Seishuku Skuld 
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Saidan no Hitsuji
Chapter Two: Cécité
(Blindness)
By Seishuku Skuld (skuldsai@magicgirl.com)
All
warnings are on the first chapter! Go there for warnings and random babbling
from me. ^_^ **grins** If you haven't noticed, I'm using several different
languages for titles! They were obtained thanks to Babelfish (no, I don't
actually speak all these languages), if there's anything wrong, please let me
know and I'll fix it pronto! ^_^
Some dialogue taken directly from the
game, courtesy of Ffnet.net. ^_^
Musical Inspiration: Bach's Brandenburg
Concerto No. 5
Handel's "La Giustizia" Aria
(How incredibly unfitting for
what I'm writing. ^^;;)
Chop Suey (System of a Down)
Awake
(Godsmack)
NOIR - Salva Nos
Interesting smattering of musical tastes, desu
ne? ^_~
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
nagareru namida wa mou karehate
chi ni
ueta kodoku
The flowing tears are already withering,
Blood from
starving loneliness.
- NOIR: Coppelia's CoffinSaidan no Hitsuji Part 2
There he
was, drunk off his ass, again. For the umpteenth time. I wasn't sure I had ever
seen him completely sober.
"What are you shooting at?" he growled, his
head rolling back into the reeds by the Moonflow. I was holding a sphere and
capturing the scene of him lying prostrate on the ground. It gave me a kind of
pleasure to know that I was preserving this memory of him, helpless and drunk
for all posterity.
"So you don't do anything stupid again," I retorted.
"I can't believe you attacked that shoopuf! Lord Braska had to pay the handler
damages from his own travel money."
"I said I was sorry!" Jecht
protested. He was probably starting to feel some of the after-effects of his
strong drink wearing off. I certainly hoped so; it was a morbid kind of glee.
"It's never gonna happen again! I promise!"
"Ah, a promise?" I growled,
trying my best not to sneer. Such an expression would not be fit in Braska's
peaceful presence. "A promise which you'll forget come tomorrow!" I stated
contemptuously. It was likely he'd forget his words the very next morning. I was
beginning to wonder why I hadn't pounded him into the ground yet. I still didn't
understand why Braska had insisted on dragging spare baggage like him
along.
"Auron, please," Braska interjected placing a gentle arm on my
shoulder to calm me down. He looked tired and worried. I frowned a bit at the
weariness which showed on his features. I would forget my quarrel with Jecht if
it would ease Braska's suffering. I gave a Jecht a meaningful glance which meant
he should shut up.
"He did apologize," Braska continued smoothly, "he
knows he was wrong."
I was not happy about backing down, but I think
Jecht caught my look. He stood up immediately, feigning that he was not as drunk
as he really was.
"That's it," he said in the steadiest voice he could
muster, "Only thing I drink from now on is shoopuf milk!"
"You're sure?"
Braska asked, a slow smile spreading across his face, temporarily washing away
the lines of worry which had covered his expression only moments before. It
appeared as if Jecht was surprising him, but I was unconvinced the drunkard was
genuine.
"We're on a journey to save Spira right?" he said. I rolled my
eyes and looked off to the side. He still didn't understand. He thought it was
all some sort of game or afternoon adventure. Braska didn't have the heart to
tell him the truth, and neither did I. It was a truth too painful to face.
"If I keep screwin' up...and...making a fool of myself..." I could tell
he was having trouble speaking. Then his voice faltered and I wondered if it was
the drink or something else.
"...my wife and kid are never going to
forgive me." Jecht hung his head after saying that, and became very quiet. But I
couldn't resist one last barb, it was too fitting for what he'd
done.
"That's on the record," I snorted. He would be lucky if he
remembered what he said in the morning, but I immediately regretted saying that.
Jecht was quiet for a long time afterward. He sat on the ground hugging his
knees tight, his gaze locked on a space in front of him, seeing a place and time
far away from here.
It was his wife and child, I knew. He would tell us
once about them sometimes, when he was feeling particularly cheerful and
obnoxious. I never believed those stories, just like the tale of his Zanarkand
he was either extremely delusional or imaginative. But when I saw him sit
silently that day, I knew it was true, everything he'd told us. Not that it made
tolerating him any easier.
"I'm sorry," Braska sighed, suddenly snapping
out of his own reverie. "We'll find some way to get your back to your family,
Jecht," he promised.
Jecht smiled wanly, his alcohol-clouded eyes
lighting up at the mention of his loved ones. But it wasn't long before sunk in
his reflective shell again, gazing off into a sky he didn't see.
"We
should be crossing the Moonflow as soon as a boat arrives," Braska murmured as
he turned back to the inn we were staying at. We were lucky the owner was kind
and accommodating, and offered us a room for free.
"If we have money to
pay the ferryman," I said. I looked over to Jecht to see if he heard my comment.
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and turned away, still silent. I
snorted and hoped we could once again count on the kindness of the people of
Spira.
Seishuku Skuld
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