World Refugees Final Mix

Ren folded down the map she had been poring over in a desperate attempt to learn something about the geography of this place before heading out. Some part of her mind was ranting repeatedly about how coming to Ivalice when she had never seen more than about half an hour's worth of FF XII gameplay while a former roommate played it was a terrible idea, and this was her attempt at making it shut up.

"Well, at least we have each other for company, right?" she said, trying to stay optimistic despite another part of her mind deciding to join the first in its mutiny and insisting that this trek was very likely to end in some sort of injury, knowing their luck. "And that's what all the Potions are for," she reminded herself, adjusting her pack to feel the reassuring weight of many bottles for good measure.

"We'll call it a road trip, just without the radio and traffic jams!"

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Aria was not looking forward to the trip with the weather shifting the way it was. Hopefully it wouldn't be a problem.

"I don't even want to think about how I was thinking of going alone," she said with a grimace.

"No traffic jams, just monsters and unpredictable weather."

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Fox said nothing. She was too busy keeping track of their path and watching for monsters. With their riding lessons having been a bit rushed and no lessons on fighting while riding, they were at a disadvantage. Fox seriously doubted that the monsters would leave them alone simply because they were riding Chocobos.

No sooner had she thought it than a monster took an interest in them. It was a Wild Saurian. For all Fox knew, it was the same one that she'd seen when she'd first arrived in Ivalice.

The Chocobo seemed to have the right idea. They were better off running and since the Saurian was between them and Rabanastre now, off toward Giza Plains was trhe best option.

"Let's go!"

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Ren let out a very intelligent "eep..." at the sight of the Saurian and wasted no time following after Fox.

"So aside from running for our lives, do either of you have any other advice on how to handle that thing?" she called out to her companions. And oh, this was a bad time to be getting Jurassic Park flashbacks...

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Aria looked behind them at the still following Saurian.

"Well, it looks like the Chocobos are faster at least," she called back. "It'll probably give up soon."

She thought she read somewhere that Saurians were immune to Stop but after a few seconds decided to try it anyway.

Trying to cast while riding a Chocobo and holding on to a Dream Hare was a little difficult but she managed to throw the spell in the Saurians direction without falling off. She didn't wait to see if it worked before turning forward and getting a better grip on her Chocobo.

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The Saurian might have blinked at the burst of magic, but it didn't even slow down. Whether that was because it really was immune to the spell or because the spell just didn't take, Fox really didn't care. The Chocobos were fast enough to out run it.

Although glancing back and seeing the Saurian snap up a wolf that happened to run across its path was a bit unnerving...

This was going to be a long trip...

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"So, um, these things don't hunt in packs, do they?" Ren asked, not daring to look back.

Maybe she was just out of practice, but the idea of fighting off a pack of Saurians freaked her out more than fighting Heartless did. It probably had to do with being able to get used to the little black critters rather than the new experience of dinosaurs... Still, she wasn't in much of a mood to rationalize her thoughts right now. Just getting away mattered most at the moment.

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Aria looked back and saw the Saurian change course going after a wolf instead.

"Well, it looks like it got tired of chasing us," she said after a moment.

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As they'd heard, it was the rainy season in Giza Plains. Most of the monsters either ignored the riders or eyed them and seemed to be wishing they weren't mounted. The wisest course seemed ot be to head for the village that was here, even though the people left it for this season. According to a source in Rabanastre, for some reason monsters avoided the village... usually.

Still, heading to the village was probably a good start. It also marked about one third of the way to the next region. Hopefully they wouldn't encounter any Elementals...

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"Mmm, don'tcha give her too much rain, try to keep her away from pain, because my baby hates to cry," Ren sang to herself under her breath. She had always had a fondness for Billy Joel's "Travelin' Prayer," mentally adopting the song about praying for a young woman's safe journey in a distant land as her personal theme for the Refugees. Unfortunately, her habit of singing quietly to herself (and not all that well, either) to pass the time probably wasn't earning her many points with Fox and Aria.

"Well, it looks like strength in numbers is serving us well so far," she said a little while later, noticing how most of the nearby monsters had been behaving. "Let's hope none of us have to run off alone for some reason..."

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Aria didn't really mind the singing all that much. It was better than the song that was stuck in her head anyway.

"I doubt we'd have to split up," she replied. "Not unless one of the Chocobos decides to take off in a random direction with one of us on it anyway."

She was looking off to the side when she thought she saw an Elemental. "Is that an Elemental," she asked while squinting at something to the right.

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Discomfitted by the question, Fox turned to look. Yes, that was an Elemental. It looked like a Storm Elemental.

"We should be fine as long as no one uses any magic," Fox replied. As true as that was, the problem lay in the fact that another monster in the area might cast a spell. If that happened, the Elemental would attack whoever was closer, not caring who cast the spell. Fox had had her party wiped out in Final Fantasy 12 too many times due to just that happening. A guide book the Moogle at the stable had given her said that Elementals did in fact behave that way. So, with even a small scrap of luck, they should be fine.

Fox didn't trust her luck, though, and had her bow ready to try and pick off any monsters close by that she saw preparing any magic.

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"Well, you know I'm good," Ren said. Once again, never studying magic had provided a small advantage to counteract how tactically limited it made her otherwise.

Seeing Fox ready her bow reminded her that they might need to fight anyway, and so she reached for her staff. It would just be like jousting, right? How hard could it be?

...Maybe sticking with Potions duty would be better.

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"Just keep moving and it'll be far away before anything decides to cast anything and it'll kill that," Aria mumbled. It wasn't that close to them but she kept her eye on it as they passed anyway.

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They were quite a stretch away from the Elemental when a couple of Hyenas started harassing a Great Tortoise. In response, the Tortoise cast a Water spell at the Hyenas. The Elemental fragged the whole bunch of them with a Thundaga and seemed to throw a tantrum for a while. As the three Refugees were far enough away to go unnoticed, they had little to worry about... except maybe a separate group of Hyenas taking advantage of their distraction as they watched the other monsters fight.

Fox's Chocobo jumped, startled, and tipped Fox onto the ground.

"Fuck!" was all Fox had to say on the matter as she scrabbled to her feet and drew her sword. The first Hyena moved in for the kill a little too soon, underestimating her, and lost its head for the move. Another Hyena approached, snarling.

What a lovely trip this was turning out to be...

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Ren urged her Chocobo forward, keeping one hand on the reins and one on her staff to block any other Hyenas from rushing Fox while she was down and distracted. Her attacks certainly wouldn't be graceful like this, but she was more concerned with holding a defense at the moment.

She almost told the others that at least it wasn't the Elemental attacking them, but then decided that it would be wiser to just keep quiet and not jinx things any more than they already were.

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"Well, fuck," Aria said before turning her Chocobo and going towards where Fox fell.

Not sure she could fight on it without injuring it she hopped off the Chocobo and skewers the nearest Hyena. It wasn't dead yet and turned on her, almost jerking her sword out of her hands.

It lunged and instead of dodging she shifted her blade to block it's jaws. Expecting it to bite it, she was left off balance when instead she ended up slicing through it's head and throat. She fell on her ass.

"Ew," she said while picking herself up. "This almost makes me miss Heartless."

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Fox heard the brief clash and the 'Ew' and... was surprisingly amused. It was short lived, though. There were two more Hyenas that Fox could see and one was charging at her full tilt. Would it try to lunge and bite or did it intend to try to get her with its horn?

Why the hell did Ivalice Hyenas have horns anyway?

The Hyena made as if to lunge and bite, but instead of biting, it swung its head down. Prepared for a bite, Fox had angled her sword so as to let the Hyena bite it, only to have it parried by the horn instead. Off balance, she was knocked away a few steps when the Hyena then swung its head to the side, almost knocking her sword from her hand. She was barely able to get her sword back up when the Hyena did lunge and bite this time. It's momentum was enough to knock her down, though it still wound up with a mouthful of sword.

It was risky, but a well place Fire spell could get the beast off. It could also attract an Elemental, but at least they might be able to out run that. With no time to really mull it over, Fox cast Fire right in the Hyena's face. As it recoiled, she plunged her blade into its chest, just under the throat.

Now where was that last Hyena?

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"Easy, easy now," Ren said softly to her Chocobo as they stared the final Hyena down. She was dimly aware of Fox and Aria fighting around her, but this one beast had commanded her attention. "We'll be all right, just--whoa!" Ren gritted her teeth and tried to stay in control as the Hyena lunged, baring its fangs at either Chocobo or rider--Ren wasn't in the mood to stay put and find out.

"Bad day, bad day, bad day!" she chanted under her breath as she and her Chocobo raced to stay one step ahead of the Hyena. They were well and truly screwed now, unless...

Without taking the time to consider whether or not this would actually work, Ren abruptly forced her Chocobo to stop. The Hyena, too surprised to stop in time, continued forward, leaving the back of its head and neck open for a quick blow from Ren's staff.

Keeping her balance on the Chocobo was a little too difficult to maintain after that sudden swing, but at least the Hyena was too dazed to counter in time, leaving Ren free to attack again and finish the job.

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