Disclaimer: I *wish* FF8 belonged to me...
An Unlikely Meeting- Part V
Celeste landed lightly on her feet on the fine, white sand. She let her bare feet sink into the warm sand and sighed, content. Now let's see..., she thought as she wiggled her fingers. Then, she outstretched one open hand, palms facing down. The sand below her hand began to swirl, as though caught up in a whirl of wind. The tornado of sand began to grow and become more dense. If took the shape of a large, dangerous predatory bird existing only through Celeste's imagination. The bird completed, Celeste simply let it dissipate away. Not bad considering how long I've isolated from humanity, she thought, but I've got to do better. She concentrated on creating a monster from water.
Seifer saw Quistis sitting in the middle of the large circular bed atop silken sheets. She had on a black dress which clung to her body. Her face was powdered white, and her lips were a deep, dark red. Black eyeliner lined her eyes, which extended towards her temple, Egyptian style, and her eyebrows were darkened to a brown shade. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. Her eyes were cold, as was her strange smile.
"Quistis...," said Seifer, walking up to her. He sat down on the bed next to her. "Quistis, what's wrong?" His voice echoed throughout the gold room.
"Poor baby...," Quistis said in a cold, detached voice. She went up on her knees and her pale hands reached for his face. "Poor baby...," she said again, and she kissed him on the lips.
Some was definitely wrong, and Seifer pulled away. "Quistis, what's wrong? Snap out of it. This isn't you," he said, holding on firmly to her shoulders.
Still with a cold smile on her face, she kissed him again, deeply.
There was something about her perfume which made Seifer dizzy. Everything around him became fuzzy, and the room spun. Feeling weak and very sick, he layed down on the red silk sheets. He gritted his teeth and groaned.
"Seifer, is there something wrong?," Quistis asked with a hint of mockery in her voice.
"Quistis," he murmured. His eyes fluttered, threatening to close, but he forced them open. He tried to get up.
Her smile widened a little bit, as she said, "Don't worry. I'm right here."
The last thing Seifer saw was Quistis's crimson acrylic nails reaching for his eyes.
Seifer's eyes snapped open, a scream caught in the back of his throat. Breathing hard, he found himself in his dorm. He recalled what happened. He called Fujin to tell her about what had happened, and to inform her that he will be staying at Garden for a while. He told her to meet him in front of the club with his stuff ready. Seifer looked at his clock. Four twenty five. He was to meet her in forty five minutes. After the call, he took a nap... and then the strange dream.
Seifer frowned and ran his fingers through his hair. What scared him most wasn't the fact that his eyes were about to be taken out. Rather, it was Quistis's bizzare behavior. It was so unlike her, so out of character. She sounded so... cold, indifferent. Still worrying over the dream, Seifer decided to visit Quistis to see how she was doing.
Knocking on her door, he heard Quistis calling "open," and he opened the door into her room, and closed it behind him.
"Hey," he greeted her, and sat down on the chair by her desk. He looked across to Quistis.
"Hey." Quistis was seated at her oversized couch, reading. She looked up at him from the book she was reading. "Feel like talking about that strange dream you had just a moment ago?," she asked softly.
This left Seifer speechless, and he just stared at her, open-mouthed.
"All these weird feelings are rushing at me. I got the sense you were having a bad dream. I guess my "psychic abilities", as you called them, are coming to me." She offered him a small smile. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"... No." He didn't want to talk about it at all. It would be too uncomfortable. And disturbing.
"Oh," replied Quistis. She cast her eyes down.
"I just came to check up on you, see how you were doing."
"I'm doing well, thank you. I'll be starting my training session soon with Edea." She bit her lip. "I hope all goes well."
"I'm sure you'll do fine," Seifer said with a small, encouraging smile.
Silence followed. After a few moments, Seifer broke the stillness. "You were in my dream."
Quistis looked up at him with her head cocked to her side. She waited for him to continue.
"We were in this huge, golden room, and in the center, there was this bed, and you were on it wearing these weird clothes and makeup. You were so uncharacteristic, so I tried to snap you out of it." Seifer furrowed his eyebrows. "But you just had that strange smile on your face, and your voice was really distant, as if you were in some sort of a daze. I got really dizzy for some reason, and I laid down on the bed, too weak to move, and then you reached for my eyes." He shuddered at the memory. "That's when I woke up." He didn't mention the kissing part, because that was too weird, and embarrassing in a way. She might think he had been fantasizing about her, which was definitely not true.
Quistis looked at him for a while, thinking. "What did I say?," she finally said.
"Huh?"
"You said my voice sounded distant. I must've said something- you heard my voice. What was it that I said?"
"You kept repeating two words. You kept saying 'poor baby.'"
Quistis's eyebrows came together as she tried to think of a reasonable explanation for the strange dream. She couldn't think of anything. She shook her head. "I can't think of an explanation for your dream, but I'm sure it has very little significance," she said, although she didn't sound very convincing, even to herself.
"Yeah, maybe," Seifer replied, doubtful. "Thanks for listening. Anyways, I gotta go to pick up some stuff Fujin promised to have ready for me." He stood up to leave, and just as he was about to close the door behind him, he turned his head to where Quistis was sitting. "Oh yeah, and good luck on your first session, eh?"
She merely smiled at him as he softly closed the door. She went back to her book, but she couldn't focus on the words in front of her. She was too distracted with Seifer's dream. Sighing, she got up, put the book down on the chair, and walked up to her open window. It was still bright outside and Quistis took a deep breath of fresh air. The cool breeze whipped through her hair. She listened to the wind. She heard voices in the wind, some happy, some sad. They were whispering to her about the secrets of the world. Secrets only the wise dragons would know. Quistis sighed again and leaned her elbows against the windowsill. When will be the next time we will see you again Celeste?, she wondered.
The being before her was clear and ripling with the liquid flowing to sustain its form. This one looked more like a dragon. Celeste frowned. Too unstable, she thought. This one's seems it's about to break apart into regular water in no time. It won't be able to keep it's form for long. She sighed and let the monster spill back into the sea. Maybe I need some rest. I guess I need a bath. Then I'll go back to practicing, she promised herself. She went back into her house.
Seifer met Fujin in front of the club at exactly five o'clock. By her side was a large black duffel bag filled with all of Seifer's necessities. She cocked her head to one side and looked at him quizically.
"SAFE?," she asked.
"Yeah, I'm OK," he responded with a confident smile. "A little hostility from Squall, but that was expected."
Fujin nodded and her good eye peered up at him worriedly. "CAREFUL," she commanded.
"Hey, don't worry. I can take care of myself." Seifer gave her his most confident smirk. Fujin only snorted and rolled her eye. "Hey, tell Raijin to take care?," he requested. Fujin nodded and watched as Seifer gave her a casual two-fingered salute and disappeared behind the crowd of people. She frowned. She had a bad feeling about this.
"Good afternoon, Matron," Quistis greeted warmly.
"Quistis, darling." Matron welcomed her with a smile and a hug. "I'm so glad to see you so healthy again."
"Thank you."
"Please, have a seat."
They were in Matron and Cid's den. The floor was covered with lush red carpeting and shelves of books stood on the dark mahogany. The large glass windows offered a beautiful view of the sea. The sun was setting, and the sky was filled with gold, red, and orange. The clouds looked like soft sweet cotton candy floating and drifting, following the currents of the wind. Quistis sat across from Matron and folded her hands across her lap. Edea propped her elbows on the dark, sleek wooden table and rested her chin on the back of her hands.
"Quistis?," she said.
Quistis looked up at her.
"Tell me, how do you feel about this?"
Quistis paused for a moment. "You mean, about the training...?"
"No, honey." Matron gave Quistis a kind smile. "About your abilities."
"Oh." She bit her lip. "Well... I really don't know. I don't know whether to consider it a curse, or a gift. I wish I wouldn't think so badly of it, but I feel so bad because... well, because of me, Celeste is here, and wants to use me." Quistis felt so helpless. "So many people are going to die..."
"No Quistis," Edea pronounced firmly and confidently. "No one is going to die. No one. I am very confident that you and the other SeeDs won't let that happen."
Quistis just smiled weakly.
"I'm not just saying this to put pressure on you honey. Things will just happen, and you have to let the events flow. If you concentrate to hard on trying to prevent the loss of lives, you are only going to worsen it. Just let your mind free and let time take care of itself."
Quistis thought of what was just spoken, and realized the wisdom of her words. She looked into Edea's eyes and nodded. Matron smiled.
"Have you been having strange sensations lately? Maybe from your newfound powers?," Edea inquired.
"I've been hearing voices. In the wind," Quistis replied.
"What do they say to you?"
"I'm not sure. The voices aren't very clear, but I get the feeling of the meaning of the words. I know if some are sad, or happy. Some of them seem to be secrets only the most ancient and wisest dragons would know." Quistis smiled. "I feel such a close tie to everything. Like everything in nature and in the world is connected to each other. I... I've never felt anything like it."
Matron smiled knowingly. "You feel the rush of knowing things not many people would be aware of."
Quistis nodded.
"Is there anything else that you've learned about your abilities?"
Quistis thought for a moment. "Yes," she answered. "Just about an hour ago, I felt something emanating from Seifer." Quistis paused for a moment, trying to find a way to word her thoughts coherently. "I knew he was dreaming about something, and he didn't like it. I felt... I think it was fear I felt from him." Her eyebrows came together at her forehead.
Matron looked worried. "Did he tell you what he dreamt about?," she asked inquisitively.
Quistis told her about the strange dream. Edea rested her head on both her hands, deep in thought. "Do you know what the dream might mean?," Quistis asked her. "I didn't know what to make of it."
"Dreams are very vague," Edea began. "It might mean something very significant, yet it might mean nothing. It is an anomaly."
Quistis listened closely, not wanting to miss anything. She leaned closer.
"The dream could be a prophecy, though delivered in a twisted way. Everything that he saw in his dream- colors, textures- could have significance as to what the dream is really trying to show. But it can also be a manifestation if his subconscious fears of the future. He might be afraid that Celeste might take control of your mind and body again. The mind is a very delicate thing. It's very unpredictable, Quistis."
Quistis nodded. She folded her arms on the table and lay her head down. She was so tired. She didn't want to be in this situation. She didn't like how events were turning out already. She had a bad feeling about the whole thing. It was gnawing at her heart, her soul.
"Oh! I'm sorry Quistis. It's my fault. I didn't know you were going to be so exhausted. How thoughtless of me!," Matron said shamefully.
Quistis raised her head. "No, that's OK. I just haven't rested enough. Things are just so strange." She gave a reassuring smile and stood up.
"You better go," Edea said. "You must get some rest and freshen up. Tomorrow's another day after all." She led Quistis to the door. "We will meet here everyday at the same time. I think that the sooner we uncover all your powers, the better."
"Thank you, Matron," Quistis thanked her gratuitously. "You don't know how much you've helped me today."
"Oh, honey, it was nothing. Now go and get some rest."
Quistis smiled. "Good night," she said, the the door closed behind her. Quistis saw the elevator to the lower floors ahead of her. She stretched and exhaled her breath. She had learned a lot today. She looked at her watch. One hour had already passed. Time flies by so quickly, Quistis thought, and she headed for the elevator to her dorm.
Back at the beach again. Seifer sighed. He was sitting in the sand, arms behind him, supporting his upper body in the sand. The sun had already gone down and he was staring at the stars. They were like diamonds in the velvety black sky. Space just seemed to stretch on forever into perpetual darkness and mystery. He loved it.
Ever since he woke up in the afternoon, the dream had been haunting him. He just couldn't shake it off. Maybe it was only a dumb dream, but then again, he heard so many stories of people being forewarned of the future through their dreams. Seifer let out a frustrated groan and rubbed his eyes. Things were way messed up, and he didn't like it. Not at all. He knew more bad news were coming in the future, and he was afraid. He was afraid of the future, he was afraid for Quistis, for himself, for everyone. For everyone? Why should he care about anyone else but himself? But Seifer knew he was only lying to himself. He's changed. Dammit, he thought. What the hell is wrong with me? I was never like this.
Seifer stood up and picked up his bag. He didn't like the direction his thoughts were going, and he decided to concentrate on going back to Balamb Garden. He'll worry later.
Without looking back at the beach, the sea, or the stars, Seifer headed toward Garden.
Quistis was lying in her bed with her arms spread out. She had kicked off her boots and opted for her blue fuzzy slippers which she loved so much. She was staring at her white ceiling, thinking about everything and nothing. She turned her head toward her clock, and it read seven thirty-two. She was thinking about going to the cafeteria to get dinner when she heard footsteps coming down from the hall. She immediately knew it was Seifer. The footsteps stopped at her door and Seifer rapped at the door with his knuckles.
"It's open!," Quistis called from her bed.
Seifer opened the door and stuck his head out into her room. "Hey, Quistis, ya wanna go out for dinner? Dinner here at Garden kinda sucks, don't you think?"
Quistis put a finger by her chin, contemplating the thought. What he said did have a hint of truth in it. The Garden's cafeteria wasn't someplace where one would want to eat dinner at. Breakfast and lunch were perfectly fine, but the cafeteria ladies' specialties didn't include dinner. Finally, she said, "OK."
"Good. I know this really great place. Meet me by the front gates an hour from now, got it? Oh yeah, you might wanna dress kinda nicely too, but not too elegantly. In other words, no t-shirt and jeans."
Quistis sat up from her bed. "We're going someplace expensive?," she asked. He didn't have to do that.
"You'll see," Seifer said with a mischeivous grin. "See ya later." With that Seifer closed the door. His footsteps could be heard going into his room. The door slammed shut.
Quistis was beginning to get increasingly curious of where they were going to go. Not wanting to waste any more time, she got up and took a shower. When she dried herself off, with a towel wrapped around her, she searched through her closet. She frowned. What will I wear?, she worried, and finally decided on a dark green silk tanktop and black flares. Smiling to herself, she changed into her clothes and clipped her hair in the usual style. Studying herself in the mirror, she decided to put on some lipgloss. Satisfied with her looks, she looked at the clock, which read eight twenty-seven. Quistis left her dorm, locked the door with her card key, and began walking toward the gates where Seifer was waiting for her.
An Unlikely Meeting- Part V
Celeste landed lightly on her feet on the fine, white sand. She let her bare feet sink into the warm sand and sighed, content. Now let's see..., she thought as she wiggled her fingers. Then, she outstretched one open hand, palms facing down. The sand below her hand began to swirl, as though caught up in a whirl of wind. The tornado of sand began to grow and become more dense. If took the shape of a large, dangerous predatory bird existing only through Celeste's imagination. The bird completed, Celeste simply let it dissipate away. Not bad considering how long I've isolated from humanity, she thought, but I've got to do better. She concentrated on creating a monster from water.
Seifer saw Quistis sitting in the middle of the large circular bed atop silken sheets. She had on a black dress which clung to her body. Her face was powdered white, and her lips were a deep, dark red. Black eyeliner lined her eyes, which extended towards her temple, Egyptian style, and her eyebrows were darkened to a brown shade. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail. Her eyes were cold, as was her strange smile.
"Quistis...," said Seifer, walking up to her. He sat down on the bed next to her. "Quistis, what's wrong?" His voice echoed throughout the gold room.
"Poor baby...," Quistis said in a cold, detached voice. She went up on her knees and her pale hands reached for his face. "Poor baby...," she said again, and she kissed him on the lips.
Some was definitely wrong, and Seifer pulled away. "Quistis, what's wrong? Snap out of it. This isn't you," he said, holding on firmly to her shoulders.
Still with a cold smile on her face, she kissed him again, deeply.
There was something about her perfume which made Seifer dizzy. Everything around him became fuzzy, and the room spun. Feeling weak and very sick, he layed down on the red silk sheets. He gritted his teeth and groaned.
"Seifer, is there something wrong?," Quistis asked with a hint of mockery in her voice.
"Quistis," he murmured. His eyes fluttered, threatening to close, but he forced them open. He tried to get up.
Her smile widened a little bit, as she said, "Don't worry. I'm right here."
The last thing Seifer saw was Quistis's crimson acrylic nails reaching for his eyes.
Seifer's eyes snapped open, a scream caught in the back of his throat. Breathing hard, he found himself in his dorm. He recalled what happened. He called Fujin to tell her about what had happened, and to inform her that he will be staying at Garden for a while. He told her to meet him in front of the club with his stuff ready. Seifer looked at his clock. Four twenty five. He was to meet her in forty five minutes. After the call, he took a nap... and then the strange dream.
Seifer frowned and ran his fingers through his hair. What scared him most wasn't the fact that his eyes were about to be taken out. Rather, it was Quistis's bizzare behavior. It was so unlike her, so out of character. She sounded so... cold, indifferent. Still worrying over the dream, Seifer decided to visit Quistis to see how she was doing.
Knocking on her door, he heard Quistis calling "open," and he opened the door into her room, and closed it behind him.
"Hey," he greeted her, and sat down on the chair by her desk. He looked across to Quistis.
"Hey." Quistis was seated at her oversized couch, reading. She looked up at him from the book she was reading. "Feel like talking about that strange dream you had just a moment ago?," she asked softly.
This left Seifer speechless, and he just stared at her, open-mouthed.
"All these weird feelings are rushing at me. I got the sense you were having a bad dream. I guess my "psychic abilities", as you called them, are coming to me." She offered him a small smile. "Do you want to talk about it?"
"... No." He didn't want to talk about it at all. It would be too uncomfortable. And disturbing.
"Oh," replied Quistis. She cast her eyes down.
"I just came to check up on you, see how you were doing."
"I'm doing well, thank you. I'll be starting my training session soon with Edea." She bit her lip. "I hope all goes well."
"I'm sure you'll do fine," Seifer said with a small, encouraging smile.
Silence followed. After a few moments, Seifer broke the stillness. "You were in my dream."
Quistis looked up at him with her head cocked to her side. She waited for him to continue.
"We were in this huge, golden room, and in the center, there was this bed, and you were on it wearing these weird clothes and makeup. You were so uncharacteristic, so I tried to snap you out of it." Seifer furrowed his eyebrows. "But you just had that strange smile on your face, and your voice was really distant, as if you were in some sort of a daze. I got really dizzy for some reason, and I laid down on the bed, too weak to move, and then you reached for my eyes." He shuddered at the memory. "That's when I woke up." He didn't mention the kissing part, because that was too weird, and embarrassing in a way. She might think he had been fantasizing about her, which was definitely not true.
Quistis looked at him for a while, thinking. "What did I say?," she finally said.
"Huh?"
"You said my voice sounded distant. I must've said something- you heard my voice. What was it that I said?"
"You kept repeating two words. You kept saying 'poor baby.'"
Quistis's eyebrows came together as she tried to think of a reasonable explanation for the strange dream. She couldn't think of anything. She shook her head. "I can't think of an explanation for your dream, but I'm sure it has very little significance," she said, although she didn't sound very convincing, even to herself.
"Yeah, maybe," Seifer replied, doubtful. "Thanks for listening. Anyways, I gotta go to pick up some stuff Fujin promised to have ready for me." He stood up to leave, and just as he was about to close the door behind him, he turned his head to where Quistis was sitting. "Oh yeah, and good luck on your first session, eh?"
She merely smiled at him as he softly closed the door. She went back to her book, but she couldn't focus on the words in front of her. She was too distracted with Seifer's dream. Sighing, she got up, put the book down on the chair, and walked up to her open window. It was still bright outside and Quistis took a deep breath of fresh air. The cool breeze whipped through her hair. She listened to the wind. She heard voices in the wind, some happy, some sad. They were whispering to her about the secrets of the world. Secrets only the wise dragons would know. Quistis sighed again and leaned her elbows against the windowsill. When will be the next time we will see you again Celeste?, she wondered.
The being before her was clear and ripling with the liquid flowing to sustain its form. This one looked more like a dragon. Celeste frowned. Too unstable, she thought. This one's seems it's about to break apart into regular water in no time. It won't be able to keep it's form for long. She sighed and let the monster spill back into the sea. Maybe I need some rest. I guess I need a bath. Then I'll go back to practicing, she promised herself. She went back into her house.
Seifer met Fujin in front of the club at exactly five o'clock. By her side was a large black duffel bag filled with all of Seifer's necessities. She cocked her head to one side and looked at him quizically.
"SAFE?," she asked.
"Yeah, I'm OK," he responded with a confident smile. "A little hostility from Squall, but that was expected."
Fujin nodded and her good eye peered up at him worriedly. "CAREFUL," she commanded.
"Hey, don't worry. I can take care of myself." Seifer gave her his most confident smirk. Fujin only snorted and rolled her eye. "Hey, tell Raijin to take care?," he requested. Fujin nodded and watched as Seifer gave her a casual two-fingered salute and disappeared behind the crowd of people. She frowned. She had a bad feeling about this.
"Good afternoon, Matron," Quistis greeted warmly.
"Quistis, darling." Matron welcomed her with a smile and a hug. "I'm so glad to see you so healthy again."
"Thank you."
"Please, have a seat."
They were in Matron and Cid's den. The floor was covered with lush red carpeting and shelves of books stood on the dark mahogany. The large glass windows offered a beautiful view of the sea. The sun was setting, and the sky was filled with gold, red, and orange. The clouds looked like soft sweet cotton candy floating and drifting, following the currents of the wind. Quistis sat across from Matron and folded her hands across her lap. Edea propped her elbows on the dark, sleek wooden table and rested her chin on the back of her hands.
"Quistis?," she said.
Quistis looked up at her.
"Tell me, how do you feel about this?"
Quistis paused for a moment. "You mean, about the training...?"
"No, honey." Matron gave Quistis a kind smile. "About your abilities."
"Oh." She bit her lip. "Well... I really don't know. I don't know whether to consider it a curse, or a gift. I wish I wouldn't think so badly of it, but I feel so bad because... well, because of me, Celeste is here, and wants to use me." Quistis felt so helpless. "So many people are going to die..."
"No Quistis," Edea pronounced firmly and confidently. "No one is going to die. No one. I am very confident that you and the other SeeDs won't let that happen."
Quistis just smiled weakly.
"I'm not just saying this to put pressure on you honey. Things will just happen, and you have to let the events flow. If you concentrate to hard on trying to prevent the loss of lives, you are only going to worsen it. Just let your mind free and let time take care of itself."
Quistis thought of what was just spoken, and realized the wisdom of her words. She looked into Edea's eyes and nodded. Matron smiled.
"Have you been having strange sensations lately? Maybe from your newfound powers?," Edea inquired.
"I've been hearing voices. In the wind," Quistis replied.
"What do they say to you?"
"I'm not sure. The voices aren't very clear, but I get the feeling of the meaning of the words. I know if some are sad, or happy. Some of them seem to be secrets only the most ancient and wisest dragons would know." Quistis smiled. "I feel such a close tie to everything. Like everything in nature and in the world is connected to each other. I... I've never felt anything like it."
Matron smiled knowingly. "You feel the rush of knowing things not many people would be aware of."
Quistis nodded.
"Is there anything else that you've learned about your abilities?"
Quistis thought for a moment. "Yes," she answered. "Just about an hour ago, I felt something emanating from Seifer." Quistis paused for a moment, trying to find a way to word her thoughts coherently. "I knew he was dreaming about something, and he didn't like it. I felt... I think it was fear I felt from him." Her eyebrows came together at her forehead.
Matron looked worried. "Did he tell you what he dreamt about?," she asked inquisitively.
Quistis told her about the strange dream. Edea rested her head on both her hands, deep in thought. "Do you know what the dream might mean?," Quistis asked her. "I didn't know what to make of it."
"Dreams are very vague," Edea began. "It might mean something very significant, yet it might mean nothing. It is an anomaly."
Quistis listened closely, not wanting to miss anything. She leaned closer.
"The dream could be a prophecy, though delivered in a twisted way. Everything that he saw in his dream- colors, textures- could have significance as to what the dream is really trying to show. But it can also be a manifestation if his subconscious fears of the future. He might be afraid that Celeste might take control of your mind and body again. The mind is a very delicate thing. It's very unpredictable, Quistis."
Quistis nodded. She folded her arms on the table and lay her head down. She was so tired. She didn't want to be in this situation. She didn't like how events were turning out already. She had a bad feeling about the whole thing. It was gnawing at her heart, her soul.
"Oh! I'm sorry Quistis. It's my fault. I didn't know you were going to be so exhausted. How thoughtless of me!," Matron said shamefully.
Quistis raised her head. "No, that's OK. I just haven't rested enough. Things are just so strange." She gave a reassuring smile and stood up.
"You better go," Edea said. "You must get some rest and freshen up. Tomorrow's another day after all." She led Quistis to the door. "We will meet here everyday at the same time. I think that the sooner we uncover all your powers, the better."
"Thank you, Matron," Quistis thanked her gratuitously. "You don't know how much you've helped me today."
"Oh, honey, it was nothing. Now go and get some rest."
Quistis smiled. "Good night," she said, the the door closed behind her. Quistis saw the elevator to the lower floors ahead of her. She stretched and exhaled her breath. She had learned a lot today. She looked at her watch. One hour had already passed. Time flies by so quickly, Quistis thought, and she headed for the elevator to her dorm.
Back at the beach again. Seifer sighed. He was sitting in the sand, arms behind him, supporting his upper body in the sand. The sun had already gone down and he was staring at the stars. They were like diamonds in the velvety black sky. Space just seemed to stretch on forever into perpetual darkness and mystery. He loved it.
Ever since he woke up in the afternoon, the dream had been haunting him. He just couldn't shake it off. Maybe it was only a dumb dream, but then again, he heard so many stories of people being forewarned of the future through their dreams. Seifer let out a frustrated groan and rubbed his eyes. Things were way messed up, and he didn't like it. Not at all. He knew more bad news were coming in the future, and he was afraid. He was afraid of the future, he was afraid for Quistis, for himself, for everyone. For everyone? Why should he care about anyone else but himself? But Seifer knew he was only lying to himself. He's changed. Dammit, he thought. What the hell is wrong with me? I was never like this.
Seifer stood up and picked up his bag. He didn't like the direction his thoughts were going, and he decided to concentrate on going back to Balamb Garden. He'll worry later.
Without looking back at the beach, the sea, or the stars, Seifer headed toward Garden.
Quistis was lying in her bed with her arms spread out. She had kicked off her boots and opted for her blue fuzzy slippers which she loved so much. She was staring at her white ceiling, thinking about everything and nothing. She turned her head toward her clock, and it read seven thirty-two. She was thinking about going to the cafeteria to get dinner when she heard footsteps coming down from the hall. She immediately knew it was Seifer. The footsteps stopped at her door and Seifer rapped at the door with his knuckles.
"It's open!," Quistis called from her bed.
Seifer opened the door and stuck his head out into her room. "Hey, Quistis, ya wanna go out for dinner? Dinner here at Garden kinda sucks, don't you think?"
Quistis put a finger by her chin, contemplating the thought. What he said did have a hint of truth in it. The Garden's cafeteria wasn't someplace where one would want to eat dinner at. Breakfast and lunch were perfectly fine, but the cafeteria ladies' specialties didn't include dinner. Finally, she said, "OK."
"Good. I know this really great place. Meet me by the front gates an hour from now, got it? Oh yeah, you might wanna dress kinda nicely too, but not too elegantly. In other words, no t-shirt and jeans."
Quistis sat up from her bed. "We're going someplace expensive?," she asked. He didn't have to do that.
"You'll see," Seifer said with a mischeivous grin. "See ya later." With that Seifer closed the door. His footsteps could be heard going into his room. The door slammed shut.
Quistis was beginning to get increasingly curious of where they were going to go. Not wanting to waste any more time, she got up and took a shower. When she dried herself off, with a towel wrapped around her, she searched through her closet. She frowned. What will I wear?, she worried, and finally decided on a dark green silk tanktop and black flares. Smiling to herself, she changed into her clothes and clipped her hair in the usual style. Studying herself in the mirror, she decided to put on some lipgloss. Satisfied with her looks, she looked at the clock, which read eight twenty-seven. Quistis left her dorm, locked the door with her card key, and began walking toward the gates where Seifer was waiting for her.