The Wolf and the Lion?

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Final Fantasy VIII or the characters, locations, or monsters. I only own my characters, and some of the things that the FF8 characters do. FF8 and all related items/creatures/people belong to Square Soft.

Warning: I am only describing the character's appearances, not the monsters. If you don't know, too bad! Look them up!

Prologue: One Month before the Exam

Before this story begins, almost a full month before, a girl lay panting and naked in the pre-dawn light. The ally she was in gave her a shield from the early morning crowd that walked the streets and the cars that honked at anything that stopped them from getting to the meeting they had to get to. The only people that knew she was there was those from her "pack."

She got up, her touch sensitive skin aching from the slightest touch, even if it was just a blanket. She squeezed her silver eyes shut as she tried to overcome the pain. As she slowly stretched, her muscles protested and locked up in pain. Even her bones ached. That was a definite downside to being virtually immortal. Every full moon, she changed, and every bone, muscle, tendon, and ligament hurt. Actually, scratch that. Every cell in her body hurt. Every movement made her want to either whimper or cry out in pain.

Once her body stopped aching enough to actually allow her to touch things without pain, she grabbed her clothes that were stashed in an old backpack that no one would pay any attention to and put them on. Her outfit consisted of a denim miniskirt, knee-high boots, elbow length gloves, and a light grey tank top with a black leather jacket. The back of the jacket had a wolf head, and she had a matching necklace pendant. She put her waist length auburn hair in a quick, but neat, ponytail as she slipped on her shoes and walked out of the ally.

As the light from the street lamps shone on her face, she was seen to be no older than 17, maybe as young as 15. In fact, she was the youngest member of her pack, the oldest being around 300 years old. That's not surprising considering that every member of the pack was virtually immortal. The only way they could die was in combat, or by getting shot with a silver bullet right in the heart.

She walked with purpose, and although she was young, no one gave her a second glance. She walked right to the apartment she shared with the third in command. He was the one who found her in the ally, close to death, and somehow pulling through, but just barely.

Once she got in the apartment, she went to the kitchen and grabbed a slice of cold pizza from the fridge, then went into the nicely furnished living room. The widescreen television was hooked up to a blue-ray player and a PS3. She turned on the PS3 and the TV, grabbed the controller, then plopped down in the blue Lay-Z-Boy rocker she had begged the third in command to buy for her. The pack wasn't in financial distress like many other packs were, not to mention the rest of the world.

She started to eat the pizza as the beginning credits of Final Fantasy VIII started. She didn't start the game right away, unlike many people would. Instead, she took that time to eat both pieces of pizza before she played the game. She was trying to get to FH to get back Ifrit's card and get the Moomba doll so the artisan would help the sculptor finish the Laguna Statue in the Shumi Village side quest. And, even though she wanted to finish the side quest, she paused the game and jumped up when the third in command came in. The third was a tall, muscular man with kind hazel eyes and a gentle smile. His skin was a bronze color, tanned from years of living in the southern states of the US. His hair was black, and about shoulder length.

"Hey! Tom, you're home!" the girl ran up to the tall man and gave him a big hug.

"Hey there, kiddo!" He ruffled the girl's hair with his hand. "How was your night?"

"I'm not a kid, I'm a teenager," the auburn haired girl said indignantly, brushing the man's hand off of her head. "And, my night was long. It's no fun hunting mice, rats, cats, and other small rodents. This city doesn't give me the satisfaction of hunting in the woods. Remember, a few years ago, when you took me out?"

Tom chuckled. "To me, you're no older than a pup. Yes, I remember. I specifically remember you trying to take down a turkey and getting pecked multiple times on the head." He continued to chuckle, smiling. The girl giggled, putting her hand to her mouth, a habit she had started when she was a young child, before the attack. When she starts to giggle, or chuckle, she would hide it behind her hand. However, whenever she laughed, an actual laugh, she threw her head back, not bothering to cover it.

"Yeah, I got pecked. So what? I had fun taking that stupid bird down. Besides, he didn't break skin, thanks to my thick, luscious fur!" the girl giggled.

"Yeah, with a bit of help," Tom chuckled.

"I got the last hit in, though," she taunted.

"Only because I knew you would want to." The man ruffled the girl's hair again. "Now, why don't you get back to your game while I grab me something to eat?" The girl giggled, nodding in agreement, gave the tall man a hug around his waist, then ran back to her chair and continued on her side quest.

The tanned man watched her beat Martine so badly at cards, he probably had a scar. She got back her card, then she ran to the grease monkey and somehow got the Moomba doll from him. Then, the girl went back to the garden, and guided it back to the Shumi Village.

He smiled to himself as he scrounged around in the fridge for something that appealed to him. He wanted something with veggies, considering he had just had a bunch of raw meat. Tom settled for a salad with carrots, raw green beans, and tomatoes with a drizzle of Italian dressing.

Tom walked back into the living room and watched the auburn girl with the silver eyes play her game. He loved her, but not as a mate. He was protective of the young girl, and seeing as he cared for her for almost 9 years, he didn't feel any attraction to her. Well, that's not true. She was like a daughter to him.

Tom also knew that the girl felt the same way, she saw him as a father, and since her dad died when she was young and her mom didn't want her, she was thrown onto the streets, where, when she was almost 7, she was attacked and changed. He found the girl a few hours after the attack and he had been caring for her ever since.

The girl finished her side quest. Her face broke out into a wide smile, and she nearly threw the controller and started jumping around. Her guardian grinned at her enthusiasm. In some ways, the girl was a lot like Zell. She tended to let her emotions take over, and she was really hyper. In others, she was like Squall; she was not one to get close to many people. It had taken the girl many years to warm up to Tom.

She was also one to not listen to orders often, and she could be bossy. But, she did listen to most orders, and she tried to keep the bossiness down. She was a remarkable girl, with many quirks. Tom just didn't want her to leave. He felt he had to keep her safe; he had to keep watching over her. He didn't want to have her decide that she would be better off in another pack. He didn't want his little girl to leave him…

At the same time, in a different world, a boy of about 17 with messy brown hair and stormy blue eyes was sitting at a desk by himself in a classroom located on the top floor of the Garden, going through his study panel built into the desk. He wore a white shirt with a black leather jacket with a white ruff and a lion headed pendant. His dark pants had multiple belts hanging off of them. He also wore dark boots.

The other students in the class were standing around until the instructor came in. The boy ignored them, as he had been doing since he came to the Garden, many years ago. He'd been here since he was a young boy, probably no more than 6. He didn't let anyone get close to him, he didn't want to lose anyone he cared about, like he did before he came to the Garden. That was a pain he didn't want to experience again.

As the instructor came in, the boy sitting across the aisle from the brown haired boy threw a piece of balled-up paper at the brown haired boy's head. It hit its mark, but the brown haired boy didn't flinch. He just grabbed the paper, and unwrinkled it. Inside was a little note.

Meet me outside the garden after lunch. Bring your gunblade. Unless you are to chicken to… No magic, just the gunblades. ~Seifer~

The brown haired boy glared at the boy who threw the paper. He was blonde; his hair was slicked back except for a few strands that resisted taming, just like the boy who threw the note. He wore a light grey overcoat that went down to about his calves. On each sleeve of the overcoat was a red cross. Underneath the overcoat, the blonde boy wore a dark shirt and pants with black boots. Around his neck, the boy wore a silver necklace with some sort of pendant on it.

The blonde boy, Seifer, smirked at the brown haired boy. Seifer knew the brown haired boy sitting across the aisle wouldn't, no, couldn't pass up the challenge. He wouldn't run away and be seen as weak.

The brown haired boy glared at Seifer one last time before turning his attention back to the instructor, who was reminding the class that if they hadn't taken the written exam, they should do so today. The field exam wasn't too far off. The class for today would be used to take the written exam for those who hadn't taken it yet. The rest of the class had the day off. Then she read the names of the students who could leave off of the clipboard she was holding. Both Seifer and the boy sitting across from him were given the clear, and Seifer stood up.

Seifer walked out before the instructor had finished reading the list. She stopped long enough to put her hand to her forehead and shake her head. 'He'll be expelled if he doesn't straighten up his act. He doesn't listen to me. Actually…' "he doesn't listen to anybody." That last part the instructor muttered under her breath.

The brown haired boy stayed in his seat until the list had been called out and the students had been given the clear to leave the room.

"Allen! Get back in your seat! You are going to take this test!" the instructor suddenly exclaimed, crossing her arms. The kid who was called out walked back to his seat sheepishly. "Mary, Jordan, both of you sit back down!" The girls called out also walked back to the seat they shared. There were two study panels in each desk, so there were able to be two sitting at the same desk.

The boy looked back and sighed. 'People tried to take the easy way out, but the only way that actually got to anywhere was the hard way.' He walked out of the room and down to the elevator. He pushed the floor 1 button, then got on the elevator and walked to his dorm, at the north end of the garden.

He got off the raised circular stand that held the elevator, then turned and walked along the circular main path to the back of the garden, straight to the dorms to grab his gunblade. Once he had his gunblade in its sheath and on his hip, he walked into the cafeteria to grab something to eat before he went outside to meet Seifer outside…

Outside the Garden, the boy saw where Seifer wanted to meet. How could he not? It was right above the Fire Cavern. The blonde boy stood at the edge, looking right at the brown haired boy. The boy outside the Garden's front gate rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming. But, he still went to meet Seifer's challenge head on.

He climbed the Cavern's side, reaching the top in minutes. Seifer smirked as the boy climbed the last ledge.

"He he, I didn't think you would come. Don't you have a class to get to later?" Seifer questioned, his voice smug.

"Oh, shut up," the boy said. "If I recall, it was you who told me to come."

"I didn't tell you to come, I simply asked for you to meet me here," Seifer replied, his voice innocent. A smirk formed on his face, which proved he was baiting the other boy. The brown haired boy raised an eyebrow, placing a hand on the hilt of Revolver, his gunblade. Seifer followed suit, grasping his gunblade's hilt. They stared each other down, circling, as they both drew their blades. The two blade masters eyed each other, waiting for the other to make a move. It was Seifer who took the first move. He ran at the other boy, his blade held out to his side, dragging the tip along the ground. The blade sparked as it ran along the ground.

The brown haired boy quickly jumped to the side as Seifer swung his blade up, right where the other boy had been just a moment before. The boy quickly retaliated by swinging Revolver at Seifer's legs, missing by the breadth of a wire. The blonde jumped back, then jumped high into the air, bringing his blade back behind his head then swinging it down with all the force he could muster. The other boy quickly rolled back. Once he was back on his feet, he ran at Seifer, slashing at him.

Seifer dodged to the side and retaliated by swinging his gunblade at the other boy, who caught the blonde's blade on the flat of his own blade. Seifer pushed against the other boy's blade. Both boys were putting their whole weight against the other's blade, hoping to push one or the other back. The blonde was pushed back a few inches, who pushed back harder. The other boy was pushed back the same amount, but they were at a virtual standstill. The boys were almost equal in strength.

Thus, the boys pushed back against the other's blade one last time before they pulled apart, blades sliding against the other. The boys circled each other again, breathing heavy and judging each other's strength, although it wasn't really necessary. The brown haired boy made the first move this time, slashing at Seifer's sword arm. Seifer dodged it, sliding to the right. The other boy quickly adjusted his body so that the slash was still aimed at the blonde. Seifer was about to retaliate when a member of the Garden Faculty stepped between the two boys.

The guy was wearing a long sleeved white shirt that hid his hands, a red dress looking thing that had thick straps of the same color holding up the dress. On his head, he wore a yellow hat that was round and hid his face.

"You two are supposed to be in class, not sparring. Get back to the Garden before I decide to tell the Headmaster," he said. The boys sheathed their gunblades and walked back to the Garden, which wasn't too far away, Seifer was fuming at having his duel cut short. The other boy was expressionless.