It was dawn when she awoke. The Griffin was still sleeping peacefully, Its wing folded at its sides. The girl stood and stretched, admitting herself a wide yawn. Ariac was short for her age, but feisty and quick. Her hair was pale gray, as was her tail. Her eyes were amber, but looked brown when the light struck them right. She wore a long-sleeved robe-like shirt, and a pair of baggy pants. She looked up at the sky; the sun was shining dimly through the Mist. The sounds of monsters moving through the forest stirred the Griffin, who started and woke. He saw that the girl was up.
"Why didn’t you wake me?"
"You looked so peaceful. It was cute."
The Griffin was obviously not used to being called ‘cute’. He shifted his weight and scanned the skies.
"How come you can hear me?" he asked.
"I don’t know." She sighed.
She looked at some Morning Glories growing on a tree.
"Those are pretty."
"Pretty?"
"That means you like to look at or hear something. You didn’t know what that meant?"
"No."
"What’s you name?"
"My name? I have none. What’s your name?
"Ariac."
That’s... how did you put it?"
"Pretty. Tee hee. I think so too."
"Why do you have a tail?"
Ariac shrugged. A Fang walked into the clearing, regarding the two with an air of nonchalance. The Griffin stretched, catlike, throwing his feet out in front and splaying his feathered tail out behind him. Ariac began to walk along the path she had cleared earlier, striking up conversation.
"What were you doing in Treno?"
"They had me in a cage."
"That’s terrible."
They walked in silence. It wasn’t long before they emerged from the forest, and the Griffin was startled. Before them was the dark plains surrounding Treno
"We’re going the wrong way!"
"No. I have to pass South Gate before I can get an airship. I have to get to that frozen continent way up north. I have a hunch I’ll be safe there." She sighed. The Griffin looked at her. If it had the power to grin, it would’ve.
"There is a quicker way."
"Really?!"
"I could carry you across. You’re a very small child. How old are you?"
"Ten."
"You look older. Do you want to try it?"
"Sure! But... won’t it attract attention?"
"It’s a lot safer then traveling by foot. Here, I’ll bend down. You climb up as if you were riding a horse, then lay down on my back. Wrap your arms around my neck and keep your head down."
Ariac struggled to mount the Griffin. Finally she resorted to climbing on a low branch and dropping from there. The Griffin walked about for a while, and Ariac had to shift her position to make the balance just right. They got it. The Griffin twisted his head so that he could look at the little girl perched on his back.
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
The Griffin took a running start. Ariac could feel the muscles moving beneath his feathers, she felt the power that such a creature possesses. He stopped short, crouched, and spread his wing wide. In that same motion he fluidly launched himself into the air, gaining height and gliding with the wind. Ariac had to shut her eyes against the sharp ascent. She felt coldness all around her. Chancing a glance, she saw they were rising through the Mists. They broke through, and Ariac could sit up. They were no longer rising. She moved back, so as not to hinder the flying abilities of her mount.
"Wow..."
"This is risky. If anyone sees us..."
As if a signal, the Griffin could make out the dark, bulky form of a huge airship making its way towards them. He tried to drop back down, but the ship was moving fast. It nearly rammed them. The Griffin was thrown off by the air currents.
"Hold on!"
He spun in midair, flapping his wings furiously. The ship moved unconsciously away, disappearing into the Mist. He hurtled forward, straightening out his flight.
"That was close." Ariac breathed.
"Don’t get comfortable. We’re not out of the woods yet."
He flew on, keeping a constant vigil. All passed for a while, uneventfully. Suddenly there was a roaring from behind. An airship had spotted them! The Griffin shot forward, attempting to outrun it. The ship was bigger and faster, though. It pursued. Ariac could dimly hear the exited shouts of men aboard. Obviously, they didn’t see her, and obviously they wanted that Griffin for a prize! An arrow hissed by, the speed of it was surprising.
"Crossbows!" The Griffin cried. "We’ll have to outmaneuver them!"
He folded his wings and plummeted, then rose sharply up. A few arrows followed their progress, but luckily all missed. The Griffin wheeled for a moment in the air, preparing to fall again, when several arrows found their mark. Two hit the Griffin, one hit Ariac. Both cried out in pain. The two arrows that hit the Griffin got him in his left wing, one went completely through. The one that hit Ariac got her in her shoulder. For a split second she loosened her grip. The Griffin felt it. He rose, calling to her,
"Don’t let go! Hold on tight!"
Ariac tightened her grip, and a searing pain tore through her side. But she didn’t let go. The Griffin wheeled sharply and fell once more. The arrows ceased. The Griffin didn’t stop, but hovered for a moment beneath the mist. Below the sea was raging. All was quiet. Ariac sat up, and unclenched her fist. Suddenly a javelin whizzed by; a chain attached to its end. The Griffin wheeled over and performed a somersault. Ariac was flung off. The Griffin dove for her, but another Javelin came, and this time it didn’t miss. It ended the Griffin’s life quickly.
Ariac fell, her pale hair whipping about her face. Her arm throbbed, her head ached. The wing stung her face. She landed hard into the seawater, the breath was knocked from her lung. She struggled to swim. She broke the surface, and took a deep breath. A high wave loomed over her, taking up her whole field of vision. It came crashing down, and Ariac’s world became enveloped in darkness.
She slipped into unconsciousness.
***
A pair of Goblin Mages scrambled along the sandy beaches near the Great Dead Forest of the Outer Continent. They had just successfully mugged a dwarf couple who had left Conde Petie.
"That was easy." One bragged, admiring a silver kitchen fork he had snagged.
"I’ll bet we can get some good stuff for these. C.Mage might even synth us something! All we need is a Mythril Dagger and we’ll be set."
The two slowed to a walk, steadily heading towards the forest. It was the biggest on the continent, and some say that things called the 'pointy hats' lived deep within. The Goblin Mages were only there for business.
"Hey, what’s that?!" the first one cried.
An object had washed up on the beach. It was small and crumpled, and there was no telling what it was. The two Goblin Mages hurried towards it, and saw it was a small human.
"Aw, dammit. It’ just a kid!" the second one sneered, kicking sand over it. The other one came closer, and knelt. The second one leaned on his drawn sword.
"Whaddya doin’?"
"I... think this is the one who can hear us!"
"What?!"
Both turned the girl over. She was still.
"Try a healing spell!"
One of the Goblin Mages drew back, and concentrated. He wasn’t too good at healing spells, but he managed to cast a White Wind. When the last sparkling emerald grain of dust had vanished, the Goblin Mages peered anxiously. The girl stirred. She raised her head and groaned. They now saw that a broken arrow was lodged in her shoulder. She sat up and leaned on her good arm.
"Hello." She said, turning to the first one.
"Uh.. Hi."
"Did you heal me?"
He nodded.
"Thank you."
The second one walked up and looked at her shoulder. "That looks bad. Probably a silver-tipped arrow, designed for big game. I think I can get it out." The girl held her arm out.
"D’ya mind if I cast sleep on ya? It’ll be a lot less painful."
"Go ahead." She croaked. The Goblin Mage had no trouble casting sleep. When the girl awoke, her arm was wrapped in dull brown material. The sky was dark and littered with stars and a bright silver moon. The Goblin Mages were sitting around a campfire, and she was near it also. The arrow was lying on the ground. The girl gaped when she saw it. It was huge!
"I see you’re awake. That was some big arrow."
"Y-yeah.."
"What’s your name?"
"Ariac."
"Hm." They were cooking something, though obviously it wasn’t going too well.
"Could you tell me where I am?"
"The Outer Continent, near the Great Dead forest."
Ariac sighed exasperatedly. One of the Goblin Mages took the charred meat off of the spit and sliced it neatly into three slices. Ariac took hers and chewed. It was rough.
"Could you tell me where the closest village is?"
"Probably Conde Petie. But that place is way uptight. The forest isn’t so bad."
"I thought you said it was dead."
"It is. But it has a lot of streams full of fish. I can’t see why plants don’t grow. You won’t have to worry about monsters."
Ariac nodded and chewed thoughtfully. The Goblins and Ariac chatted for a while, talking about good barter items, good deals, and generally Goblin Mage issues. Traders and thieves by nature. Until finally the question came.
"So, how’d you come here, anyway?"
Ariac took a deep breath and began her story.
***
Note: this is my first attempt at a serious FFIX fanifc. Feedback is greatly apprieciated. Send any comments to fupuntomuk@hotmail.com
Thanx!
~Chocobo Mage