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Tryout Fic #9: Solid Chihuahua - Village FicIt was normal policy that combatants in the tournament were not to leave the arena and the surrounding training areas and sleeping quarters, but Auron, like many others, was beginning to crave a change in scenery. The arena itself was an impressive feat in engineering. It surpassed the coliseum in Rome in beauty and architecture and the exciting atmosphere it created rivaled that of the Blitzball stadium in Zanarkand. What little of the area outside they could see was desolate and uninviting. During the daytime, the sun attacked the contestants unmercifully and the night air was so chilling that Auron even caught himself shivering once. Still, Auron longed to see what this new world had to offer, and he was constantly on the lookout for a chance to do so. He was resting against a wall near one of the side entrances when an opportunity presented itself. Guards equipped with state-of-the-art FAMAS assault rifles were positioned at all the entrances, usually making escape impossible. Auron was recollecting the days of his youth, when he was naïve and impressionable, when the lone guard began moaning loudly. "Oh God! Not again!" the young man had turned a very sickly green color and sprinted off toward the bathrooms. Auron chuckled at his good fortune before setting off down the featureless dirt road that lay beyond the entrance. It was an hour's walk before he reached any sign of civilization. It was a small town made up of buildings no more than two stories high, built alongside a single stretch of unpaved road no more than 150 yards long. The buildings were all made of wood, unlike the stadium, which was mostly concrete and steel. The sidewalks were simple wooden planks that connect the porches of each neighboring building. The guardian spotted a post with a metal peg protruding from the side. It was apparently used to tether some sort of animal. Judging by the coloration of the wood, these buildings were very old, however well maintained. Auron could not spot a single broken window or missing plank. All of the houses were standing in perfect condition. This town was not uninhabited, even if its occupants chose to remain indoors. Auron had not walked far before seeing some sign of life. He had been casually peering into some of the windows when he passed a single-story building marked "Pharmacy". The room inside was very dark, even though a single electric light bulb lighted it. There was a plethora of interesting bottles and vials of tonic displayed in the window. They were many different colors however none were very bright or vibrant. They were all contained in bottles of dark red or green, or a very dirty orange, except for one. This one bottle seemed very unusual. Auron bent over to examine the bright pink container. "Pepto....bismol?" He read aloud. The name was foreign to him. Just then he heard the shuffling of feet from inside. He looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of a very tan young woman, no more than 19 years old. Her hair was light blonde and she had incredibly rosy cheeks. She wore a dirty white hat and a half-frightened expression. She quickly disappeared into a back room. Auron realized he must seem very out-of-place. He set off down the road again. Near the end of the town he passed two men playing chess. One was very skinny and wore glasses and a lab-coat that looked like it had been worn for weeks. The other had long gray hair and a mustache and was clad in a brown coat and leather boots. He was considerably older than the man in glasses. Auron noticed that he also wore ammunition to some sort of firearm on a type of belt. They both had a look of very intense concentration on their face, however while the young man was staring down at the chessboard, the older was fixed upon his opponent. "I can't believe they didn't let us in to watch the tournament," the young man said in a somewhat whiney tone. "Quit stalling. It's your turn," the gray-haired man had a very harsh voice. "Comon! There must be something we can-" the young man was cut off by a barely audible growl from his opponent. The man's lip twitched slightly under his gray mustache as he reached slowly for his hip, presumably for a weapon. Auron was weighing whether or not to intervene if events turned ugly. "Alright. There!" the young man, who was commanding the white soldiers, moved his queen several squares to his right. The quick-tempered man moved his bishop into position and nonchalantly said, "Checkmate. I'm going for a drink." He got up and took notice of Auron's presence for the first time. Instead of acting surprised he merely nodded to the outsider and walked off, the metal on his boots sounding with each step. Auron could the weapon the man had reached for from this angle. It was a rather decorative revolver placed in a leather holster. It had a word written on the grip but he didn't have a chance to read it before the man turned slightly, obscuring the weapon from view. The guardian from Spira decided that he had done enough rule breaking, and that there was nothing of interest outside the stadium. The short excursion had been memorable, but hardly worth the walk in the hot sun. He gazed once at the completely flat desert horizon before setting off in the opposite direction to return to the tournament. Next Entry Back |