Disclaimer: I do not own Star Ocean or the characters from the game. They belong to Tri-Ace and Square Enix respectively. I don't profit financially from writing this story.
Author's Note: Written as an impromptu birthday story for Maria Traydor of Till the End of Time. Until such a time is noted for the characters in all but The Last Hope, I'm assigning birthdays to the characters, including some of the NPCs.
Happy Birthday, Maria! For my little universe, her birthday will be June 29. Enjoy!
When she was alone, she danced.
It was a little secret of hers, something she did for herself when she needed moments to herself. Something about the way her body stretched as she moved relaxed Maria and helped her to reestablish her focus.
Dancing also helped to sharpen her mind and her skills with her gun. Maria wasn't one for close combat. Combined with the martial arts skills she learned from Cliff and Mirage, performing difficult pirouettes enabled Maria to dodge an enemy.
There was one final reason why Maria danced when no one else was around to watch her. When she was by herself, she pretended her mother was there, observing her and smiling. Jessie had danced, had taught Maria what she knew.
With the stars under her feet, Maria felt at peace, if only for a short while.