Disclaimer: Final Fantasy belongs to Square Enix and not me, sadly.

Rain Clouds Of Dreams

Sit down, lose yourself in thought
Then you might find out it's all we've got
Take a chance, the future's in your hands
Make it what you can before your time has reached the end

The Calling "Thank You"

The darkening clouds made their smoky trail across the sky. It was getting dark outside; although it was only early it felt a lot later. A single droplet fell down to the earth leaving its mark on the ground. Soon after, more droplets followed the same pattern as the first.

Condensation formed as she exhaled against the window. She could feel the coolness of the glass pressed against her forehead, but she didn't mind. The cold seemed to comfort her today. She looked out of her window, which looked down on to the people in the quad. Looked down onto their faces as they walked around. She wondered if they knew she was looking at them.

The rain made its way down to the ground harder now and the ground now had spots of dampness on it. Most of the students began to gather their belongings and made their way back inside Garden. She could hear the rain pattering on the window with its relaxing rhythm. There we no more spots on the ground from the rain. The light grey path had now turned a shade darker.

Four months it had been. Exactly four months ago today they had stepped off Ragnarok together. The townspeople had applauded them for their victory. She remembered seeing the look on their faces. The relief they all felt was in the air. For once they all felt safe. If only for a little while, the whole of Garden celebrated and laughed. For the first time in Garden there was no more wars, no more battles and everyone was together.

She thought back to the days that they grew closer together. The days they spent fighting. They had all proven something along the way, if not to themselves, to the people around them. All of them had felt scared at some point during the last year, there was no denying. Whether it be fear of fighting or confronting your feelings. For her it had been feelings. In her mind she had made her way across that battlefield and told him how she felt. Sisterly love is how she had described it to be. Although deep down inside when she saw him holding her that way. She had felt her heart sink. She couldn't deny the pain she felt in her heart, although she knew that it would happen. She guessed it was just old feelings coming back to haunt her. If he should know one thing, it would be that she was proud of him. Proud of him for falling in love with the right person. Someone who would make him happy.

Lifting her head from the window she breathed on the transparent glass. The heat of her breath made the cool glass condensate and steam up. With a single finger she drew a heart on the window. Everyone had found someone since the victory. Rinoa and Squall. Selphie and Irvine. She had even noticed Zell had become close with a dark haired girl in the library, and finally husband and wife had been reunited. Cid and Edea. She looked up to the both of them. They had acted like parents to her for so many years of her life, and for that she was grateful. Both of them had been through so much together. She still looked up to Cid for what he had done. No one should have to order people to kill the person they love. Deep down, he was a strong man and the bond between the two was even stronger.

Water droplets were running down the window destroying the heart she had drawn a few moments ago. She was the only one who hadn't found someone. At times she really didn't mind about getting into a relationship, but sometimes she just felt lonely. Maybe it was her own fault for concentrating on her work too hard. How could she find someone when she always buried herself into her SeeD work? Although she did have a group of people who respected her. The Trepies. Apparently they admired her work and the person she was. To be honest she was grateful that people would like her that much to make a group called The Trepies, but at times it did get annoying and sometimes a little scary.

She lifted her hand to rub away the heart on the window. The condensation left its mark on her in the form of dampness on her fingers. Balamb was one of the three places in the world that had a Garden. Not many people in the world really liked the idea of training young people to kill. After all, at the end of the day, that was what happened. They train cadets into fighters. Into SeeD's. Killing machines was what they were sometimes called. Most of the students at Balamb lived in the dorms. In a way Cid preferred people living within the safety of Balamb Garden. The walls they spent most of their time in, kept most of other people's opinions out. When you fight for a living you don't count how many people you have killed or seriously injured. Her eyes trailed back outside the window. In a way, she thought the outside world were right. She knew that they were destroying a person's life, but if it wasn't them killed, it would be another death of a SeeD. In a way, they had to be killing machines.

She turned her attention away from the window and looked around her dorm. Four walls surrounded her. This was her isolation for now, before she went out and faced the rest of Garden. She remembered the first time she went to the memorial site. All of the Gardens had their own memorial sites where family and friends could visit and leave items for those who didn't make it. Those who never got to see the world celebrate together at the victory. She had made her way there by herself for the first time. Four tall, black gates surrounded it. Inside were rows and rows of gravestones. It hadn't been until that day that she had realised just how many people hadn't made it.

She had made her way through the many rows of gravestones looking at the names of the candidates. It amazed her how many people she didn't actually know in Garden even though they had lived in the same place as her. She studied each grave that she had she walked past, taking note of their name. One of the names on the graves had stood out although she wasn't sure how she knew the person. She thought for a moment. A picture formed in her mind of a young fifteen-year-old boy. It was then that her throat tightened and she felt her eyes fill with the warm salty liquid. She used to teach this student. He had been very enthusiastic and had amazing talent in the training centre. That was before she had lost her Instructor Licence. She wondered how he had got on after she had stopped teaching. Would he have ever become a SeeD? She'd never know now.

It was then that she cried for the first time since the defeat of the sorceress. She cried for those who didn't make it and the people who had lost a family member or a friend.

That had happened a month ago. She looked back to the rain running down the window and then to her desk. Placed on the desk was a white envelope. Since then she had been told that she had proven herself to be worthy of her Instructor Licence again. For the last four weeks she had been teaching once again.

She took a step towards her desk and grasped the paper envelope in her hands. She looked down at it for a moment. She wondered if this was the right thing to do. Clearing her thoughts of any doubts she quickly walked out of the isolation of her dorm and into the main area of Garden. She studied every aspect of Garden. How lucky she was to be able to walk freely around Garden today.

She thought back to that day when she had studied herself in the mirror. Wearing the Instructor uniform once again. She had felt positive. The doors had opened leading into her new class. It was the same room she had taught in before. As she taught her class something in her didn't feel right. It should be how it had been before. No doubts should linger in her mind. This was what she wanted, right? It was then, when she looked at the young students sat in their places, that she could remember his face. She could picture him in the same seat he always sat in. It was almost like a ghost. The boy whose grave she had spotted at the memorial site. He had been there with her, and a part of her felt like she had failed him.

She headed into the elevator and pressed the button to go to the headmaster's office. The doors closed in front of her and the elevator soon began to move up. The hum of the elevator gave her something to concentrate on. She was no longer sure how she felt. No longer sure what she wanted from Garden. She looked back down to the envelope in her hands. A simple white envelope. The simple envelope would lead to something life changing. She only hoped it would be for the better, and she wouldn't regret what she was doing.

The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened once again. She took a deep breath then stepped out of the elevator and headed straight for the headmasters office. She went as fast as she could. She felt if she went fast, she wouldn't have time to think about what she was doing, so she wouldn't change her mind. She raised a hand to the wooden door and knocked. A few moments later the door opened and Cid looked at her.

"Quistis" he said with slight surprise, he hadn't expected to see her today "Can I help you?"

"Sir, I need to speak to you" Quistis said clasping the envelope tighter in her hands. She watched as Cid opened his door wider and gestured for her to come inside his office. She took a slow step inside and followed him to his desk where he sat.

"You've known me long enough to drop the formalities around me, Quistis," he said looking at her face as he took a seat at his desk. Quistis forced a little smile. She knew she didn't need to call him 'sir' but in truth, it felt less personnel and easier for her to say what she had come here to do.

The aging headmaster studied Quistis for a moment. He couldn't help noticing the distant look on her face. She was usually such a dedicated person; it seemed strange to see her the way she was today. "Please take a seat," he finally said.

"No, I'd rather stand" Quistis said, she needed to do this before she backed out. She needed to face up to her feelings. "I just came to give you this," she said placing the white envelope on his desk.

Cid took the white envelope and looked at Quistis with confusion. Her distant gaze now looked uncomfortable. She played with her hands nervously. She could see Cid looking at her and the confusion on his face. How hard could two words be to say? Lifting her gaze from behind Cid she looked out of the window. The rain had now almost stopped. The sky was still dark, but in some patches the sun streamed through the clouds and down onto the ground. She could see droplets of water that remained on the window making a trail as it ran down the window. Her eyes looked down back at Cid and let the words roll of her tongue.

"I'm leaving"

Authors note: Please don't kill me! This story came in my mind one day when I was thinking about all of the characters. I must admit I was never fond of Quistis the first time playing the game, but now she has grown on me over the years. So this is a story following a different path Quistis could take after the sorceress war. Yes, there will be another chapter but you must bear with me as I have loads of exams, revision and coursework all to do before the end of April. Please leave a review. It will make me very happy. Flame me if you must, but just don't be too harsh. Thank you!