Migraine Hell

I gotta apologize, everyone. I've had 14 bad migraine days in the past 3 weeks, and on the days I haven't had them I've been wiped out and/or trying to catch up on chores/errands. I don't know if it's the California dry winds & smoke or my age (probably both; Migraine Hell is the traditional rite of passage for women in my family during menopause.) I'm gonna post the current chapter this evening and just give up on illustrations for a while, as it's hard to do art with the screen dimmed down to the brightness my eyes can tolerate.

Love Her and Despair Remaster [44]

Title: Love Her and Despair
Chapter 44: "Points of Departure"
Final Fantasy X/X-2
Characters: Auron/Lulu, Isaaru, Pacce, Wakka, Rikku, Cid, Lucil, Baralai
Rating: G
Word Count: 3500
Navigation: Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Map/ToC

The Story So Far: Yu Yevon has been defeated, and Sin's fayth is free at last. Lulu, Auron, friends and allies return in battered triumph to Bevelle aboard an Al Bhed airship.

Emerging into a whirligig of tumbling children, Auron was glad that Lulu remained in her cabin's sanctuary. The seating area in the mezzanine was crammed with people. In the horseshoe of padded seats closest to the door, Cid, Baralai and Lucil had their heads together in a flurry of last-minute negotiations shouted over the whine of engines. Rikku had claimed the opposite sofa, bent over some project laid across her knees— his sword, Auron realized, and felt a prickle of irritation and nostalgia. The children were everywhere, squealing with delight when a pocket of turbulence parted them from the floor.

One pillar of quiet kept watch over the chaos from the corner. "So who's guarding Sin?" Juno said as Auron stepped out.

"Sin's dead." He turned his back on her, but the staircase was blocked by a barrier of sofa cushions and stuffed animals.

"—Five years," Baralai was saying, earnest and intent. "We'll wave docking fees for five years. Agreed?"

"Agreed," Lucil said. Her crisp battlefield cadences had an odd squeak: apparently she was not enjoying the speed at which they were skimming over the harbor.

"Whoa!" Vidina said, mashing his face against the glass. "Look at that bridge! The steel's totally melted. Way to go, Pop-pops!"

"Get down, boy," Cid growled. "Now see here, Baralai—"

"Consider, Elder Cid," Baralai said. "The lake is composed of frozen pyrefly slurry. You could refuel your ships right there."

"Provided that," Lucil said, "Macalania Temple is left undisturbed, and Lady Shelinda concurs."

"It was an accident," the younger children recited in a sing-song, apparently practicing a new word. "Acci, acci, accident!"

"Kids," Rikku said, "Settle down, okay? Pop-pops is working."

"Deal," Cid said. "I'm down by one airship, mind, so don't expect a weekly ferry service. And Gippal may want compensation."

"Hey, Auron!" Rikku pushed up her goggles. "You dropped something. What's rule number three, kids?"

"Don't leave toys out where Dad can trip over 'em!" Vidina crowed, jamming one of the mini-blitzballs from last night's romp behind the sofa. "Where's Yunie?"

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