Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say this? I don't own these people!!
An Unlikely Meeting- Part VIII
"Come on you ugly prehistoric lizard. I'll send you back to where you came from," Seifer threatened with a wicked grin. He was in the ready position with gunblade in hand. He was slick with sweat and his bangs fell forward. He tossed his head to brush them aside.
Seifer had been in the training center for only fifteen minutes when he came upon a gigantic T-rexaur. Now, it had cuts and scrapes all over its scaly body. It let out a mighty roar of defiance. It glared down at Seifer with deadly red eyes, determined to bite off the head of the arrogant nuissance. It lowered its head and roared once more, ready to attack.
Seifer smiled. That's it. Come on, give it your best shot, he thought.
The lizard charged, its serrated teeth bared and glistening. Seifer's eyes narrowed in concentration. Closer... closer... now!
The dinosaurs teeth snapped shut, but he bit nothing but air. Seifer had sidestepped him, and before the T-rexaur could regain from his surprise and turn around to attack again, Seifer rammed his gunblade through the monster's jaw and the bullet tore through. The T-rexaur's death cry thundered throughout the training center as it fell. The body lay in a heap, a pool of blood surrounding his inanimate form.
Zell had been in the training center also, fighting a trio of grats, and upon hearing the the cry of the dinosaur, he rushed to the source. There he found the fallen T-rexaur lying in its own blood, it's jaw torn to shreds. Beside the lizard was Seifer, huffing and puffing from the exertion. He dropped his gunblade beside him and sunk to the ground.
"Holy cow, Seifer. Did you kill that thing all by yourself?," Zell asked with reluctant admiration.
Seifer merely nodded.
"Damn. You should've just ran away like anybody else would've." He put his hands deep within his pockets.
Seifer laughed, although without humor. "I don't run from battles," he said with dead seriousness.
Zell shrugged. "OK then, suit yourself. One day, your arrogance is gonna kill ya I tell ya."
Seifer snorted. "At least my name isn't Chicken-wuss like somebody I know."
"WHAT?!," Zell cried. His hands flew out of his pockets and to his side, where they were fisted and ready for battle. "C'mon man! You wanna piece of me? Huh? C'mon! Let's deal with this right here, right now! C'mon!" He was in his battle stance now, his fists in front of him, bouncing lightly on his toes. "C'mon man! Bring it on! Let's see who's the Chicken-wuss now!"
Seifer rolled his eyes and began to get up. "Listen punk. I just killed a T-rexaur, okay? That's something that you'll never be able to accomplish even in a million years. I'm tired, I'm sweaty, and I don't wanna deal with a loser like you, okay? I've had enough for today. I'm takin a shower." And with that, he walked away, his coat billowing behind him.
Zell frowned and watched as Seifer exited the training area. He snorted. "Give him another chance my ass," he said, and he went deeper in the training center, looking for something more challenging than the grats.
Seifer found himself at the beach once again. He had taken a shower and now smelled freshly of soap and shampoo. He watched as the water ebbed in and out, in and out, like fingers trying to reach for his boots to drag him into the water. He looked up to see the sparkling stars. Why do the stars make him feel so strange every time he looks at them? It makes him feel so... melancholy.
His gaze lowered to the horizon, where a thin orange streak of sunlight separated the heavens from the sea. He sighed. The water continued to flow in and out, in and out.
"Strange how we always find ourselves at the beach," an unmistakable voice commented ponderingly.
Seifer looked up to see Quistis sit down besides him, her knees drawn to her body. She rested her chin on them as she looked out into the night, her eyes watchful and alert.
"How was your session today?," he asked, not breaking his gaze away from her.
"It went very well today, I think. I've made a lot of progress compared to how I was this afternoon."
"So you can control your mind reading now?"
"No, not really. Some thoughts still manage to leak into my head, but it doesn't hurt so much anymore. At least I can now go to public places and not worry about making such an embarrassing scene like today."
Seifer smiled wryly. "Why? What happened?"
She retold him about what happened to her when she got to the cafeteria to meet with the others. She blushed at the memory of everyone quieting down to stare at her as if she had lost her mind. Quistis laughed bitterly. "Ha ha, they all must've thought that the strong, resilient instructor was finally having a mental breakdown."
Seifer grinned and put his two fingers on his chin in a thinking position. "Hmm, it would've been about time."
She shouldered him lightly. A few minutes of silence followed. Seifer finally spoke up. "Did you know that I was here?"
Quistis nodded. "I felt your presence coming from the beach, so I came, just to see."
"See what?"
She shrugged. "The night, the stars, the sea, the sky. And I was sort of wondering what you were doing out here, so I came."
"I just came out to see the night too," he lied.
"Don't lie. You make it so obvious."
"Well, maybe that's cuz you're psychic."
"Maybe that's because you're a bad liar." She paused for a moment. "You're worried about something," she said knowingly. She waited, waiting to see if Seifer wanted to talk about it or not.
He simply sighed and dug his heels into the fine sand. He turned to face her. She kept her eyes straight ahead. Dear Hyne, I'm gonna lose her, he thought, suddenly fearful. Oh man, please just tell me I'm crazy, please let me be crazy, he pleaded desperately inside. He studied her features, trying to drink in all the details. The pale moonlight caused Quistis's hair to shimmer silver-gold. The light seemed to make Quistis glow. Hyne, she's beautiful, the thought wistfully. She looked ethereal, like a goddess. Was she real?, he suddenly wondered. Is she gonna disappear right before my eyes? Will she burst into a million peices of light if I touched her? Desperate to believe her to be real, he raised his hand to touch her. His fingertips grazed her silken hair. Feeling his touch, Quistis turned to him, her head tilted to her side.
"Seifer?," she asked in puzzlement.
He smiled, just a little. "I thought you were gonna disappear in front of me there for a second," he admitted.
She smiled back. She was about to open her mouth to say something when Seifer interrupted her.
"Hey, it's gettin kinda late and a little cold, don't you think? Let's get going," he said as he stood up and brushed off the sand.
"Oh. Okay," Quistis said slowly as she too began to brush herself of the sand. They walked together back into Balamb Garden, leaving behind them the endless starry night and the singing of the crickets.
An Unlikely Meeting- Part VIII
"Come on you ugly prehistoric lizard. I'll send you back to where you came from," Seifer threatened with a wicked grin. He was in the ready position with gunblade in hand. He was slick with sweat and his bangs fell forward. He tossed his head to brush them aside.
Seifer had been in the training center for only fifteen minutes when he came upon a gigantic T-rexaur. Now, it had cuts and scrapes all over its scaly body. It let out a mighty roar of defiance. It glared down at Seifer with deadly red eyes, determined to bite off the head of the arrogant nuissance. It lowered its head and roared once more, ready to attack.
Seifer smiled. That's it. Come on, give it your best shot, he thought.
The lizard charged, its serrated teeth bared and glistening. Seifer's eyes narrowed in concentration. Closer... closer... now!
The dinosaurs teeth snapped shut, but he bit nothing but air. Seifer had sidestepped him, and before the T-rexaur could regain from his surprise and turn around to attack again, Seifer rammed his gunblade through the monster's jaw and the bullet tore through. The T-rexaur's death cry thundered throughout the training center as it fell. The body lay in a heap, a pool of blood surrounding his inanimate form.
Zell had been in the training center also, fighting a trio of grats, and upon hearing the the cry of the dinosaur, he rushed to the source. There he found the fallen T-rexaur lying in its own blood, it's jaw torn to shreds. Beside the lizard was Seifer, huffing and puffing from the exertion. He dropped his gunblade beside him and sunk to the ground.
"Holy cow, Seifer. Did you kill that thing all by yourself?," Zell asked with reluctant admiration.
Seifer merely nodded.
"Damn. You should've just ran away like anybody else would've." He put his hands deep within his pockets.
Seifer laughed, although without humor. "I don't run from battles," he said with dead seriousness.
Zell shrugged. "OK then, suit yourself. One day, your arrogance is gonna kill ya I tell ya."
Seifer snorted. "At least my name isn't Chicken-wuss like somebody I know."
"WHAT?!," Zell cried. His hands flew out of his pockets and to his side, where they were fisted and ready for battle. "C'mon man! You wanna piece of me? Huh? C'mon! Let's deal with this right here, right now! C'mon!" He was in his battle stance now, his fists in front of him, bouncing lightly on his toes. "C'mon man! Bring it on! Let's see who's the Chicken-wuss now!"
Seifer rolled his eyes and began to get up. "Listen punk. I just killed a T-rexaur, okay? That's something that you'll never be able to accomplish even in a million years. I'm tired, I'm sweaty, and I don't wanna deal with a loser like you, okay? I've had enough for today. I'm takin a shower." And with that, he walked away, his coat billowing behind him.
Zell frowned and watched as Seifer exited the training area. He snorted. "Give him another chance my ass," he said, and he went deeper in the training center, looking for something more challenging than the grats.
Seifer found himself at the beach once again. He had taken a shower and now smelled freshly of soap and shampoo. He watched as the water ebbed in and out, in and out, like fingers trying to reach for his boots to drag him into the water. He looked up to see the sparkling stars. Why do the stars make him feel so strange every time he looks at them? It makes him feel so... melancholy.
His gaze lowered to the horizon, where a thin orange streak of sunlight separated the heavens from the sea. He sighed. The water continued to flow in and out, in and out.
"Strange how we always find ourselves at the beach," an unmistakable voice commented ponderingly.
Seifer looked up to see Quistis sit down besides him, her knees drawn to her body. She rested her chin on them as she looked out into the night, her eyes watchful and alert.
"How was your session today?," he asked, not breaking his gaze away from her.
"It went very well today, I think. I've made a lot of progress compared to how I was this afternoon."
"So you can control your mind reading now?"
"No, not really. Some thoughts still manage to leak into my head, but it doesn't hurt so much anymore. At least I can now go to public places and not worry about making such an embarrassing scene like today."
Seifer smiled wryly. "Why? What happened?"
She retold him about what happened to her when she got to the cafeteria to meet with the others. She blushed at the memory of everyone quieting down to stare at her as if she had lost her mind. Quistis laughed bitterly. "Ha ha, they all must've thought that the strong, resilient instructor was finally having a mental breakdown."
Seifer grinned and put his two fingers on his chin in a thinking position. "Hmm, it would've been about time."
She shouldered him lightly. A few minutes of silence followed. Seifer finally spoke up. "Did you know that I was here?"
Quistis nodded. "I felt your presence coming from the beach, so I came, just to see."
"See what?"
She shrugged. "The night, the stars, the sea, the sky. And I was sort of wondering what you were doing out here, so I came."
"I just came out to see the night too," he lied.
"Don't lie. You make it so obvious."
"Well, maybe that's cuz you're psychic."
"Maybe that's because you're a bad liar." She paused for a moment. "You're worried about something," she said knowingly. She waited, waiting to see if Seifer wanted to talk about it or not.
He simply sighed and dug his heels into the fine sand. He turned to face her. She kept her eyes straight ahead. Dear Hyne, I'm gonna lose her, he thought, suddenly fearful. Oh man, please just tell me I'm crazy, please let me be crazy, he pleaded desperately inside. He studied her features, trying to drink in all the details. The pale moonlight caused Quistis's hair to shimmer silver-gold. The light seemed to make Quistis glow. Hyne, she's beautiful, the thought wistfully. She looked ethereal, like a goddess. Was she real?, he suddenly wondered. Is she gonna disappear right before my eyes? Will she burst into a million peices of light if I touched her? Desperate to believe her to be real, he raised his hand to touch her. His fingertips grazed her silken hair. Feeling his touch, Quistis turned to him, her head tilted to her side.
"Seifer?," she asked in puzzlement.
He smiled, just a little. "I thought you were gonna disappear in front of me there for a second," he admitted.
She smiled back. She was about to open her mouth to say something when Seifer interrupted her.
"Hey, it's gettin kinda late and a little cold, don't you think? Let's get going," he said as he stood up and brushed off the sand.
"Oh. Okay," Quistis said slowly as she too began to brush herself of the sand. They walked together back into Balamb Garden, leaving behind them the endless starry night and the singing of the crickets.