Rinoa couldn't sleep, she'd tossed and turned and no position she tried seemed comfortable. Zell's talk had done her some good, but she still felt like crap. It didn't help that Selphie kept hogging the covers and trying to roll over her all the time. The stupid thing was, she was exhausted, every bone in her body screamed for sleep and yet it never came. Why is only when you're tired you can't sleep?....She got up, maybe if she got a drink of milk it'd help her insomnia. Mei had let her borrow her older daughter's night gown, who was away at college. She wouldn't mind if Rinoa dug around in her kitchen as well.
She slipped off the bed quietly, tip-toeing around Quistis. Super Secret Ninja Rinoa creeps through the room like a shadow in the night... whoosh....she thought, stifling a laugh. Stepping silently down the stairs, trying to avoid the squeaky spots. Halfway down the stairs Rinoa noticed that someone else couldn't sleep. She paused mid-step and from her relatively hidden position on the stair she could make out the shadowed form of someone sitting in a chair by the window. The living room was much darker than her bedroom had been and only a small silver of light escaped through the crack in the curtain. Her eyes adjusted a bit, squinting...it was Squall....She drew in a small breath, her heart jumping in her chest. Rinoa found her body unwilling to move, afraid that at any moment he might notice her......And what? I'm acting like he's the boogey man or something...I've never been afraid of anyone before...why's he so special? To hell with it...I'm frickin' tired and thirsty... With titanic effort, she willed her legs to move, involuntarily trying to be as quiet as she could. She sped through the room, pretending she didn't notice him but all the while stealing glances as she went. He had made note of her entrance, glancing as she left for the kitchen. After she got her milk, waiting till she thought he wasn't looking anymore, Rinoa peeked around the corner of the kitchen. She could see the silhouette of his form in the pale light of the moon, shimmering in the darkness. He bowed his head, propping it up with a hand as he watched the stars. He sighed deeply, his entire body shuddering with the effort....his face so pale and made to look almost fragile, sliver light cascading over his features. Rinoa scrunched up her nose and biting her lip, she wondered if maybe she'd misjudged him. This is silly... We only had a fight...that's no reason to hold a grudge....no reason for anyone to feel this bad...she thought... Gathering up her courage, she left the safety of the kitchen. Rinoa breathed in and out slowly, her heart hammering, and cautiously walked up to him.
"Hey...." she said, trying to sound cheerful but ending up just sounding nervous.
He didn't answer, giving her a cursory sideways glance and then turning back to the window. Rinoa played nervously with her hair and breathed in deeply. She pulled up a chair and sat down next to him.
"......So....are we just going to sit here in the dark and ignore each other... or...??"
Again he didn't answer, this time not even glancing to acknowledge her presence, staring out into the sleeping city.
"Oooookay....I guess I deserved that, so I'll go first...I'm sorry, Squall...I'm sorry I lost my temper.... I know I can be a bit of a spoiled brat sometimes and maybe what you said hit home a little....I lashed out and it wasn't right......"
His eyes unflinching, he growled, "Go away.....leave me alone..."
Rinoa stopped and pushed back the urge to smack the hell out of him. You came to apologize, not to get into another argument, idiot....."Listen...I came over here in good faith........I regret that I acted like a total bitch. I was upset and I'm sincerely sorry that I said some things that hurt you. I thought that if I could give you another chance, maybe you could do the same...I don't want to be angry anymore.......I don't want to cause tension or get you into hot water with your...boss or whatever.... I'm really very sorry but if you can't forgive me, it's okay....... Anyway, I guess I just wanted you to know that ...I'll go now..."
Rinoa got up to leave, as she glanced back, Squall turned his head and looked directly at her. She was caught off guard by the intensity of his gaze. It was all she could do to just stand there, her heart thumping.
"I'm sorry......" he said softly, watching her with those eyes....so silent and cold.....and yet a fire burned behind them, seething with held back emotion. They held such sadness....she could almost feel his sorrow, striking her like a physical pain. He broke eye contact quickly and went back to staring at the sky.
Rinoa walked back to her room, butterflies twirling around her stomach. Everything was okay, sort of....at least she didn't feel like throwing up anymore. She lay her head down on the pillow, and whether it was the milk or the resolution, it didn't matter. She fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.
Rinoa found herself in an endless field, filled with every kind of flower she'd ever seen....Where am I? She thought lazily....A sudden gust of wind buffeted her, blowing petals off the bowing heads of the flowers surrounding her....The petals danced and twirled around her...she watched in amazement, tilting back her head to follow their progress upwards, towards bright blue summer sky ....reaching out her right hand and snagging one of the petals....she opened her fist and looked at the petal she just caught... fingering its supple pink skin, she closed her hand over it again....a strange light emitting from between her fingers and when she opened her closed fist, the petal was gone and in its place was a pure white feather....it hovered in mid-air above her outstretched palm...the wind took the feather, sending it flying into the sky which had suddenly turned dark and ominous. Rinoa could see a figure in the clouds....a woman....a dark woman....moving in the clouds....they swirled and she could see a sliver light glinting in the dark sky...it fell to earth, landing just in front of her.....Rinoa looked around...the field had disappeared....she was in a desert, devoid of any life at all...and in the cracked earth not far from where she stood was a gunblade buried in the ground.....it had a lion engraved on it, breathing fire........her dream self gasped........slipping ever into darkness....she could remember no more.....
When Selphie shook her awake at 6 o'clock in the morning it seemed to Rinoa that she'd hardly gotten any sleep at all. Mornings were not her thing. She shuffled into the bathroom to change. Cleaning herself up, she looked at her reflection in the mirror. The events of the last few days had changed everything for her. Not that she didn't welcome change, but it was so hard to get used to it when it first happened. She was afraid and a bit sad, but also hopeful. This was likely to be the beginning of a great adventure. She'd never been out of Galbadia before, and it was exciting to think about how different Balamb must be.
It reminded her of better times when she lived at home with her father, while her mother was still alive. When they'd go on trips together, driving into strange towns on their way to where ever they were going. She used to think about all the people that lived in the towns she'd just pass through. How they lived their lives.....What they did day to day....What it must be like to live there....For her the town was just another stop on a trip, but for them it was home...routine....they knew every corner, and nothing was new to them....but for her every street was a new experience....
Watching the world go by, whether by train or car....it was the same every trip....You're excited because you get to leave and see a whole new world....but at the same time so sad to have to leave your home and everything you know. She remembered how happy she was once the trip was over....glad to be home but sad that the adventure ended and was now only a memory...She missed those times with her father, but then he shut her out....and nothing was the same. She started to cry again, feeling like the world's biggest baby. Glancing at her now puffy face, she quickly splashed it with water and hoped no one would notice.
She walked out into the living room, where everyone was waiting. Mei had prepared a quick breakfast for all of them and they all sat down once Rinoa had exited the bathroom. They all stared at her as she entered and Rinoa began to feel very self conscious. Everyone else began eating, occasional polite chatter filling the mostly quiet room. Selphie, who was seated next to Rinoa, noticed the evidence of her breakdown in the bathroom.
"You okay? Your eyes look kinda red..."
"Yeah, just feeling a little sad about having to leave....Timber's been my home for so long." Rinoa answered, smiling weakly.
"I know how that feels....I come from Trabia and I had to leave to go to Balamb so I could graduate....I really miss all my friends and family back home....Is this your home town?" Selphie asked, cocking her head as she downed a pancake.
"No....I moved here a few years ago to go to a special high school for gifted students. I graduated a year early, and I liked it here so much that I decided to stay on. Deling City's my home town...but I haven't been back there in years."
"You don't visit your parents or anything?"
Rinoa lowered her eyes, "No....me and my father don't get along really well. I think we both know that it's better if we don't....you know, see each other much....It's a really complicated situation, I don't like to talk about it much."
"Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
Rinoa interrupted her, with a smile on her face, "It's okay....It's just too long a story to tell right now....We'd be here forever if I went into it....Ask me again sometime."
"Not to pry, but what about your mom...You don't get along with her either?"
".......She's....dead...it happened when I was really little....so I don't remember much."
"Oh...geez...I'm really sorry....Gosh..." Selphie cheeks burned with embarrassment, she'd put her foot in her mouth again.
"S'okay....I don't mind talking about her....Like I said, I don't remember very well........" Rinoa said, picking up her necklace she continued, "The ring I keep on this necklace was hers. She was a really tiny lady, so the ring doesn't fit me. I keep it around my neck to remind me of her. It originally belonged to my grandma... it's a family heirloom. Actually, my Mum was kind of famous.... played piano....she was a big years and years ago...I took her last name instead of my father's...I liked it better. The ring's white gold...."
"Wow! It's really pretty.....", cradling the tiny ring in her hand, she looked up and said apologetically, "I'm sorry if I'm being too nosy..."
"It's no big deal....really. I know I came off a little harsh....but I'm not that scary all the time....I'm sorry for causing a scene and upsetting everyone...." Rinoa said, smiling, her dark eyes twinkling, "That wasn't me yesterday...it was my evil twin...."
Selphie blinked a couple of times, furrowing her brow with confusion, "You have a twin?"
Rinoa eyes widened in disbelief, wondering how a ditz like Selphie could become a SeeD, "No....it was a joke."
"Don't believe her Selphie...She has a twin. But it's a twisted deformed freak baby that she keeps in a basket. It comes out at night and eats puppies..." Zell chimed in, who'd been listening in the entire time, smiling broadly and making a face.
"OH MY GOD!! Shut UP! OoooOOOO! Don't even talk about killing poor little puppies!! You're so mean! If I could reach you I'd hit you!" Selphie said, scrunching up her face in such a way that she looked like a very angry baby.
"And little bitty fuzzy kittens....."
"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!!"
"It eats 'em tail first.....mewmewmeeaaaaaaggggg...." Zell smiled wickedly, demonstrating graphically how the kitten was to be eaten.
Selphie chucked a strawberry from her waffle at Zell, hitting his arm with a solid squishy smack. Zell threw it back at her, the mushy berry landing right in the middle of her forehead. Quistis gave them the mom look and they stopped before it went too far. Though both had a hard time looking at the other. The sniggering started quietly at first, but soon it couldn't be kept under wraps. Rinoa couldn't stand the pressure any longer, and she was the first to burst into laughter, her lips parting in a wide and beautiful smile. That smile, it was irresistible, looking at it....you could help but join her in her merriment. The three of them all laughed, so hard it brought tears to their faces, a welcome release from the tension of the day before. The once quiet table had become a raucous gathering, at least between Zell, Selphie and Rinoa. The three of them couldn't help but joke and tease each other, the conversation dissolving into unpredictable giggle fits. Always the mother, Quistis watched them with a disapproving eye, thinking their behavior childish and silly. Squall didn't pay much attention at all, quietly sitting in a corner of the table. He pushed at his food with his fork, not the least bit hungry. He'd gotten very little sleep the night before, and consequently was extremely tired. They quickly finished up breakfast, picking up their things to leave.
Rinoa gave Mei a hug before she left, "Take care Mei, say good-bye to little Reika for me. Thanks for all your help."
"Not a problem, write to me once you've arrived safely in Balamb, alright?"
"Okay....Bye."
"Be careful, Noa....we're all praying for you."
The party left for the train station, walking through the deserted streets of Timber. They made the train in time, early enough to settle themselves in their cabin for the long trip to East Academy Station. The cabin they'd been seated in wasn't as good as the one arranged for them from the Garden. It was much smaller, and with the larger group it made for a very cramped trip. It would take around a week to arrive at the station, perhaps more. The trip would have been significantly shorter if they could've taken the SeeD bullet train, but circumstances being what they were. Rinoa, Zell and Selphie all sat together on one side, while Quistis and Squall sat on the other. After a small wait the train began to move off, going faster and faster, the lovely forests of Timber whooshing past the window in a blur.