Ruby and Emerald (part 3 of 9)

"Yuna, stop that." Paine's voice was harsh as she startled the ex-summoner from her thoughts, Yuna blinking at the other woman who had come to a stop in front of her.

"Huh?"

Paine scowled a bit, a small part of Yuna's mind thinking that this was the most emotion she had ever seen from the woman. "Stop twisting your skirt like that. It's maddening."

"And your pacing around isn't?" Yuna snapped back, then eeped lightly as Paine gave her a look that would likely kill most weaker fiends.

"We have to get the raft ready. The ship's descending." Paine stalked over to one of the storage chests, pulling out a rugged inflatable raft used for getting to shore when the Celsius can't land on a small island. The intercom near the door crackled with static, coming to life as the slight jarring motion of the airship landing on the water was felt.

"Paine, Yuna, Buddy here. I managed to get her landed, and I think we're close to where things happened, but Im not entirely sure. I don't think that we'll be able to get the Celsius in the air again until I get the controls fixed, though. But we can steer her along the water if needed, okay?" The navigator's voice was tense.

Yuna ran up the steps to the intercom, pushing a button and replying. "We understand. Paine's getting the raft ready.."

"Yuna, come on." Paine interrupted, pulling the readied raft towards the door that opened to the outside.

"We've got our communicators Buddy, we'll be in constant contact." Yuna clicked the intercom off and jumped over the railing to down by Paine, helping the warrior push the raft down the ramp as the door opened, showing the darkening sky. "Oh no, the sun set..."

"That's what the lanterns are for." Paine gestured to the two lamps set at the ends of the raft. "Get in, I'll push it into the water." Yuna nodded and quickly obeyed Paine's order, shifting into her white mage dressphere as she did so, the end of her staff lighting up to add a bit more light. Paine pushed the raft into the water, jumping in as the door closed behind her, and started up the small engine, steering away from the Celsius in order to orient themselves in the open water.

"Rikku!" Yuna called out, shining the lantern around over the surface of the water. "Rikku!"

"Yuna, quiet a moment. If she were near, she'd have seen and heard the Celsius. Listen for her." Paine clenched her jaw a little, squinting towards the horizon to try to spy a landmark against the last light of the setting sun. Her warriors eye spied a darker shape that didn't move like the waves, and started the raft heading in that direction, the engine a light hum.

Yuna started murmuring softly to herself, Paine recognizing the hymn of the fayth that she heard Yuna often hum to herself in stressful situations. It personally drove her nuts, and she knew even Rikku was irritated with it, but Paine knew Rikku wouldn't say anything about it to her cousin. It occasionally bothered Paine that the Al-bhed was so quick to put aside her own happiness for Yuna's, and she never could quite figure it out, and was mildly irritated that it was because of Yuna that they were in this whole mess with Vegnagun. True, they hadn't actually gotten involved in anything yet, Nooj had only given them a vague idea of what was going on, and hinted they likely should stay out of it, the Youth League was going to handle it. Paine had a bit of a sinking suspicion that they'd end up dealing with it -anyway-, she guessed that there was just something about Yuna that wouldn't let the ex-summoner turn away from helping Spira. Then there was the whole thing with the Leblanc syndicate and having to find a way to sneak in to the headquarters to get their broken sphere back, but all of that was far from Paine's mind. Right now, all she cared about was finding Rikku.

They had traveled away from the Celsius for about two hours now, the ship lost behind the horizon. Buddy would check in periodically, and had let them know that Brother was awake and okay, and that he and Shinra had made some progress in repairing the damage to the ship, mentioning once that it really seemed that someone had sabotaged the ship while they were in Kilika, but it was too early to really say, and there were much more pressing matters to deal with. The further they got from the airship, the more frequently Yuna called out for Rikku, swinging the lantern from the front of the ship back and forth across the water.

"What's that?" Yuna pointed out towards the right with her staff, leaning out over the edge of the raft a bit, swinging the light towards it.

Paine furrowed her brow and steered towards where Yuna was pointing, a small shiver flowing through her as she realized what it was, Yuna gasping audibly. One of Rikku's sleeves floated on the water, Paine reaching out to grab a hold of it, noticing that two of the bows were ripped free. "One of Rikku's sleeves." Paine stated simply, handing the bit of fabric to Yuna, continuing to steer the boat.

Yuna held the bit of fabric close to her chest, and Paine couldn't help but feel that Yuna had almost already decided that Rikku was gone. Paine scowled at the dark sky and the silence that answered each of Yuna's calls, the girl starting to get a little hoarse. A half hour passed from where they had found the sleeve when there was a light bump against the boat, Paine swinging the lantern from the back off to the side, stalling the motion of the boat.

"What?" Yuna questioned, moving to lean and look where Paine was.

"Not sure, felt a bump against the boat." Paine looked back towards where they had come from, Yuna leaning and continuing to look where they had stopped. Squinting as she held the light out over the water, she spied something glinting in the water. Reaching back, she grasped Yuna's staff and tugged on it lightly. "Yuna, let me use that, please."

Yuna let Paine take her staff, but continued to look out opposite from where the warrior was. Paine stretched the staff out towards the shape, guiding it closer. "Her dagger." She clenched her teeth as she realized what it was and pulled it closer, dropping the staff into the bottom of the boat and picking up the red knife.

"But why is it so far from where her sleeve was?" Yuna clutched her staff to her as Paine slipped the dagger into her belt.

"It's heavier than the sleeve, and likely took longer to float to the surface, so a current probably drew it here." Paine mentally smiled at how smart it was for Rikku to have made the dagger handle buoyant. This info made Yuna start calling out again as Paine started the ship moving again, thinking to herself. 'Rikku, you better be out there, or I'll go to the farplane and bitch you out like you never heard...' Her thoughts became occupied with the feelings she had towards the young Al-bhed, it nearing the year mark since they had known each other.

She had found the bubbly girl irritating at first, that she couldn't deny. When Rikku had asked her to join the Gullwings, she quickly found herself wondering what she had gotten into, the four Al-bhed more than she had ever dealt with. Buddy and Shinra she quickly learned to deal with, it was Rikku and the hyperactive and seemingly mentally disturbed Brother who were a lot harder for her to get used to. She did however, quickly learn to respect Rikku and her abilities as the two went out in the field after spheres, her abilities making it easier for Paine to find ways to get along with the thief, and soon enough, the two had formed a curious friendship. Paine had also found herself caring for Rikku in ways that she didn't really want to acknowledge. Being in the raft and looking for Rikku scared her more than she really wanted to admit, and she knew that she would never quite forget the feeling, nor the sight, from when Rikku fell from the deck and she was unable to catch her. She felt a growing determination to find a way to voice her feelings to Rikku, ignoring for the moment the fact that she first had to find the words to describe what it was she felt in the first place.

As Yuna called out yet again, Paine was drawn from her thoughts by noticing a light in the distance that seemed a lot brighter than the glittering stars. Moving the light behind her, she gestured to Yuna. "Yuna, here, steer the boat for a bit." She moved forward to the front of the boat past the quizzical look she was getting, and dimmed the light at the front.

"Paine?" Yuna moved to steer as asked, keeping the boat going in a straight line.

"There's a light up ahead!" Paine felt a surge of hope as she realized what she was seeing wasn't a star, but rather what she figured was a fire on the thing she had determined long ago to be an island, the whole reason they were heading in that direction.

"Maybe it's Rikku!" Yuna's voice lifted with the same hope as Paine felt, and Paine nodded, letting a faint smile escape. The engine thrummed louder as Yuna increased the speed, both she and Paine subconsciously leaning forward as if urging the boat to go faster.

Paine held the lantern just above her shoulder and back a little, letting it illuminate the area but keep her vision clear so she wasn't partly blinded by the light. She crouched at the edge of the raft, faintly biting her lower lip as she stared at the little fire as they got closer. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she was able to make out a figure lying in the sand next to it. "Rikku!" She called out, half hoping that it would be just some random person who decided to live on the small island who would be mad at her for waking them, but no such luck, they didn't respond, and as they neared, she was able to see Rikku's teletale blond hair. As the raft first bumped against the sand, she jumped from it into the shallows, hearing the engine of the raft complain as Yuna gunned it to run it ashore.

"Rikku?" She called again, softer as she neared and dropped down to her knees next to the still girl, Yuna running up behind her a moment later with one of the lanterns.

"Rikku! Oh Spira...Paine...is she?.." Yuna trailed off and bit her lip as Paine gave her a look that would kill most weaker fiends, falling silent and holding the lantern up while clutching her staff to her shoulder.

Paine stroked her fingers over Rikku's forehead, frowning at the feel of her fever, her eyes trailing down over the girl's body. She noticed the condition of her arm at the same time Yuna did, judging by the gasp she heard behind her, and faintly touched the bruised area. "We'll have to set the bone before you can heal it Yuna...her wrist too." She cupped Rikku's cheek and stroked her thumb back and forth softly. Again her breath caught as she felt the girl stir, and when she saw the bright emerald glitter of Rikku's eyes, she realized it was one of the most beautiful and relieving sights she's ever seen.

"Uhn...Paine? Yunie?" Rikku's voice was soft and shaky, and she looked as if she didn't believe what she was seeing.

Paine blinked a few times to force back the tears she felt threatening in her eyes, nodding and giving Rikku a rare smile, rewarded with a faint one from the girl. "Yeah, it's us. Thought you could fly, huh?"

Rikku rolled her eyes slightly and tried to sit up, Paine shifting around to gently gather Rikku up into her arms, grimacing slightly as the thief whimpered faintly as her arm was moved. "I didn't flap my arms well enough I guess."

Yuna was openly crying at this point as she knelt down in the sand, taking her cousins good hand into hers and squeezing tightly. "We were so worried! I'm so glad we found you, I don't...I..." She bowed her head, Rikku squeezing Yuna's hand and rubbing her thumb back and forth against Yuna's.

"Shh, it's okay Yunie, you found me, huh?" She heavily dropped her head to Paine's shoulder, closing her eyes for a moment before she looked out towards the water. "Where's the Celsius? I want off of this island."

Paine shook her head a little. "We'll have to wait until morning. Buddy was able to land it about two hours away from here by raft, I don't want to get us lost on the raft, and they're still working on it." She went on to fill in Rikku about what happened, what they suspected had happened, and what was going on, Yuna filling in what happened before Paine had gotten to the ships bridge. They also let Buddy know that Rikku had been found, and coordinated with him to find the island in the morning.

Rikku frowned through the entire explanation, shaking her head. "Great, just what we needed, more problems." She scowled, shifting a bit in Paine's arms, her eyes looking a little glazed as she shivered softly.

Paine shifted slightly herself to get comfortable as Yuna transformed back into her gunner dressphere, since it had been determined that a little more care would be needed before Rikku's injuries could properly be healed. "Here, this should help you feel a little better." Paine smiled faintly as she pulled Rikku's dagger from her belt, a little thrill going through her as Rikku's eyes widened and she smiled happily.

"My dagger! I knew it was a good idea to have it buoyant. Thank you for finding it." She kissed Paine's cheek, not seeming to notice as the warrior blushed softly, Paine brushing the sign of thanks as a byproduct of Rikku being so worn physically instead of anything deeper, murmuring a soft 'you're welcome'. Yuna came back to the fire with an armful of firewood, feeding the flames back into a brighter glow, looking around as she sat next to Paine and Rikku.

"This island isn't big, I was able to walk around it. I bet there are other small islands near here.' Yuna remarked.

"Maybe. Not often you find a solitary island." Paine shrugged lightly.

"I don't care if there are any other islands near, I'm just glad I was able to find this one!" Rikku smiled a little to her cousin, then let her eyes close, keeping her head rested to Paine's shoulder. Paine tilted her head slightly, faintly brushing her fingers of her free hand over Rikku's swollen and bruised arm, scowling lightly. She jumped lightly when Rikku spoke in soft Al-bhed, knowing that Paine understood it. "Ed'c kuehk du rind y mud frah dra puha kadc cad, ech'd ed?" (It's going to hurt a lot when the bone gets set, isn't it?)

Paine nodded lightly, answering in Spiran as she was resistant to actually speaking Al-bhed, but kept her voice too low for Yuna to hear, though judging by the spaced out look on the girl's face as she stared up at the stars, Yuna wasn't listening anyway. "Yeah, I'm sorry, but it will."

Rikku sighed. "Knayd." (Great.) She turned her head and looked at the bruising, smiling faintly. "Yd maycd ed megamo lyh'd rind yhosuna dryh ed ymnayto tuac. yht ed'c sunpetmo bnaddo, eh y 'knayd Ixion dryd'c yh ikmo pnieca' cund uv fyo." (At least it likely can't hurt anymore than it already does. and it's morbidly pretty, in a 'great Ixion that's an ugly bruise' sort of way.)

That drew a smile from Paine, the warrior having had such morbidly amusing thoughts in the past in the field, knowing it was a way of coping with the stress and pain. "It clashes with your eyes." She felt her cheeks flushing as soon as she said that, but was so happy to hear the giggle that got.

"Eh, the yellow kinda matches." Rikku smiled softly, then grimaced as she shifted a little, closing her eyes.

Paine faintly bit her lower lip, glancing over to see that Yuna had laid down and seemed asleep, then she looked back to Rikku, her voice soft as she spoke. "I'm sorry, Rikku."

That caused Rikku to open her eyes again, looking confused up at Paine. "Sorry? For what?"

"For letting you fall." Paine glanced away, then blinked as Rikku laughed.

"Paine, you made one hell of a gouge in the deck with your sword, and did everything you could have to try to get me before you got knocked to the door. You have nothing to apologize to me for, honestly." She reached up with her good hand, and gently cupped Paine's cheek, feeling the heat of the woman's blush, knowing hers were hot as well. "It's okay."

Paine reached up and gently pulled Rikku's hand down, a few voices in her head telling her that she really needed to remember that Rikku was both in pain, and had a fever, and she shouldn't do anything rash or approach serious subjects while the Al-bhed likely wasn't completely in her right mind. No matter how much she wanted to bend down and kiss the girl right there and now that she had her in her arms, and was no longer afraid for her life. Seeing the slight look of hurt in Rikku's eyes when she pulled her hand down, Paine inhaled a deep breath and gently kissed the back of her hand. "If you say so. But, you need to rest, okay? I'll stay up for the watch."

Rikku closed her eyes and exhaled softly. "I'll not argue with that. I feel like I could sleep forever."

Paine scowled slightly. "Forever? Not willing to let you do that yet. But I'll give you a few hours."

Rikku smiled lightly, her breathing already evening out as she started to drift off. "Just need a few hours...thank you..." Her voice trailed off as Paine felt her fall completely asleep.

As the silence settled on the little hunk of sand with a few trees, Paine looked around, finally taking the time to study the island she credited with saving Rikku's life. She smiled lightly, considering how it would be a decent place to set up a small hut, though, that also depended on if there were other islands nearby. She liked her solitary places, which was why she holed up in the engine room so often. A gentle wind blew across the sand, the flames flickering about as the fire crackled. Paine let her eyes trail down to look over Rikku's form again, taking advantage of the stillness to let herself refresh her memory of how the girl looked.

"You care for her, don't you Paine?" Yuna's soft voice startled Paine from her revere.

Paine frowned lightly. "Of course, she's a teammate, like you. You're my friends."

Yuna smiled sleepily from where she lay. "That's all?"

"Yes." That little voice kept trying to say that was true, which the honest one she knew was right kept going 'pft, liar.'

"Are you sure?"

"Are you trying to lose respect points like Rikku now?"

Yuna giggled softly. "Wake me in a few hours and I'll watch till morning." She grinned as Paine grunted noncommittally, rolling over to her side and letting her back be to the fire.

Paine sighed softly and shook her head. She had that sinking feeling that she was getting into something deeper than she really fully realized. It scared her a little, but as she looked at Rikku in her arms, she knew she was quite willing to try anyway, all she needed now was that bit of courage to take the first step.