Chapter 14: Halfway to Heaven
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	Leyura floated over to Lola, her feet nearly dragging against the
ground.  She felt like a wrung out towel, and could not wait to shed this
form.  It felt so peculiar to have so many arms, although she had to admit the
blue scales were pretty.  Sighing, she looked at the free chocobo.  Pip? Pop?
She couldn't tell which one it was, and didn't really care.  She grimaced as
she thought of riding the dread bird again, and considered staying as she was.
Deciding that would be a bad idea if anyone saw her, she motioned to Lola.
	"Please, change me back."
	Lola nodded.  "I call... Driel..."  Again the light filled the air,
and soon Driel dropped to the ground, human once more.
	"Darn, I forgot to cut that levitation spell first," Driel said.
Lola just giggled, her eyes gleaming.  At least she seemed to be getting used
to Driel's changes.  Which was more than Driel herself could say.  Baring her
teeth at the chocobo, she climbed onto its back.
	"Now let's you and me be friends, you hear?"  she warned the big
yellow bird.  And so they took off again.  Driel laughed briefly, wondering if
she would ever reach Jidoor.  Which reminded her...
	"Uh, Lola, where are we going now?"
	"Hmm. Wherever there are Returners.  You travelled a lot, where are
they?"
	"Well, I think there were some in Narshe, but I'm not sure, I rarely
go there.  It's nowhere near the sea."
	"Narshe is far away, but I swear I will reach it and avenge Alma and
my flowers."
	"Sure, if you want to.  We should stop by Jidoor, and then South
Figaro, though, because we'll need supplies.  Boy, travelling by land is slow
and tedious."  Driel did enjoy the landscape, which she saw so little of, but
the thought of riding this chocobo from here to eternity and back did not sit
well with her.
	They rode well into the day, until they reached the forest, which was
still withered in many places.  Lola gasped and cried over every dying plant,
and Driel had to remind her that she couldn't restore the forest plant by
plant.  They needed to stop the problem at its source.
	Towards the center of the forest, they heard the sounds of battle.
curious, the pair rode closer, cautiously though.  Bringing the chocobos to a
halt outside of a clearing, they saw what looked like a man and a monster
fighting.  The monster was truly hidious, and while the man seemed human
enough, he made Driel's skin crawl as she watched him.
	"Should we help him?"  Lola whispered.
	"Yeah right, how?  Neither of us is any good in battle, and if I use
any more magic I'm going to collapse.  Besides, that guy bugs me for some
reason."
	"I suppose you are right.  Let's move on quickly, then, in case the
monster wins and decides to chase us."
	So Lola and Driel rushed off, trying to put a good deal of distance
between them and the monster.  After a good day's journey they set up camp.
As Driel settled on the ground, with only a blanket between her and the dirt,
she let her mind unwind after weeks of abuse, and finally let herself remember
her lost brother, and the roguish man named Locke who had so briefly touched
her life...