The journey to Dali wasn't a long one. Or maybe it was so eventful that it felt much shorter. The only long, and difficult, part was finding and capturing a chocobo, but not before Aya had to hide what was left of the Gyshal greens after Selphie insisted on brewing her very own home made Gyshal wine whenever Aya's back was turned.

She stared ruefully at the five greens in her hands as she warmed herself by the fire on the second night of their journey. Aya was left in charge of brewing some kind of stew out of the random provisions they brought - having left in such a hurry out of excitement - while Selphie set up her own laboratory reserved specifically for the purpose of making her special drink. It fascinated Aya and she went through the night with a smile on her face as she watched her friend work so intently.

The next day they focused on hunting for a chocobo. Maybe two. If they were lucky.

"Wake up star shine!" Aya yelled and nudged Selphie with her foot from where she knelt, rolling her makeshift pack and bed. "Gaia says hello!!"

Selphie groaned indignantly and muttered something along the lines of, "screw Gaia" before rolling on her opposite side into an obscured bundle. Aya rolled her eyes as she sat up and grasped the edges of her fellow genome's blanket, ripping it away from her with a single tug. The morning mists enveloped Selphie and she shivered, but it was enough to at least get her to sit up. Aya instantly handed a warm mug into Selphie's hands. The girl yawned her thanks and took a long draught of the steaming liquid. After a quick breakfast they packed the rest of their things, doused the camp fire and left. Once they set out Selphie became her usual perky self again.

After much struggle and running around they caught their chocobos, cutting the distance they needed to cover on foot by half and thus reaching Dali in no time. On the outskirts of the small village they let their steeds go free and walked the rest of the way. They looked forward to finally doing something exciting.

Side by side they lay flat within the the massive rows of cornfields and vegetable patches. They watched as the men and woman of Dali worked together to load the three cargo ships. From their point of view neither of the thieves noticed where exactly the large barrels that made up the shipment were coming from, but they did notice the that each one had the Alexandrian coat of arms.

"Since when did Dali ever start doing anything for Alexandria?" Aya murmured, mostly to herself.

"Nooo ideas." Selphie replied, not particularly caring. "BUT LET'S GET THAT ONE!" She pointed an ecstatic finger at a suprisingly modern looking cargo ship for a rugged town like Dali. It was small and sleek and glistened in the mid day sun.

Aya chuckled, feeling relieved that Selphie didn't choose one of the larger air ships. She didn't mind stealing from the rich, nor was she hesitant to, but it made her feel guilty to slight and take advantage of the poor. Still, to keep her from feeling too much regret she would keep telling herself they were merely borrowing.

"HA! This will be easy!!" Selphie declared, scrammbling to her feet. She extended a hand to help Aya, though her eyes still remained on their prize. "You may as well blindfold me," she scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "I dislike an easy challenge!"

Aya couldn't help but agree that this would be an easier task than what they normally did. There was no one around to guard either of the three ships for everyone was too busy with their work. But she felt certain that they would be noticed once they tried to take off on the airship.

By now they were moving between the towering rows of vegetation, the leafy masses aiding to keep them hidden from wandering eyes. Their chosen ship was to the far left of the field, a beauty of silver and blue that stood out from the more common wood based ships. No wonder Selphie noticed it. But as they approached the end to the fields, Aya squinted to get a better look at it. She whistled softly.

"Hey, Selph," she whispered when they stopped to further survay the area. "That's a ship from Alexandria."

By the grin that was already spread across her friend's face Aya could tell that Selphie knew this long before. "Fufufu.. then they won't be needing it for a while, will they?" She said, eyeing Aya with her goofy smile still on her face, very aware of the hesitance her friend felt before this discovery.

Aya didn't meet her gaze. "It might be suspicious if we arrive at the docks in Lindblum in Alexandrian property." She paused at the thought. "Stolen Alexandrian property."

"Yeah, yeah..." Selphie muttered, waving her hand as though to brush away Aya's words. "We'll figure it out when we get there. You know," At this her tone was wistful as she recollected their previous thieving extravaganzas. "making it up - "

"As we go." Aya finished with a smirk.

Selphie nodded with a sly smile of her own. "OKAY THEN!! Here's the plan."

Actually, the plan was more of an over view of what each of their roles were and how not to get caught, or at least what to do should their intentions be discovered by any of the guards on the ship.
They crept out of the field, heading towards an area where many barrels were placed. Alexandrian soldiers walked between the rows but the two thieves found it easy to avoid these patrols by using the large containers as cover, safely reaching the airship. Because of the difficulty in attempting to scale the smooth sides of the hull and the fact that someone was bound to notice them, they decided to find an alternative entrance. With a gesture of her hand that earned an agreeing nod from the violet haired thief, Aya scouted ahead.

She came back sometime later to find an impatiently growing Selphie. "They have the cargo door open." Aya reported, breathless, her sandy tail flicking agitatedly left to right. She was nearly caught on her way back and her heart had yet to calm down. "The captain is there with three other guards."

Taking in this new information Selphie's mind raced. She then planted a determined fist in her palm. "You start the ship, find a way to close the cargo door, and I shall distract them!!"

Aya tilted her head, contemplating the plan. "Should it be in that order?"

Selphie laughed and disregarded her friend's concern. "Whatever you get around to first!"

And with that she dashed ahead. Aya didn't stop her, she was confident that Selphie knew what she was doing.

The violet haired thief casually walked close to the premises of the cargo hold. Before the guards could assume she was not part of the work force hired to load the unknown shipment she stopped just inches from the entrance, giving her feet a loud stomp as she firmly planted them.

"Oi! Air-for-brains!!" Selphie shouted, waving a hand high in the air. "Over here! I think there are actual decent men over here! I know you've GOT to be sick of the Pluto Knights!"

The female soldiers turned around and stared at her. She finished with a hearty laugh and dashed off.

"Such impudence." Their captain spat. "See to it something is done to keep thatfrom happening again." The rest of the soldiers saluted and followed after the fleeing thief. Their captain stayed behind, unconcerned whether they caught the nuisance or not, and continued reviewing the written contents from a clip board in her gloved hand.

That was when the ship suddenly rummbled with life.

Her thin lips pressed in a firm line and she lifted her head from the report. She looked around and was ready to see what was wrong when she heard a familiar chuckle behind her. Turning, her delicate brows furrowed at seeing the girl from before returning, brushing her hands together in a manner of satisfaction.

"Those numb skulls." Selphie said, giving one last glance behind her as the cargo door was closing. She turned and came face to face with the captain, nearly colliding into the older woman. "Oh crap." Fists planted on her hips, a haughty expression now on her face, she did not look amuse.

The airship was slowly rising off the ground. From outside shouts could be heard from the soldiers as they realized they had been duped.

"AHAH!" Selphie pointed at her, improvising. "You have fallen for my pla - AYYYAAAA!!" She bellowed as the maroon clad knight withdrew a rather deadly looking sword from its sheath. "Open the cargo door NOW!! Quickly, QUICKLY!!"

"What!?" Her voice was distant yet audible. "I thought you wanted me to close it!!!"

The sword came down and Selphie jumped away from it. "Change of plans!! Now OPEN the damn thing again!!!"

"Whatever you say!"

She slashed to the left, then to the right, all of which Selphie dodged somewhat clumsily. As the cargo door began to reopen, the woman came to a halt. She lifted the blade and nonchalantly inspected the sharp tip.

"Petty thieves," She murmured cooly. "You both need to be taught a lesson."

Selphie cringed. "Y'know, coming from you, that actually sounds a little - "

"Silence!" The sword cut through the air where a single strand of Selphie's hair drifted to the floor, soon swept away as the airship was now well in flight and the cargo door nearly wide open. "I am captain Bordeaux Délacore and you will do well to remember it, thief."

"Oh yeah? Well I'M," at this Selphie gestured at herself with a thumb. "Selphie Terra. And YOU will do well to remember IT. Becuz I'm gonna be the one to get your noble ass kicked out the Alexandrian guard for your incompetence. Hmph, letting your guard down so easily to TWO thieves." She folded her arms and snorted. "Did I mention two?"

Bordeaux arched a brow. "So you recognize my name as nobility?"

A blast of cool air met them as the cargo door of the airship fell open with a bang.

"Sure do." Selphie snapped. "So, let me know once I'm through with you: Is it true that the higher they are the harder they fall?"

The blade of Bordeaux's delicate sword now pointed straight towards Selphie's throat. "You willhave reason to fear me. Now, allow me to cease your tongue's flapping." She lunged, catching Selphie by surprise that she barely had time to dodge. A sudden sharp turn saved the girl from having Bordeaux nearly gauge her eyes out. The woman cursed as she stumbled.

Attention, this is yooour captain speaking!! Aya announced in a sing songy voice over the ship's intercom. We'll be expecting some mild turbulence right - about - NOW!!

The airship veered to the right. Bordeaux, who was just recovering from her previous fall, slipped once more, this time coming dangerously close to falling out of the ship itself. Other things weren't so lucky and some unfastened crates of supplies slid out. Selphie watched as she steadied herself, an even better idea than before coming to mind.

"Ayaaa!! Turn the ship again when I say so!!!"

Sounds easy, any particular direction?

"JUST MAKE IT SHARP!" Selphie snapped.

Okie dokie!

She pulled up her sleeves, revealing a large mass slowly rising on her right arm, turning thinner and more defined as a cross like mound before the it suddenly disappeared, and in her hand was a single dagger.

By then Bordeaux was standing, staring in disgust at her opponent. Her fair hair was disheveled but she payed to mind to it, merely whipped her head to the side to get the worst of it out of her face.

"Ya ready?" Selphie further taunted.

Bordeaux said nothing, but she gave a cry of rage and dove once more at Selphie. This time, however, the thief was prepared. She ducked and dodged, using her blade to defend against the worst of the strikes from Bordeaux's sword. She purposefully maneuvered herself so that her back was facing the open side of the airship. Thinking she now had the upper hand Bordeaux let lose a stream of attacks. She was open several times, but she was quick enough to prevent anyone from making that fatal shot. Selphie countered by switching to the offensive, a second dagger appearing out of her left hand.

She made a clean diagonal slice.

Bordeaux easily dodged it.

The fight ensued with Selphie making countless slices that kept missing their target. They seemed to dance across the cargo area.

After she move gracefully out of the way of another cut Bordeaux could not help but laugh at her opponents ineptness. "This is so pathetic! Are you really this terrible or just plain stupid?"

Selphie responded with a kick that made Bordeaux duck and shift around, leaving her on the open side, though she thought nothing of it. "Who said I was trying to hit you?"

The sword wielding woman paused at this and seemed to slowly realize her own folly.

Selphie took no chances. "NOW AYA!!!"

You got it!!

There was a sharp turn to the left, and the ship seemed to threaten to tip over as gavity kicked in. The netting around the various piles of crates came loose, sliced to ribbons by the many cuts Selphie had made through the duration of her fight. Bordeaux only had time to scream before piles of crates threw her off balance and ultimately, fell out of the ship, dragging her and Selphie with them. Fortunately the thief had grasped a more secure part of the ropes she purposefully left and enjoyed the thrill of her slightly free fall experience as she was swung from side to side.

As she struggled to pull herself up, a hand extended towards her. She grinned as she grasped Aya's arm.

"Sheesh, what were you doing down here?"

"Ohhh, y'know..." Selphie looked at Aya, then at the cargo hold, then back at Aya. "Umm... Aya."

"Yes, Selphie?"

"Who's driving this thing?"

A/N:

'Ello. Thar be my chapter of the story. Finally. This is why I won't make a good writer: Deadlines.

Miraculously Bordeaux doesn't die. Probably some deus ex machina intervention or something. I kinda liked what I had of her underdeveloped character while envisioning her.