Loving You
By Quistis 88 and Quis
Chapter ThreeExodus
It was hot. The afternoon sun scorched down on the bare flesh of three parched travellers. Not really knowing whether it was afternoon or morning, Selphie Tilmmitt brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes. Glancing worriedly at the prone form of Squall, she sighed. Thunderclouds could be seen at a distance on the horizon.
It'd been almost two days since they set out for Centra to complete the rest of the mission. Selphie and Irvine weren't feeling too tiresome, but Squall . . . Selphie sighed again. He seemed quite distracted. He was deep in thought most of the time, and now . . . there he lay, on the dry soil.
Poking Squall with a stick, Selphie expected some form of reaction, but there was none. He was about as bad as Rinoa had said he'd been when she found him passed out in Time Compression. A worried frown appeared on her face. It wasn't like Squall to almost give up living...Not after finding Rinoa.
"Hey . . . Squall . . . " Irvine had taken off his hat and started waving it at the unmoving Commander, cooling the air around the man's head.
"You've already tried five times, Irvy, he's not gonna get up." Selphie walked over to him and sat down again.
"Yeah, well . . . he's gonna have to get up some time."
Squall could be heard muttering in his sleep. Vague words, that Selphie and Irvine had to strain their ears to hear, were barely recognisable. "What was that, buddy?" Irvine said, as he caught the word 'Rinoa'. Suddenly feeling a pang of guilt, Irvine realised that the whole family at Garden was probably worried about their Commander. It didn't bode well for him--that was for sure.
Selphie had heard him as well. "Oh, Irvy, look at that. He misses her! That's so sweet!"
"He's not like he used to be, that's for sure. But if we stay out here any longer, we're all going to burn to a crisp." He had already shed his tan coat and was using it as a miniature tent to block out the sun's rays.
Selphie giggled. "You're right Irvy," she said, "And who forgot the camping equipment, 'Mister I Have Everything Under Control?" Turning her back and giggling, Selphie placed a hand on her forehead, shading her eyes as she looked for anything...a bird, a beast; any form of life. But there was nothing there; only the hot, unrelenting heat of the earth.
"Say, Selph . . . " Irvine began. "Do you reckon that we can get a refreshing storm going if we summon Quezacotl?"
"Silly Irvy! What if he gets mad and never comes again? We can handle a little heat, can't we?"
"Sure, but this isn't exactly little."
He had a point there. It was well over thirty degrees Celsius, and it was starting to get to both of them. "We could always summon Leviathan," she said, "He'd definitely help us out, don't you think?"
"Sure. Go ahead then."
"But I don't have him."
" . . . Well, I don't either."
They both looked at Squall.
" . . . Great . . . "
Fortunately, the thunderclouds, that had been building on the horizon, rumbled ominously. Selphie glanced up at the noise, and saw the sky being blacked out by the heavy clouds. She tugged on Irvine's arm, as he attempted to wake Squall up. How could the weather change so quickly?
"Finally!" Irvine stood up; cringing a little when he realized his legs had fallen asleep. He nudged Squall with his boot.
"Irvy, I'm glad, but . . . why does it look so funny?"
"What looks funny?"
Selphie pointed to the approaching clouds. "That."
"OH SHIT!" Irvine shouted, "It's gonna be a huge storm." He rolled his eyes, before picking the prone Squall up none-too-gently
It was then when Squall finally woke up. He looked up to see Irvine staring at him.
"Why, hello there, pretty lady. Had a good sleep?"
Squall frowned. "Drop it, Irvine."
"Heh. Sorry, Commander."
Squall nodded, a tight, white smile forming on his lips. "Who forgot the camping gear?" he asked soberly, as the rain began to splash onto the dry, dusty soil. Seeing neither Selphie nor Irvine answer, he asked the question again, this time, yelling it. "I said, who forgot the fucking camping gear?"
"Look, Squall," Irvine said with a wavering voice. "We've all been in the sun all day. A little rain isn't going to hurt at all!"
"Irvine, do I have to repeat myself!?"
"No. It was me." Squall scowled and he quickly added, "I'm sorry!"
"Squall, we didn't want this to happen. Everyone makes mistakes from time to time." Selphie said.
He sighed. He knew Selphie was ultimately right. "Fine," he said, almost reverting back to his old self, the pre-Rinoa self. Wonder how Rinoa is, he thought, I miss her.
He had made a mistake, too, he realized. They were lost, and perhaps if he had paid more attention to his surroundings, maybe they wouldn't have gotten lost. The feeling was slightly akin to what he had felt during his wanderings from Time Compression after sending Ultimecia to the seven hells and beyond. He wondered when he'd see Rinoa again, if ever again. Now, he regretted not telling her how he truly felt.
The letter he'd sent her two months previously had been but a mere fragment of the true feelings he had for her. Shaking his head as the rain began to bucket down in torrents, he let his lips move into the semblance of something that, only on Squall's features, resembled a grin.
"You, uh . . . feeling all right, Squall?"
The Commander looked up and found Irvine looking at him in a funny way.
"Nothing. Mind your own business."
Irvine chuckled. "That's the Squall we all know, man...The 'mind your own bloody business guy'. Well, sorry to break it to you, but you've been staring at my gun holster for the past two minutes...Are you sure you're alright?"
Squall sighed, "I'm fine," he said, with his typical expressionless tone. "Just, mind your own business, please?"
Selphie's face popped into view. "Are you sure you're not suffering from sunstroke or anything?"
"Can't you leave me alone? I need some quiet time."
"Uh, Squall.... You've been saying that all mission...Are you sure there's nothing wrong?" Selphie said, as she poked him the ribs before scampering off. Squall shot a murderous glare at both his teammates, as he began to trudge along to where he knew there was shelter--In a cave.
Now, if this were The Hobbit, one would expect the cave to open up into a chasm. Fortunately for Squall, Irvine and Selphie, however, there were no goblins to eat their horses--or in their case--Chocobos. Immensely relieved, the three of them, though sopping wet from the storm, were in shelter. Thanking whichever Goddess might hear their thanks, they settled down to eat something when they realised that Irvine, having been in charge of supplies and provisions, had forgotten to pack any rations.
A collective groan could be heard, and then, a bellowed oath, that resounded off the walls of the cave. It was in this moment that a white, furry rabbit with a pocket watch came running in....Or did it?
Blinking a few times, they all determined that the lack of sleep must be getting to them, and so, deciding to sleep, (with Squall on the first watch shift), Selphie and Irvine curled up into little balls, and dozed off. Squall pulled a crumpled piece of paper out from his pocket, and began to scribble a note in his messiest, most illegible handwriting.
'My feelings so mixed
I cannot describe
The anxiety I feel
Inside
I've tried my hardest
Done everything right
Yet will it be doomed
And will there be fright?
The legend, so bare
In his disguise
Does anyone realise
That we are fated
To play it out once more?'
Putting his pen down, Squall looked at the scribbled poem. He chuckled quietly. If Seifer knew I wrote poetry, he'd tease me endlessly, he thought, a small, wry smile on his face.
~+~
Esthar. The city of xenophobia, the city ravaged by the reign of Adel, and restored to peace by Laguna. It was such a marvellous city, yet so dangerous. Lurking within the shadows, flanked by two strong, burly men, stood a young woman, around the age of twenty-two. Her long hair flowed down her back in a river of ink black, grey eyes, so aged for one so young, scanned the crowd that passed by the alleyway.
Talliana deGroot smiled softly as the men beside her, without any words issuing from her lips, sprung into action. They were back in Esthar; the city she knew so well. Craning her slim neck out of the alleyway, she observed her two minions as they seduced another young woman. She licked her lips, hungrily. Soon, I'll be able to drink...soon, she thought, as she watched the minions bring a struggling male victim for her.
Smiling seductively, she bent down over his jugular vein, which to her eyes--which were no natural eyes, seemed pulsing with the blood. She sank her teeth into his neck, before the man had a chance to realise what was happening. If this was one of those cheap movies, my face would be covered in blood…and I'd be drooling, she thought sardonically, as she kicked the victim's lifeless corpse.
"Pathetic," she said, turning on one of her two minions, "Absolutely pathetic!"
"But, Talliana," one of the men tried to protest, as Talliana's nails began to grow into claws.
"I told you, Elsiphi," Talliana said harshly, "You knew the rules, and now you must die." With that, she raked her claws over Elsiphi's ribcage, causing a crimson stream to spout from it. The other man, Dakor, looked on with thinly veiled disgust.
"Talliana?" Dakor tried to reason with her, "Please, be reasonable. Hyne knows what's out there..." he finished, placing a hand on her shoulder for support.
~+~
"All right, everyone," Quistis Trepe's voice echoed in everyone's sleepy heads. It was early morning, and some of them looked as if they needed some coffee.
"We've plotted the most efficient course to where we believe the Commander and his comrades may be. Do you have everything you need?" Everyone nodded. "Good," she said sternly. "Let's go."
Rinoa, who hadn't slept much the night before, yawned. After seeing what Laguna had shown her, the image of the carnage seared her brain, causing her to worry. Clipping Shooting Star to her arm once more, and whistling for Angelo, the seven SeeDs and Laguna entered the aircraft. Zell, getting into the pilot seat with gusto, and began to do pre-flight preparation, checking the engines and such for damage.
Once satisfied by that, he stepped aside so that Nida could take control of the ship. Zell plonked down on the co-pilot seat, but was soon scolded about falling asleep, so he went into the main part of the airship, where he promptly curled up into a ball, and went to sleep.
Nida made an announcement over the speakers and everyone prepared for take-off. The flight itself was rather smooth, but once in a while, Xu would scold Nida for one thing or another and Nida would accuse her of backseat piloting.
Rinoa looked around her. Zell was catching up on some sleep, while Dan and Quistis seemed to be going through some documents.
Guinevere, the quiet one, was absorbed in some book or another. Rinoa squinted at the cover, trying to make the words out. She couldn't read what it said.
"I told you, Dan," Quistis's sharp, scolding tones broke the silence, "That Da'Vasha wasn't the king of Centra!"
Dan chuckled at her.
"You find this funny, do you?"
He replied. "I must have gotten it from a wrong source then. What was he?"
"He was a Sorcerer, Daniel...A SORCERER!" Quistis screeched.
"Actually," Guinevere said, "He was both...King of Centra, and a Sorcerer." The quiet tone of her voice, and the fact that her eyes were fixed steadily on both of them, suggested that she knew the legend by heart. "He is said to be the ancestor of Hyne."
Zell was awakened by the Instructor's loud statement. "Great HYNE, Quistis," he said. Quistis glared at him. "Err, no pun intended. But gee . . . can't a guy get some sleep around here?"
"I apologize, Zell. It was rude of me." Quistis turned her eyes back on the pile of paper in her hand, while Dan watched them all with amusement.
"If you two are done with your immature squabbling," Gwen continued, "Then I suggest you let the rest of us sleep, or do whatever we have to do. If you can't stop squabbling, take it to another room." Even though Gwen was the youngest of their group, she seemed the most mature. At fifteen and three months, she had taken the SeeD exam at fifteen and passed with flying colours.
"Sorry," Quistis mumbled. She and Dan carried on with their work and Zell resumed his sleeping position. Laguna walked into the room.
"It's . . . awfully quiet in here." He looked around as everyone ignored him (except for Gwen, who gave him a small reassuring smile). He spotted Rinoa and sat down beside her.
"You alright there, Rinoa?" Laguna asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Fine, thanks," Rinoa replied, as evenly as she could, without breaking into convulsing sobs. "I just wish...That Squall was here with us, and that we didn't have this heartbreak."
"Don't worry. He's not the type to give up that easily. He'll get through this and I know you will, too."
She sighed and Laguna gave her a small hug.
Calm down, she told herself, as she watched the brilliant landscape of the Kashkabald Mountains come into view. Dotted with tiny trees from the altitude they were flying at, the lights and sounds of the city behind them, and the ever-widening horizon, suggested adventure. "Let me dance across the landscape of my dreams," Rinoa whispered, reciting an old line from one of her mother's unpublished songs. "Nightingales sing their song, but let me dance once more," she finished.
Her fingers traced the thin outlines of the mountains and valleys, her nails slightly scratching the glass and made clicking sounds once every so often. She wanted to lose herself to the beauty of the world, before the sorrow within could arise again.
Gently, she smiled. If she found Squall, and he was alive--and miraculously unhurt, she'd be happy. No, she'd be more than happy, she'd be euphoric. But, on the other hand, if he was hurt, and almost as bad as he'd been when she found him in the void of Time Compression, she didn't know how she'd handle it. It was too much for her to think of. Her shoulders slumped, and suddenly, to Laguna, it looked like she was giving up hope.
Laguna turned her around to face him, and she looked up.
"Promise me," he said. "Promise me you won't give up until you know for sure that Squall has given up."
A glistening tear made its way down her face. She smiled and nodded.
"I promise," Rinoa said, her voice faltering. She soon drifted off into sleep, and into the dream that had scared her--bringing her, like falling leaves returning to their roots, back to the beginning of the endless cycle of horror.
A/N: Kudos to Sheep…Good job, but not quite…It means "tragic dream"
A shout-out to those who have reviewed so far…Thanks everyone ^_^, it really helps both of us know how we're going.
