hand. "Nothing's going to leap out and eat me, don't worry." He set off before Charlie could protest, his staff strapped diagonally across his back and the colours of his robes the brightest thing in their immediate world. He disappeared around the corner, and Charlie's heart fluttered embarrassingly with worry. Stop being so fucking irrational, you idiot. He's not going to get swallowed up by a Pot. Oh shit, he could get swallowed up by a Pot! Charlie set off in an undignified run and collided with David, who was rounding the corner to come back to them.
"Ow, fuck Charlie, what are you doing?"
"I thought there was a Pot," he mumbled, just as Rob appeared at his back with another Besaid Sphere.
"No, there's no Pots in Cloisters, idiot. There isn't even a tiny little spider in Cloisters. Yevon, anyone would think you'd been mugged in one of these places the way you're acting." Rob held out the Sphere. "Anyway, I found another one. I doubt there's any more."
"I have the last one," David said, holding out a different kind of Sphere. "It's a Glyph Sphere, see? Where did you get that first Besaid one from?"
Rob pointed to the second door they'd come through, and David took his Sphere over there. "Just stick this one in here and aah, there we go." David smiled triumphantly as the wall to his left lit up in a complex shape. He reached out to touch it and then drew back his hand with a hiss as the painful skin on his fingers caught on the rough wall. "Ow," he said, shaking his hand to dispel the pain.
Charlie looked disapproving. "I do wish you'd use a Cure on that, David."
"Shh," David said. "I can hear a door opening. Come on!" He set off back down the corridor, not looking back to see whether Charlie and Rob were following him. "There we go. Charlie, yours goes in there," he pointed at a pillar about waist-high, "and yours goes in that hole there, Rob," he pointed again to a setting that the Glyph Sphere had revealed.
Charlie and Rob placed their Spheres and then the wind grew in intensity as the final door of the Trials opened. "See, I told you it would be easy." David shot a smile at Charlie, but it wasn't enough to hide the nervousness that sparked behind his eyes.
- - -
Valefor's was the most different Fayth he'd seen yet. He knew from listening to Charlie's stories that she had been a young girl before she was a Fayth. Just a child, dreaming of wings and wind and trusting to her faith. Her wings were huge, and beautiful like nothing he'd ever seen. It would be so easy to underestimate her power, so easy to simply not try as hard, but David gathered his resolve and began the ritual of praying and motion and hoping.
It was chilly in the Chamber of the Fayth - that damned wind again - and David crooked a little smile thinking of what Charlie's reaction would be, his concentration broken for a split second.
Aeons are proud souls; their Fayths even more so. They do not suffer anything but pure will and faith.
The wind increased until it was near shrieking, tearing at David's robes until they flapped crazily about him. He felt like he was about to take off, but he squared his feet and tried to bring his body mass lower to the ground, like Rob had taught him. It seemed to help a little bit, or at least, he caught his balance and was in a bit less danger of being knocked right off his feet. The wind did not cease. If anything, it seemed to react to his new stance by redoubling its efforts in both noise and power.
It took every ounce of David's not-inconsiderable willpower for him to not clamp his hands over his ears when the pressure built, but he focused all his efforts on the motions of the prayer and managed to achieve a sort of odd detachment from the situation. He was aware of the pain, but the feelings that came with it were far away, as if muffled by leathery wings, just as he was aware that something wasn't quite right about his body. A massive shock-wave made him stagger back a pace, but it didn't appear to have done any damage, so he continued with his prayers until a small, child-like voice filled his mind.
"You have not unprodigious power, Summoner. So be it."
With pride, David noted that he had not fallen over this time. The concentration wore off, and he was made suddenly and painfully aware of what felt like a whole-body bruise. He winced with every step it took him to reach the Anteroom. It felt like he'd been caught in a massive vice for a week. He smiled weakly as Charlie and Rob came rushing over. Their worry was gratifying - it made him feel like he was a person and not just an Aeon-jar.
He saw Charlie's lips move, and then again, more urgently. Rob just looked at him, his stark white face standing out in the gloom. "What's the matter with you two?" David said. Oh. "Can you hear me?"
Charlie nodded rapidly. He reached out and took David's head between his hands, turning it gently to the left and then to the right. He made a wiping motion and brought his fingers in front of David's face. Blood. There was blood all over Charlie's fingers. "Fuck, am I bleeding?" David exclaimed. Charlie nodded again. And then it dawned on him. It wasn't his voice that was the problem. "I-it was the wind," he said.
Charlie's hand was still cradling his face, David noticed slowly. It was as if his brain was stuffed with cotton as well as his ears; all he could do was stare dumbly back at Charlie, whose fingers were twitching in his hair. Charlie's eyes widened and he snatched his hand away as if he just realised where it was. Charlie turned to Rob and they both glanced at him before breaking out into what David assumed was a heated conversation. He imagined there was shouting to accompany the hand-gestures.
They appeared to come to an agreement. Charlie took hold of David's left wrist and Rob took his right, and they led him out of the Anteroom like an invalid. I'm bloody deaf not blind, he wanted to yell, but he kept his mouth shut and allowed them to take him to the biggest hut in Besaid. He assumed that the woman sat cross-legged behind her low table was a shopkeeper, and he was proved right when Charlie handed over an obscene amount of gil for a small package, which the woman slid across the table with a wide grin.
Rob said something to David, his mouth moving meaninglessly before he caught himself and stopped, a flush of red creeping over his face. It was dark outside now, David noticed, and when he looked back at Rob he saw that one of them had got a notebook - probably one of Charlie's - and scribbled in it.
We got you a Remedy, it said. There was a little picture of a smiling stick man underneath, with what could either be a thumbs up on the end of his hand or some sort of pastry.
Charlie said something with a wry look on his face and Rob looked like he found it incredibly amusing. Holding out the Remedy, Charlie made a thumbs up gesture as David took it and examined the instructions, which were incredibly simple. He pulled out the stopper from the Remedy and swallowed the whole dose. It tasted faintly of lemons and flowers, and it burned right at the back of his throat. He coughed, hard, and then something went pop and all the sound poured into his ears. Besaid was far from peaceful when you've just recovered from being deafened by a pissed off Aeon. David could hear a dog barking and some children running around; the wind rustling leaves and the rattle of a spinning wheel in one of the other tents. He exhaled and smiled shakily at Charlie and Rob, who were looking as on edge as a tight-rope walker. He held up a thumb and Charlie grinned in relief.
"Thank fuck for that," Charlie said.
"Yeah," said Rob. "If you'd have carried on like that we'd have been deafened in a week with all your shouting."
David mock-glared, and bumped Rob with his shoulder. "Piss off," he said loudly.
Rob grimaced and twiddled a finger in his ear. "What did you say?" he yelled, and David dissolved into laughter.
The thing about boats, Charlie found, was that you never really got used to bobbing up and down like a rubber duck in the bath. Oh sure, eventually you got your sea legs and all that shit, but just as soon as you swapped back to the sanity of land again you were walking like you'd been buggered sideways with a battering ram the whole journey and looking like a total mentalist. It just wasn't natural.
It had taken Charlie half of the journey to the Moonflow to get his "sea legs" - in his case they were less sea legs and more vomitless legs - and he was feeling faintly disgusted about the whole process. Sure, he was fucking rejoicing for the sudden dearth of vomit in his life, but he couldn't help thinking that there was something worse coming along as a replacement. As it was, he spent most of his time on the deck anyway - the cabins were far too closed in for his liking, and the first night he'd stayed in one, on the way from Luca to Kilika, he'd spent the whole night imagining in great detail just how it would feel when Sin bashed their boat in and he got impaled on pieces of too-close wall and he just couldn't get out and that was not his idea of fun, thank you very much.
The ability to be sat on the deck, his legs hanging over the side and enjoying the breeze rather than hurling into it was definitely a new experience, and an enjoyable one at that. Charlie smiled up at David when he came to join him, shuffling over slightly to give him enough room to get his legs out between the railings.
"You look shockingly un-green today."
"I know, right? I don't know what happened. It's like I just woke up and my stomach lining'd taken a holiday from barfing up acid every two seconds. S'nice, really."
"I expect it is. I must admit, I was sort of wondering how long it was until you actually puked up your lungs or something."
"At least if I'd have done that, you'd have had something to lob at Sin. I mean, no one likes being hit in the nostril by a flying lung, right? Job done. Who needs a Final Aeon anyway?" Shit. Why did you mention the Final Aeon, you insensitive prick? Quick, change the subject! "Er. So how long is it til we get to the Moonflow?"
"I keep seeing it in my dreams," David said, quietly. He stared at the horizon. "Sin. And all I can hear is destruction, and the Hymn. Always the fucking Hymn. You're dead, you know. In my dreams. And Rob. And-" his voice broke. "I fail." He laughed - a bitter sound - and Charlie's heart contracted painfully.
Charlie bumped David with his upper arm, but he didn't move away afterwards. He leaned his head on David's shoulder and they sat in silence, not heeding the chilling wind or the fact that it soon started to rain heavily.
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POINTS
Ah, I'm not sure if I had commented to your earlier chapters or not...but I really do enjoy reading this fic. It's a brilliant crossover, and I loved how you combined the characters and dynamics into the FFX world/setting. It makes for a really entertaining read. Great job! ♥