Faithless Memories

The Adventures of Traveling

Chapter 11

The day went by much slower than they thought it would. The caravan, as a whole, had to keep slow enough that the slowest wagons would stay with everyone. It was both good and bad as far as Kris was concerned. She had never been on a chocobo before. She had been told how to ride them, and once she was in the saddle, she found it wasn't that hard, but she was thankful the pace was slow while she got used to it. On the other hand, she had thought they had exaggerated somewhat when they said it would take them two months to get to Costa del Sol, but at this pace, she couldn't help but wonder if it might be longer. At least they were headed toward better weather.

By the end of the day, she also found out the meaning of being saddle sore. It wasn't that she and Zack weren't in good shape since their practice made sure they were, but these were a whole new set of muscles, and she wondered if she would ever walk the same when they were done with this trip. Zack obviously didn't feel any better either, as he didn't bother even trying to suppress his groan when he finally slid to the ground. She couldn't even find it in herself to tease him about it, as she barely managed to suppress the same sound.

They took a few minutes to walk around before they worked to unsaddle their chocobos and get them cleaned and fed. Hans had been kind enough to work on his next to them so they could get the hang of how to do it properly. By the time that was finished, Kris was ready to drop where she stood, but she forced her feet to move and help Zack put up their tent. They had one big enough that the two of them could share. It wasn't ideal, but it was the cheapest option. It would also ensure that they could watch out for each other when they were parted from the caravan.

Once the tent was up, Kris realized she wanted sleep more than she wanted food. The head merchant, Rolf Anders, had invited the two of them to share his meal, though, and she couldn't turn down his hospitality. Especially since they had been told they would be fending for themselves. He told them he had been impressed at the fact that neither of them slowed the caravan down. Despite what he had been told by Mr. Thomas, he had expected them both to give up already. Zack managed a grin at that, but even his boundless energy was running low by that point. By the time they were finished eating and finally made it to their bedrolls, they were asleep almost before their heads hit the pallets.

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They spent three more days like that before the caravan made its first stop. By that time, Mr. Anders was a little reluctant to let the two of them stay outside of the town, but they insisted. It had as much to do with them wanting the opportunity to hunt and build up their resources as it did with them wanting to save money. He finally relented, but he gave them advice on a good place to stay that was on a small rise a short distance past the village. It would ensure that they wouldn't miss the caravan when it was time to leave. They thanked him and headed out.

They both found that they were delighted to have a couple of days out of the saddle. It was even better when they managed to find a knot of Touch-Mes. They were not difficult to defeat, but they were irritating. Especially since one of them managed to get Zack after the boy practically jumped in front of Kris. She gave him a glare after she transformed him back. She would wait until later, but she planned on letting him know how stupid the move had been since she was already out of harm's way. The effect wouldn't have lasted through the night, but it could have made their day far more difficult. At least they had a few of the remedies they would need to counter it.

The good part was that once they were killed, their secretions were worth a lot of gil. It was one of the main ingredients in the Maiden's Kiss. It took them nearly an hour to round them all up and then the rest of the day to harvest what they could. By the time it grew dark, they were both ready to clean up and sleep, but neither of them could deny the fact that they were reenergized. It might not seem like much to others, but their lucky haul gave them hope that the rest of their trip would be successful.