Part one of two- Delita's Anger



It was as though' some nightmare had somehow roused itself, as even

the highland winds seemed to reflect the rage in the young man's

eyes. Invisible frost-tipped fingers ripped the dust from the cracks

in he castle wall, clawing their way through' the resilient

hill-grass with feral screams not unlike Delita's howls of fury.



In the face of this mad storm, Ramza , either out of strength or out

of ignorance, stood composed. 



"Calm down, Delita." 



With the sun dying at Ramza's back, Delita's amber eyes, which were a

mild green by day and light brown by night, flared almost red as he

turned to face the young noble.



"Calm down?? I can't calm down, Ramza! Teta is my only sister! "

Something in the unchanging deep blue of Ramza's eyes unsettled

Delita, and he turned away.



"I'm going after her," he said to the wind.



"Delita, no..."



A silent gasp escaped Ramza as Delita turned on him with a snarl,

grabbing him by the front of his shirt and lifting the smaller youth

clear off his feet.



"You would abandon Teta?!"



"Never! You know I wouldn't!!" Ramza's tone reflected some of his

friends fury. " And neither will Dycedarg! Have some faith,

Delita..." The youth's soft eyes began to tear. " You don't even know

where to start looking..."



"...Delita, Delita I can't...breathe..."



Ramza was released suddenly. He tumbled, then got onto his knees,

choking on the first few breaths of cold air.



"I...I'm sorry. Ramza...are you all right?"



"Urgh...y-yeah...I'm fine," relief was in Ramza's voice as he stood

slowly.



I only hope you are.



"Faith is for fools, Ramza."



At the sound of Algus' voice Ramza winced, and the snarl was back on

Delita's face.



"Do you mean to say my brother is lying?" Ramza's words were soft, a

warning.



But the proud noble lacked the sensitivity. "Well I certainly

wouldn't send troops to rescue a common girl."



Delita's teeth were showing now. "What did you say?"



"I said I wouldn't waste my time helping you, commoner!" There was an

ugly gleam in Algus' eyes as he made his way toward the two friends.



Ramza didn't move fast enough. Delita's fist slammed heavily into

Algus' stubborn jaw, and his proud G.I. cut thudded into the turf at

least five feet from where he was first standing.



"How dare you!!" Delita sounded crazy. Ramza got to him then, locking

his arms from behind. 



"Stop it, Delita!"



"Let go! Damn you! Let me go!!" Ramza almost lost his grip as

Delita's stiff hair grated past his eye.



He really did use too much gel.



"Heh! Commoners are all alike. How you earned the privilege of

staying with the Beoulves I can't imagine! You don't belong here,

commoner!"



You should've hit harder, Delita.



The peasant youth lunged forward with a force that nearly took his

slight friend off his feet. 



"Damn you!!"



"Stop it! Both of you!" He'd screamed next to Delita's ear, which

helped cease his struggling for as long as it took his head to stop

ringing.



Algus hadn't had enough. "Why bother with the animal, Ramza? Can't

you see? He's not one of us. He never will be."



The smirk on Algus' slightly-bruised face was infuriating, and Ramza

finally took his stand.



"Lies! Delita is my friend...no, my brother!"



On his feet now, Algus was laughing. "The son of a family

distinguished as the Beoulves has better people to associate with.

I'm sure your brothers would agree."



Arguing with the thick-headed lout wasn't going to get them anywhere,

and at the moment Delita had more on his mind than status.



Ramza was thrown off his feet as Delita wrenched free. Turning to

leave he glanced at Ramza just long enough for the young Beoulve to

read the apology in his tired eyes.



"Not all nobles are like you. I trust Ramza."



The words were wasted on Algus, but they would burn long in Ramza's

memory.



Watching Delita leave, Ramza was left with the unpleasant task of

getting rid of Algus. To any other, Ramza's quiet eyes would have

said a lot more, but the Beoulve youth had to resort to shouting this

time.



"Get lost, Algus! I never want to see you again!'



Algus' smile did not diminish. "Don't say that. We're friends, aren't

we?"



"I won't say it again. Get lost!"



The smile turned dangerous. "If you're so intent on sticking your

neck out for those animals, then you can go ahead and try. Your

brothers were right, your father did spoil you." He walked past

Ramza, towards the fields. Delita had made a turn to the castle's

back entrance. "Their main base is at Fort Zeakden. To avoid the

cordons you have attack from the rear. Do your best, little boy!"



"Get lost!"



          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



part two of two-- Reed Pipes



The day of travelling brought some comfort to Ramza, and he and

Delita couldn't help but be infected by the cheerfulness of their

troop, with Eva and Fox doing most of the chattering and Heiline's

constant laughter. Not that the two thieves were cracking very good

jokes, but the chemist had been experimenting with laughing gas

lately, and the effects from the small explosion next to the stables

this morning hadn't quite worn off yet. Left the chocobos in a rather

odd state as well. Ramza finally realized why Dawson was rattling so

badly when he tried the mounts out for the trip.



Mandalia is a quiet place just before nightfall. Leaving the rest to

finish up setting up camp--Heinline in a considerable amount of pain

from the day's "activity"--Ramza joined his younger friend some

distance away from the ruckus.



Delita didn't look up as Ramza dropped lightly onto the ground beside

him, his attention focused on the disappearing sun, that distant

source of warmth. The sky was a palette of myriad colours, like the

box of paints Teta always kept with her. They'd bought it for her a

couple of years ago, Delita and Ramza...at the market fair with what

money they had between them.



"Beautiful," Delita's voice was calm, different from yesterday.

"somewhere Teta's watching the same sunset."



"We'll get her back, Delita."



Delita closed his eyes. "I've...felt out of place for a long time."



Ramza's mouth twitched. "You actually thinking about what Algus

said?"



A soft shrug. "I guess there are some things you can never change."



"I think it's only going to take a little effort...from both sides."



There was a new light in Delita's warm amber eyes...no, Ramza had

seen it before. " Do you think I could become a general if I worked

hard enough, Ramza?"



The first time they met...in Delita's smile when Ramza said hello.



"I want to rescue Teta on my own." Delita continued. "But...I can't

do a thing. I'm...'useless'."



Ramza had no answer. He just looked at Delita, his eyes sad.



Delita pushed back an imaginary stray lock in his slick brown hair,

and plucked a long blade of grass from the ground at his side,

bringing the strip to his lips.



The note was flat, like a crow with a bad throat. It brought a small

smile to Ramza's face. Delita blushed slightly at his poor

performance.



"Remember when Father taught us how to play the reed, Ramza?

Remember?"



The young noble rummaged in the thick grass for an appropriate

specimen, and tried not to giggle as he brought it to his lips.



The high-pitched quaver sounded no better, and Delita threw his head

back, lips parted in a smile.



They went on as the darkness deepened, in a meaningless cacophony

consisting of only two notes, to the timeless beat of two strong

hearts healed and bonded anew by a melody only they could ever hear.



Perhaps somewhere Teta heard it too.



end.



By Shaoli