Dog-eared curtains were disturbed by the materializing breeze. It had been a silent eve in Balamb, the usual nighttime troublemakers retiring to their quarters early for one reason or another. Consequentially, it had been a tranquil sleep for most in the Garden Dormitories. With bated breath, two birds roosted on the windowsill outside, with the sunrise casting long shadows through the cracked window. They dared not chirp too loudly, lest they awaken the inhabitants of the placid room, but it did not hurt to discuss the happenings of the day in a reserved fashion. Unsurprisingly, the vertebrates didn't pay much notice to the scene beyond the timeworn glass; after all, the world didn't revolve around humans. It is a common misconception that those beings with the highest intelligence dominated the globe in a hierarchy of sorts, but no, Hyne created all of his subjects to be equals. Only by ingenuity and self-infatuation did humans progress to cultivate the land with their creations. Even though the feathered fellows didn't pay the slumbering beings much mind, as soon as an arm stirred, they immediately (and with panic) took flight. The sudden interruption of their hushed vigil startled them terribly, sending chills down their minuscule spines as they headed westward towards a more suitable windowsill.
Lania's hand twitched some as her eyes fluttered open, meeting the sight of yellow light splashing the digital clock that told her that it was 7:04 AM. Typically she would be panicking due to class starting at 7:30, but on this morn she didn't care much for throwing on her uniform and rushing off to the cafeteria. No, this morning would be much more lackadaisical in light of her victory in her internal battle. Were her adversaries truly conquered, or had they just submitted for the time being? It was impossible to know what was running through her mind during those ethereal moments, where her nerves had melted and left her with an exquisite body to be caressed and taken care of. Across the way, an empty bed rested almost eerily, merely inviting her to harness her recollections of a romance long destroyed. She felt some motion behind her as Cameron shifted some, smacking his lips and wrapping his free arm just a bit tighter around her midriff. The white sheets were caressing them in a motherly way; not strangling the intertwined pair, but instead grazing their skin lightly, seemingly hovering above them in a delicate way. Despite Lania's awakening, Cameron was still enjoying his sleep for he was the typical deep sleeper. On many occasions, he had slept through various emergency drills, even a terrorist attack drill. Of course Lania wasn't as nearly as disturbing as the cacophonous alarms, but she still expected to see Cameron smiling at him when she awoke. No matter, that image of his boyish grin from just hours ago was still burned in the back of her mind. That would keep her happy as she reached one arm out from under the covers in order to tuck free strands of hair behind her pierced ear.
It was rare for Lania to feel as if there was nothing wrong with the world. The Garden staff was enjoying the events leading up to the Festival, the SeeDs were easily completing their missions, the cadets were enjoying their time at school with less instructors to reprimand them, and the weather was flawless. Were these the aftereffects everyone else felt the morning after? The brunette could use a temporary euphoria such as this one every once in a while, if that was the case. With advanced classes, numerous statistical reports, increased hours of training, and countless clubs of which she was a member, her senior year was shaping up to be one big migraine, to say the least. Certainly her life wouldn't be any easier if she passed the SeeD Exam, yet she knew that she would be happier with fewer classes and more interesting things to do such as field missions. Keeping this in mind, Lania recognized that she couldn't make these sorts of encounters a habit by any means; after all, her mother always preached to her when she was younger how men were the downfall to her career as an actuary. Whenever she thought about spending the night with Aidan, Mrs. Lancaster's booming voice filled her mind, telling her that men will reduce her to the stereotypical housewife role. She wanted to shape Lania into the person that she always wanted to be, though Lania doubted that her mother ever wanted to become a SeeD. Then again, she had never asked her… had Lania become the last hope for her family? With no grand legacy to inherit, perhaps it was her responsibility to create her own.
"Mmm… g'morning," said a raspy voice behind her, the light scent of imported beer filling the air momentarily. The strong arm that had held her in place was lifted off of her, the sounds of a yawn and a grand stretch making her giggle inwardly.
"Hi," Lania replied, rolling over and watching Cameron stretch and scratch his ribs satisfyingly enough. He had a unique smell about him; not body odor by any means, but some sort of mixture of lotion, beer that both tasted and smelled like grapefruit, and whatever fabric softener he used for his bedding. It was somewhat tantalizing, though Lania wasn't in the mood to participate in any more promiscuous activities for the time being. Her body was still shaking a tiny bit from the pure adrenaline rush of breaking her mold. Being dropped from the honors roll, getting bulldozed by a T-Rexaur, and dealing with all of the drama in her circle of friends had defined her existence this season, but with taking another huge step towards becoming an adult, she felt incredibly refreshed. Blonde tresses of hair, dark hazel eyes, and a sideways smile only reaffirmed her happiness in this setting, however random it might have been. She ran her fingers over her friend's washboard stomach, laughing quietly when he flinched and retracted from her touch. She had almost forgotten that he was ticklish, but Cameron didn't seem to mind as he turned and faced her on the spacious bed, lips pursed as he read her expression.
"How are you feeling? Not hung-over, right?"
"Right. I didn't drink that much, and besides, I'm not a lightweight."
Cameron laughed. "Good." Red numbers glimmered near Lania's head, and he propped himself up on his arm to check the time. After squinting, he realized that the first number the clock told him was a 7 instead of a 4, and with a great start he flipped himself up in bed. "Holy crap! We're going to be late for class!" he said loudly, beginning to search the sheets for his boxers.
"So what?" Lania asked, now propping herself up and rubbing her eyes nonchalantly while spying on Cameron's Adonis belt. "We can miss a day, it's not like anything is going—"
"Lani, we have Vernon to deal with."
Lania stared blankly at her counterpart for a mere two seconds before rolling out of bed, searching frantically for her undergarments through the mess that was Cameron's floor.
- - -
The train blared as the two SeeDs stepped onto the worn brick path. Smoke filled the area, the Sun already climbing up through the sky to make its way toward the noon hour. Of course, it was still the early morning, yet it felt like eons had passed with how long it had taken to cross half of the continent. A large clunk was heard behind the pair, the source of the disturbance being Avery's suitcase as it rolled out behind him. Neither Nida nor his partner looked too thrilled to be here at the Galbadia Garden Train Station. Although the two were decent friends, they surely didn't enjoy sharing the same airspace for the past seventeen hours, an occurrence spawned by an unusual change in the Galbadian climate. Apologies were issued, thanks were given, and even free Deling Raptors t-shirts were administered. Regardless, space was lacking in the locomotive, so things were quite uncomfortable despite the pleasantries and gifts offered by the corporation. Firstly, there was a significant delay in the train schedule (about an hour and a half), and the SeeDs' first-class seats were accidentally tendered to two actresses from Dollet town. After settling with second-class seating, a large and unexpected storm came from the south, tearing up small yet important pieces of the track and therefore halting the ride for an absurd amount of time. Therefore, Avery and Nida were happy to finally have their feet back on the ground, but both of them were tired and ornery, to say the least.
Nida's eyes narrowed as he looked down the path towards the entrance to the station. "Well, at least we're finally here. Now I can finally get rid of all of those kinks and cramps…"
Avery slipped on his aviator sunglasses, running his hand through his spiked hair and securing the zipper on his luggage. "I'm never doing that again. Next time the train stalls, we're breaking down a door. I don't care how much shit the Headmistress tries to put me through; I can't STAND sitting for too long. Not my style."
Nida rolled his eyes and led the descent down the numerous stone staircases. He chuckled some as he heard his teammate cursing with every step the suitcase traversed, happy that he brought a simple gym bag and nothing else. Granted, he now wished he had a couple extra outfits to wear as he expected a small delay in seeing the correct people. Galbadia was known for not following any strict time frame, instead acting on their own schedules. It would help his cause to change into some fresh clothes, making himself more presentable and consequentially speeding up the meeting some as he would have a bit more confidence. Being a somewhat reserved person, Nida often stumbled over his own words when dealing with people he'd only just met, something he's hated about himself since he was but a mere child. That didn't get in the way when it came to Olga though, which seemed peculiar to the young SeeD. Ah, that reminded him…
"Did you really have to tell Olga about when I hooked up with Gamelle?"
"What?" Avery said, looking to his friend further down the steps.
"You told your lady friend about Gamelle."
"Oh, haha… it was just a funny story I felt like bringing up to break the ice. She got a good kick out of it, eh?"
Nida said nothing in response, scowling some as he waited at ground level for Avery before they both turned and headed towards the timeworn entrance. Moderate winds kicked up some of the red sand of the plains, effortlessly enshrouding the Garden far ahead. It was a good walk over the hills, but at least there was a decline most of the way and it would help stretch out the neglected ligaments of the mercenaries. After checking to make sure that the tome was safe in its case inside the gym bag, the pilot led the duo through the gates and out to the open expanse of Galbadia. As soon as they advanced a quiet sixth of a mile, Avery yelped and dropped his suitcase onto the ground. At first Nida wasn't sure why his partner exclaimed in such a fashion, but a millisecond later he felt an overwhelming gale pound onto his back, knocking him to his knees as the bag crashed to the ground beside him. Feeling the squalls swirl around him in a sinister manner, he looked up to see more powerful winds churn ahead. Raising a brow, he got back onto his feet and found it cumbersome to try and hold his ground.
"What the fuck is going on!" Avery yelled angrily, trying to hold his suitcase steady by hanging onto the reinforcing straps.
"It must be another storm!" Nida shouted back. It wouldn't be that difficult to return to the train station, but it might've been a bit more dangerous to be in a place with large and heavy constructs that could easily fall on them. It was imperative that they pushed ahead. Both SeeDs had their eyes practically closed, afraid that all of the sand and dust would get in their eyes and increase their troubles twofold. Worrisome, this 'storm' was… it was very unusually for this area to have such strong bursts of wind during this time of the year, or at all to be frank. Nida knew the weather patterns of the globe pretty well considering his job as a pilot, and this frightened him probably more than it frightened the belligerent Avery.
"Avery! We have to hurry to the Garden and get inside before the storm gets stronger!"
"What about the Station?!"
"It's too dangerous there! Galbadia has reinforced walls and plenty of—"
"—okay, that's reason enough for me! Just let me make sure that—NIDA LOOK OUT!"
Instinctively, Nida dropped to his knees and held onto his gym bag as a Thrustaevis swooped in from nowhere, apparently attempting to behead Nida with its wing. The blue bird, a common habitant of the Northern Galbadian continent, was not normally seen this close to the Garden, and it seemed unaffected by the strong winds. More Thrustaevises came onto the scene, squawking and nose diving in-between the two mercenaries with reckless abandon.
"I'm not liking this at all!" yelled Avery over the screeches and winds. "Quake!" he soon bellowed, lodging both his suitcase and Nida's bag in the ground so they wouldn't be picked up by the winds or the fiends.
"Good call!" Nida said, knowing that they had to get rid of these troublemakers if they were to make it through the storm. He noticed that his partner was having troubles managing his giant sword with how violent the weather was, so he knew that time was short and ticking away. There was no point in trying to shoot the birds down with his pistol, so with his brain reeling for solutions, the pilot spent the first minute of the encounter dodging strikes, slipping across the ground, and defending against gusts from the birds' own spells.
"Ah, got it!" exclaimed the pilot soon after he got knocked over by one of the winged monsters. "Demi!" he called, extending his arm towards the dimming Sun. Violet magic spun around his arm and then shot upwards, a ball of dark energy increasing in size with each passing second. Bolts of electricity raged through the spherical mass, and eventually they shot out at the birds, drawing all of them closer to the ball in a slow, valiant effort. The birds flapped violently, squawking and causing even more ruckus than the storm was, and it was when their efforts were to no avail that Nida knew that it was time to leave. He picked up his gym bag and looked over to his partner to find him nursing a bleeding shin, but other than that Avery appeared to be in good spirits after seeing the magical feat accomplished by Nida.
"Ace job, man!"
"Thanks! Let's go!"
"Just a minute!"
Avery removed his belongings from the crevasse, and used one powerful arm to hoist his thick sword up onto his shoulder. "Tornado!" he said, and immediately a whirlwind of pure air began swirling around his feet. This caused him to spin in place for a short while, increasing in speed while he slowly extended his arm, weapon still in hand. In an instant, the tornado shot him straight at the gravity ball, the suitcase trailing behind him in his opposite hand as his swirling blade cut through all of the Thrustaevises. Consequentially, he continued spinning right through Nida's spell and out towards the general direction the Garden was in, his spell obviously out of control at this point in time. Nida stared blankly while the dead monsters fell to the ground behind him, watching as the SeeD yelled various explicative words while soaring far ahead of the battleground.
"Story of my life," Nida said coldly before taking off down the hill, the Demi disappearing into the tumultuous storm.
- - -
With every passing second and subsequent 'tick' of the analog clock, an additional gram of weight was placed on her fragile body. It had essentially been a restless night, with naps coming in 30-minute intervals and ending in half of the time. Normally a plethora of things were on her mind, but on this night, troubles of a different breed plagued her conscience. Since when did Safana Sfinzerstein, one of the top students in her class since as far back as she could remember, care so much about socializing and immature banter? Staying true to her studies and the unavoidable mandates of her family's expectations worked well for her up to this point, so where was all of this angst and self-loathing coming from? Perhaps the Esthar encompassment was more focused on street smarts than book smarts, but if that was the case, then she didn't understand how they could be so much more advanced. A stagnant reproach stained her dark eyes as she laid on the Estharian bed, stared upward at the Estharian ceiling, and inhaled the Estharian air. Here she was, borrowing the goods and services of a land that she despised, and she couldn't do anything about it. Originally, Safana gathered that she needed a vacation after not having one since she was six, but now that she was here, she couldn't see any benefit in staying. The cadet had learned nothing in the past two days, and now that the second Estharian sunrise was now long gone, she doubted would come to her in the next two days.
As if strings were pulling her at the shoulders, Safana lifted herself off of her 700-thread count sheets. Her eyes moved to the parted shades that protected her large windows, with the bars of light casting its never-ending pattern on the room. With squinting eyes, she aimlessly crashed her hand about her nightstand, waiting until her hand ran into her large glasses so that she could bring them to her face, pushing them up the bridge of her nose so that her world could come into focus. Already, the city outside her windows was alive and bustling, apparently no one even daring to sleep in until 9:00. Safana really didn't see the point in getting up today; there were no scheduled meetings that she had to attend, and of course there weren't any young peers she could 'hang out' with… the only task she accomplished here was effectively getting behind in her schoolwork. No tears could be shed, no feelings could be hurt; she had to make it through this (only two more days!) and she could return to her standard cadet-issued mattress, her egg-white walls, and her thick schoolbooks.
With this reassurance in the front of her mind, Safana laid back on her pillow, drawing the blankets over her head to block out the onset of another pointless day.
- - -
The two of them traversed the halls quickly and quietly, Lania's heeled flats clicking with every efficient step. With their folders and notebooks in hand, they turned the corner to the elevator and quickly hit the button for the third floor.
"Two minutes," Lania mentioned offhandedly as she checked her faint reflection in the glass of the elevator.
"Great," Cameron responded with a flat tone, shooting his hand down his pants to get all of the knots and bunches out of his boxers.
Both of them looked ill put-together that morning, with frizzy hair and wrinkled clothes and glassy eyes to allude to their previous night. Surely most couldn't put the clues together if they knew the history behind their group of friends; the chances of Lania and Cameron hooking up were very small. To try and help the situation, Lania handed her class materials off to her male counterpart and took her brush out of her purse, trying to work out the knots in her hair as the elevator came to a slow and smooth stop. Cameron simply shifted uneasily, knowing that not only did he want to go to Vernon's class, he didn't want to go and be late. Thus, he led the charge off of the elevator, quickening his pace and only hoping that by the reverberating clicks in the hall, his friend wasn't too far behind. Once her hair was reassembled, Lania tried to catch up to Cameron, pulling her skirt further down her hips and brushing off her button-up top. Neither of them said a word down the entire length of the hall, and when they turned into Instructor Dincht's classroom, the clock read 7:30 AM over the emergency exit to the classroom.
The class, as expected, looked very unenthusiastic to be in this room this morning. Although the pranks yesterday had gone off without a hitch, Cameron could see as he averted his eyes to the front of the room, Julius Vernon stood behind the wooden desk, arms folded and eyes dark and piercing while he took his seat. Lania took her usual place in the back of the room, dropping her purse next to her computer and immediately logging into her Garden account. Team Tactics 101 was eerily quiet on that break of day, and even her friend Amalyn, who usually had something to comment on when Lania came into the room, hadn't made a single sound. Lania glanced over at Issac across the aisle, and although he had a smug look about him, not even air escaped his lips. Had she missed something?
"Good morning class," said Instructor Vernon once he was sure that the last two students that had entered understood the atmosphere of the classroom. "I hope everyone enjoyed a good night of rest. Now, please pass up your Team Psychology essays to the front, and I should have those graded and back to you by…"
"—what?" Amalyn hissed as she dug through her knapsack in a hurried fashion. Lania along with a good chunk of the class was thoroughly confused by what Vernon had said, many of the cadets in the back row returning her questionable gaze. Suddenly, it came back to her; he had assigned the Team Psychology of Fiends paper before Issac and his friends had unleashed their pranks. Since Vernon couldn't collect the essays at the end of class, he naturally made it homework and expected his temporary students to assume this. No matter what ingenious plots the class hatched, he would always have one up on them; their grades were in his hands. Since course grades affected the grades on the SeeD Exams, it surely wasn't something to fool around with during senior year. It was the perfect occasion to have a horde of Stop spells stocked, but knowing Instructor Vernon, he surely had it junctioned to his defense to protect himself from such juvenile tricks. Embarrassed, many students just passed forward the page or two they had completed before Vernon left the class, some not turning in a single sentence. Lania heard someone whisper something to Issac, and moments later his hand shot into the air.
Vernon, smiling as he anticipated the interruption, nodded and pointed lethargically to the back of the class. "Instructor, I do believe a majority of us turned in our papers at the end of class to the substitute substitute. You never mentioned that it was homework, as in-class essays are supposed to be completed… uh… in class."
"Hmm," said Vernon pensively, "I'm sure that I sent a message to Instructor Kinley's phone. It said that due to my absence, the deadline for the essay would be extended to the start of class today. You're sure she didn't relay the message?" he asked, noticing the eyes of many of the students widening. With Marik gone, they were relying on Issac's wit to get them out of their sticky situations, and it seemed as though Vernon was seasoned in this sort of discourse. Thus, it was with bated breath that the cadets awaited their friend's response, for they knew that they weren't able to challenge Vernon's timely responses. Lania looked over to Cameron nervously, knowing that he was at least marginally annoyed about the recent turn of events. As he left the room the day before, he had tossed out all of his papers, assuming that would've been Vernon's last day teaching their class with how elaborate the prank had been. This was his just desserts for underestimating the resolve of one of the most fortuitous instructors in the Garden.
"Excuse me for being confrontational," Issac began, "but isn't it against Garden policy to carry handheld devices while instructing the class? Obviously she wouldn't receive your message in time to tell us about your extension." The class gave a collective sigh of relief; a good point had been made.
"When Instructor Kinley came in to inform me of my… stolen vehicle, she was not teaching a class. Therefore, she had her phone on her as she unexpectedly took the role as substitute due to my leaving. She might have been violating Garden policy, but this was due to the efforts of the thieves and it was not of her own accord. As a result, your assignments are due now… are these all of them?" Vernon asked now with a thin smile, the stack of papers in his hand not very impressive. No one wanted to tell him that they had scared off Instructor Kinley with the remnants of their spells, for that would only further justify Instructor Vernon's actions. The teacher had won another battle, making up for his sore defeat twenty-four hours ago as he dropped the pitiful essays into his drawer and closed it definitively.
"Ah, and before I forget… I will need to see the following students at the end of class: Quinneth, Rolan, Lylla, Marquisse, and Issac. Now, if you'll log in to your computers and go to section review for…"
"I can't believe this," Amalyn commented while she struggled to type her password into the empty field on the screen. "I screwed off in ninth and tenth year and now I'm trying to make up for it… and this guy is gonna ruin everything just by substituting for four days. I'm taking this up with the Headmistress when she gets back," she scowled, hitting enter with a startling authority while Lania began typing notes into the section review worksheet. She wasn't too worried about her poor marks on the past two essays, although she knew how competitive her final year as a cadet was. Being Balamb Garden, everyone who had reached this point in their education was highly intelligent and resourceful, some admittedly moreso than others. Regardless, Lania was sure that she would be able to recover from this minor setback; there were still a couple more months to the semester, and Team Tactics was the only class she truly excelled in. Still, it was annoying to see her classmates fail in their rebuttals and plans, not able to combat the tyranny of Julius C. Vernon. Wasn't this a test of their ability to utilize their own team tactics? Vernon might not have planned this as a test of their learning, but if Lania could look at the situation from that point-of-view, this obstacle wouldn't be too difficult to overcome.
Smirking at the incessant, yet quiet ramblings of her friend, Lania returned to her work. She could hatch those sorts of stratagems when her target wasn't breathing down her neck.
- - -
An abrasive banging noise caused Aidan to flip up in bed, heart and mind racing as the sound filled the room and even shook the windows. After a few more seconds, the interruption ceased and there was complete silence. Quite confused, Aidan crawled out of bed, the sheets grazing him softly as he moved to cross the room. The door to his suite, large and fortuitous, returned his empty stare. Its impenetrable face did not betray any signs of disturbing Aidan's sleep, nor did it give any clues as to what the source of the racket was. Eventually, a smooth, yet forceful voice called out to him through the reinforced metal.
"Aidan, wake the hell up!"
Blinking, Aidan rubbed his eyes and unbolted the deadlock, opening the door some and peeking through the crack due to him being only in his boxers. Once he confirmed his suspicions as to who the owner of the voice was, he opened the door to its full ninety degrees and turned to go back to his bed as Marik, Dominic, and Pitkin entered the room. Pitkin closed the door behind him and offered up a dubious gaze while the young Clearwater crawled back under his sheets and grumbled as his tousled head landed back onto his memory foam pillow.
"Really, Aidan? It's 10:30 already and you're still sleeping?"
"I'm tired," Aidan said in response while Marik and Dominic sat down in the two open plush chairs in the room.
"Well we are too, but who cares? We're in freakin' Esthar, for crying out loud. Who knows when we're gonna be able to come back?"
Although Pitkin was remarkably intelligent (tied with Hylda for #1 in the class of 122 students), he was known in his group of friends for being a party-goer. Rarely did he convey any ignorance; he had the gift of being both worldly and academically smart. He was always up for an adventure or a drinking game, but if his grades were in jeopardy, Pitkin knew to buckle down and pay attention to his studies. During tenth year, when Quenton Kyllian (otherwise known as 'Q') infamously began sabotaging his peers' grades in order to move up in class rank, Pitkin found a way to hack into the Balamb Garden student records and correct all of the altered grades, then implementing a firewall to prevent Q from performing any more crimes. Of course, he altered one or two of Quenton's grades as payback, which is why was sitting pretty on #11 instead of some higher rank. Pitkin never told anyone of his accomplishments, simply spreading the rumor that the Garden staff put up a block on the course grade books, thereby ending Q's campaign. Pitkin was able to do so well in his classes without altering his grades, although he surely had the chance to do so during that escapade. In addition to his intellect and extroversion, Pitkin was also very agile and limber, which will surely serve him well when the field exams come around.
"Fine," Aidan said, sitting back up in bed and putting on his rectangular glasses. With his corrected vision, he could see the amused looks on the faces of his other two friends.
"We're gonna go play water polo downtown," Dominic mentioned, pulling up the waistband of his swimming trunks under his khaki shorts as proof. "Six on six. We already have the pool reserved, and I'm pretty sure it's going to be epic."
Aidan raised a brow, running his hand through his hair and ruffling it up some while glancing at the clock. There probably wasn't much of a point in showering since he was going to be in the pool, so flipping out of bed yet again, he crossed the room over to his grey suitcase, unzipping it and sifting through his clothes. Marik stood up and moved over to the window, observing the glistening streets of Esthar come to life as the Sun escaped the cover of the clouds for a short while.
"So," Marik began, "I believe we've constructed the ultimate water polo team. We'll have Bernard be our goalie since he's big, and have Pitkin and myself be defense since we have ample amounts of badassery. Xingpei can be the center since she's pretty fast, and Aidan and Dominic can be the forwards. You're both pretty good at swimming, right?" he asked, turning to Dominic to see him nod in confirmation. Aidan was busy changing out of his boxers and into his swimsuit a ways away from the window, so Marik just assumed that he was still a pretty good swimmer, promptly returning his dark gaze to the city below him. "Anyway, Ivy will probably be the other team's goalie—she's a beast—and they'll also have Ezekiel, Frieda, Alyssi, Hylda, and Quenton."
"Quenton?" Dominic asked with a bit sharper of an accent than usual. "I thought he hated water."
"I think he learned how to swim a few months ago," Pitkin mentioned apathetically, brushing some fuzzies out of his short, curly hair in the mirror.
"Wait, why isn't Hylda on our team? She's pretty cool," asked Aidan as he threw on a graphic t-shirt and moved to go find his comb.
"It's not about being cool," Marik retorted flatly as he watched Aidan's dim reflection move by in the glass. "It's about enlisting the top recruits from across the… well it's all about pure unadulterated aquatic domination. I don't want to lose. Xingpei is spunkier, and she has a 1.5% less body fat index."
"How do you know that?" Pitkin asked while Dominic laughed out loud, putting his hands over his mouth while doing so.
"I've done my research. Once we become SeeDs, we'll be able to travel across the globe and compete in the international water polo scene. When that time goes, I want to know the ins and outs of my team so that we can be fashioned to perform at the highest caliber."
Dominic rolled his eyes and wiped away a tear that had formed when he was laughing. "Well until that day comes, I'll be much obliged if you keep my body fat index percentage under wraps."
"8.4%," Marik replied easily, cracking his fingers and turning around to find Aidan stuffing his book bag with random items he would need. "But anyway, it should be a fun game, and afterwards we can head over to—"
Marik's monologue was interrupted by rapid, quiet knocks on the door. Aidan blinked awkwardly, his contacts sliding into place while he motioned for someone to answer it. Not quite sure who would be coming to his room other than the three guys, he could only chuckle under his breath when Pitkin opened the door.
"Oh, phew! I thought you guys left already. I don't know how to get over to the Natatorium, so that would have been bad news bears…" Illina Narwall said as she slipped into the room, patting Pitkin on the shoulder and waving energetically to the other three men.
"Wait, what? Why are you coming with us?" Dominic asked while standing from his chair.
"I'm the cheerleader for your team, duh! I forgot to bring my swimming cap so I can't play, so might as well be the driving force behind the team!"
Dominic and Pitkin looked at each other dubiously. "Fine, but we're taking a taxi, so you'll need to squeeze in the back," Marik said while cracking his knuckles. The view of the streets no longer interested him, so he turned away to see Illina glaring at him almost playfully. "What? You don't wanna walk in those heels, do you? No? Okay, so then we'll use the cab. I haven't been in these hovervehicle things anyway, so it should be pretty sweet. Holy crap Aidan, are you ready yet?" he suddenly asked, looking over to the bustling cadet.
"Okay, sorry I don't work well in a time crunch. I think I brought my fingerless gloves, so they should help me keep a grip on the ball. I haven't played in like a year, so it'll definitely keep me from bringing down the team." Aidan suddenly exclaimed and reached deep down into his suitcase, withdrawing the aforementioned articles of clothing and slipping them over his hands. He nodded and slung his backpack over his shoulders, smiling uneasily at Illina in a sort of a greeting. The thing about Illina; although she typically hung out around girls, she thought she was pretty good when it came to men. Being intelligent, attractive, and wealthy, most assumed that she could buy her way into becoming a SeeD if she didn't already have the grades to help her. Similarly, she was the reigning Queen of Drama at Balamb Garden, and many wondered who she would pass her crown to once she graduated. Most speculated that Vivyla Merkansi, an eleventh year, would be a suitable heiress. Both her and Illina had impressive track records when it came to drama and scandal, and the fact that Illina has been able to maintain her 'popularity' of sorts made her think that she was some sort of godsend. She knew how to be humble and gracious, but to Aidan and his friends, she was just annoying half of the time.
"Alright, then let's head out. Hylda and her team will meet us there, and the will last an hour."
Thus, Marik led the procession out of Aidan's room, Illina laughing hysterically as Dominic tripped out of the room and quietly closed the door behind him in embarrassment.
- - -
Much to the eavesdroppers' dismay, Instructor Vernon had casted Silence on the entire room, making the conversation inside completely soundproof.
"I can't deal with the anticipation!"
"Do you think he'll assign another essay as a punishment?"
"Are we gonna get in trouble too?"
"We should go find Instructor Kinley…"
"Shh! I can't hear!"
"NEITHER CAN ANYONE ELSE!"
Cameron rubbed his temples, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall opposite the classroom door. A majority of the class had decided to follow Cameron, Lania, and Amalyn's lead by waiting in the hall after class to see what would happen to Issac and his accomplices. Most expected a hanging of sorts, but after someone mentioned that that was completely irrational, the crowd moved on to other possibilities such as the guillotine or the lava pits in the Fire Cavern. Amalyn and Lania were occupying their time discussing the upcoming group project in Global Studies 115, but Cameron could only think about the night before. It seemed like a marvelous idea at the time; Lania's tender and willing body quivering under his each and every touch, the cool night air swimming across his back, the pale moonlight skating in through the billowing curtains… it was the closest thing to perfection. Neither of them felt any regrets the morning after (well, at least to his knowledge), but now that he wasn't rushing to get somewhere or contemplating the best method to complete suicide in class, recollections of their night together flooded his conscience quite suddenly. Had she been using him as a rebound? Even though that was her first time, she could've been using him as a tool to mask her own guilt and shame over a failed relationship. He was not a tool…
Cameron Baghwin, aged 18-years-old, was not the kind of guy to get paranoid about anything. When Edea Kramer was unknowingly possessed by Ultimecia and established her reign over the Galbadian Continent, rumors began spreading throughout the Garden that Galbadian spies had infiltrated and was collecting information for her conquest. While everyone tried to pinpoint what traitors were lurking in the halls (many liked accusing Quenton just for shits and giggles), Cameron shrugged it off, assuming everyone was just being idiotic and overly suspicious. Nothing ever worried him that much, and that's how he had been for as long as he could remember. Perhaps it was the life of the swordsman, keeping a level head and simply charging into battle ruthlessly. Being cool, calm, and collected in any given situation was a very good trait to have as a SeeD, and he hoped that characteristic would help him when SeeD Exams came around. Speaking of which, since when did everyone start caring about exams so much? He remembered when everyone was in their early teenage years, treating every day like a party and not even thinking of something so far off as becoming a SeeD. Although that was the point of the entire school, it didn't seem nearly as relevant as forming life-long friendships and simply having fun. Now that they were in their final year as cadets (well, hopefully), everyone was concentrated on their work and preparation for the grueling final test of all that they've learned over the past decade or so. Should it be treated as the climax of their career or not, it was still something that the students placed on a very high pedestal, as expected by the administrators and faculty. World-class excellence was essential to their pending success as a mercenary force and site of learning.
"Oh, here they come!" a cadet named Troy said excitedly. "Look casual!"
All of the students in the hall either retreated to the metallic walls, or stood in awkward clusters, trying to start a random conversation. One of the heavier girls fell over thanks to an untied boot, rolling around and complaining loudly for assistance while Rolan opened the door beside her. Already looking displeased, he simply stepped over the girl and walked through one of the sloppy groups in order to go to his next class. The other pranksters came out behind him, Issac being the last one to leave while the other three were quickly interrogated by the swelling mass of Team Tactics students. Issac proceeded across the hall, accompanied by a couple of his friends as he saluted Cameron, Lania, and Amalyn with a false enthusiasm.
"So, how'd it go?" Lania asked.
"Yeah, did he whip you or anything?" Amalyn followed up.
"No," Issac said, raising a thick brow and dismissing the second question, "but we have detention for the next week. Destruction of school property, theft, blah blah blah. Apparently it cost the Garden a healthy chunk of gil to fix all of the computers yesterday, and Vernon seemed angrier about that then the fact that we drove his truck into a ditch."
"You did what?" Cameron asked as he finally snapped out of his temporary daydream.
"Well, I obviously didn't do it since I was in class. Rolan is a terrible driver, and when he turned to take the road out towards Balamb, he lost control and crashed into that ditch that's next to the welcome sign. We also have the offense on our records, which is gonna affect our grades for the SeeD Exams, of course…"
And back to the importance of the almighty SeeD Exams. Inescapable, it was… almost every action had a direct correlation with that stupid test, and it was starting to get on Cameron's nerves. Not only did he have to listen to his friends complain about how their essays and records and breathing patterns affected their outcome on the test, he had to ponder what was running through Lania's mind. What if she wanted to… do that again? What would happen when Aidan and the others found out about it? It wasn't some sort of criminal act, but it was kind of like he was disrespecting the relationship between his two best friends by serving as the 'pity sex'. Pity didn't drive his hormones that night, though… deep down, he had wanted that for the past year, at least. Lania showed no signs of stress on her refined features (save for Issac's description of how Vernon addressed him after class), so he decided that it was within his best interests to simply dismiss the situation as easily as she did. Maybe it wasn't a big deal after all.
But something told him inside that something bad would come out of this.
- - -
Xu grumbled to herself, not liking her bangs this morning. She reached into her purse and withdrew a silver clip, using it to pull her hair back in order to look as professional as possible. A light layer of makeup removed any imperfections from her face, and her skirt suit was dry cleaned incredibly well. She buttoned her dark green suit jacket over her white collared button down, turning in the mirror and making sure nothing was misplaced. It was important that she looked impeccable, as usual, and it was becoming a very tiresome chore with every day that passed. Today, she had to meet with even more scientists who would babble about things that she did not understand, although she was the best at astronomy when she was a cadet. Regardless, her appearance came before her own conceptualized understanding of what was to be discussed today, for the first impression she gave would set the tone of the meeting. Although Balamb Garden was highly respected, the sheer fact that the top tiers of the administration were all under 30-years-old startled many. It was her job today to not only grab the information and agreements that she needed, but also to represent her academy well. The more professional and refined she was, the more compliable the researchers would be. For a while, she had considered making Squall come to the Lunar Base instead of her, but then she realized that his stoic attitude wouldn't get them very far when it came to persuasion and flattery.
Her reflection stared back at her with the same empty expression. Apprehension outlined her figure, over the approaching meeting and where she and Laguna stood. What if Squall ever found out? It was very unprofessional to be fraternizing with another world leader in such a way, especially when this partner-in-crime was the father of her right-hand man. If this every leaked out, not only would her career go down the hole, but the reputation of Balamb would go to ashes. It was a very risky activity to be participating in, but every time 'it' happened, it seemed like the best idea ever. He had about twenty years on her, but he had the body and moves like he was still in his prime. While this was on her mind, she couldn't help but compare him to Squall. True, Laguna and Squall looked startlingly alike, so was this covert relationship stemming from some unfound desire for Squall? It was impossible to picture that situation in her mind, but it was hard for her to rule it out. No… Laguna and Squall had entirely different personalities. She was most definitely attracted to Laguna's charm, courtesy, facial features…
No, they practically have the same face! Xu closed her compact angrily, stuffing it into her purse and now becoming a bit upset with herself. This entire relationship was completely wrong, but that little factoid escaped her mind every time she saw his hazelnut eyes looking back at her. Something about his presence made her preoccupations melt magnificently into her blood… perhaps what she was doing wasn't wrong. No matter, she had to make it to the main Base by 11:00, and staring at herself and doubting her life wouldn't get her there any faster.
"Alright Xu, time to lay down the law," she said to herself as motivation. With that, she clapped twice to turn off the hotel lights, and swept out of the room, clicking the door shut behind her.
- - -
"Remember what we discussed in the locker room, men. Swift and ruthless assault, stick to the wings of the field," Marik whispered as they all left the locker room, entering the water polo pool of the Natatorium with their chins held high. Xingpei was already sitting at the side of the pool with her hair tucked into a lime green cap, swishing her feet back and forth in the water. The opposing team was already warming up in the water, Hylda stopping to wave to Marik and the others in-between laps.
"Why aren't you warming up?" Marik asked as he sat next to Xingpei, busily adjusting his goggles.
"Sorry! I wanted to wait for you guys," she said in her usual cutesy tone. Pitkin, Dominic, Aidan, and Bernard sat on the cool tiles as well.
"Is this really that big of a deal?" Aidan suddenly asked while looking over to the other end of the pool.
"Of course. This sport is gonna be big in a year or two, and we'll already have a solid team when the water polo world explodes. It's gonna be great," Marik replied easily enough.
"And if there's an international league, we could be professional athletes and make a ton of gil!" Pitkin chimed in, nudging Marik in the ribs encouragingly.
"Exactly. Alright, time to get in the water. Bernard, take your place in the goal and we'll each take turns shooting and all that. We only have a few minutes, ladies, so let's make it count."
As soon as the six teammates entered the water, Illina closed her cell phone and stood up on the metallic bleachers, she being the only fan in the audience. "Wooooooo! Go team! Be fierce!" she called out almost obnoxiously, waving her arm in the air excitedly and watching as they started warming up. Aidan couldn't help but smile at Illina's enthusiasm, even if parts of it were fakery. Even if he favored some of his friends and acquaintances over others, he appreciated everyone he knew for some redeeming quality. He appreciated Illina for her energy and spunk, Xingpei for being easy to talk to and chipper, Issac for his sarcasm, and even Quenton for his competitive nature. It was very hard for Aidan to dislike anyone, really, unless they seriously committed some atrocious act against him. Although Aidan wasn't one to show his emotions as much as Hylda or Dominic, he surely harbored plenty of them deep down. Consistently surrounding himself with people who cared for him helped him overcome his inability to be expressive, and that was the primary flaw that he was working on even today. After Bernard blocked one of his shots, Aidan swam to the side of the pool and threw his wet hair back, staring at the white brick walls and pondering what he had to do in the next month. It was important that he trained with his new weapons and continue to work towards a peak physical condition, even if he was pretty healthy at this point in his life. He so dearly wanted to become a top SeeD, but why? It was one of the few things he was severely passionate about, perhaps because he wanted to prove to his father that he was indeed strong… he might not have been back then, but…
Suddenly, he felt a sudden pain at the back of his head. "Hey Aidan! C'mon, we're starting!" Dominic shouted from the center of the pool, where all of the other players save Ivy and Bernard had gathered. Somewhat embarrassed for appearing to be a loner, Aidan swam over and smiled lightly when Marik patted him on the back aggressively. "C'mon Clearwater, we gotta kick their asses. Keep your ears open for commands from Xingpei, and don't try to steal all the fame just because I'm stuck playing defense. We all know who the true star here is, eh?" he asked with a conniving grin, and Aidan could only roll his eyes in response.
"Yo Illina!" Marik suddenly shouted, his voice echoing. "You gotta start the ball! Don't play favorites!" he called, motioning for Ezekiel to toss the ball outside of the pool. Illina shrieked and watched as the ball rolled under the bleachers, and with a Float spell, it was in her hands. Illina sighed and tossed the ball back into the center of the pool after observing her nails to check for cracks, and as easy as that, the game began.
- - -
An open air café was the destination for one Squall Leonhart and one Irvine Kinneas, both who had entrusted the decision of where to have the 'family lunch'. The white building came into view as soon as the pair had turned onto a rather ritzy avenue, with expensive stores and boutiques facing the Estharian airways. A giant, glimmering fountain told them that they had reached the correct place, as the café known simply as Cameo had invested in a number of artistic statues and other constructs in order to justify the ridiculous prices on the menu. Of course, such exalted members of SeeD could afford the given prices, but it wouldn't be a place they would want to visit a few times a week. The roof of the restaurant had a number of tables set up with large white umbrellas in order to protect from the harsh ultraviolet radiation. It was from one of the tables that overlooked the capital that Selphie and Zell waved excitedly down to the ground level, Irvine poking Squall and pointing up at them to inform him of their greetings. Squall simply raised his hand in a sort of a polite gesture, rolling his eyes while continuing on inside with Irvine on his heels. The woman at the front desk confirmed the reservation of the 'Tilmitt Party', and after picking up two menus from her podium, she motioned for the two to follow her up a ivory-railed spiral staircase, escaping from the cramped spaces of the main floor.
Golden rays of sunshine painted the staircase, reintroducing the trio to the outdoor breeze as the server brought the SeeD over to the table where Selphie and Zell sat, apparently engrossed in some conversation. When the menus were placed in front of the two empty seats, both of them looked up and smiled to welcome the last two attendees to the lunch.
"Hiiii!" Selphie said, noticeably wearing the sundress that Irvine neglected to choose when helping her pack for the Festival.
"Hey," Squall replied, Irvine simply tipping his cowboy hat per his usual greeting.
"They don't have hot dogs here," Zell announced with a downtrodden tone as he went back to perusing the menu.
"Tragic," Irvine said, opening up his menu in synchronized movements with Squall.
Even with the absence of Rinoa and Quistis, the original expeditionary group had an unusual way of being so synchronous. Since they have been friends since they were born practically, all four were so accustomed to seeing each other that each statement and movement fit perfectly together. There were rarely any awkward moments or miscommunications; their ability to interact and get along translated from their efficiency in working together in battle. Even in the subsequent silence as they scanned their choices for lunch, the air between the quartet was warm and friendly even with the absence of any discourse whatsoever. This is one of the reasons why the youth of Balamb Garden admired the SeeD forces so much; within the large group of mercenaries, there were smaller groups of people who had almost perfect chemistry. Since teamwork was highly stressed in the curriculum, it was only natural for such close relationships to form. Even strangers noticed how well these four SeeDs got along, brought back together by the most unusual of ways. Irvine from Galbadia, Selphie from Trabia, and Zell, who used to be a primary annoyance for Squall next to Seifer.
"I decided!" Selphie declared proudly. "I think I'll have the Chicken Salad with that vegetable sandwich thing… it sounds amaaazing!"
"Congrats," Zell said while laughing, although he was still stressing out about the lack of hot dogs.
"Thanks," Selphie replied before sticking her tongue out, then turning her attention to Irvine. "Hey Irvy, how's that Aidan kid doing? He seemed kind of frazzled after that Malboro battle."
"The what?" Squall asked, peering between Selphie and Irvine through his bangs, head still inclined.
Selphie's eyes widened some, but she soon erased the expression from her face. "Oh! Uh… you didn't know? Aidan—the guy you saw in the Infirmary earlier this week—wanted to get some training in. Since his spear broke, he had to get new weapons and he felt really rusty. So Irvine and I took him to the Estharian fields, and—"
"At what point did that sound like a good idea? These cadets can hardly handle a T-Rexaur, let alone—"
"—He did really well," Irvine cut in, resting his finger on a particular item of the menu so he wouldn't lose his place. "True, he's got his rough patches, but he's a very good fighter. He's in better shape than you were when you were his age, and fighting is in his blood. His dad is General Clearwater, after all."
Zell looked between his three friends questionably, obviously quite lost as to what was occurring. "Well he didn't get hurt, did he?" Obviously he was still feeling a bit guilty for allowing his students to get manhandled by fiends that he could have easily controlled, and the fact that Aidan was exposed to much more difficult opponents startled him immensely.
"No, not at all!" Selphie chirped.
"Selphie used Tonberry, and he was impressive, as usual."
"Yeah, and besides, he did really well against that Behemoth!"
Squall practically choked on his own saliva at this tidbit of information, immediately closing his menu and rubbing his hands over his face. Irvine and Selphie made eye contact, trying to communicate to each other how to best approach this situation while Zell buried his face in his own menu. The tension that the group of friends rarely experienced was occurring, and thus it was the appropriate time for Instructor Dincht to retreat back to his position as a simple spectator.
"Listen, it's not that big of a deal," Irvine insisted. "I actually think it was an awesome learning experience for him. He's already very good with his guns, he's had a good amount of exposure to the GFs, he got a reality check of how powerful monsters really are in the real world, and he utilized his knowledge from what, eighth year? How much can you guys remember from your eighth year?"
"All of it," Squall remarked quickly. "It's our job as SeeD to remember all of those things so that they may be used out on missions. While I should thank you for giving him that little pop quiz, it was definitely too dangerous for someone of his experience."
"Our senior year cadets should have that level of experience, anyway."
Selphie and Zell both went wide-eyed at this statement. Squall and Irvine argued a lot back when they first met, but for the past year, they had basically become best friends. What one of them didn't have personality-wise, the other one had, and so they complimented each other very well. However, they had different points-of-view on how certain things should transpire, and when these differences were brought up, well, they definitely reverted back to their old ways. During this journey, they began learning how to deal with these polar opposite perspectives, however.
"Fair enough," Squall said in response, quickly looking back down to his menu. "I know what I want to eat. Where's the waiter?" he asked, looking around inquisitively while the other three kept quiet, not wanting to press the subject further lest they get strangled.
- - -
"Pass the freaking ball!" Quenton shouted at the top of his lungs.
In an instant, Alyssi threw the ball halfway across the length of the pool before Xingpei reached out to steal the ball. Frieda Rekhs caught the ball with one hand, bringing it down to her side and dipping under the water to swim as she always did. Using what leg power she had, she neatly swam under Dominic and popped up behind him, immediately passing the ball backwards. The sound of her coming up above the water caused Dominic to turn around to try and tackle her, but he noticed that she didn't have the ball, and instead Ezekiel was charging down the field alongside Quenton, Illina screaming like a banshee on the sideline.
"Aaaagh! No, no, no! Go Xingpei, cover Alyssi! Aidan, Dominic, kick their asses! Oh Hyne! Holy crap! What the hell, that was a cheap shooooot!"
With Illina's screaming getting on his last nerve, Marik decided that it was time to stop this offense in its tracks so that he could regain his hearing. He looked over to Pitkin and nodded to him, both of them ducking underground and unleashing their 'Super Secret Defense Mechanism #2'. Both Pitkin and Marik said something under the water, and with a start they both began shooting forward, a large amount of bubbles and currents propelling them forward. Recognizing Xingpei's legs as being the only shaved legs on their team, they both shot under her and headed straight for the group of four that was around half court. Once they were under the recognizable bodies of Quenton and Ezekiel, they both stopped in place, their Aero spells wearing off just in time for them to point their hands upwards under the opposing team members, chanting another incantation that would shoot a geyser of water upwards. Aidan and Dominic, reasonably surprised, backpedaled quickly while their rivals were shot up a few feet, the ball being dropped to the water below them. In a great panic, Hylda and Freida moved to converge to the center of the court as Aidan picked up the ball, passing it over to Dominic and moving to the opposite flank of the pool. When Hylda tried to block Dominic, he lobbed the ball over to Aidan, who caught it easily. Soon after picking up the ball, he pushed off the wall with his feet (which was a big positive to their 'flank' plan), and shot ahead towards the open goal. With a great start, Aidan lifted his arm and shot the ball not at Ivy, but to Dominic who deflected the ball with a winding punch to score the seventeenth goal for his team.
"What the hell!" Quenton yelled as he was finally returned to the surface of the water. "Did you use a freaking Water spell? Where the heck did you get those?"
"We didn't do anything," Pitkin said coyly, high-fiving Marik and laughing heartily.
"Bullshit," Ezekiel said, a slender guy with fair hair.
"You're just mad because you're losing by threeeee!" Illina shouted from the sidelines as she jumped up and down. Aidan could only smile again.
This started another argument, and for once Marik wasn't yelling at Illina for being abrasive. The confrontation culminated into a couple leftover Aero spells, and eventually the game clock ran to 0:00, with Marik's team beating Quenton's team 17-14. Alyssi then screamed and whined that the game clock shouldn't have been running when the ball was in play, but Dominic reminded her that it was agreed that the game had to end at noon. Growling, she splashed Dominic and quickly swam away, the target of the splash chasing after her partly for fun. Illina moved to grab the towels, handing them off to the players as they exited the pool, Marik perhaps smiling faintly as she gave him the last one. She didn't notice this possible gesture of friendliness though, as she went back to the bleachers to pick up her purse.
"Alrighty, I'll be in the lobby. I assume we're all going to lunch together, right? I'm kinda hungry; I only had a crepe for breakfast."
"All 13 of us?" Xingpei asked while drying off her arms.
"Sure, why not?" Aidan replied.
"Because then we'd have to eat with Quenton," Pitkin mentioned, and all seven of them moaned under their breath in unison.
"Well, it can't be that bad. Let's go to that fast food place down the street from here," Aidan suggested in an attempt to work everyone over.
"Fine," Marik said, turning to head to the locker room. "You go inform them; it's too soon for me to rub our victory in their faces."
- - -
"Thanks," Squall said as the waitress handed him his plate of steaming noodles. It had been a short wait to receive the food, so the service wasn't the reason for the sullen demeanor of the young Commander. While Irvine and Zell debated over whether or not Kiros would be cooler with or without his braids, Selphie noticed how quiet Squall was being. Well, Squall was usually quiet, but at least he threw in a couple 'whatevers' or 'yeahs' when an open question or statement had been presented. After taking a sip of her water, she nudged him in the arm to snap him out of his pensive state.
"Hey, are you okay?"
"What? Oh… sure."
"I don't believe you," Selphie said accusingly, folding her arms over her warm-colored sundress. "What's up?"
He wasn't supposed to say, but hell, they were his best friends. Squall told them a lot of things they didn't need to know, but hopefully, they could provide some counsel as to what to do in this particular situation.
"Well, last night Ellone stopped by and we talked about—"
"Oh, really? How is she?" Zell interrupted.
"She's… fine," Squall said, waving his hand dismissively in order to return to his point. "Anyway, she said that she's been having some weird… feelings lately."
"What kind of feelings?" Irvine asked.
"Just let me tell the story!"
At that moment, everyone shut their mouths, Squall earning their complete attention.
"She said that she's been sensing some sort of oncoming threat, one that is equal in danger to the Lunar Cry, or perhaps even greater. It's a great power that she's been feeling for the past few months, and she's afraid that Odine is going to want to perform tests on her. I'm sure she has a grip on her sorceress powers, and she's never been wrong about these sorts of things as far as I know. But I have no idea what this would mean…"
"How can she just sense something like that? I thought she could only look into the past," Selphie said before taking another bite of her sandwich.
"I know, it's weird. But when something major is about to happen, she can normally feel it. She scoped out the past Lunar Cry and the Time Compression. I wouldn't doubt her now, either."
There was a quiet moment. "Well I wouldn't doubt her either," Zell said. "I mean, we've all know her forever, technically. She wouldn't lie to us or overexaggerate that kinda crap. What are we supposed to do about it though? We have like, no info…"
"Exactly," Squall said. "So it's been bothering me all morning. Another Lunar Cry can't happen so soon, so I'm beginning to think it might be the work of another sorceress."
"It can't be Rinoa, can it?" Irvine asked, and after mentioning her name, he wished he hadn't.
Squall immediately looked down to his lap, the word hitting his chest like a brick. What if it was her? What if something was going wrong in the Shumi Village? What if she was losing control of her powers again, only in a greater scale? Her life could be on the line, and he wouldn't even know…
Alexander.
Yes, Lionheart?
Are you strong?
Of course.
The Guardian made it sound like it was blatantly obvious, making Squall feel a bit moronic as he looked back up to his friends. "No, I'm sure Rinoa is okay for now. We don't know of any other war bent sorceresses, do we? I doubt anything cataclysmic could happen in Trabia; Rinoa seemed like she was in control and determined, and Balamb is good friends with the Shumi Tribe. There has to be something that we're missing…"
"Well until we get more clues, there's nothing we can do, really," Irvine said with a hint of concern in his tone. "Let's just make sure defenses are strong, and if it has anything to do with the Lunar Cry, I bet Xu will come back with that information. It wouldn't hurt to keep in contact with Ellone, though."
"Right!" Selphie said with an upward inflection. "Let's stay positive! If we can beat Ultimecia, we can beat anything that might be coming our way! We have the upper hand if we are prepared for it, too!"
Everyone rallied around Selphie's words, and Squall simply nodded. For some reason though, simply saying 'we're prepared' didn't set too well with him.
- - -
It had been a long trek, but finally, Galbadia Garden came into view in all of its glamor as Avery and Nida ran down the hill, escaping the last violent gale thankfully enough. They were both red with the dust that they were covered in, and Avery had his fair share of cuts and scrapes thanks to his Tornado trick. Nida was just happy that his partner was still alive after shooting himself face first into the storm. Nida cast Cure on both of them just to help them catch their breath a bit, and after taking a bit of time to brush the dirt and grime off of them, their feet met pavement while the Garden towered above them impressively enough. Neither of them had been so happy to be at this Garden, and Avery even took the time to bend down and kiss the ground, which earned plenty of odd looks from passersby. Nida understood where he was coming from though; that storm had been so terrible and so random, he was surprised that they had made it here so quickly. The two enjoyed one of their frequent quiet moments as they brought themselves down the long path that was lined with plotted shrubbery, dodging a couple cyclists who were bringing their bikes inside in fear that the storm would hit the Garden. In fact, everyone who was on this path was retreating inside, save for the Galbadian guards standing at their posts outside the official entrance to the school. When Nida and Avery arrived without their Galbadian badges and/or attire, they were immediately stopped.
"Who do we have here?" asked one of the more muscular guards, dark goggles dangling around his neck.
"Two Balamb SeeDs here to deliver an artifact to Professor Charkins from the Tomb of the Unknown King," said Nida with some urgency.
"Mission number?"
"02291," Avery relayed while trying to fix one of the zippers on his jacket.
"Very good. Unfortunately, the Professor is in meetings all day in order to get to the bottom of these unexpected storms, but I'm sure he wants you to deliver it personally in order to discuss the importance of… well… whatever you brought."
Nida's eyes widened. "No, that's alright, we really do have to make an appearance in Esthar to meet with—"
"—I'm sure there are enough SeeD there for everyone, and then some. I insist; you may stay in a private suite away from the students, and the Professor should be available after his Alchemy 232 class tomorrow morning."
Nida looked back to Avery, who simply shook his head. Both of them were somewhat nervous about spending the night at Galbadia, but they apparently didn't have much of a choice. It was with a quiet and yielding nod that Nida permitted the guards to show them inside, the red and blue hues of the academy swallowing them whole with one effortless gulp.