Subj: [ffml] [MW] The Meeting with Bacca
Date: 98-11-15 07:19:52 EST
From: jandoc@hawaii.edu (Schala)
Reply-to: ffml@onelist.com
To: ffml@onelist.com
From: Schala
Well, in light of recent happenings, this post seems rather inappropriate,
but I already have several people breathing down my neck, so here goes.
*LOL*
(Chronological Note: Schala and Kaitlin had stayed at most a couple days
at the Moogle camp, while Lady was apparently stuck there for a month.
All the posts of Frog and co. have been happening while Lady was still
prisoner. Now this post happens after Lady is rescued, and as Bacca is
going to meet the Dark Alliance.)
Bacca was pensive as he and his delegation set out from Vector.
He knew this meeting was an important one, and could be a turning point in
the war. But something just felt *wrong* about it all. Perhaps it was
just his wariness coming into play; he didn't trust the Moogles one bit.
But, well, he had agreed to this meeting, so he was going.
Still, it was his motto to be prepared, and he had sent out
several scouts to spy out the course ahead. So far they found nothing,
but Bacca refused to let his guard down.
A few days passed without incident. Then the scouts returned one
afternoon with a report.
"Sir," the scout said, "we have sighted the remains of a camp a
few hundred meters ahead."
Bacca frowned slightly and stood up. "Any indication of who might
have used it?" he asked.
"None, sir."
"Hmm." He mounted his chocobo. "Let's check it out."
He rode off, the scouts following behind him.
"I hear something," Glenn said suddenly.
The women looked up. "I don't sense anything..." Kaitlin said.
Schala cocked her head and looked inquisitively at him.
Glenn looked around, wondering if he were just imagining things.
Then the sounds came distinctly: the steady rustling of several chocobos.
The three of them stopped in alarm. "Do Moogles use chocobos?"
Glenn asked, drawing his sword.
"I don't care," Schala said, and she rushed into the trees and
ducked down behind the tall undergrowth.
"Hmm...I'd do the same, but we're too close to Vector, and I'm
sure no one's been following us," Kaitlin said. "I'll bet it's just a
routine patrol sent out by Bacca."
The chocobos rode into view. Kaitlin smiled, and Glenn sheathed
his sword in relief. It was Bacca.
The High Lord brought his chocobo to a halt. He looked
suspiciously at Glenn, until he saw Kaitlin standing near him. Bacca
quickly dismounted. "Kaitlin!" he exclaimed. "But who...?"
"This is Frog," Kaitlin said quickly. "His name is Glenn,
actually...He was transformed into a frog, but now the spell has been
removed."
Bacca smiled. "Well, now!" He offered his hand, which Glenn
shook. "Sir Glenn, I congratulate you on your fortune."
The swordsman smiled as well. "I thank you, High Lord," he said.
Bacca turned to the Druidess and hugged her warmly. "My god...you
don't know how worried I was about you, especially when reports came back
that you were no longer at the Moogle camp..."
"We're fine," Kaitlin replied, hugging him back.
"Schala, it's only Bacca," Glenn called while the other two
talked. "Come out."
Schala had seen Bacca arrive. She had moved so that she was a
beside the chocobos, from where she now emerged. The Henricksons still
mounted saw her and nodded. The Mystic walked slowly to where the other
three stood.
"Is Schala with you?" Bacca was asking Glenn anxiously.
Schala stopped a ways behind the High Lord, a little ashamed at
hearing her name.
Glenn nodded. "She's right behind you," he murmured.
Bacca turned around. She bowed her head as he came toward her.
He stood in front of her. "How are you?" he asked softly. His
tone was more serious, more formal. He was glad to see she was safe, but
something in her manner made him feel different in his welcome approach.
The Mystic looked up at him. His eyes were gentle, but as she
looked into them, her own saddened. She couldn't keep the gaze. She
looked away.
Bacca was startled. With that one movement, Schala seemed to
increase the already distant gap he felt was between them. Something was
very different about her. He sensed that she was purposely isolating
herself, keeping him away. With one hand holding her upper arm, he turned
her face toward him.
He fixed a long, level stare into her eyes. He was trying to draw
her out, to bring her out of the shell in which she had encased herself.
What was she hiding? The barrier blocking him out was something he could
not understand. His expression was filled with concern.
Schala felt herself in turmoil. Why was he doing this? She
remembered a time when the sight of him filled her with an unknown
emotion. Those feelings churned within her now, mixed with other emotions
that ran counter to them. They fought with each other, tugging her soul
in opposite directions, each trying to take control, trying to tell her
that *they* were the right things to feel...
Because now, another person's image had started to replace Bacca's
as the center of her emotional loop that she did not quite comprehend...
She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to clear the
confusion in her mind. She wrenched herself away and stepped back, but he
came forward and caught her. Schala raised her arms and ducked her head,
as if to defend herself. Bacca brought her close and embraced her
tightly.
"I'm glad you're safe," he said with feeling.
Schala could only stand there, her arms crushed against her chest.
She had a strange expression on her face that Frog and Kaitlin could not
understand. Glenn felt a sudden surge in his chest, as if his heart were
being stung by a millions needles, each one more painful than the other.
He forced himself to remain calm, but there was no longer any denying how
he felt...
"I'm glad...to be back," the Mystic finally said, her voice
hoarse.
Yes, she *was* a different person. Bacca felt a tenderness toward
her that was not unlike a father's concern for a daughter. He sensed a
distress that she was eager to unload, but for some reason could not.
Something had happened while she was gone.
Bacca released her. Glenn and Kaitlin came up quietly behind him,
and Glenn now spoke. "Is there anything you wish us to do?" he asked.
The High Lord faced them. "Yes," he said, his voice more normal
as he addressed all three of them. "I would like you all to return to
Vector as soon as possible. I am on my way to meet the Alliance leaders,
and I don't know what will come of it. Whatever the result, I want you to
be in the city in case anything happens."
Glenn inclined his head. "Of course, my lord," he said formally.
Bacca turned to Kaitlin. "Lorinan is still unconscious," he said
softly. "If you could...?"
The druidess raised a hand. "Say no more," she said. "I know,
and I have been preparing for that since I found out what happened. I
will try my best."
He nodded, then faced Schala. His voice lowered even more.
"There is something that disturbs you," he said. "It pains me to see you
like this...We'll talk when I return." She looked at him, then slowly
nodded. He smiled.
"I'm glad this is settled," he said in a louder voice. "I will
see all of you again in Vector. I'm sorry we can't give any of you a ride
back..."
"It's all right," the three of them said in unison, almost
immediately. They glanced at each other, startled.
Bacca frowned inwardly. They obviously didn't want to get back to
the city anytime soon. Then he shrugged and mounted his chocobo. "We
should be back in a week or so. I'll see you then." He nodded at them,
and they rode off.
The group stood there, watching them go. Then Kaitlin spoke.
"We're almost at Vector..." she murmured.
Schala sighed. Glenn asked, "Does it seem so...odd...to you?"
The druidess nodded. "Even though I want to return to the city,
it's just that we've been at peace for so long...away from the war, here
in the forest...it all seems so far away..."
"So...unreal..." Schala whispered.
They remained there for some time, thinking their own thoughts.
Finally Glenn stirred. "We may as well head back," he said. "He'll be
expecting to see us there."
The women glanced at each other. They had the same look in their
eyes: They didn't really want to go back, but they had to, because if they
didn't, Bacca would think something else had happened to them. And they
both also felt a little guilty for causing Bacca to worry, first when they
had gotten captured, and again when they disappeared from the Moogle camp.
The Mystic sighed again. "Let's go," she said. Her voice held a
strange tone of finality.
The three of them started walking toward Vector.
The way to meet your fate
is to try your hardest to avoid it.
---
Wilma Jandoc aka Enya *ICQ: | "We Immortals can't afford to waste
jandoc@hawaii.edu *14710984 | our tears on their brief little
nabiki_tendo@geocities.com | lives. We must think of ourselves."
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~jandoc | - Masato,
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/9800 | "The Mermaid's Scar"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help support ONElist, while generating interest in your product or
service. ONElist has a variety of advertising packages. Visit
http://www.onelist.com/advert.html for more information.
----------------------- Headers --------------------------------
Return-Path:
Received: from relay28.mx.aol.com (relay28.mail.aol.com [172.31.109.28]) by air06.mail.aol.com (v51.25) with SMTP; Sun, 15 Nov 1998 07:19:52 1900
Received: from onelist.com (pop.onelist.com [209.207.164.13])
by relay28.mx.aol.com (8.8.8/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0)
with SMTP id HAA08491 for ;
Sun, 15 Nov 1998 07:19:51 -0500 (EST)
Received: (qmail 17416 invoked by alias); 15 Nov 1998 12:22:26 -0000
Received: (qmail 17410 invoked from network); 15 Nov 1998 12:22:24 -0000
Received: from unknown (HELO relay1.Hawaii.Edu) (128.171.3.53) by pop.onelist.com with SMTP; 15 Nov 1998 12:22:24 -0000
Received: from [128.171.44.52] ([128.171.44.52]) by relay1.Hawaii.Edu with SMTP id <149513(4)>; Sun, 15 Nov 1998 02:19:44 -1000
Received: from localhost by uhunix3.its.Hawaii.Edu with SMTP id <135681(7)>; Sun, 15 Nov 1998 02:19:37 -1000
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1998 02:19:34 -1000
From: Schala
X-Sender: jandoc@uhunix3
To: ffml@onelist.com
Message-ID:
Mailing-List: list ffml@onelist.com; contact ffml-owner@onelist.com
Delivered-To: mailing list ffml@onelist.com
Precedence: bulk
List-Unsubscribe:
Reply-to: ffml@onelist.com
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Subject: [ffml] [MW] The Meeting with Bacca