Title: Dreaming in Color
Author: Kasai
Rating: PG-13, for language and 'adult themes' later
Summary: Guardian Forces have made them forget, but the memories lurk in the minds of all the orphanage children. A little introspect to our favorite gang's early lives, centering around Quistis and Seifer. Quifer. The first half of the story will be in the orphanage and the second will be present day.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that was in FFVIII at all... Not the characters, not the plot, not the map... Y'know, nada. It all belongs to Squaresoft. I'm not making any money off of this, it's merely some harmless fun. That applies for the rest of the fic, too, so please don't sue me. x.x
A/N: I know this chapter may seem a bit weird. And I know that the sleeping together thing (you'll see what I mean, no gutter-heads!) seems a bit premature for them, but I'm trying to harness the idea that they have mature minds with childish tendencies. Catch my drift? Hopefully they don't seem too old. Lemme know in the reviews!
Dreaming in Color - Chapter 2 : Sleep
Quistis sighed as she swiped the dish towel over the sparkling plate, drying all the droplets of water as she did so. She didn't mind doing chores; she knew they were necessary. It was mainly who she had to do chores with today.
Seifer had a wicked way of making life more difficult no matter what he was doing.
He would flick water at her when she wasn't paying attention and then he'd just smirk as he watched her jump at being surprised and then just laugh when she turned to glare at him. She briefly entertained thoughts of switching and doing the same to him, but solemnly realized that he'd just snap that towel at her arm or something equally annoying. So she decided to let him keep washing and she'd keep drying.
She could hear Selphie in the other room singing to some song she'd made herself, and imagined that she was dancing with the broomstick as she did when she thought no one could see her. The image made Quistis grin; Selphie didn't think anyone saw her, but she knew the young brunette's secret.
She snapped back to reality when she felt cold specks attatch themselves to her cheek. Frowing, she turned and glared at Seifer for what felt like the seventeenth time. "Stop it. Just do your chores so we can both finish early," she ordered.
Seifer's only response was to flick more water at her and go back to washing the dishes still left in the sink with an innocent look upon his face. Quistis saw right through that, though.
"Do you always have to be so annoying?"
"Do you always have to be so stuck up?" he mimicked back at her.
Quistis 'hmphed' a bit without realizing it and lifted her chin a bit. "I'm no stuck up," she declared. "I'm responsible." Seifer's look showed clearly that he didn't believe her at all.
"Yeah, whatever, Empress."
Quistis rolled her eyes at his snide remark and lashed the towel at his arm after drying the next dish he gave her. Glancing over into the sink, she noticed that there were only a few dishes left, so she piled the plates she had already dried into her arms and hefted them into the cuppard, doing the same with all the cups and bowls. After she finished putting them away, she dried the remaining dishes that Seifer had clean and put them away as well. Stretching, she tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ear and watched as Seifer left the kitchen. Following his example, she walked out into the main room and curled up on one of the chairs. She had been up too late lastnight, and had to wake up early this morning to finish all her chores. She probably shouldn't have stayed awake so long, but the fireworks were fun, and Matron hadn't even seen them sneak out onto the beach...
Of course, being the responsible one, she shouldn't have done it at all. She'd just have to make sure that the others didn't do it again, or she'd have to tell Matron, that was all. Yawning, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep...
Flash. Quistis looked around, but everything was hazy. It looked like a desolate desert, far too baren to be natural. The ground was cracked with the obvious lack of moisture, the sky a dark grey that showed promise of an oncoming storm.
On instinct, she twirled to her left, hair fanning out in the windless air. Heavenly white feathers burst into her vision, assaulting her from every direction, caressing her skin. She threw out her hands in a helpess effort to clear a path, but they did not stop, they would not stop coming--
She heard a yell from behind her and immediately turned. Stumbling, she realized that the feathers were gone and now she faced two vaguely familiar men, battling as though their lives depended on the victory. Squinting, she tried to puzzle out who they were... She was sure she had not met them before, but they looked so... and then it came to her, and she suddenly knew in a dream-like sense that the hot-headed blonde was Seifer, but older, battling a very cold-looking Squall.
They'll hurt each other, she thought in a panic. She ran forward, screaming. But they could not or would not hear her. So valiantly, she trudged forward still, until they had to see her. "Stop it! Seifer, stop it! Squall didn't do anything to you!"
The much older male spared her a glance, his aqua eyes glazed over from the heat of battle, but they paid her little attention. Parying a hit from his opponent, he did not turn to look at her again. "Go away, little girl. You don't belong here!"
Tears filled her crystaline blue eyes, tinged with anger and sadness. How could he say that to her? Turning, she faced Squall. Her lips turned up in a pouting, pleading expression. "Can't you just ignore him? Please? Squall!" But he as well did not adhear to her and did not even acknowledge her with a response.
They'll kill each other, she thought, a sob in her mind. They'll kill each other right infront of me!
Then, there was the unmistakable reverberating dong of a bell. From where, she didn't know, but she didn't care. It made everything seem fuzzy for a moment, and then the brilliance passed and the fading sound lingered. Seifer and Squall had stopped fighting and were both looking at the sky. Feeling the tension in the air, she looked up as well.
The feathers were back, cascading down like rain being released from a bag. Right before her eyes, the feathers began to change color. Some of them stayed white, and as though they were living, they streamed towards Squall, twirling around his feet and swirling around until they formed two luminous wings at his back. Another section of them faded to a dark black, like the color of ravens, and bolted down. With a gasp, Quistis realized they were heading for her. However, they did not twirl about her body like they did Squall's. Rather, they formed small bands and twirled around her neck and just below her shoulder. Tightening, they became like rope and bound her arms to her sides. The second band, swirling about her throat, tightened as well, and secured itself tightly to her neck. Her mouth opened when she cried out, and she realized that she could no longer speak.
A remaining section of the feathers had yet to don themselves onto anyone, and Quistis could guess who they would choose. Turning a red color, a dark scarlet, they streamed down towards Seifer. His arms jerked up, as if not of his own will, and his weapon tumbled from his hands to clatter on the ground. The crimson feathers danced about Seifer's hands and pressed themselves into his flesh, until they was a small glow, and then a bright light. Squinting, because she could not shield her eyes, Quistis allowed them open after the brightness on the back of her eyelids faded. She saw Seifer, on the ground, gazing stunned at his hands, which were no longer coated with down feathers, but a red liquid.
Blood, she realized numbly. Seifer is covered in blood.
Sparing a glance, she saw that Squall's wings had wrapped around his body. Initially, they weren't large enough to cover the entire length of his much larger body, but they had grown. Not sure whether or not to run to Squall or to Seifer, the decision was made for her when all the sudden Squall's wings glowed and burst into a thousand doves, squaking and flying blindly all around. Squall was nowhere to be found.
Turning, she ran to Seifer, who was still in a state of shock, staring at his hands. Seifer, she wanted to yell, don't look at your hands! However, the band at her neck bound her voice. She wasn't sure why she didn't want him looking at his hands, either, she just knew that she didn't. Finally reaching him, she wanted to jerk his large face away from his hands with her small ones, but her arms were still pinned at her sides. She couldn't speak to get his attention, she couldn't grab him with her hands, and he seemed not to notice her at all. She wanted to cry out in frustration, but that wouldn't do any good because he wouldn't hear her anyway.
Getting an idea, she knelt down on her knees and leaned forward. Eyeing his hands, she pushed forward and bit down on his thumb hard. Feeling the muscle in his thumb twitch, she bit down still harder, sinking her teeth into his flesh, hoping to call him back from his unmoving state. His eyes flicked to her as she pulled her mouth away, feeling the warmth of blood on her cheek. Whether it was his or whatever the feathes had created, she didn't know. Staring into his eyes, she saw a glint of rememberance, but his confusion made it obvious that he did not know her.
Don't you know me? she wanted to yell. It's Quistis! Why don't you know me?!
Back to his senses, he glanced at her, his eyes glancing to her cheek where the smeared blood was beginning to dry. Taking a deep breath, he feel backward, a small thump resounding in the otherwise silent environment. Kneeling on her knees, with him on his back, she could see the pain on his face. It was hard to hide. She had so many questions she wanted to ask, but her binding held her fast, and she could not speak. Sighing, she knelt down onto her side and rested her head on his slowly rising and falling chest, the only comfort she could give.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Her eyes closed and the movement of his chest was slow and rythmic compared to her short intakes of air.
The small peace didn't last long, however, as the ground disappeared under them and they were falling. Feeling a release around her arms as she fell through what was now strikingly clear blue sky, she looked up and noticed a rope of black soaring into the sky, or maybe she was falling away from it. Either way, she reached up to grab it, but it was already much too far away. Feeling her throat, she realized she that the band was gone and promptly screamed as she noticed that bellow her, the ocean was getting much closer, very quickly.
"Seifer! Seifer, help me!" she called, but he wasn't there or he had already plumeted into the ocean, because she could not see him anywhere. Glancing down, her blonde tresses flying around her in an array of panic, she took in a deep breath, plugged her nose and squinted her eyes shut.
The plunge into the water wasn't as painful as she thought it would be, but that was probably because the water was so cold it numbed her as soon as her body was submerged in it. Opening her eyes, she looked up to where the small beam of light that she guessed was the sun was getting smaller and smaller. No, she wanted to cry, I can make it!
She swam with all her might, but the surface elluded her still. Letting out a sob, an assortment of bubbles bloomed up and floated toward the surface that she had tried so vainly to reach. Quistis, she told herself even as her head dizzied with the lack of air, you're not a quitter! Though her arms felt like lead, she pushed them forward, reaching out to pull back again and attempt to push the water behind her. Someone had other ideas, though, and two hands lashed out and grabbed hers, pulling her to the surface which suddenly seemed to be about a foot away, instead of a mile.
Coughing, she breeched the surface and realized she was on a beach. Seifer was next to her, but he was not the teenager she had met previously; rather, he was as same as she always remembered him. Her age, dirty clothes, regarding her coldy as though she weren't as intelligent as he. Looking around, she realized she was next to the lighthouse and that the orphange was right behind her. Sighing with relief, she lurched up and ran towards it.
Opening her eyes slowly, she realized that it must be rather late in the night. It was dark, and someone had moved her into her bed, probably Matron. Selphie was sleeping soundly in the bed next to her and a soft moonlight filtered through the windows. Yawning, she felt dampness on her cheeks and for a moment thought that the tumble into the ocean had been real. Rationality quickly kicked in, however, and she realized that she must have cried in her sleep, as she sometimes did when her dream-self cried. Sitting up, she rubbed her face. That dream had been... odd, to say the least. More than a little disturbing. And considering it's two key characters were sleeping in rooms not unlike hers, she felt that she needed to tell someone. She could tell Matron, but she had a feeling that the older woman wouldn't quite understand. Squall probably wouldn't care. That left Seifer, and while he probably wouldn't care either, at least he'd reassure her that it didn't mean anything. So, swinging her legs to the side, she quietly crept out of the shared room between her and Selphie.
While each room could hold four beds, Seifer had his own room apart from Squall, Zell and Irvine. He had claimed that, as one of the oldest, he should get his own room. Quists had a feeling that Matron had allowed it because she feared that Seifer rooming with Zell and Squall might cause problems, and there really wasn't that much of an issue considering there was still and extra room. So the girls roomed together, the boys did, and Seifer had his own room.
Opening the door cautiously, Quistis stepped into his room. It was silent except for the constant inhale and exhale coming from the lone bed in the room. It was horribly plain, except for Seifer's corner which was decorated with his things. Tip-toeing over to his bed, she shook his shoulder gently and whispered his name.
His eyes opened lazily, expecting it to be Matron to wake him up in the morning. However, when it dawned on him that the short-haired blonde in front of him was most decidedly not Matron, the haziness of sleep cleared from his eyes. "What do you want?" he half grumbled, half slurred.
"Nothing," she said, careful not to raise her voice above a whisper, trying to keep her tone coversational. However, he wasn't buying it as far as she could tell. She clenched her hands behind her back to keep him from seeing how she wrung them. "Well, uh... I had a dream."
He waited for her to expand upon that, obviously not impressed. When she didn't, he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it happens. You woke me up for that?"
"No! Well, yes, but no," she said in a hurried whisper. "It's hard to explain. I really don't want to talk about it... it's confusing... but you and Squall were in it. You were a lot older, and fighting... and you wouldn't listen to me."
At the mention of Squall, he snorted. "It was a dream, idiot girl. It's not real. Go back to sleep."
Just like she thought. Though blunt, he had reinforced her belief that it was a dream, nothing of any importance. She stood at his bed, thoroughly relieved, trying to forget some of the images that still lingered.
"Are you going to leave anytime soon or just stand there looking like a dork?"
Seifer's drawl pierced through her rememberance, and she shook her head, being called back to reality. She was about to turn and leave when she realized that she really didn't want to. She ridiculed herself for being childish, like a toddler running to it's mother (or Matron, in this case) after having a nightmare, but the question was out before she could stifle the urge.
"Can I stay?"
Silence.
Quistis was sure he would refuse. After all, she was just the annoying girl that spoiled all his fun, not to mention she had the feeling that they shared a slightly mutual dislike on occasion. She didn't exactly know why she had asked in the first place, except for the fact that she didn't want to feel alone at the moment. It felt too much like drowning...
Seifer sighed and rolled over, his back to her. "If it shuts you up, whatever."
Quistis beamed, though he couldn't see her, and crawled into the bed next to him, making sure not to touch. Settling herself, she considered Seifer. She knew that his biting remarks were just that: biting, but not necessarily serious in nature.
Perhaps we are better friends than I thought... she mused before drifting off, his warmth a comforting presence at her back.
***
In the morning, they both received a very stern lecture from Matron instructing them that they could not sleep in the same bed together again because it was morally improper. Seifer acted as though nothing had ever happened, and Quistis was red with embarrasment because she knew what Matron had been implying... that sharing a bed was what older people that were in love did. It was kind of gross to think about, and she understood Matron's worries... but she would never do a thing like that, especially with Seifer.
She was just glad that their lecture had been given in the absence of the other children, otherwise she would have never heard the end of it. She chided herself again... what had she been thinking last night? She obviously hadn't been thinking, but that was alright since both of them were now pretending like nothing had happened and acting the same as they always did. Seifer was still his arrogant, annoying self and Quistis still tried to make him go away, which only made him more adamant about trying to get under her skin, which he did more often than she liked to admit.
A few nights later, the same dream came again. Her eyes bolted open, her heart pounding, threatening to leap from her chest. Nothing had changed, except that she knew what was going to happen, and though she tried to change the events, tried to say different things, the outcome was still the same. She had given up trying to change it and gone through the same actions she had the first time the dream had haunted her sleep. Why feathers? she thought curiously as she caught her breath. Why water? Why Seifer and Squall older? Why this whole dream?
Stealing herself, she snuck over to Seifer's room. It was still relatively early in the night; she must have had the dream as soon as she had fallen asleep. Being extra quiet, she slunk into his room, carefully shutting the door behind her. Her need to be unoridinarily quiet gone, she strode over to Seifer's bed and tugged his shoulder none too gently.
His wrist grabbed hers, making her stop. He wasn't asleep yet. In the moonlight, she could catch a glimpse of his fully aware sea green eyes. "Did I wake you?" she whispered.
"You would have if I had been asleep. Is this going to be a regular thing?" he grumbled, his tone more than slightly annoyed in nature.
She played with her hands idly. "I had that dream again," she stated, as if that made the whole occurance alright.
"So?" His tone was lazy, not amused, and slightly condescending.
"So? It's a really weird dream!" Her own whisper was angry. "You and Squall almost killed each other."
"Is that it? Big deal. Go sleep with Squall." With that, he rolled over and huddled into his covers, obviously giving her the cold shoulder.
Quistis half frowned, half pouted before turning to leave. Then, deciding that for once it might be nice to try and unnerve him, she grinned. "I thought that a knight always comforted a lady."
"You ain't a lady, you're just damned bossy."
"Don't curse," she said off-handedly, though she really didn't care anymore. It was purely a reflex by now. "And what if your sorceress is bossy, but she needs you and you just tell her she's not a lady?"
Seifer sat up in his bed. From the sitting position, she couldn't see him from the angle that the light filtered in through the window. "So, you're sayin' that you need me?" She could almost feel his grin of triumph.
"No, just helping you practice to become a knight, how about that? I mean, I could always go ask Squall, I'm sure he wouldn't turn me away." A grunt came from the bed that Quistis guessed was barely suppressed laughter. Even if he thought it funny that Squall might sympathize with her, she knew that they were too much of rivals that he could not back down from the challenge. So she wasn't surprised when she heard some rustling and realized that he had cleared a space for her on the bed.
"Come on, Empress. And if you kick me like you did last time, I'll kick you right back."
Smiling, Quistis crawled in and situated herself before sighing and trying to fall asleep. However, she wasn't tired, not really, so she took some time to consider. Why did she come to Seifer, of all people? Putting aside the fact that she was too old to be asking people to comfort her after a bad dream, she mused on it briefly. Squall wouldn't care. And seeing as the others weren't in that dream, she felt that she couldn't really justify herself to them. So she came to Seifer purely out of process of elimination. Okay, she could live with that.
Her next big question was why Seifer let her in at all, let alone sleep in his bed. She couldn't think of any logical answers. They weren't particularly close, like Selphie and Irvine were. It puzzled her. And she had a good idea that Seifer knew what the adult term "sleeping together" implied and let her do it anyway, which meant that didn't have an opinion one way or the other. It wasn't like they loved each other. Not like adults loved each other anyway.
"Seifer, why do you let me in at night?" she asked quietly. She felt his shrug next to her. "The truth, now."
He hesitated; for a moment, she thought he might refuse to give her an answer. Then, "It gets lonely."
"Why not go share a room with the boys?" she ventured.
"With Chicken-Wuss, who would just cry, or Squall, who wouldn't say a thing, or Irvine who would just accept it with a smile even if that wasn't what he was thinking?"
She couldn't really say much to that.
"You'd better leave before Matron wakes us up in the morning, or else we're busted with extra chores."
"I will." If she thought about it hard, her body would probably wake her up in enough time. It was funny like that; if she needed to wake up before a certain time, her internal clock was usually pretty good at making sure she had a nice buffer. Curling up on her side, she buried her head into the pillow they shared and attempted to drift off again.
***
Matron hadn't caught them, luckily, and Seifer or anyone else hadn't said anything. Quistis found that whenever the dream lurked in her sleep, as soon as she woke up, she'd tip-toe into his room and climb into his bed. After a few more nights, he'd stopped asking questions. After a few more weeks, he'd started leaving a space for her. After that second night, they hadn't badgered each other about it, which made both of them more comfortable. Sometimes, if they were both still relatively awake, they would talk. Quistis was slowly discovering that there was much more to Seifer than the annoying idiot she had previously assumed him to be. He was a lot deeper than she gave him credit for, maybe as deep as herself... which was surprising for all her ten years.
In the day time, they still acted as though they didn't like each other, though he hung around her a lot more and she him. The nickname 'Empress' had stuck, much to Quistis' dismay, though in a stupid way she was kind of flattered and liked to order him around because of it.
She found herself revealing the dream slowly to him. He had insisted that - if she were to continue sneaking into his room - he should at least know why this dream was so creepy. She could only talk about it so much at one time before getting tired and promising to tell the rest later. When she finally finished, he told her that it really was a weird dream, and even though he didn't like Squall, he wouldn't kill him. Seifer also expressed his disdain at the fact that Squall got wings, claiming that he "wasn't a damned saint". Quistis had just shrugged and carefully reiterated that she didn't understand the dream herself and the matter was dropped.
It was an odd relationship that they fostered, but she didn't mind if Seifer didn't.
Author: Kasai
Rating: PG-13, for language and 'adult themes' later
Summary: Guardian Forces have made them forget, but the memories lurk in the minds of all the orphanage children. A little introspect to our favorite gang's early lives, centering around Quistis and Seifer. Quifer. The first half of the story will be in the orphanage and the second will be present day.
Disclaimer: I own nothing that was in FFVIII at all... Not the characters, not the plot, not the map... Y'know, nada. It all belongs to Squaresoft. I'm not making any money off of this, it's merely some harmless fun. That applies for the rest of the fic, too, so please don't sue me. x.x
A/N: I know this chapter may seem a bit weird. And I know that the sleeping together thing (you'll see what I mean, no gutter-heads!) seems a bit premature for them, but I'm trying to harness the idea that they have mature minds with childish tendencies. Catch my drift? Hopefully they don't seem too old. Lemme know in the reviews!
Quistis sighed as she swiped the dish towel over the sparkling plate, drying all the droplets of water as she did so. She didn't mind doing chores; she knew they were necessary. It was mainly who she had to do chores with today.
Seifer had a wicked way of making life more difficult no matter what he was doing.
He would flick water at her when she wasn't paying attention and then he'd just smirk as he watched her jump at being surprised and then just laugh when she turned to glare at him. She briefly entertained thoughts of switching and doing the same to him, but solemnly realized that he'd just snap that towel at her arm or something equally annoying. So she decided to let him keep washing and she'd keep drying.
She could hear Selphie in the other room singing to some song she'd made herself, and imagined that she was dancing with the broomstick as she did when she thought no one could see her. The image made Quistis grin; Selphie didn't think anyone saw her, but she knew the young brunette's secret.
She snapped back to reality when she felt cold specks attatch themselves to her cheek. Frowing, she turned and glared at Seifer for what felt like the seventeenth time. "Stop it. Just do your chores so we can both finish early," she ordered.
Seifer's only response was to flick more water at her and go back to washing the dishes still left in the sink with an innocent look upon his face. Quistis saw right through that, though.
"Do you always have to be so annoying?"
"Do you always have to be so stuck up?" he mimicked back at her.
Quistis 'hmphed' a bit without realizing it and lifted her chin a bit. "I'm no stuck up," she declared. "I'm responsible." Seifer's look showed clearly that he didn't believe her at all.
"Yeah, whatever, Empress."
Quistis rolled her eyes at his snide remark and lashed the towel at his arm after drying the next dish he gave her. Glancing over into the sink, she noticed that there were only a few dishes left, so she piled the plates she had already dried into her arms and hefted them into the cuppard, doing the same with all the cups and bowls. After she finished putting them away, she dried the remaining dishes that Seifer had clean and put them away as well. Stretching, she tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ear and watched as Seifer left the kitchen. Following his example, she walked out into the main room and curled up on one of the chairs. She had been up too late lastnight, and had to wake up early this morning to finish all her chores. She probably shouldn't have stayed awake so long, but the fireworks were fun, and Matron hadn't even seen them sneak out onto the beach...
Of course, being the responsible one, she shouldn't have done it at all. She'd just have to make sure that the others didn't do it again, or she'd have to tell Matron, that was all. Yawning, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep...
Flash. Quistis looked around, but everything was hazy. It looked like a desolate desert, far too baren to be natural. The ground was cracked with the obvious lack of moisture, the sky a dark grey that showed promise of an oncoming storm.
On instinct, she twirled to her left, hair fanning out in the windless air. Heavenly white feathers burst into her vision, assaulting her from every direction, caressing her skin. She threw out her hands in a helpess effort to clear a path, but they did not stop, they would not stop coming--
She heard a yell from behind her and immediately turned. Stumbling, she realized that the feathers were gone and now she faced two vaguely familiar men, battling as though their lives depended on the victory. Squinting, she tried to puzzle out who they were... She was sure she had not met them before, but they looked so... and then it came to her, and she suddenly knew in a dream-like sense that the hot-headed blonde was Seifer, but older, battling a very cold-looking Squall.
They'll hurt each other, she thought in a panic. She ran forward, screaming. But they could not or would not hear her. So valiantly, she trudged forward still, until they had to see her. "Stop it! Seifer, stop it! Squall didn't do anything to you!"
The much older male spared her a glance, his aqua eyes glazed over from the heat of battle, but they paid her little attention. Parying a hit from his opponent, he did not turn to look at her again. "Go away, little girl. You don't belong here!"
Tears filled her crystaline blue eyes, tinged with anger and sadness. How could he say that to her? Turning, she faced Squall. Her lips turned up in a pouting, pleading expression. "Can't you just ignore him? Please? Squall!" But he as well did not adhear to her and did not even acknowledge her with a response.
They'll kill each other, she thought, a sob in her mind. They'll kill each other right infront of me!
Then, there was the unmistakable reverberating dong of a bell. From where, she didn't know, but she didn't care. It made everything seem fuzzy for a moment, and then the brilliance passed and the fading sound lingered. Seifer and Squall had stopped fighting and were both looking at the sky. Feeling the tension in the air, she looked up as well.
The feathers were back, cascading down like rain being released from a bag. Right before her eyes, the feathers began to change color. Some of them stayed white, and as though they were living, they streamed towards Squall, twirling around his feet and swirling around until they formed two luminous wings at his back. Another section of them faded to a dark black, like the color of ravens, and bolted down. With a gasp, Quistis realized they were heading for her. However, they did not twirl about her body like they did Squall's. Rather, they formed small bands and twirled around her neck and just below her shoulder. Tightening, they became like rope and bound her arms to her sides. The second band, swirling about her throat, tightened as well, and secured itself tightly to her neck. Her mouth opened when she cried out, and she realized that she could no longer speak.
A remaining section of the feathers had yet to don themselves onto anyone, and Quistis could guess who they would choose. Turning a red color, a dark scarlet, they streamed down towards Seifer. His arms jerked up, as if not of his own will, and his weapon tumbled from his hands to clatter on the ground. The crimson feathers danced about Seifer's hands and pressed themselves into his flesh, until they was a small glow, and then a bright light. Squinting, because she could not shield her eyes, Quistis allowed them open after the brightness on the back of her eyelids faded. She saw Seifer, on the ground, gazing stunned at his hands, which were no longer coated with down feathers, but a red liquid.
Blood, she realized numbly. Seifer is covered in blood.
Sparing a glance, she saw that Squall's wings had wrapped around his body. Initially, they weren't large enough to cover the entire length of his much larger body, but they had grown. Not sure whether or not to run to Squall or to Seifer, the decision was made for her when all the sudden Squall's wings glowed and burst into a thousand doves, squaking and flying blindly all around. Squall was nowhere to be found.
Turning, she ran to Seifer, who was still in a state of shock, staring at his hands. Seifer, she wanted to yell, don't look at your hands! However, the band at her neck bound her voice. She wasn't sure why she didn't want him looking at his hands, either, she just knew that she didn't. Finally reaching him, she wanted to jerk his large face away from his hands with her small ones, but her arms were still pinned at her sides. She couldn't speak to get his attention, she couldn't grab him with her hands, and he seemed not to notice her at all. She wanted to cry out in frustration, but that wouldn't do any good because he wouldn't hear her anyway.
Getting an idea, she knelt down on her knees and leaned forward. Eyeing his hands, she pushed forward and bit down on his thumb hard. Feeling the muscle in his thumb twitch, she bit down still harder, sinking her teeth into his flesh, hoping to call him back from his unmoving state. His eyes flicked to her as she pulled her mouth away, feeling the warmth of blood on her cheek. Whether it was his or whatever the feathes had created, she didn't know. Staring into his eyes, she saw a glint of rememberance, but his confusion made it obvious that he did not know her.
Don't you know me? she wanted to yell. It's Quistis! Why don't you know me?!
Back to his senses, he glanced at her, his eyes glancing to her cheek where the smeared blood was beginning to dry. Taking a deep breath, he feel backward, a small thump resounding in the otherwise silent environment. Kneeling on her knees, with him on his back, she could see the pain on his face. It was hard to hide. She had so many questions she wanted to ask, but her binding held her fast, and she could not speak. Sighing, she knelt down onto her side and rested her head on his slowly rising and falling chest, the only comfort she could give.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still. Her eyes closed and the movement of his chest was slow and rythmic compared to her short intakes of air.
The small peace didn't last long, however, as the ground disappeared under them and they were falling. Feeling a release around her arms as she fell through what was now strikingly clear blue sky, she looked up and noticed a rope of black soaring into the sky, or maybe she was falling away from it. Either way, she reached up to grab it, but it was already much too far away. Feeling her throat, she realized she that the band was gone and promptly screamed as she noticed that bellow her, the ocean was getting much closer, very quickly.
"Seifer! Seifer, help me!" she called, but he wasn't there or he had already plumeted into the ocean, because she could not see him anywhere. Glancing down, her blonde tresses flying around her in an array of panic, she took in a deep breath, plugged her nose and squinted her eyes shut.
The plunge into the water wasn't as painful as she thought it would be, but that was probably because the water was so cold it numbed her as soon as her body was submerged in it. Opening her eyes, she looked up to where the small beam of light that she guessed was the sun was getting smaller and smaller. No, she wanted to cry, I can make it!
She swam with all her might, but the surface elluded her still. Letting out a sob, an assortment of bubbles bloomed up and floated toward the surface that she had tried so vainly to reach. Quistis, she told herself even as her head dizzied with the lack of air, you're not a quitter! Though her arms felt like lead, she pushed them forward, reaching out to pull back again and attempt to push the water behind her. Someone had other ideas, though, and two hands lashed out and grabbed hers, pulling her to the surface which suddenly seemed to be about a foot away, instead of a mile.
Coughing, she breeched the surface and realized she was on a beach. Seifer was next to her, but he was not the teenager she had met previously; rather, he was as same as she always remembered him. Her age, dirty clothes, regarding her coldy as though she weren't as intelligent as he. Looking around, she realized she was next to the lighthouse and that the orphange was right behind her. Sighing with relief, she lurched up and ran towards it.
Opening her eyes slowly, she realized that it must be rather late in the night. It was dark, and someone had moved her into her bed, probably Matron. Selphie was sleeping soundly in the bed next to her and a soft moonlight filtered through the windows. Yawning, she felt dampness on her cheeks and for a moment thought that the tumble into the ocean had been real. Rationality quickly kicked in, however, and she realized that she must have cried in her sleep, as she sometimes did when her dream-self cried. Sitting up, she rubbed her face. That dream had been... odd, to say the least. More than a little disturbing. And considering it's two key characters were sleeping in rooms not unlike hers, she felt that she needed to tell someone. She could tell Matron, but she had a feeling that the older woman wouldn't quite understand. Squall probably wouldn't care. That left Seifer, and while he probably wouldn't care either, at least he'd reassure her that it didn't mean anything. So, swinging her legs to the side, she quietly crept out of the shared room between her and Selphie.
While each room could hold four beds, Seifer had his own room apart from Squall, Zell and Irvine. He had claimed that, as one of the oldest, he should get his own room. Quists had a feeling that Matron had allowed it because she feared that Seifer rooming with Zell and Squall might cause problems, and there really wasn't that much of an issue considering there was still and extra room. So the girls roomed together, the boys did, and Seifer had his own room.
Opening the door cautiously, Quistis stepped into his room. It was silent except for the constant inhale and exhale coming from the lone bed in the room. It was horribly plain, except for Seifer's corner which was decorated with his things. Tip-toeing over to his bed, she shook his shoulder gently and whispered his name.
His eyes opened lazily, expecting it to be Matron to wake him up in the morning. However, when it dawned on him that the short-haired blonde in front of him was most decidedly not Matron, the haziness of sleep cleared from his eyes. "What do you want?" he half grumbled, half slurred.
"Nothing," she said, careful not to raise her voice above a whisper, trying to keep her tone coversational. However, he wasn't buying it as far as she could tell. She clenched her hands behind her back to keep him from seeing how she wrung them. "Well, uh... I had a dream."
He waited for her to expand upon that, obviously not impressed. When she didn't, he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it happens. You woke me up for that?"
"No! Well, yes, but no," she said in a hurried whisper. "It's hard to explain. I really don't want to talk about it... it's confusing... but you and Squall were in it. You were a lot older, and fighting... and you wouldn't listen to me."
At the mention of Squall, he snorted. "It was a dream, idiot girl. It's not real. Go back to sleep."
Just like she thought. Though blunt, he had reinforced her belief that it was a dream, nothing of any importance. She stood at his bed, thoroughly relieved, trying to forget some of the images that still lingered.
"Are you going to leave anytime soon or just stand there looking like a dork?"
Seifer's drawl pierced through her rememberance, and she shook her head, being called back to reality. She was about to turn and leave when she realized that she really didn't want to. She ridiculed herself for being childish, like a toddler running to it's mother (or Matron, in this case) after having a nightmare, but the question was out before she could stifle the urge.
"Can I stay?"
Silence.
Quistis was sure he would refuse. After all, she was just the annoying girl that spoiled all his fun, not to mention she had the feeling that they shared a slightly mutual dislike on occasion. She didn't exactly know why she had asked in the first place, except for the fact that she didn't want to feel alone at the moment. It felt too much like drowning...
Seifer sighed and rolled over, his back to her. "If it shuts you up, whatever."
Quistis beamed, though he couldn't see her, and crawled into the bed next to him, making sure not to touch. Settling herself, she considered Seifer. She knew that his biting remarks were just that: biting, but not necessarily serious in nature.
Perhaps we are better friends than I thought... she mused before drifting off, his warmth a comforting presence at her back.
In the morning, they both received a very stern lecture from Matron instructing them that they could not sleep in the same bed together again because it was morally improper. Seifer acted as though nothing had ever happened, and Quistis was red with embarrasment because she knew what Matron had been implying... that sharing a bed was what older people that were in love did. It was kind of gross to think about, and she understood Matron's worries... but she would never do a thing like that, especially with Seifer.
She was just glad that their lecture had been given in the absence of the other children, otherwise she would have never heard the end of it. She chided herself again... what had she been thinking last night? She obviously hadn't been thinking, but that was alright since both of them were now pretending like nothing had happened and acting the same as they always did. Seifer was still his arrogant, annoying self and Quistis still tried to make him go away, which only made him more adamant about trying to get under her skin, which he did more often than she liked to admit.
A few nights later, the same dream came again. Her eyes bolted open, her heart pounding, threatening to leap from her chest. Nothing had changed, except that she knew what was going to happen, and though she tried to change the events, tried to say different things, the outcome was still the same. She had given up trying to change it and gone through the same actions she had the first time the dream had haunted her sleep. Why feathers? she thought curiously as she caught her breath. Why water? Why Seifer and Squall older? Why this whole dream?
Stealing herself, she snuck over to Seifer's room. It was still relatively early in the night; she must have had the dream as soon as she had fallen asleep. Being extra quiet, she slunk into his room, carefully shutting the door behind her. Her need to be unoridinarily quiet gone, she strode over to Seifer's bed and tugged his shoulder none too gently.
His wrist grabbed hers, making her stop. He wasn't asleep yet. In the moonlight, she could catch a glimpse of his fully aware sea green eyes. "Did I wake you?" she whispered.
"You would have if I had been asleep. Is this going to be a regular thing?" he grumbled, his tone more than slightly annoyed in nature.
She played with her hands idly. "I had that dream again," she stated, as if that made the whole occurance alright.
"So?" His tone was lazy, not amused, and slightly condescending.
"So? It's a really weird dream!" Her own whisper was angry. "You and Squall almost killed each other."
"Is that it? Big deal. Go sleep with Squall." With that, he rolled over and huddled into his covers, obviously giving her the cold shoulder.
Quistis half frowned, half pouted before turning to leave. Then, deciding that for once it might be nice to try and unnerve him, she grinned. "I thought that a knight always comforted a lady."
"You ain't a lady, you're just damned bossy."
"Don't curse," she said off-handedly, though she really didn't care anymore. It was purely a reflex by now. "And what if your sorceress is bossy, but she needs you and you just tell her she's not a lady?"
Seifer sat up in his bed. From the sitting position, she couldn't see him from the angle that the light filtered in through the window. "So, you're sayin' that you need me?" She could almost feel his grin of triumph.
"No, just helping you practice to become a knight, how about that? I mean, I could always go ask Squall, I'm sure he wouldn't turn me away." A grunt came from the bed that Quistis guessed was barely suppressed laughter. Even if he thought it funny that Squall might sympathize with her, she knew that they were too much of rivals that he could not back down from the challenge. So she wasn't surprised when she heard some rustling and realized that he had cleared a space for her on the bed.
"Come on, Empress. And if you kick me like you did last time, I'll kick you right back."
Smiling, Quistis crawled in and situated herself before sighing and trying to fall asleep. However, she wasn't tired, not really, so she took some time to consider. Why did she come to Seifer, of all people? Putting aside the fact that she was too old to be asking people to comfort her after a bad dream, she mused on it briefly. Squall wouldn't care. And seeing as the others weren't in that dream, she felt that she couldn't really justify herself to them. So she came to Seifer purely out of process of elimination. Okay, she could live with that.
Her next big question was why Seifer let her in at all, let alone sleep in his bed. She couldn't think of any logical answers. They weren't particularly close, like Selphie and Irvine were. It puzzled her. And she had a good idea that Seifer knew what the adult term "sleeping together" implied and let her do it anyway, which meant that didn't have an opinion one way or the other. It wasn't like they loved each other. Not like adults loved each other anyway.
"Seifer, why do you let me in at night?" she asked quietly. She felt his shrug next to her. "The truth, now."
He hesitated; for a moment, she thought he might refuse to give her an answer. Then, "It gets lonely."
"Why not go share a room with the boys?" she ventured.
"With Chicken-Wuss, who would just cry, or Squall, who wouldn't say a thing, or Irvine who would just accept it with a smile even if that wasn't what he was thinking?"
She couldn't really say much to that.
"You'd better leave before Matron wakes us up in the morning, or else we're busted with extra chores."
"I will." If she thought about it hard, her body would probably wake her up in enough time. It was funny like that; if she needed to wake up before a certain time, her internal clock was usually pretty good at making sure she had a nice buffer. Curling up on her side, she buried her head into the pillow they shared and attempted to drift off again.
Matron hadn't caught them, luckily, and Seifer or anyone else hadn't said anything. Quistis found that whenever the dream lurked in her sleep, as soon as she woke up, she'd tip-toe into his room and climb into his bed. After a few more nights, he'd stopped asking questions. After a few more weeks, he'd started leaving a space for her. After that second night, they hadn't badgered each other about it, which made both of them more comfortable. Sometimes, if they were both still relatively awake, they would talk. Quistis was slowly discovering that there was much more to Seifer than the annoying idiot she had previously assumed him to be. He was a lot deeper than she gave him credit for, maybe as deep as herself... which was surprising for all her ten years.
In the day time, they still acted as though they didn't like each other, though he hung around her a lot more and she him. The nickname 'Empress' had stuck, much to Quistis' dismay, though in a stupid way she was kind of flattered and liked to order him around because of it.
She found herself revealing the dream slowly to him. He had insisted that - if she were to continue sneaking into his room - he should at least know why this dream was so creepy. She could only talk about it so much at one time before getting tired and promising to tell the rest later. When she finally finished, he told her that it really was a weird dream, and even though he didn't like Squall, he wouldn't kill him. Seifer also expressed his disdain at the fact that Squall got wings, claiming that he "wasn't a damned saint". Quistis had just shrugged and carefully reiterated that she didn't understand the dream herself and the matter was dropped.
It was an odd relationship that they fostered, but she didn't mind if Seifer didn't.