Growing Heart

Ch 6 - A Temporary Coexistance

"...Sid...Are you mad at me?...Sid?"

Sid kept her wrists pressed hard against her closed eyes and continued to massage her temples with her fingers. She ignored the timid whimper from the Shandian child. This isn't happening, Sid repeated to herself, This isn't happening. This isn't happening. This isn't-

"Sid? I'm really sorry. I'm really, really-"

"What...," Sid muttered as she tried to keep calm, "...In the name...of all our ancestors...were you even doing here, Aisa? You're supposed to be in the village!"

"I...I came to warn you and Wyper," Aisa gulped from behind the legs of Nami. Somehow the Blue Sea person, which the child was trying to fight off earlier, was suddenly her shield against the potential wrath of the Shandian healer. Even Boo, who was resting on top of Sid's head, looked worriedly at the child and unsure of what his master might do to her, "I...I heard a lot of voices disappearing and-"

"Of course, you heard a lot of voices disappearing!" Sid's hands fell to her side and balled into tight fists. "This is a war! Aisa, you shouldn't have come here! Do you know how much danger you put yourself in? How much danger you're STILL in?!"

Sid had almost vomited out her own heart when she saw Aisa on the back of Nami's waver up in the Upper Ruins. Sid, Wyper, Gan Fall, and even the green haired swordsman had converged there with Ohm waiting for them with his pet, Holy. Sid and Wyper were on their way up Giant Jack and towards God's Shrine only to be stopped by the priest. Gan Fall had suddenly come down from the shrine and broke the news that not only was God's Shrine was destroyed, Enel was nowhere to be found. It was all a mess and to make matters even more aggravating for Sid, instead of working with her to take down Ohm, Wyper was caught up fighting off the Blue Sea swordsman.

Just when Sid thought she had somewhat of a handle on the situation, Aisa and Nami had appeared out of nowhere. They burst through the clouds with the child screaming bloody murder while dangling from the back of the waver. Sid had abandoned her fight with Ohm almost immediately to go retrieve the child. She had promised Wyper that she was willing to step over any fallen comrades but Aisa was an exception. She wasn't supposed to be on the battlefield.

As Sid rode up with Boo and grabbed Aisa away from the waver, the snake appeared from above and swallowed them as well as Gan Fall, who had flown over with Pierre. Why he did that was beyond Sid's comprehension and she didn't even want to bother to ask. This war was turning more into a circus and Sid could only handle one clown at a time.

"Explain yourself, Aisa!" Sid demanded.

"Eek!" Aisa shrieked and ducked even further behind the orange haired woman, who was just as frustrated at Sid as Sid was with the child.

"It wasn't her fault!" Nami huffed with her hands on her hips, "We came here to get away from the snake!"

"Good job," Sid scoffed and waved her hand around the damp and dark cavernous belly, "Was being digested and excreted out as snake droppings your idea of getting away?"

"Hey! We were chased! We had no choice but to run into Upper Yard," Nami snapped, "And don't think I forgot that you owe me for my tangerines. Your debt has tripled since you took even more of them after I left."

"Aisa!" Sid yelled.

"Don't ignore me!"

"Aisa," Sid continued, looking straight past the annoyed Blue Sea woman, "Does anybody in the village know you're here? Your mom? Laki? My grandfather? Anybody?"

Aisa gulped and she shook her head.

"Do you realize how worried they must be once they realize you're gone?"