Lalala, once again, thanks for the nice reviews! Of course Zell doesn't
belong to me, I'm just borrowing him from the game, and Blythe too really.
Xaria entered the library with the large hardcover book, 'The Threat of the Sorceress' clasped firmly in her hands. As she walked up to the library desk she nearly bumped into Zell, who had been gazing off into space.
"Oh, sorry Xaria. Didn't see you there I guess." Xaria nodded and smiled. "Hey!" Zell suddenly asked, as if something had just donned on him, "Was it Ainsley that sent me those hotdogs?" Xaria nodded again.
"She doesn't really like them," Xaria replied. Zell smiled.
"Tell her thanks a lot!" he said enthusiastically. Xaria laughed,
"I will," she said. Zell nodded and then put one of his heads nervously behind his head as if he were scratching it.
"She's a nice girl, Ainsley," he continued, "I hope she does well on that test."
"Yeah…" Xaria replied, "I'm sure she won't really have a problem. Although…" Xaria added as an afterthought, "I think she misses Instructor Trepe. She would never admit to it, however." Zell smiled.
"I'm sure Quisty would be glad to hear it. She's on vacation in FH though." Xaria looked confused.
"Pardon me for asking," she began politely, "But Instructor Trepe doesn't really seem like the type to go off on random vacations. Is she alright?"
"She fine," Zell assured her. "Quis was thinking too much, so I kinda made her go on vacation, you know?"
"Oh…" Xaria trailed off. Zell smiled and scratched behind his head nervously again. "So," Xaria began again, "Where's Blythe?" Zell looked slightly shocked.
"Ummm…I…I dunno. Break? I guess? Maybe?" he stammered. Xaria laughed inwardly. She had never seen the sometimes over confident Zell become this ruffled before.
"Oh," she stated simply, "I thought that you were waiting for her." Zell looked even more nervous at this suggestion. "I suppose I was mistaken."
"No, I am waiting for her. I mean sorta, well, not for her exactly. There's…ummm….a magazine I want to read. Yeah! The new Combat King comes in today and I wanted to be the first one with it!" Zell looked proud of himself for inventing this somewhat believable story. Xaria smiled,
"Well then, since you are waiting for her, 'sorta'" Xaria quoted. Zell looked slightly more nervous. "Could you give this book to her and ask her to reserve it for me, please?" Zell blushed and nodded. Xaria fought the urge to giggle as she handed him the book.
"Thanks," Xaria said aloud.
"No problem," Zell said, slightly less nervous now. Xaria turned to walk away.
"Wait!" Zell called out. Xaria turned around, slightly confused. "What time is your appointment down for tommorow. I kinda…forgot," Zell scratched his head sheepishly as he said this.
"Noon," she said simply.
"Gotcha," said Zell, "And don't worry," he started as Xaria began to walk away. "You'll get your Limit soon I think." Xaria nodded and left the library. Zell sighed and turned the book over in his hands. 'The Threat of the Sorceress.' Zell snorted to himself. He wondered what this so called Doctor Kagi had to say about the Sorceresses. 'Not all sorceresses are evil,' Zell thought to himself. 'Rinoa's a sorceress and she's really nice.'
"Can I help you?" a soft voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Blythe was back from break. Zell blushed and shoved the book over the counter.
"Uhhh…I need this reserved. For a friend," he hurriedly said. Blythe nodded and opened her mouth to say something to him. Before she could say a word however, Zell quickly mumbled something about having to leave and rushed out of the library. Blythe closed her mouth and sighed. She wished Zell wasn't so shy around her. She also wished that she wasn't so shy around Zell.
Xaria entered her suite and noticed voices coming from Ainsley's room. Ainsley was usually aloof and quiet, so she didn't invite many friends into her dorm room. Curious, Xaria peered in to find Ainsley sitting on the floor playing Triple Triad with another girl with long black hair. Xaria recognized her as the girl she had seen Ainsley talking to in the cafeteria line. This girl noticed Xaria's presence before Ainsley herself did, and cleared her throat. Ainsley looked up at Xaria and smiled.
"Hey Sari, what's going on?" she asked, cheerfully. Xaria smiled but didn't say anything. "This is Pyri, by the way," Ainsley added, pointing to the dark-haired girl.
"Nice to meet you, Pyri," Xaria said, in the slightly formal manner in which she conducted almost all things, "I'm Xaria, Ainsley's roommate. Pyri waved enthusiastically.
"Pyri Alter. I took the exam with Ainsley this morning," she said, upbeat. "I think I saw you in the cafeteria," Pyri continued. Xaria opened her mouth to say that she too had seen Pyri and Ainsley in the lunch line, but Pyri snapped her fingers and burst out,
"I know! You were sitting with the blond-haired boy, Tibor, right? He's really cute. Are you dating him?" At this Ainsley looked up again at Xaria, curious. Xaria snorted loudly as she tried to keep herself from bursting into laughter.
"Ah…no," Xaria managed to say.
"That's too bad," Pyri said sincerely. "You'd better snap him up before someone else does, right Ainsley?" Pyri turned to look at Ainsley who, like Xaria, was attempting to control the urge to laugh. Ainsley cleared her throat.
"Right, Pyri," she said between chuckles, "Right." Xaria rolled her eyes at the two of them and walked back to her own room. She smiled secretly to herself as she sat down at her desk. It was good to see Ainsley beginning to act like a fourteen-year old for once. Her smile then grew broader as she thought of the ridiculous idea that Ainsley's new friend had come up with. Her and Tibor. She snorted again. Tibor was nice enough, but he was very immature. She began to laugh as she thought of his various antics in her class and then felt a small pang of sorrow. She probably wouldn't be able to see Tibor again after they both took the field exam. That is, if they both passed. She shook her head to clear her mind of her doubts. She would pass. She had to pass.
Xaria rose from her desk and left her room. As she walked along the corridor, she looked outside of the windows to watch dusk fall all around the Garden. The noise of the crickets and other various bugs began to take precedence over the hustle and bustle that the students created themselves. She could hear the soft trickling of water, coming from the numerous fountains built in to the Garden architecture. She sighed and the nagging thought foremost in her mind once again popped into her head. Her Limit Break. 'Well,' Xaria thought to herself, 'I could go to the Training Center and try to discover it myself…' Garden cadets were strongly discouraged not to discover their Limit Breaks on their own. Occasionally, of course, this couldn't be helped. Sometimes a student or a SeeD would accidentally tap into a Limit while on his or her own. In these cases, there wasn't much that could be done about it except to wait until the Limit passed and the damage was assessed. However, Limits were such powerful, raw attacks, that the Garden had a rule that stated all cadets and SeeDs purposely training to discover a Limit should always be accompanied by another SeeD, cadet, or even better an Instructor. Xaria thought back to a story Instructor Barak had told them once while discussing Limit training. Apparantly, a student had decided to discover their Limit on their own. They went out into the Alcauld Plains alone and ventured into the forests to fight a T-Rexaur. Unfortunately, when they did tap into their Limit, it automatically caused the Berserk status effect, making the student unaware of their actions, and causing the student to collapse, unconscious, in the forests. Supposedly they had died before any SeeD members had found them. Xaria was almost sure that this story was embellished to keep students from going Limit training on their own, but she found herself unwilling to take these chances and break the rules. 'I'll simply put in an hour of light training,' she told herself as she walked to the training center.
Xaria entered the library with the large hardcover book, 'The Threat of the Sorceress' clasped firmly in her hands. As she walked up to the library desk she nearly bumped into Zell, who had been gazing off into space.
"Oh, sorry Xaria. Didn't see you there I guess." Xaria nodded and smiled. "Hey!" Zell suddenly asked, as if something had just donned on him, "Was it Ainsley that sent me those hotdogs?" Xaria nodded again.
"She doesn't really like them," Xaria replied. Zell smiled.
"Tell her thanks a lot!" he said enthusiastically. Xaria laughed,
"I will," she said. Zell nodded and then put one of his heads nervously behind his head as if he were scratching it.
"She's a nice girl, Ainsley," he continued, "I hope she does well on that test."
"Yeah…" Xaria replied, "I'm sure she won't really have a problem. Although…" Xaria added as an afterthought, "I think she misses Instructor Trepe. She would never admit to it, however." Zell smiled.
"I'm sure Quisty would be glad to hear it. She's on vacation in FH though." Xaria looked confused.
"Pardon me for asking," she began politely, "But Instructor Trepe doesn't really seem like the type to go off on random vacations. Is she alright?"
"She fine," Zell assured her. "Quis was thinking too much, so I kinda made her go on vacation, you know?"
"Oh…" Xaria trailed off. Zell smiled and scratched behind his head nervously again. "So," Xaria began again, "Where's Blythe?" Zell looked slightly shocked.
"Ummm…I…I dunno. Break? I guess? Maybe?" he stammered. Xaria laughed inwardly. She had never seen the sometimes over confident Zell become this ruffled before.
"Oh," she stated simply, "I thought that you were waiting for her." Zell looked even more nervous at this suggestion. "I suppose I was mistaken."
"No, I am waiting for her. I mean sorta, well, not for her exactly. There's…ummm….a magazine I want to read. Yeah! The new Combat King comes in today and I wanted to be the first one with it!" Zell looked proud of himself for inventing this somewhat believable story. Xaria smiled,
"Well then, since you are waiting for her, 'sorta'" Xaria quoted. Zell looked slightly more nervous. "Could you give this book to her and ask her to reserve it for me, please?" Zell blushed and nodded. Xaria fought the urge to giggle as she handed him the book.
"Thanks," Xaria said aloud.
"No problem," Zell said, slightly less nervous now. Xaria turned to walk away.
"Wait!" Zell called out. Xaria turned around, slightly confused. "What time is your appointment down for tommorow. I kinda…forgot," Zell scratched his head sheepishly as he said this.
"Noon," she said simply.
"Gotcha," said Zell, "And don't worry," he started as Xaria began to walk away. "You'll get your Limit soon I think." Xaria nodded and left the library. Zell sighed and turned the book over in his hands. 'The Threat of the Sorceress.' Zell snorted to himself. He wondered what this so called Doctor Kagi had to say about the Sorceresses. 'Not all sorceresses are evil,' Zell thought to himself. 'Rinoa's a sorceress and she's really nice.'
"Can I help you?" a soft voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Blythe was back from break. Zell blushed and shoved the book over the counter.
"Uhhh…I need this reserved. For a friend," he hurriedly said. Blythe nodded and opened her mouth to say something to him. Before she could say a word however, Zell quickly mumbled something about having to leave and rushed out of the library. Blythe closed her mouth and sighed. She wished Zell wasn't so shy around her. She also wished that she wasn't so shy around Zell.
Xaria entered her suite and noticed voices coming from Ainsley's room. Ainsley was usually aloof and quiet, so she didn't invite many friends into her dorm room. Curious, Xaria peered in to find Ainsley sitting on the floor playing Triple Triad with another girl with long black hair. Xaria recognized her as the girl she had seen Ainsley talking to in the cafeteria line. This girl noticed Xaria's presence before Ainsley herself did, and cleared her throat. Ainsley looked up at Xaria and smiled.
"Hey Sari, what's going on?" she asked, cheerfully. Xaria smiled but didn't say anything. "This is Pyri, by the way," Ainsley added, pointing to the dark-haired girl.
"Nice to meet you, Pyri," Xaria said, in the slightly formal manner in which she conducted almost all things, "I'm Xaria, Ainsley's roommate. Pyri waved enthusiastically.
"Pyri Alter. I took the exam with Ainsley this morning," she said, upbeat. "I think I saw you in the cafeteria," Pyri continued. Xaria opened her mouth to say that she too had seen Pyri and Ainsley in the lunch line, but Pyri snapped her fingers and burst out,
"I know! You were sitting with the blond-haired boy, Tibor, right? He's really cute. Are you dating him?" At this Ainsley looked up again at Xaria, curious. Xaria snorted loudly as she tried to keep herself from bursting into laughter.
"Ah…no," Xaria managed to say.
"That's too bad," Pyri said sincerely. "You'd better snap him up before someone else does, right Ainsley?" Pyri turned to look at Ainsley who, like Xaria, was attempting to control the urge to laugh. Ainsley cleared her throat.
"Right, Pyri," she said between chuckles, "Right." Xaria rolled her eyes at the two of them and walked back to her own room. She smiled secretly to herself as she sat down at her desk. It was good to see Ainsley beginning to act like a fourteen-year old for once. Her smile then grew broader as she thought of the ridiculous idea that Ainsley's new friend had come up with. Her and Tibor. She snorted again. Tibor was nice enough, but he was very immature. She began to laugh as she thought of his various antics in her class and then felt a small pang of sorrow. She probably wouldn't be able to see Tibor again after they both took the field exam. That is, if they both passed. She shook her head to clear her mind of her doubts. She would pass. She had to pass.
Xaria rose from her desk and left her room. As she walked along the corridor, she looked outside of the windows to watch dusk fall all around the Garden. The noise of the crickets and other various bugs began to take precedence over the hustle and bustle that the students created themselves. She could hear the soft trickling of water, coming from the numerous fountains built in to the Garden architecture. She sighed and the nagging thought foremost in her mind once again popped into her head. Her Limit Break. 'Well,' Xaria thought to herself, 'I could go to the Training Center and try to discover it myself…' Garden cadets were strongly discouraged not to discover their Limit Breaks on their own. Occasionally, of course, this couldn't be helped. Sometimes a student or a SeeD would accidentally tap into a Limit while on his or her own. In these cases, there wasn't much that could be done about it except to wait until the Limit passed and the damage was assessed. However, Limits were such powerful, raw attacks, that the Garden had a rule that stated all cadets and SeeDs purposely training to discover a Limit should always be accompanied by another SeeD, cadet, or even better an Instructor. Xaria thought back to a story Instructor Barak had told them once while discussing Limit training. Apparantly, a student had decided to discover their Limit on their own. They went out into the Alcauld Plains alone and ventured into the forests to fight a T-Rexaur. Unfortunately, when they did tap into their Limit, it automatically caused the Berserk status effect, making the student unaware of their actions, and causing the student to collapse, unconscious, in the forests. Supposedly they had died before any SeeD members had found them. Xaria was almost sure that this story was embellished to keep students from going Limit training on their own, but she found herself unwilling to take these chances and break the rules. 'I'll simply put in an hour of light training,' she told herself as she walked to the training center.