I'm gonna be gone fer a few days, so no updates fer a while. But it shouldn't be long, so don't worry. Sorry this one is so short.
Considering that they didn't have class for the rest of the day, it did go relatively smoother. They again retreated back to Vincent's room, where they spent a lot of the time discussing what they would do to Hojo if they had the chance. They hadn't minded so much when they themselves were being tormented, but the two jesters hadn't deserved that kind of treatment at all. It was uncalled for, and it made both of them angry, although they both expressed this in different ways.
Time passed for them all too quickly, and finally Vincent sat up from where he had been lying, again watching the TV without actually watching it. Cid was sitting on his chair at that point, also pretending to watch the TV while not actually doing so, and Vincent sighed as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"I think it's time for us to go..."
"#$^@." Cid mumbled to himself, closing his eyes as he stood up. He took a step forward before faltering, putting out a hand to steady himself as he put a hand to his forehead, wincing for a few moments. "#$#@in' headaches..."
Vincent slid on his shoes as he pulled on his black trenchcoat, staring at Cid with concern. "Are they getting worse?"
Cid waited for a few moments before speaking, finally moving his hand away from his forehead, blinking several times. He shrugged in response to Vincent's question. "Eh, no worse then they've been before. I think gettin' punched in th' head a few times made 'em worse..." Cid shrugged again. "But they're gettin' better in their own weird way. #^$#, I'm not makin' any sense at all, am I?"
Vincent opened the door, a soft smile on his face. "No, I know what you mean. Come on...if we're lucky, perhaps the group won't be..."
"#$^@in' loonies?" Cid smirked at him as he walked beside him down the hall. "Or fruitloops? I think I'll call 'em fruitloops from now on."
Vincent smiled again against his will. "You better not call them that at the meeting."
Cid looked mock frightened, widening his eyes and backing away, holding his hands up. "Oh no! Th' fruitloops are mad at me! Watch out, they may complete my balanced breakfast!"
Vincent actually laughed at that, softly and quietly, while Cid smirked again. "You make it too easy for me, Vin, really."
"Shut up." Vincent smiled softly at him again as they descended the stairs. They noted some whispers and stares as they walked, but had begun to learn to ignore them.
While walking to where the papers had said to go, they ran across something they did not expect. They had been walking underneath a tree when something large and heavy fell on Cid, knocking him to the ground.
"MOTHER #$#$!"
"Highwind!"
Vincent's concern swiftly turned to amused annoyance as the emerald eyes of Reeve stared downwards at Cid's form, almost glowing with their own light in the darkening evening. "Hey spazboy! Tsk tsk, you wouldn't last a minute in the jungle!"
"And neither would you, you cat$%^#er!" Cid rolled over and shoved Reeve off of him, who was laughing good-naturedly. He stood off to one side, putting his hands behind his back and staring at the two inquisitively, eyes blinking. Cid brushed himself off angrily, muttering to himself, but Vincent could tell that he wasn't really annoyed.
"Where are you two off to?"
Vincent sighed before speaking. "We have to go to some support group for people on drugs."
Reeve winced, one of his ears following the movement. "Ouch. Let me guess..." He pointed at Vincent. "Heroin..." He then turned to Cid with a broad smile. "And a big heaping pile of crack!"
Cid looked mock surprised as he took a step back, putting a hand to his chest. "Oh! You've found out my secret! I knew I should've put it somewhere other then m' #^$#in' closet."
Vincent rolled his eyes. "We do need to continue on our way..."
"Alright then." Reeve smiled again, tail flicking back and forth as he began to walk in the opposite direction. "Drug group sounds boring, so go without me. Drop by after, okay? Moog's got somethin' planned up, but he won't tell me what."
Cid waved to him as he left. "Don't wait up, catface!"
"Do I look like someone who'd do heroin?" Vincent turned to Cid, who gave him an odd smile in return.
"Do I look like someone who'd do crack? Don't worry so much, Vin. It'll make your eyes fall out."
Vincent smiled again as they continued on their way. "I believe you mean 'give you wrinkles'."
Cid shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, wrinkly eyes. That way they just pop right out of your sockets, cause they're all wrinkly an' stuff. An' then they'd begin advertising on TV 'New! Eyeball wrinkle remover! New and improved! Make your eyes look years younger'!"
Vincent again began laughing and Cid smirked again, looking towards the sky. "There y'go again, too easy."
"I think this is it..." Vincent held out the paper that he had thoughtfully brought with him, the matter escaping Cid's memory entirely. "But no one's here..."
"That's 'cause they're all inside already." A voice came to them, and the two of them turned to find out the source. They just stared for several moments at the man who towered above them both, with a large mane of wild, flame-red hair, so much so that it almost entirely obscured his eyes from view. Also on his thin, angular face was a goatee that matched his hair perfectly in color, although it wasn't nearly as wild. He was wearing primarily dark green, from his jeans to the shirt that covered his broad shoulders from view. Cid almost caught a glimpse of a tattoo on one of them before it again was lost underneath the voluminous sleeves of the giant-like man. He gestured towards the door with large hands, the pendant that hung on his chest, what looked like a salamander, making a slight chinking noise.
"They assigned me here t'make sure no one tries to get out early." He pointed towards the two of them with a grave expression on his face. "Name's Amarant, and don't you forget it."
The two of them nodded, not sure of how to respond at first, although Cid's natural confidence soon came back into play.
"So they're inside, huh?" He turned his attention towards the door. "Makes sense. Why would they be loiterin' around the halls anyway? C'mon Vin."
Before the two could reach the doorway, a sharp clicking sound caught their attention. They glanced past Amarant, who turned to face the sound as well, recognizing the sounds of nails against tile.
Freya was coming towards them and curiously, Amarant settled back, his entire body taking on an air of ease, far from the general aura of fear and intimidation he had before. Cid and Vincent watched, forgotten, as the rat-woman walked up to Amarant, addressing him with casual familiarity.
"Hey Amarant, got a favor to ask of you."
"Depends what it is."
Freya looked behind her, and Cid and Vincent suddenly realized that there was someone else with her. She struggled for a moment to turn, then finally just sighed. "I need you to watch Vivi for me, I have a meeting I have to go to in a while and I can't bring him."
Amarant stared at her for several moments, and finally Vivi decided to appear from behind Freya's back, where he had apparently been hiding.
Cid and Vincent had seen Black Mages before, as they were fairly common, but they always were a curious sight. He shared the typical features of a black mage, the entirely black skin, almost entirely covered with clothes, and the eerily glowing eyes, at the moment a pale yellow. Vivi's face was hidden, as almost all Black Mage's faces were, by a large, floppy hat, and he wore a huge blue coat, which was far too large for him. It covered his hands and almost his entire body, hidden also with other such oversized and covering clothes. Although it was commonly understood that Black Mage's hated the light and had to protect their black skin from it, it was never understood why.
What was also odd was that Vivi looked to be only a little older then eight, and his presence at the college confused Cid and Vincent quite a bit. Cid, again feeling more confident then his dark companion, waved to the Black Mage, who stared at him with what he guessed was confusion. Since their entire faces were black, their mouths were black, even their teeth were black, it was almost impossible to tell how a Black Mage was feeling, excepting their eyes, which seemed to almost change color varying on moods. Vivi timidly waved back to him, obviously frightened. Freya tugged him away from her red coat, pushing him towards Amarant.
"You owe me." Amarant finally spoke, kneeling and looking at Vivi for a few moments in silence. The Black Mage meet his gaze, and finally moved over to where Amarant was standing, still looking awkward and unsure. "When'll you be back?"
"Won't be more then an hour. Don't worry about it." Freya again set off down the hall, nails clicking against the tail, tail waving slowly back and forth. "Believe me, he won't cause you any problems."
There was a pause after she left, and both Cid and Vincent jumped when Amarant suddenly spoke, his voice deep and direct.
"Go in already, they don't like late-comers."
"S...sorry..." Vincent mumbled an apology as Cid took hold of the door, opening it and closing it quickly, feeling extremely stupid and embarrassed for having watched the entire display without saying anything.
He stood for a second before turning to see the congregation that was set up in the center of the room, a rough circle of folding chairs, almost all of them occupied by various people. He felt Vincent start slightly, and he followed his gaze to a girl wearing a blue and black ensemble. She must have been that girl he mentioned before who thought his arm was an art project.
Sitting next to Rinoa, as he decided she had to be, was a girl who was dressed primarily in various shades of pink, brown hair tied back behind her in a long, intricate braid. She had soft green eyes, and was holding a clipboard on her lap. She didn't seem to notice them at first, and the two of them just stood near the door, taking in what was in front of them.
Cloud was sitting at the group as well, staring at the ground without saying a word. He did not look happy.
Cid noticed with a vengeful smirk that next to him Reno sat among the group members, muttering to himself angrily, while his bald friend sat next to him. Cid had noticed that Reno and him were very rarely separated, and he had heard from Reno that his name was Rude. He did not look pleased with the entire matter, and looked somewhat detached.
Next to him was a young man Cid had seen occasionally, but had never spoken to. He had brown hair that took on a peculiarly grey sheen in certain light, and he wore black jeans and a white shirt, covered with a black jacket with a furred collar. A necklace with a thick, large symbol on the end rested on his chest, and across his serious, no-nonsense face ran a long scar from left to right, starting at his eyebrow and ending under his other eye. He looked extremely displeased and kept glaring at the other male who sat next to him.
Cid recognized him as Zell, the youth who had lept out of the window. If that had given him any preconception of who he had to be, it was correct. Zell was fidgeting and jerking in his chair, barely able to sit still. His hair was wild, flaring particularly near the front, and his face was marred by a large, elaborate black tattoo that covered one side of it almost completely. He was wearing a black jacket, the sleeves embroidered with flames, over a black shirt, and long jean shorts. His hands were covered in what almost seemed to be protective gloves, and currently he was rocking back and forth on his chair, saying one thing over and over.
"Yes you are!"
Cid noted when he listened closer that the brownish-grey haired youth next to him was mumbling under his breath. "Not on drugs."
"Yes you are!"
"Not on drugs."
"Yes you are!"
Apparently this exchange had been going on for some time, and Zell didn't seem to be tiring of it anytime soon, still finding amusement out of it although he had to have been doing it for some time.
Next to Zell was the man who had pursued him down the hallway. This time his cowboy hat was securely on his head, and he was lounging on his chair with the appearance that at any moment he may melt off of it completely. He was wearing a large tan trenchcoat, also with a furred collar, over a purple shirt and what appeared to be chaps, complete with a pair of cowboy boots. Cid gave him an odd look which he didn't even seem to notice, as he seemed intent on hitting on Rinoa, who sat next to him. If he wanted to say "cowboy", he was saying it loud and clear. Rinoa, on the other hand, was staring at the serious boy near Zell with frightening intensity.
Next to the serious boy sat another Black Mage, although this one was different for several reasons, the most obvious of which being the large, purplish-blue feathered wings that spread from his back. He was covered by the typical large floppy hat, although his clothing, completely concealing as Vivi's was, tended more to the elaborate side, with a thick blue coat, embroidered with several patterns, and long dark blue pants completing his ensemble. His glowing eyes were narrowed in what appeared to be anger, and he twitched several times, for no reason that Cid could see. Cid made a note to stay away from him if at all possible. He looked extremely dangerous.
There was an empty seat beside the winged Black Mage, and after that sat another male, this one somewhat overweight, reading a pornographic magazine and snickering in bizarre ways. He didn't look attractive or pleasant in the least, which probably explained why there were empty seats around him.
Finally, sitting a two seats away from the brown-haired, pinkish girl, was somebody who was giggling to himself. Constantly. His blondish hair was tied up in something of a psuedo ponytail, and he wore a long green coat with a large striped collar, which obscured what he was wearing beneath it completely. He had his hands near his face, which was marked with bright red paint. Underneath his eyes were triangles of red, and above them a pointed crescent with a dot between the points. Something about him almost seemed to radiate "clown" to Cid, although the fact that he was playing with a lighter didn't help.
He was flicking the lighter on and off, apparently mystified and incredibly amused each time by the flame's appearance, laughing in a way that chilled Cid in a way that it shouldn't have. The laugh was strange in it's own way, but it just terrified Cid for some reason he didn't really understand. Something about the laugh seemed wrong, seemed to speak of something far more serious then a drug problem...
"Uwee hee hee!"
Finally the girl in pink seemed to notice them. She smiled at them pleasantly, gesturing with her pen towards some empty seats near the clown-like youth. "Oh, hello. You must be Cid and Vincent, right? You can sit there. We're about to begin, so you're just in time."
The two of them awkwardly made their way into the circle, sitting down, but keeping a chair's distance away from the youth with the lighter if at all possible.
The pink girl put her pen to her lips. "Let's begin with introductions, shall we? I'll start. My name is Aeris Gainsborough, but you can call me Aeris."
She nudged the girl in blue next to her, who jumped and finally stopped staring holes into the scarred males chest. "Rinoa Heartilly."
She noted Vincent and waved to him, but the dark-haired youth refused to awknowledge her in any way. She was about to speak to try and get his attention when the slumped cowboy near her cut her off.
"I'm Irvine Kinneas." His voice was smooth, seductive, and controlled, far different from the panicked shouting that had proceeded Zell's leap out the window. "I'd just like to say I'd love to know you all...personally." He winked and smiled, and Cid again gave him an odd look, this time deciding to speak out.
"What th' #$^#'s that supposed to mean?"
Before Irvine could reply, Zell apparently sensed that his turn was up and he stopped rocking his chair back and forth with a loud thump, sitting straight up and pounding a fist into his chest.
"I'm Zell Dincht! Hi!"
He waved energetically to everyone in the group, who continued to stare at him in confusion. He then fairly pushed the scarred youth off his chair. "Your turn!"
The serious male brushed himself off in annoyance before speaking in a monotone, dry voice. "Squall."
"Hi Squall!" Rinoa called from across the group, but he ignored her.
"I'm Rude." The bald man next to Reno spoke with a serious, no-nonsense type of tone, one that matched Squall's almost perfectly.
"Reno." The red-haired male glared at Cid for a moment before speaking again. "#$#@ you."
"#$^@ you too." Cid responded, and the two continued glaring for a few moments until another member of the group spoke, this one the one reading the pornographic magazine. He smiled and blew a kiss at Aeris and Rinoa, who looked disgusted at his advances.
"Corneo, but you can all call me DON Corneo." He smirked before going back to his magazine.
The winged black mage ruffled his feathers in annoyance, apparently disliking being at the group. Cid could identify. His voice was frightening, scratchy and deep.
"Three. That's all."
Cloud kept his eyes down as he spoke quickly and without emotion. "Cloud Strife."
The eyes turned to Vincent, who looked down, hating public attention. Cid knew that well, and he hated the fact that they had to introduce themselves in such an embarrassing way. "Vincent..."
Cid crossed his arms and leaned back. "I'm Cid, and I don't #$#%in' belong here."
Vincent looked at him with boredom in his eyes, while Cid glared daggers at the snickering Reno across the group. "That's not going to help."
"Well I don't. God #$^# it."
Aeris stared at him for a moment, as if debating to say something, but finally decided against it.
There was a pause before she gestured awkwardly towards the youth with the lighter with her pen. "Um, would you please tell us your name? For the group of course."
His head had been inclined so that he could stare directly at the lighter's flame, but the odd thing was that he didn't move his head back up to look up at her, simply sliding his pupils upward in an eerie way that Cid almost couldn't watch. His voice was musical and sounded extremely unstable. When he spoke it was almost like he was singing.
"You can call me Kefka if you please."
"Thank you." Aeris nodded towards him, then turned back to the group, scribbling something on the sheet on her lap before smiling at them again in the strangely pleasant way she had before. "Now, shall we all begin?"