The Path to Sin (Ikken Isshu + Griselda Banks)

[Griselda Banks]

Eddora immediately straightened. "No!" she said fiercely before she even gave herself time to think. She checked herself, wondering silently why she had made such a reaction. Something had seemed to leap in her chest, like a mother defending a malformed child. Valefor isn't 'malformed'! she angrily growled at herself.

Giving herself a mental shake, Ed returned to the topic at hand. "Could Valefor do something like that? Could an aeon change the...threads or whatever they are? And why would she do that anyway?" Ed hugged herself and looked out to sea. She didn't like this one bit. Nothing was going the way it was supposed to. One thing after another.... It would be a miracle if they lasted even to Macalania.

When Ed heard approaching footsteps, she jumped slightly, then relaxed when she saw it was only Calaman. "Hey," she said, frowning. "You're supposed to be in bed, you know. Ah, never mind. You don't look half so pale anymore."  

[Ikken Isshu]

"I don't know," Aer muttered as if to himself. Calaman raised an eyebrow. "I hate to say it, but I just don't know. If I knew more about Spellsword, maybe. But like I said, I've never heard of anything even remotely like this."

Calaman tilted his head a little. "My master, Althemen, knows a lot about Spellsword," he offered. "That's where I learned it... Well, what I know about it. Which isn't much, obviously. But he's very skilled at it."

Aer glanced over at Eddora, then back to Calaman. "But that would mean he lives in Bevelle, wouldn't it?" He frowned, and again looked to Eddora. Calaman spoke up again before Aer could suggest anything.

"I don't think we need to go consult with him or anything. I mean, if another problem crops up later, yes, but I honestly feel well. Better than ever, actually."

"It's never a good sign when someone says that," Aer muttered, "but I'll leave the decision up to Eddora. We'll never finish the pilgrimage if we're licking our wounds the whole way."

Calaman's face fell at that comment, but Aer, who was looking out at the ocean again, didn't notice.

 

[Griselda Banks]

Eddora hesitated, looking from Calaman to Aer and back again. Her first thought was to agree with Aer, rush right off to Bevelle, and demand some answers out of this Althemen person. Calaman's little 'accident' had unnerved her quite a bit, especially since even a magic user like Aer had no idea what precisely had happened. For all she knew, Calaman could drop down dead in an hour with no prior warning.

But then Ed looked at Calaman's face - really looked - and found herself thinking twice about what going to Bevelle would mean. They would lose so much time to go so far out of their way, and most likely Calaman would beat himself up over it, since they would do it because of him. And then the thought of Oebr reaching Zanarkand before them made up her mind. "No," she said, turning her gaze from Calaman's face at last to look back at Aer. "Let's continue on our way; we'll get to Bevelle eventually anyway. We can try to hurry, at least." A thought struck her, and Ed's eyes slid back to Calaman. "And if something happens...it'll be my fault. I'll take responsibility." Of course, that won't be much good if he dies, she thought, but she didn't say that out loud.  

[Ikken Isshu]

Calaman drew himself up confidently. "With any luck, that won't be necessary," he announced.

"Now to our next concern," Aer said sourly. "We might be ready to go, but this ship is far from it. If I didn't know better, I'd say the captain is waiting for all the summoners to be done here. We're going to end up stuck with all of them for another trip. Maybe there's another ship we can catch."

As if on cue, one of the mates was passing by at that moment, and stopped. "The S.S. Liki makes port here in Besaid," he said helpfully, "and she's due by sundown today. She's a commercial passenger ship, so she'll be setting out tomorrow morning. This ship isn't scheduled to leave for another three days."

Aer's eyes narrowed. "You're telling me we have to book passage on another ship?" he said dangerously. Calaman put out a hand to quiet him.

"We're on a pilgrimage," Calaman said with a shrug. "They'll probably refuse to take our money, just as the captain of this ship did."

Aer grunted. "I'm not so much worried about the money as I am about the work involved." As if just remembering that the mate was there, he waved the man off irritably. Looking a little miffed, the mate absented himself.

"We didn't exactly bring a household with us," Calaman pointed out, and Aer shook his head, sighing loudly. He looked, again, to Eddora.

~

Yachesa approached her brother, fuming. This in itself was unusual, especially because neither of the twins tended to be particularly expressive with their emotions.

"Why did you speak with him?" she hissed.

"I merely told him - "

"I know what you told him, you dolt! You were to watch, observe. That's why you stayed behind."

Yachesen's eyes narrowed slightly. "I watched, and I observed. I saw something unusual in the boy. I was under the impression that he might know what it was. He appears not to know."

Yachesa raised her hand as if to strike her brother, then stopped herself, staring blankly at the hand. She lowered it slowly.

"I'm sorry," she said suddenly, miserably.

"Do not apologize," Yachesen said with a mild shrug. "You were concerned. I have alleviated that concern."

Yachesa's eyes fell. "Yachesen - "

"Sister. Please. You have done nothing wrong."

Unconvinced, the girl nodded. "Come. Oebr wishes to speak with us."

 

[Griselda Banks]

Eddora rolled her eyes. "We have to get another ship?" she asked in exasperation, not as if she needed to be told again. "Great," she fumed. "Now we're never gonna get away from all these riffraff summoners." With a sigh, she ran her hand through her messy hair and grumbled, "Well, come on guys, let's get our stuff."

Once they had gathered what few possessions they had brought with them, the three of them disembarked. Ed stood impatiently on the dock, glaring out to sea, but the sun was still high and the other ship was nowhere in sight. "Well, now what're we going to do?" she demanded.  

[Ikken Isshu]

Aer immediately broke into a lecherous grin. "We could always go swimming," he suggested slyly. Calaman instantly clonked him on the back of the head with the flat of his sword. Aer rubbed sullenly at his head while Calaman spoke.

"It's up to you," he said to Eddora, "but I don't think there is much danger here on the island. In the Cloister, sure, but out here, there's not much save a few weak fiends. We could just try to relax. We've barely started the pilgrimage, and we're all pretty tense already. We've all risked our lives several times, and I've gotten myself bedridden twice. Maybe we just need to slow down a little." He shrugged, to show that whatever he thought, he was still leaving the decision to her. He began to wonder if she might be getting tired of having all the decisions heaped onto her. Then again, she was the summoner.

 

[Griselda Banks]

"Yeah...slow down...go swimming...." Eddora snorted, rolling her eyes at Aer. "Pervert," she muttered, leading the way down from the dock onto the beach. She stopped a short distance away from the docks and plonked down onto the sand. "Well, I'd like to stay at the beach so we can get on that ship as soon as possible," she announced. "You two can do what you like, I guess, but I'm staying right here." As if to reinforce her point, she kicked off her sandals and dug her toes into the wet sand, watching absently as the surf seeped up over them, burying them deeper under the sand.

Ed sighed, then flopped onto her back. "I hate lying still," she grumbled, screwing up her eyes against the bright sun.  

[Ikken Isshu]

Aer and Calaman stood motionless for a moment, then almost comically glanced at each other.

Aer suddenly removed his cloak, looped it over his arm, stripped off his tunic, and dropped both of them in the sand. He kicked off his boots and sat down almost as if falling. He was a respectable distance from Eddora, about four and a half paces away.

"What are you doing?" Calaman asked.

"I'm relaxing," Aer said, and then announced, "The summoner has spoken in her infinite wisdom. I, for one, agree with her. It's practical, and it's enjoyable. Even if it doesn't involve any swimming," he added with a thoughtful finger on his chin.

Calaman grunted. After standing awkwardly for a few seconds, he unstrapped his sword and dropped it in the sand. He, though, didn't remove any of his clothing. He finally sat down, cross-legged, looking very out of place. He still couldn't keep his eyes from casting around, wary of any possible threats.

 

[Griselda Banks]

Ed frowned at Aer's words, annoyed. The sun was too bright in her eyes, so she shielded them in the crook of one arm. She remained in that position for a minute or two, her free hand absently digging through the hot sand.

Then Ed sighed loudly. "This is boring," she moaned, almost sounding like a little girl. "I wish something would happen."  

[Ikken Isshu]

Aer, eyes closed, started laughing. Calaman shot him a dark look, but the mage didn't even notice.

"Lady," Calaman spoke up, "If you like, I could bring you something. Food, maybe, or drink. Something to do. I wouldn't mind running into the village for you."

 

[Griselda Banks]

Eddora snorted. "I didn't say I was hungry," she snapped, but just then a loud growl emanated from her stomach. Grimacing, Ed chose not to look at either of them and hid her face in the crook of her arm. "Well, if you like being a groveling servant," she mumbled, her voice muffled, "be my guest."  

[Ikken Isshu]

Aer snickered, but Calaman, rising and affecting a deep, courtly bow, took it all in stride. The joke lit up his eyes.

"As you wish, milady," he intoned deeply, and then went to one knee, keeping his head bowed so low that Aer thought his neck must ache.

"What does milady desire to sate her palate?" Calaman asked formally. "Some local fish, perhaps, exquisitely baked in the salt of the sea? Or a vegetable dish lightly seasoned to utter perfection by the natives who have had generations to perfect their cuisine?"

Aer had fallen onto his back and was wheezing silently into his hand, and it was all Calaman could do to keep from laughing, though his face was anything but straight.

 

[Griselda Banks]

Eddora peered around her arm with one eye and glared at Calaman for a moment, before she vaulted into a sitting position. "All right, that's it!" she snapped, unwilling to admit that her mouth had watered at the mention of food. "You can't try to tell me you two aren't hungry as well! Not after all we went through in the temple!" She tried to look intimidating, but failed spectacularly, as the sand in her hair (which stood on end, sticking out in all directions) gave her quite a ridiculous appearance.  

[Ikken Isshu]

Aer threw his arms triumphantly into the air. "Fish it is, then!" he announced. "Good choice, good choice, summoner." He looked over at her and snickered at her appearance. Calaman unbuckled a piece of his leather armor and threw it at Aer, who batted it out of the air and then got to his feet. "To the buffet," he said in a stately manner. Calaman saw a brief flash of light, and then a cloud of mist erupted around him. Calaman was alarmed for a second, but the whirlwind of mist subsided, and Aer stood before them, scoured of the sand that had clung to him. His robes were sopping wet, but that was an unfortunate side effect.

"Shall we go?" he intoned. He headed over to where Eddora sat, and offered her a hand to help her up. Calaman clambered to his feet, ineffectually attempted to brush himself off, and went to where he'd thrown his armor. He picked up the leather pad, beat at it until enough sand fell out of it, and strapped it back onto his shoulder. From there, he turned to face the other two, put his fists on his hips, and tried not to laugh at the wet mage pretending to be a summoner's manservant.

((By the way, I've started reading Dune Messiah. I have only finished the first chapter, but something that has already struck me about it is that, unlike Dune, Dune Messiah is interesting from the very beginning. If you like the politics of the series, of course. There's a great conspiratorial discussion in the first chapter, with lots of intrigue and a pissed off Bene Gesserit. biggrin ))

 

[Griselda Banks]

Eddora narrowed her eyes at Aer's proffered hand, but her guardians' light spirits were slowly rubbing off on her, so she allowed herself a small smirk. Grabbing Aer's hand, she pulled herself with unnecessary force, tugging sharply on his arm. Not waiting to see whether he had fallen to the ground or not, she immediately began to march along the beach. "Come on, you guys, we don't have all day!" she called over her shoulder, undoing her ponytail and attempting to shake the sand out of her hair.