Final Fantasy X-2: The Deep Sleep Dreaming
She stood on the beach, staring out at the bright pink sky as the sun fell to the waves of the bright ocean. A small zephyr flowed by, tousling her caramel hair, and she closed her eyes, welcoming the cool sea breeze in the intense heat of the sun. The tangy smell of salt and fish intermingled and tickled her nose, causing her to wrinkle the feature. Chill water lapped at her bare toes, and washed about her ankles, stealing some sand from beneath her feet, and gave the illusion that she was about to fall over. Sighing in contentment, she opened her eyes and sank down into the dampness of the waves that washed over her lap, soaking the shorts that ensconced her legs. This is the life, she thought, reaching down to draw symbols in the sand which the small, lapping waves quickly erased from the face of the earth. She’d grown up on Besaid, much like her mother, although Yuna had seen the world before settling down. But that was before the Eternal Calm, Lenne thought, watching as the sun sank rapidly below the horizon, forcing the crimson sky to swirl downward after it. Night was falling fast, and she knew that she ought to be heading back; it was easier to fight fiends by daylight.
“Lenne!” a voice called from the rocky outcropping behind her, and Lenne turned to see Nyshla approaching her. Lenne stood and wiped her hands together, making the damp grains of sand trickle down into the waiting water, which swept them out to sea. “Oh, there you are,” Nyshla said, heading over. Her long black hair hung across her shoulders in its usual string of braids, and she tossed her head so that her hair swung around to hit her back with a tinkling sound. Lenne knew that was from the charms that dangled from the bottom of each braid. Lenne smiled at her friend whose dark skin looked even duskier in the falling twilight. Even though the girls were one year apart, they’d been as inseparable as sisters since childhood. Their mothers had been the same way, except that Nyshla wasn’t quite as mothering over Lenne as Lulu had been to Yuna.
“I was just coming back,” Lenne said, taking her friend’s arm. “Don’t tell me that Dad was worried about me out here, all alone.” Lenne stuck her lower lip out into a pout, making Nyshla laugh.
“Tidus?” the giggle in Nyshla’s voice echoed back at them from the rocky pass as they traipsed through. “You’re his baby girl, Lenne. He’d do just about anything to protect you.”
“Well, I wish he’d give it a rest,” Lenne sighed, as they headed back toward the village. “Sometimes I feel so smothered; it’s not like I don’t know how to take care of myself.”
“You always have your dagger on you, don’t you?” Nyshla asked, prodding the younger girl with her elbow. Lenne nodded, her free hand going to her waist, where a small dagger sat, sheathed in her belt. She’d known how to fight off fiends from a young age, and had been taught well by both her father and Nyshla’s father, Wakka.
“And I’m learning black magic from Lulu. But it’s never enough for them.” Lenne sighed, as Nyshlya patted the hand that lay in the crook of her elbow with sympathy.
“It’s so hard growing up in a small community. I sometimes wonder what life would be like if we’d grown up in Luca.” Nyshla sighed this time, and Lenne gazed around the corner at all the people sitting at their individual fires, laughter purging the air, and shouts of children echoing through the night. This was her life, ever since the beginning; everyone knew everyone else, and they all behaved as an over-extended family. She could never get away with anything, even as a child.
“Well, it never gets boring,” a voice came from the shadows of the woods, and instantly, Lenne’s fingers grappled for her dagger and Nyshla conjured a fireball with her free hand. A bright grin and a pair of twinkling green eyes flashed back at them, and the girls sagged against each other, relieved. Lenne let go of Nyshla to hug Kivem, her “cousin”, glad to see him after all this time.
“When did you get here?” Lenne demanded, wrapping her arms tight around him. Kivem squeezed her back, his shaggy blonde hair tickling her cheek.
“’Bout an hour ago.” His voice was low and gravelly so close to her ear. “Mom an’ Dad decided to drop by.” He let her go and stood back at arm’s length to get a good look at her. “Wow, Squirt, you’ve grown.” Kivem’s lopsided grin grew as she wrenched out of his grip.
“Don’t call me squirt!” she cried, battering her fists playfully against his ribcage. He just bent over double, laughing and trying to block her teasing punches. At the age of fifteen, Lenne was still sensitive about her size; she’d only just reached five feet two years ago, and had barely put on an inch recently. She knew that she was doomed to have her mother’s mean stature, and wished for her father’s taller frame. Kivem, however, almost six feet tall, and enjoyed poking merciless fun at her.
Nyshla approached, and extinguished her fireball, dousing all of them into the jumping shadows of the closest fire. “Lenne, don’t; that’s the part he enjoys the most,” she said, her voice full of mirth. Kivem jumped up to face her with protest, and she reached out a hand as though to welcome him, but once he took it, she shocked him. Not hard enough to really hurt him, but hard enough that he would feel the jolt through his whole body.
“No fair!” he exclaimed, chasing the two laughing girls back toward the village. The three of them collapsed at the fire that blazed outside of Lulu and Wakka’s house, giggling amongst themselves. Cythna, Kivem’s older sister, and Vidina, Nyshla’s older brother, were deep in conversation about some sort of machina, and Lenne’s twin older brothers were passing around a blitzball. They’d inherited their father’s skill, and had played for the Besaid Aurochs for the past three years. Vidina played as well, and the three of them were practically inseparable.
Rikku came over and gave both of her “nieces” a hug. “It’s been ages,” she complained, squeezing Lenne tight. “You really need to come and visit more often.” Rikku shot a glance at Yuna, and Yuna shrugged, smiling.
“You know how I feel about big cities,” Yuna replied, in her calm, quiet voice that Lenne knew so well. Lenne smiled to herself, and stared at the dancing orange and yellow flames of the fire. Ever since her mother and father were reunited, her mother hadn’t wanted to leave the island for some reason. When asked about it, Yuna would smile sadly and reply, “I don’t want to wake to find this all a dream.” Though Yuna was invited regularly to Bevelle and Kilika to fight for both New Yevon and the Youth League, she hardly ever went. The only excursion she allowed herself was the blitzball tournament held in Luca every year. She’d gone to support Tidus and Wakka when they’d played, and now to support her sons. Lenne glanced over to her brothers, who were passing the ball in a series of intricate moves.
Auron, the older one, spun about, his long dark hair whipping about his face and getting in his crystalline blue eyes. In the firelight, they danced dark, but Lenne knew that they were the brightest blue—brighter than the ocean—swirled with the faintest touches of green. He passed the ball to Jecht, who caught it with ease. Jecht looked mysterious and almost sinister with his deep skin color and dark brown eyes. “Just like my old man,” her father used to say, which was where the young man had gotten his name. Jecht’s dark brown eyes glowed like coals in the firelight, and Lenne could almost make out the green that zigzagged all the way around the pupil; a green as dark as the forests at midnight. His short hair hung down to his chin, and glowed umber in the firelight, but Lenne knew that it was actually almost as gold as her father’s with more of a dark brown undertone. Both of her brothers had inherited their father’s stature, and stood about five and a half feet tall. It’s not fair, Lenne thought sulkily, watching the two of them laugh as they practiced a more complicated pass.
“Lenne,” Nyshla said, snapping her back to reality. “Are you even paying attention?” Lenne looked at Kivem and Nyshla, who were gazing back at her expectantly. She shook her head to clear it.
“Sorry, I was thinking. What were you saying?” she asked, her cheeks burning red. Nyshla sniggered behind her hand, the fire reflecting in her deep blue eyes. Kivem sighed, running a hand through his shaggy blonde hair.
“Are you excited about the blitz tournament that’s coming up?” Nyshla repeated patiently. Lenne looked at Nyshla and nodded, smiling.
“I really hope we win again this year,” she said, leaning forward to warm her chilly hands by the fire. Kivem made a noise of disgust. Both Lenne and Nyshla turned to look at him.
“You wouldn’t have won last year if our star player hadn’t broken his arm,” he said, sulkily, casting a glance over to Auron and Jecht. Vidina had gone over and joined in as well, and the three of them passed to one another with an almost effortless ease. Lenne smiled at Kivem, her eyes twinkling merrily.
“Kivem, face it; they’re too good. They move like the water itself.” Lenne smiled, watching them again for a few seconds. It truly was amazing to watch them play together—she’d never seen a better combination, save her father and Wakka.
“Yeah, I’ll bet they’re better than the Zanarkand Abes!” Nyshla exclaimed, a giggle in her voice. Almost immediately, the adults fell silent and looked at Nyshla either in shock or surprise. Nyshla stared back at them, dumbfounded. “What did I say?” she asked, looking to her mother and father. Wakka looked away and Lulu shifted in her seat and shot a glance to Yuna. Tidus smiled half-heartedly, and touched his wife’s shoulder. Yuna grabbed his hand, a look of almost-panic in her eyes.
“How did you hear about them?” Tidus asked, his voice light, but Lenne could see something else in his eyes; some emotion that she couldn’t quite place. Nyshla looked from Kivem to Lenne, but both just shrugged.
“Well, I saw something in a sphere, once, about the history of blitzball, and it said that they were the greatest team of all time—until Zanarkand was destroyed.” Nyshla cast her gaze about, and all of the adults seemed to relax just a bit; except for Yuna, whose knuckles were almost white she was gripping Tidus’ hand so hard. Lenne gave Kivem a quizzical look, but he just shrugged, his arms crossed over his chest.
“Yeah,” Tidus said, “they were the greatest team.” His hand absently went to the pendant that hung on a chain around his neck. Lenne gave him a curious look. Her mother had the same symbol tattooed on her left shoulder blade. Lenne had asked her about it once, when she was rather small, and Yuna had admitted that it was a symbol that served to unite herself and Tidus; she’d gotten it soon after they were reunited. Lenne had no idea what the symbol meant.
“But we got an even betta team this year, ya?” Wakka said, motioning over to where Vidina, Auron and Jecht sat, laughing and passing the ball by forehead. Tidus grinned, and his free hand moved from the pendant to cover Yuna’s. Yuna seemed to relax her grip, and gave him a silent apology.
“Yeah, we do. I hope you’re ready to get your butt kicked again this year, Gippal,” Tidus said, his eyes flashing with mirth. Gippal looked up from where he sat, his arm around Rikku.
“Bring it, old man,” Gippal replied, the firelight flashing in his grin. Kivem sat up a bit straighter, the jollity of challenge in his green eddied eyes. Lenne could see what was coming; a full-blown match between everyone.
“Hey, who you callin’ old?” Tidus exclaimed, jabbing his thumb over toward Wakka. “He’s older than me.”
“What?” Wakka cried, jumping up. “What’d you say?” Everyone was laughing, especially Rikku, who was bent over nearly double, wheezing with delight. Lenne knew that there was no animosity between her “Auntie” Rikku and Wakka, just lots of good plain fun. Wakka stood as Vidina passed him the ball; he caught it with the well-trained ease of a longtime blitzer. He and Tidus had retired a while ago, but remained the coaches of the team. “Let’s go, ya?” Wakka challenged, and Tidus jumped up, as well as Gippal and Kivem.
“Oh no, here the go again,” Cythna groaned, watching them play. The older girl had made it obvious on numerous occasions that she would rather be working in Bikanel Desert than have anything to do with blitzball. Lulu sat there for a moment, watching as the men passed around the blue and white ball, then stood.
“Count me in!” she called, adjusting her wide-belted pants. Yuna and Rikku jumped up as well.
“Let’s see if we remember how to play!” Rikku said, rushing over to steal the ball away from her son.
“Hey!” Kivem cried, trying to get it back as she kicked it to Yuna. Yuna caught it with relative ease, but was promptly surrounded by her sons, who stood a good half-foot taller than her.
“Go long, Lenne!” she called, tossing the ball over their heads to her daughter. Lenne chased after it, laughing, as both Vidina and Kivem chased after her. Soon, Nyshla joined in. Lenne enjoyed passing the ball, and trying out her rusty talents; she didn’t play much, on account of her skill being nowhere near the level of her brother’s. She laughed when Kivem tried to snatch the ball from behind her back, and tossed it to Nyshla, while Kivem tried to pin her arms to her sides. After a while, the game progressed to keep-away, and Lenne managed to get Cythna to join in as well.
Their laughter lit up the night while the fires about them died down. No thoughts or worries passed through their minds in the midst of such a carefree event; and Lenne thought how good it must be to feel young again. There was a gleam in her father’s eye and a bounce in her mother’s step that she hadn’t seen in a so very long time. Even Lulu was smiling and laughing; teasing her children and husband as she tried to figure out how to get it over their heads. The sky had darkened to the deep purple of midnight long before anyone thought of going to sleep.