Lix Rewrite

	The others were still fast asleep  when Faris woke in the middle of the night.  What place was this again? She, the old man,  her sister (which was still a lot to take in), and  the man with the chocobo had been to so many  in the past few weeks that it was hard to keep  track. "Let's see," she murmured to herself  under the quilted cover of a bed, before  sighing. A bed was a good sign. They weren't  camping. "First it was Tycoon... then the  Crescent Island..." Her fingers came up to  count off each place. "Then the man at Lix let  us-- oh." Her face fell to realize that it was  another hometown.
	As difficult as the castle had been  for her, she could only imagine what this town  was like for Bartz. He had a life here. A  family, presumably. He never spoke much  about matters of that nature. And after his  chocobo had been found injured at the cove,  Faris felt a knot form in her throat trying to  console him about the only family he seemed to  have left. It reminded her of Syldra. It wasn't  the first time she had woken up thinking of her,  actually. For the past few nights the sound of  lapping waves had cursed the lavender haired  pirate's ears even in sleep, forcing her awake  before she had time to hear her monster  companion's cries. It wouldn't be long, if  tonight was like other nights, before it  happened again. The tears, the muffling  whimpers, her nightgown's arms covering with  wet spots from scrubbing at defiant eyes... No.  She had to be strong. Syldra would have  wanted her to be. Maybe her father, too, and  that's who they were here to find. Or at least  they were on the way there.
	While Faris forced herself to look  scan the room for anything to distract her--  why did the ocean still ring out so clearly if  they were so far from the coast?-- she found  herself focusing on Lenna first. The princess  herself, her sister, was fast asleep and snoring  quietly. "Guess she hadn't outgrown that old  habit," she spoke again, her voice breaking.  The bedding felt heavy on her all of a sudden.  Too constricting. As quietly as she could she  got out from under it and looked around some  more. Galuf was comfortable in his own way,  she supposed, though it couldn't be easy  sleeping with half of one's body almost on the  ground. But something was amiss.
	Bartz must have gotten up at some  point, because his cot was unoccupied. In a  way, she expected it. If Faris's home was more  easily navigated she would have been out  wandering too. The castle had echoed with her  bare footsteps when she'd worked up the  courage. No doubt Lix held his. And as Lenna  had comforted her, something drove her to do  the same for him. Who knew? Maybe he would  open up a bit, not be such a calculating thing,  have some life to him instead of the silence she  met everywhere save for battle... But now  wasn't the time to think of that. It was time for  action.
	The woman didn't bother binding  her breasts; it was too late at night to care  about hiding her gender. Besides, she could  trust him. And there was no one around who  needed to care she wasn't a man. That was a  good feeling for a change, being one's self  instead of what was expected. Faris's  nightgown off and breeches and tunic on in its  place, she laced up her boots and struck the  flint by the candle to light it.
	Her steps were as soundless as a  thief of the sea were supposed to be. Neither  floorboard nor stair creaked under her limber  body's weight on the way out the door. Moving  the light around, she saw even the innkeeper  was asleep. It was quite the nice favor of him  to allow them a free night's stay, but she  questioned the business practice. Locked in by  mountains, this town surely didn't get much  commerce-- and especially not for people  needing an inn. But Faris shrugged it off to  continue her mission.
	She hadn't seen much of it in the  daylight to compare it to, but Lix was beautiful  at night. Fireflies were darting past when she  opened the door, and the clear air did miracles  for the flower patches that seemed to be at the  front of every building. Someone other than  herself was awake too; she heard the  unmistakable tone of a guitar in the distance,  though its song was too far off to hear for what  it was. It was more welcome to her ears than  the waves fuzzily playing in her head. Than  Syldra's dying gasps. Than the scratching of  metal on stone to the west.
	Wait.
	Faris followed the sound with her  spare hand on her knife. Her pirate  sensibilities worked past the nightmare  clawing at her brains, enough that she closed in  on the kneeling figure with a defensive air. A  curious one too, but more important was  keeping herself alive. Underfoot a twig  snapped and she cursed herself for allowing  such a slipup. Whatever she was approaching  turned its head her way.
	"Oh, Faris..."
	Her hand let go of the hilt when she  registered the one speaking to be Bartz. Why in  the world he was on the cold hard ground  Faris had no idea, but she knew it had to be for  good reason. The sandy haired man sat up a  little more to gesture her over. She could  barely see anything in the dimming light,  however; her candle was starting to melt  down. In fact, it was probably down to its last  centimeter of wax.
	She didn't say anything but knelt  next to him and let the last light die on their  quiet moment. In front of her companion was a  rock with writing she couldn't make out. All  she could see for what the stars and moon and  occasional bug's rear end showed off were his  teary eyes. Then three words made themselves  clear. "Here Lies Stella," Faris mouthed.   Before she had a chance to speak, Bartz did:  "Meet my mom."
	Faris's tongue started to tie itself  into knots. Now she understood why he was  here. How could he be sitting so calmly, she  wondered. "Eh?" The sound came out without  her meaning to, and again she chastized herself  for making a mistake as silly as that.
	"You know, I was born in this  village." He blinked a couple of times and  shook his head, then shifted his posture. One of  his legs bent under the other while he gripped  the heightened knee. "Mom passed on when I  was still young. After that, I traveled with Dad  for a long time. But three years ago, he got real  sick..."
	The stone was all he seemed to see  for a while. Bartz was fixed on it, and Faris  fixed on him. To hear him speaking like this  was so strange. Until now, he had been the  voice of reason, and rarely of emotion. Without  a doubt he cared for the others, but didn't show  it in words. Or, for that matter, gestures. Yet  here he sat at the grave of his mother and told  of his father. Syldra was the last thing on her  mind now as she contemplated his  movements-- the stone-metal scrape had  started again, and it was definitely him the first  time based on what he was doing.
	They stayed there quietly while he  kept up the carving, a crude job even for one in  the dark. Eventually, more words came out  from under his knife. Simple ones, powerful  ones.
	"...And Dorgann, Devoted  Husband"
	Bartz spoke again, barely keeping  the tremolo of his voice in check. "He always  wanted to be buried here with Mom. Dad was  so strong..." Back to his knees, he sheathed his  knife and folded his hands. Watching him carry  this much reverence filled Faris's heart with a  pain she felt every now and then, a deep one.
	In her eyes, a man with a crown and  a blurry face carried her to a wind drake she  was too afraid to ride. Then, another who  pulled her from a stormy sea. From that scene  came that infernal sound again, though she  refused to see what went with it. Not Syldra.  Not again. Not more loss. She closed herself  up in a ball to lessen the ache.
	"A father, huh... wonder what that's  like."
	Faris felt the tears coming and  scrubbed at her eyes. She hadn't gotten to know  anyone that well, and here she was next to a  man who mourned both parents in a way she  never could. In dignity and peace. It drove  anger into her gut along with the hurt, and it  was even worse next to Bartz. Bowing her  head into her lap she let a few drops of  emotion trickle down, so he couldn't see her  falling further apart...
	After a time, she felt a hand on her  shoulder. Faris jumped up to see Bartz  crouching by her side, a shadow forming in the  sunlight barely creeping up from the horizon.  "Faris?" This time he was more in control, and  that more than anything brought her back. The  sound was gone. All she saw was what truly  sat before her, not the spray of the water  claiming her last best friend. It was well again.
	The pirate uncurled and stretched  her limbs to wake her body again. Not wanting  to make more of a scene of herself, the next  words came carefully. "Let's head back.  Lenna'll worry if she wakes and finds us  gone."
	The only thing she saw of Bartz  before walking back to the inn was his head  nodding to her. Time to go forward.