(no subject)
"Our families are in Kilika." The sailor turns to see Yuna and Tidus run onto deck, hand in hand; there's a bare second before she lets go. The situation is so dire she forgets to blush.
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
"Forgive us, lady summoner." The sailor bows to her.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
"Please--" she whispers.
where there is injury, pardon
Their families. Oh, Light.
The distraction works, more or less, which just... leaves them shackled to Sin by a harpoon. She never thought she'd be so close--not this soon, she amends, mentally. The battle to break free is long, and savage, and it hurts her to watch Valefor torn at by the Sinspawn, the sailors thrown overboard.
where there is doubt, faith
The concussive wall of force and water and debris that rips Kilika apart as Sin vanishes.
where there is despair, hope
The sun is hot. She feels hot. Hurt and furious.
where there is darkness, light
"I have to defeat Sin," she whispers. "I will defeat Sin."
and where there is sadness, joy.
Wakka hugs her close, drenched from the sea, and she cries tears of rage into his shoulder.
The landing in Kilika is the hardest thing she's ever done. So far.
O, Divine Master
"If there is no other summoner here, please allow me to perform the sending," she tells the mayor, her expression somber but steady.
grant that I may not so much seek
They thank her--oh Light--and they take her to the beach, where the bodies have been wrapped in red cloth and floated out into the water.
to be consoled as to console
There are so many. And some of them are so small.
to be understood as to understand
Her eyes sting, and she closes them. It's easier not to look, when she sets her foot out on the water. The surface yields--and then stops yielding, the pyreflies suffusing the water transforming it into a sort of thick gel. It supports her, cool and strangely resistant against her bare feet, and step by step she walks out to sea. Her staff is in her hands.
to be loved as to love
A few yards from the shore the dance begins. The effects are subtle at first, spreading ripples in the wake of her motions and the arc of the staff, but as she speeds up they intensify, more and more pyreflies streaming up from the water. (From the bodies.) She stands in one place now, twirling and spinning, the pyreflies streaming up around her, and the water begins to boil at her feet, becoming a waterspout.
And now she's alone, up on the pinnacle, and everyone is watching, and no one matters but her and them. The multitudes passing by her, young and old and kind and cruel and greedy and loving, mothers and fathers and sons and sisters and cousins and the lonely, and she shows them the way home.
for it is in giving that we receive;
And they brush past her as they go, like feathers slipping over her skin, and their memories cling to her briefly, lost lifetimes, long and short, and she loves them and forgives them and absolves them and shows them the way.
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned
It's the most exalted experience of her life. It's the most terrible experience of her life. It's the hardest thing she's ever had to do.
and it is in dying that we are born
So far.
To eternal life.
And when it's over, she walks back to shore, and Lulu embraces her.
"You did well," the mage says kindly.
Amen.
"But no tears next time, all right?"
"All right," she whispers. Someday, she knows, there won't be.
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
"Forgive us, lady summoner." The sailor bows to her.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
"Please--" she whispers.
where there is injury, pardon
Their families. Oh, Light.
The distraction works, more or less, which just... leaves them shackled to Sin by a harpoon. She never thought she'd be so close--not this soon, she amends, mentally. The battle to break free is long, and savage, and it hurts her to watch Valefor torn at by the Sinspawn, the sailors thrown overboard.
where there is doubt, faith
The concussive wall of force and water and debris that rips Kilika apart as Sin vanishes.
where there is despair, hope
The sun is hot. She feels hot. Hurt and furious.
where there is darkness, light
"I have to defeat Sin," she whispers. "I will defeat Sin."
and where there is sadness, joy.
Wakka hugs her close, drenched from the sea, and she cries tears of rage into his shoulder.
The landing in Kilika is the hardest thing she's ever done. So far.
O, Divine Master
"If there is no other summoner here, please allow me to perform the sending," she tells the mayor, her expression somber but steady.
grant that I may not so much seek
They thank her--oh Light--and they take her to the beach, where the bodies have been wrapped in red cloth and floated out into the water.
to be consoled as to console
There are so many. And some of them are so small.
to be understood as to understand
Her eyes sting, and she closes them. It's easier not to look, when she sets her foot out on the water. The surface yields--and then stops yielding, the pyreflies suffusing the water transforming it into a sort of thick gel. It supports her, cool and strangely resistant against her bare feet, and step by step she walks out to sea. Her staff is in her hands.
to be loved as to love
A few yards from the shore the dance begins. The effects are subtle at first, spreading ripples in the wake of her motions and the arc of the staff, but as she speeds up they intensify, more and more pyreflies streaming up from the water. (From the bodies.) She stands in one place now, twirling and spinning, the pyreflies streaming up around her, and the water begins to boil at her feet, becoming a waterspout.
And now she's alone, up on the pinnacle, and everyone is watching, and no one matters but her and them. The multitudes passing by her, young and old and kind and cruel and greedy and loving, mothers and fathers and sons and sisters and cousins and the lonely, and she shows them the way home.
for it is in giving that we receive;
And they brush past her as they go, like feathers slipping over her skin, and their memories cling to her briefly, lost lifetimes, long and short, and she loves them and forgives them and absolves them and shows them the way.
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned
It's the most exalted experience of her life. It's the most terrible experience of her life. It's the hardest thing she's ever had to do.
and it is in dying that we are born
So far.
To eternal life.
And when it's over, she walks back to shore, and Lulu embraces her.
"You did well," the mage says kindly.
Amen.
"But no tears next time, all right?"
"All right," she whispers. Someday, she knows, there won't be.