FicWad

Chapter 1: Meeting...

Lulu road down the Djose Highroad atop Ixion, journeying peacefully down the path without so much as a hornet attacking. She was on her own, no guardians to help her along the way. Her Aeon was all the company she had now that she left the temple, but she was content with that. In fact, the young Summoner had gone to extremes to make sure that there would be no long goodbyes from the priests and priestesses at the temple. She had snuck her way out of the temple in the early hours before dawn when all were asleep save the few Crusaders who patrolled the area.

Now, she was nearing the beach and the sun was casting a rose color over the ocean that splashed against the rocks below the cliff that was the Djose Highroad. The salty smell in the breeze made the surrounding area seem deceptively peaceful and the black mage closed her eyes, breathing in the beloved scent wistfully. It was in that moment, off guard and oblivious to her surroundings that she was attacked. A large Sinspawn that looked oddly like a mutated bug swung out at Ixion with an armored fin. The Unicorn reared up, dodging the attack and spilling his Summoner onto the ground.

Lulu's eye opened immediately as the Aeon buck up and sounded the alarm, but reacted too late to catch herself from falling. She landed painfully on her hip, wincing at the pain that shot up her side. When she finally looked up she saw Ixion, blocking the attacks of the fiend getting heavily damaged in the process. Picking herself up off the ground, Lulu struck the Spawn in the head with a blizzard spell. The creature stalled its attack, its eyes swelled over with ice.

The spell was effective long enough for Lulu to cast Thunder on Ixion, curing him of the injuries he had sustained. She remained a few paces behind the Aeon as it unleashed powerful attacks upon the fiend's stony fins, causing them to burst into clouds of pyerflies. Just as she thought they had things under control another fiend attacked her from behind, knocking her once again onto the ground.

While still on the ground she cast another thunder spell, this time it landing on the Basilisk that had attacked her. While the new fiend was stunned by the electricity running through its body, the summoner picked herself up off the ground and steadied herself on Ixion's flank. They were trapped between two fiends and she didn't know how much longer they could last without help. Damn those Crusaders, herding Sinspawn here like cattle. Lulu thought as she dodged another attack from the Basilisk and Ixion lashed out once more at the large Sinspawn.

Little did the Summoner know she was being watched by a red clad warrior who had washed ashore during the night. Once the second fiend appeared he ran along the beach, sword drawn, and rushed up the road to the open area she fought in. He slipped passed the Sinspawn's notice while the thunder Aeon attacked it and attacked the Basilisk, cutting its head clean from its body. The creature burst into pyreflies around the man as he turned to help the raven haired woman up.

Lulu gaped as she was pulled to her feet, forgetting her situation momentarily. "Sir...Auron?..." She asked half in shock and half in disbelief. All she received in answer was a gruff 'humph' and a curt nod before her savior attacked the weakening Sinspawn. Her ruby eyes followed his movements as she turned to face her other attacker.

Quickly her eyes flickered to Ixion who was barley able to stand, his legs shaking beneath him. A pained look crossed her face and she cast Thunder on him once more, giving him another jolt of energy. The unicorn reared up once more, this time lighting surrounding his horn. "Look out!" Lulu warned the legendary guardian as a great bolt of lightning and sparks shot out towards the sinspawn. Slowly the fiend rose into the air and Ixion charged another jolt of lighting at the base of the blot of lighting that connected to his horn like an umbilical cord to the ball of lightning storming around the fiend floating in the air above. He released it, the storm becoming too much and exploding, dropping the fiend to the ground and crushing it into pyreflies that raced towards the sky.

Lulu watched the fiend dissipate into nothing, her breathing heavy causing her chest to rise and fall dramatically. She closed her eyes, trying to calm the adrenalin that rushed through her veins and steady her breathing. After a moment she felt something being gently pressed into her hand and she opened her eyes to find Auron standing only inches from her. Her gaze dropped to the bottle in her hand that was full of a thick blue liquid: potion.

"You're hurt." Came the former guardian's gruff voice from behind the strange mask her wore. His finger pointed to her exposed shoulder that has a jagged slash on it from the barbs of the Basilisk.

From the corner of her eye she saw his raised finger and followed it to the wound she had not noticed before. "Oh, thank you." Lulu said hesitantly as his hand dropped back to his side and she moved to drink the potion. She closed her eyes tightly as the liquid slid down her throat, the taste making her want to spit it out.

Auron gazed down at her from behind his dark glasses, staring at her chest that began to slow its rise and fall as the potion soothed her. His gaze went unnoticed by the summoner, which he was thankful for. She was glorious and her eyes were unlike any others he had seen before as she stared up at him with a curious expression. Quickly, he became uncomfortable under her searching curiosity, "What?" It came out a little more harsh than intended and he kicked himself mentally.

The Summoner was unaffected by the tone of his voice and did not allow her gaze to falter. "I was wondering...what you are doing here." She changed her question mid-sentence, not wanting to offend him.

The legendary guardian remained silent for a moment, searching for a good lie to tell her. He couldn't very well tell her 'well I just came from the Zanarkand of a thousand years ago and am now trying to find Jecht's son who is in fact a dream of the Fayth.' Something not too far from the truth would have to suffice, "I am searching for Jecht's son. We got separated when Sin attacked us on out way here." It wasn't really a lie, just not the full truth.

"Sir Jecht has a son? I was unaware of that." Lulu sounded slightly shocked, but accepted the fact easily. She had heard little of the guardians that protected Lord Braska on his pilgrimage since that Calm began ten years ago, so obviously there would be much she did not know about them.

Nodding, Auron took a step back, realizing he was still very close to the Summoner. "Yes, I need to find him before he gets himself into trouble. He was very close to Sin..." His tone was now distant as he looked off toward the sea, his eyes searching the horizon.

Lulu understood the implication in the man's tone, "Sin's toxin, how horrible." She shook her head then suddenly bowed to Auron, making the sign of Yevon. "How rude of me. My name is Lulu, the Summoner from Djose temple." Her tone was full of apology as she stood, feeing dreadfully rude for not introducing herself immediately to the important guardian.

Auron shook his head and waved his hand dismissively, "Its alright." His eyes fell back upon the Summoner before him and an idea struck him. "You travel alone." It wasn't a question as the fact was very obvious.

Looking over to Ixion, who stood off to the side waiting patiently and watching for fiends, Lulu nodded. "Unfortunately so. Not many people would chose to travel with a half breed such as I." She turned her face back to Auron and lifted the hair that covered one whole side of her features. Doing so revealed fine lines along her face that stopped at the corner of her eye. They were the lines that covered the face of a Guado, but less prominent that they would be if she wasn't half human.

Examining her face momentarily, Auron shrugged indifferently as she dropped her raven hair back in place. "I see no problem with you." He turned, walking over to where he had stuck his oversized Katana in the ground. "I would like to be your guardian." He said, pulling the blade from the ground and resting it on his shoulder. "Do you accept?" The legendary man turned to face Lulu once more, fixing her with a questioning gaze.

"Uh..." was all Lulu could manage through her shock.

"You refuse?" Auron asked, his tone cool as if the refusal meant nothing to him.

Lulu shook her head quickly, "No, I...of course I accept." She said quickly, regaining her composure. Taking a step closer to him, she nodded, "It would be an honor to have you as my guardian, Sir Auron." Her voice was now fully back to normal, which she was thankful for. His gaze made her feel a little foolish for some odd reason, as if he was looking right through her.

"There is one condition though." Auron said holding up his free hand and waiting for her to nod before continuing. "The boy I am looking for, Tidus, once we meet up with he must come with us as well." Remarkably he didn't make it sound like a demand, just a simple request he would have fulfilled.

"Of course, anything." Lulu was hardly surprised by the request and did not see it as unwelcome. "It would be an honor to have Sir Jecht's son as a guardian as well."

Auron turned from her, hiding the smile that crept up on his face at the thought of Tidus being a guardian. The boy had just learned how to wield a sword, but he had to admit he wasn't bad for an armature. "Well then, if you are ready, shall we go?" He began walking towards the beach without waiting for an answer.

Lulu did not bother to respond and just began following after her new guardian. As she heard Ixion's hoofs behind her she looked back at him and waved her hand dismissively. The Aeon stopped, mid stride and disappeared in cloud of lightning.