Squirrelly.
That was one word that described her. Well, according to one of her best friends, Terasu, she was Squirrelly.
She stared at her reflection. Her hair was long- down to her waist- and brown, like her father's. She looked a lot like her mother in the face- all except for her eye color and nose; she inheirited both from her father. She was dressed appropriately in her SeeD uniform- a blue dress/suit with yellowish trimmings. She didn't like the skirt... it was a bit too girly for her. But who has time to complain about the uniforms when the Field Exam is today? She straightened her yellow bowtie and walked into her room.
Nice and tidy, just like she always kept it. She smiled at the Gunblade laying on her bed. A gift from her father when she turned 8. That birthday, Squall and Rinoa Leonhart told their daughter, Amaye, that she'd be attending the famous Balamb Garden. She had never been happier.
She remembered hearing her father truly laugh for the first time when she tried holding the Gunblade. She chuckled to herself, remembering her father pulling the Gunblade off of her small body. That night, as she packed her belongings, her mother hugged her for hours and told her how much she loved her. She gave Amaye her necklace with the silver ring and Griever ring on it. Her mother told her that she and her father would always be with her...
Amaye stood in front of her large mirror, Gunblade in hand. She posed for a moment. "Hmm...." She turned to the side, sucking in her already flat stomach. When she did this, she looked anorexic. Very. She released her hold on her stomach and ran her hand over the Griever engraving. She jumped a little when she heard knocking on her door.
"What do you want?" she rudely yelled. An airhead kind of voice answered, "Field Exam's today!! The vessel's leaving in three hours, and we still need to shop for supplies!" Amaye sighed. "Okay, I'll be out in a minute."
She hooked her Gunblade onto her belt and picked up a small Palm Pilot sort of item, slipping it into her pocket. She walked out the door to find her friends Terasu and Zann waiting for her.
"Jeez, took you long enough," Terasu taunted. Amaye shrugged, folding her arms. "I have a lot on my mind... I'm trying to concentrate." Zann grinned. "And what else would Amaye Leonhart be doing?" Amaye shot Zann a dirty look.
Terasu laughed. "Let's just go... we have to tell Instructor Almasy that we're leaving, or he's just going to mark us absent or something..." Amaye nodded. Zann leaned against the wall. "What's up with him...? He's always picking on us. Especially Amaye."
Amaye shrugged. "Let's go. I don't really want to sit here and try to figure out why an Instructor hates me." Terasu nodded and walked down the hallway. Amaye and Zann followed.
===============================================================
*Meanwhile....*
Rinoa was dressed in her usual everyday attire: a blue sweater and jeans, seeing as there was nothing comfier. Squall was in the living room, talking to Laguna over the phone.
"Yeah...... I know......... I know... I said 'I know', Dad........ Yeah... we'll be there in a few minutes.... You taking an airship?..... I said, 'ARE YOU TAKING AN AIRSHIP?!' " he yelled. Laguna was a bit hard of hearing. Rinoa giggled from the kitchen. "Okay. See you then.... Bye." he hung up. "...Old man...." he muttered as he walked into the kitchen.
"When's he leaving?" Rinoa asked.
"In a bit... we still have a while until we have to meet him there. He'll be taking the Ragnarok..."
She put a kettle of water on the black stove. "....Ragnarok? I thought they were going to retire it."
He shrugged. "I don't know..."
She smiled. "We will be in Balamb by tonight, right?"
He nodded. "Yeah.... I talked it over with Zell and he said that it's okay that we stay with them for a couple days..."
She nodded. "It's been a while since we've seen him and Ann... I wonder how their youngest is doing.... What's his name again?"
He shrugged. "Aell or something... I know the older one's Zann..."
"Yeah... Amaye's always talking about him in her letters," her eyes moved to a box full of envelopes and letters near the door. "Oh, do you know where Sis is? Is she coming?"
He nodded. "Yeah... she's in Esthar with Laguna... he's gotten pretty bad lately, so she's serving as his nurse now.." he shook his head. "He's getting ready to go... I can tell."
She sighed. "Yes... ever since he hit 90, he just hasn't been the same... Getting weaker and weaker all the time."
"I have to talk to him about making a will... He keeps talking about it, but he won't do it... Maybe I can persuade Elle to get him to write one."
The kettle whistled. Rinoa pulled it off of the stove and took out two tea cups. "Well, we should get packing..." she took out two teabags and set them in the cups, pouring equal amounts of steaming water into both. She set a lemon quarter in hers and stirred it a bit, taking a sip. "Well, I'm going to get my stuff together." She set her cup down and walked into their bedroom.
Squall sighed, walking back out into the living room. He sat down in his chair, sipping his tea. His life had really changed over the past 30 years... He got married, he had a child, he grew up..... The list goes on. The highlight of his "adult" life was having a child... He was proud of himself for that. He reclined in his chair as he slowly dazed off, holding his cup of tea in one hand and his Griever necklace in the other......
===============================================================
Laguna hobbled a bit, leaning on his cane as he walked.
"Uncle Laguna?" Ellone spoke rather loudly, making sure that he could hear her.
"Eh? Yeah?" He spoke back. Ellone smiled. "The Ragnarok loading area is this way." Laguna noticed he was walking toward the bathroom and chuckled. "My mistake." He still had the same old voice he always had... it just sounded tired these days. Ellone placed her hands on his shoulder and arm, to help him walk. Laguna didn't really like being babied like this... but he didn't really mind when Ellone babied him. Just as long as it was Ellone and no one else.
She helped him onto the platform. She smiled the entire time. He smiled sweetly at her; this caused a few lines to appear on his cheeks. "Oh, Uncle Laguna... Are you sure you want to leave Esthar?"
He cleared his throat. "I've got to leave sometime, Elle... I can't be confined here forever." Ellone nodded. "But... why now?"
He sighed. "I'm not as young as I used to be, Ellone... I'm getting older and older everyday. I guess you could say I'm dying."
Ellone's eyes filled with tears. "Uncle Laguna, don't say that..." she said in a hushed voice, but Laguna still heard her. "It's okay, Elle... I'm not afraid of death... not anymore, at least."
Ellone let out a sob and gently hugged Laguna. After a few minutes, the back door to the Ragnarok opened, and Ellone helped Laguna inside.
"I want to see my Raine's grave one more time... I want to see my Granddaughter become a SeeD... Then I'll be content enought to die." He reached inside his khaki pocket and took out a piece of paper. He handed it to Ellone. "...My will. I finally made it out. I want you to show it to Squall and Rinoa, but only after I die. Not before... got that?"
Ellone nodded; a couple of tears ran down her cheek. Laguna smiled. "Good girl... you've always been a good girl."
That was one word that described her. Well, according to one of her best friends, Terasu, she was Squirrelly.
She stared at her reflection. Her hair was long- down to her waist- and brown, like her father's. She looked a lot like her mother in the face- all except for her eye color and nose; she inheirited both from her father. She was dressed appropriately in her SeeD uniform- a blue dress/suit with yellowish trimmings. She didn't like the skirt... it was a bit too girly for her. But who has time to complain about the uniforms when the Field Exam is today? She straightened her yellow bowtie and walked into her room.
Nice and tidy, just like she always kept it. She smiled at the Gunblade laying on her bed. A gift from her father when she turned 8. That birthday, Squall and Rinoa Leonhart told their daughter, Amaye, that she'd be attending the famous Balamb Garden. She had never been happier.
She remembered hearing her father truly laugh for the first time when she tried holding the Gunblade. She chuckled to herself, remembering her father pulling the Gunblade off of her small body. That night, as she packed her belongings, her mother hugged her for hours and told her how much she loved her. She gave Amaye her necklace with the silver ring and Griever ring on it. Her mother told her that she and her father would always be with her...
Amaye stood in front of her large mirror, Gunblade in hand. She posed for a moment. "Hmm...." She turned to the side, sucking in her already flat stomach. When she did this, she looked anorexic. Very. She released her hold on her stomach and ran her hand over the Griever engraving. She jumped a little when she heard knocking on her door.
"What do you want?" she rudely yelled. An airhead kind of voice answered, "Field Exam's today!! The vessel's leaving in three hours, and we still need to shop for supplies!" Amaye sighed. "Okay, I'll be out in a minute."
She hooked her Gunblade onto her belt and picked up a small Palm Pilot sort of item, slipping it into her pocket. She walked out the door to find her friends Terasu and Zann waiting for her.
"Jeez, took you long enough," Terasu taunted. Amaye shrugged, folding her arms. "I have a lot on my mind... I'm trying to concentrate." Zann grinned. "And what else would Amaye Leonhart be doing?" Amaye shot Zann a dirty look.
Terasu laughed. "Let's just go... we have to tell Instructor Almasy that we're leaving, or he's just going to mark us absent or something..." Amaye nodded. Zann leaned against the wall. "What's up with him...? He's always picking on us. Especially Amaye."
Amaye shrugged. "Let's go. I don't really want to sit here and try to figure out why an Instructor hates me." Terasu nodded and walked down the hallway. Amaye and Zann followed.
===============================================================
*Meanwhile....*
Rinoa was dressed in her usual everyday attire: a blue sweater and jeans, seeing as there was nothing comfier. Squall was in the living room, talking to Laguna over the phone.
"Yeah...... I know......... I know... I said 'I know', Dad........ Yeah... we'll be there in a few minutes.... You taking an airship?..... I said, 'ARE YOU TAKING AN AIRSHIP?!' " he yelled. Laguna was a bit hard of hearing. Rinoa giggled from the kitchen. "Okay. See you then.... Bye." he hung up. "...Old man...." he muttered as he walked into the kitchen.
"When's he leaving?" Rinoa asked.
"In a bit... we still have a while until we have to meet him there. He'll be taking the Ragnarok..."
She put a kettle of water on the black stove. "....Ragnarok? I thought they were going to retire it."
He shrugged. "I don't know..."
She smiled. "We will be in Balamb by tonight, right?"
He nodded. "Yeah.... I talked it over with Zell and he said that it's okay that we stay with them for a couple days..."
She nodded. "It's been a while since we've seen him and Ann... I wonder how their youngest is doing.... What's his name again?"
He shrugged. "Aell or something... I know the older one's Zann..."
"Yeah... Amaye's always talking about him in her letters," her eyes moved to a box full of envelopes and letters near the door. "Oh, do you know where Sis is? Is she coming?"
He nodded. "Yeah... she's in Esthar with Laguna... he's gotten pretty bad lately, so she's serving as his nurse now.." he shook his head. "He's getting ready to go... I can tell."
She sighed. "Yes... ever since he hit 90, he just hasn't been the same... Getting weaker and weaker all the time."
"I have to talk to him about making a will... He keeps talking about it, but he won't do it... Maybe I can persuade Elle to get him to write one."
The kettle whistled. Rinoa pulled it off of the stove and took out two tea cups. "Well, we should get packing..." she took out two teabags and set them in the cups, pouring equal amounts of steaming water into both. She set a lemon quarter in hers and stirred it a bit, taking a sip. "Well, I'm going to get my stuff together." She set her cup down and walked into their bedroom.
Squall sighed, walking back out into the living room. He sat down in his chair, sipping his tea. His life had really changed over the past 30 years... He got married, he had a child, he grew up..... The list goes on. The highlight of his "adult" life was having a child... He was proud of himself for that. He reclined in his chair as he slowly dazed off, holding his cup of tea in one hand and his Griever necklace in the other......
===============================================================
Laguna hobbled a bit, leaning on his cane as he walked.
"Uncle Laguna?" Ellone spoke rather loudly, making sure that he could hear her.
"Eh? Yeah?" He spoke back. Ellone smiled. "The Ragnarok loading area is this way." Laguna noticed he was walking toward the bathroom and chuckled. "My mistake." He still had the same old voice he always had... it just sounded tired these days. Ellone placed her hands on his shoulder and arm, to help him walk. Laguna didn't really like being babied like this... but he didn't really mind when Ellone babied him. Just as long as it was Ellone and no one else.
She helped him onto the platform. She smiled the entire time. He smiled sweetly at her; this caused a few lines to appear on his cheeks. "Oh, Uncle Laguna... Are you sure you want to leave Esthar?"
He cleared his throat. "I've got to leave sometime, Elle... I can't be confined here forever." Ellone nodded. "But... why now?"
He sighed. "I'm not as young as I used to be, Ellone... I'm getting older and older everyday. I guess you could say I'm dying."
Ellone's eyes filled with tears. "Uncle Laguna, don't say that..." she said in a hushed voice, but Laguna still heard her. "It's okay, Elle... I'm not afraid of death... not anymore, at least."
Ellone let out a sob and gently hugged Laguna. After a few minutes, the back door to the Ragnarok opened, and Ellone helped Laguna inside.
"I want to see my Raine's grave one more time... I want to see my Granddaughter become a SeeD... Then I'll be content enought to die." He reached inside his khaki pocket and took out a piece of paper. He handed it to Ellone. "...My will. I finally made it out. I want you to show it to Squall and Rinoa, but only after I die. Not before... got that?"
Ellone nodded; a couple of tears ran down her cheek. Laguna smiled. "Good girl... you've always been a good girl."