At the Golden Cactaur
"We finally made it." Squall said as he stepped out of the car.
"Yeah, I know. Thank Hyne." Rinoa said, as she followed him out of the car, stretching.
"I'm starved!" Irvine said, leading the way up the sweeping stairs, and through the glass doors. They stopped just inside, admiring the view.
The room before them was about as tall as Garden's foyer. An enormous white marble fountain stood in the center, with a giant golden cactaur at the top (hence the name), surrounded by a jungle of colorful flowers of every size and shape. Huge windows gave excellent views of Esthar, and the plains could be seen in the distance. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and musicians performed live in one corner. Beautiful potted trees were placed all around the walls, and there were exquisite oil paintings higher up on the walls. There were green and gold coverings everywhere. They walked over to the front desk, still surprised by what they saw.
"When Edea said this was a nice restaurant, I didn't think she meant like this." Rinoa whispered to Squall, who nodded. From the words Rinoa had used, he hadn't expected this either. Quistis spoke to the man at the desk.
"We're supposed to meet our friends Cid and Edea here. Do you know which table they're at?"
"One moment, madam." the man said, and looked through his guest book. "Ah, right this way." He walked off to the right, and they followed him.
Cid and Edea looked up as they sat down and pulled out the menus to look at. "So you made it." Cid commented.
"Well, your instructions didn't help, sir." Squall said.
"Yeah! That bowling alley was being repaired." Rinoa added.
"Sorry about that. We only noticed on our way here. It has been quite awhile since we were here." At that moment, a waiter came over.
"Are you ready to order?" he asked.
"We are." said Cid. "I'll have the combo platter. And bring us a platter of appetizers."
"I'll have the combo platter too." Edea added.
"I would like a Mesmerize steak, medium rare." Selphie said, after quickly scanning the menu.
"I'll just have a salad." Quistis said.
"Marinated Malboro tentacles with mushrooms and peppers, hold the onions." Irvine said.
"One Cockatrice stew, please." added Rinoa.
"Adamantoise stir fry." said Squall.
"Very good." the waiter said, and walked off.
"You should try this wine we got while waiting for you." Edea said, gesturing toward a bottle sitting at the end of the table. "I've had some, and it's quite good."
Everyone filled their glasses, and generally agreed it tasted good.
"Excuse me for a moment." Irvine said, standing up. "I'll be back."
"Where are you going?" Selphie asked.
"Where do you think?" he retorted, then walked away.
"Why is this called the Golden Cactaur?" Squall asked.
"I don't really know." Edea admitted.
"Neither do I." added Cid.
Suddenly, there was a crash behind them. They whirled around to see Irvine guiltily standing near a fallen tree. He was flushed a brilliant red.
"Sorry." he muttered, and quickly fled back to their table. Unfortunately, in his haste, he tripped over another patron's chair, and went sprawling onto the floor. He swiftly jumped up. The miffed woman, who was seated in the chair, looked at him in annoyance.
"Madam, I extend my apologies." he said, flashing her a roguish grin, which quickly withered under the intensity of the woman's glare. "I'll.be going now." he informed her, and hastily yet carefully retreated to the table where the others had watched the unfolding drama with amusement.
"Real smooth, Irvine." Rinoa said, smiling, as he sat down heavily in his chair and tried to shrink under the table.
"It's not funny." he complained.
"Yes, it is." Quistis replied, trying, and failing, to keep the wide grin off her face.
"It was hysterical." Selphie added.
"Extremely humorous. That was the display of a true SeeD. Shall we put it in the SeeD manual?" Squall deadpanned, although his eyes glinted with amusement. Everyone, even Irvine, laughed.
"Let's put it under the heading, 'What to do in front of foreign dignitaries'." Quistis suggested.
"And have full color photos. I took some, you know." Selphie said, holding up her camera.
"Hey, give me those!" Irvine demanded, making a grab for them. Selphie backed up, and accidentally hit her full glass. The contents splashed into Rinoa's face.
"Sorry about that, Rinoa." Selphie said, passing her some napkins.
"It's alright. Just give me a moment." she said, and left the table. They all sat there in silence for a while.
"So, thanks for inviting us." Quistis said.
"Yeah, it has been.an interesting time so far." Selphie added.
"You're welcome." Cid said. Rinoa came back to the table. Her face was cleared, and you couldn't tell she had gotten wine in her face. The waiter appeared with some appetizers. They thanked him, and sat there in silence, savoring the delicious food.
"This is really good." Rinoa commented.
"Better than the cafeteria food." Squall said.
"Well, really anything is better than cafeteria food. That stuff bounces." Selphie complained.
"The hotdogs are good though, as Zell could tell you." Irvine interjected.
"I wonder how his 'date' is going." Quistis wondered.
"I hope they don't have some of the mishaps we've had." Rinoa said.
"At least they won't get lost." Edea said, smiling.
"Thank Hyne for small mercies." muttered Squall.
Selphie stretched. "Well, after all of this, I think I'll just kick back and.ahhh!" Everyone looked over at her, alarmed.
When she had stretched, she had hit a waiter, who had dropped the food. Unfortunately, the food was some kind of meat that was still on fire.
"Fire!" shouted Cid, as he jumped up to try and tried to stop the spread of the flames by pouring the remaining wine on it. There was no effect. The fire alarms went off, and water started to spray from the ceiling. The other patrons shrieked, and started running for the exits. They all looked at each other, and started to hurry out as well. However, the floors were marble, thus when the water collected on them they became very slippy. As they were running Quistis fell, landed on some discarded food, and knocked Squall and Rinoa over. Right into the fountain. They both surfaced, spluttering in the frigid water. The others helped them out, and together they all made their way out of the building.
Cid and Edea, surprisingly enough, looked pretty good, other than being a little wet. They all said goodbye, then Cid and Edea left for their car, while the others went to Quistis'.
As they approached it, they noticed a police officer near the car, with a tow truck attached to the car.
"Excuse me, is there a problem?" Quistis asked.
"Is this your car?"
"Yes."
"It's illegally parked. We're going to have to tow it."
"What?! But how will we get home?!" Irvine demanded. The officer looked bored.
"That's not my problem." he said, and drove away, with the car in tow. All they could do was stare at the retreating car.
"Now how do we get home?" complained Rinoa.
"Does anyone have any money?" Selphie asked.
"No." they all said.
"Well, we can't get a taxi without money, so we'll just have to ride one of those elevator-car things to the outskirts, then walk to Garden."
"Without weapons? What if we're attacked?" asked Squall.
"It's either take that risk or spend the night somewhere on the street."
"Or.we could go see Laguna. He should have a car." suggested Rinoa.
"Why?" Squall asked. "He's a moron."
"Do you have a better idea?"
"No." he admitted.
"Then we get to go to see Laguna. He'll give us a car, then we can drive back to Garden, okay?" Rinoa said.
"Fine." Squall muttered, and went to the nearest transport. Rinoa and Quistis got on with him, while Irvine and Selphie waited for the next one.
"The presidential palace." Squall said, and the car sped off to the towering building in the distance. When they arrived, they waited at the door for Selphie and Irvine. After they had joined them, Squall knocked on the door.
Hiya! With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I wanted to do a few chapters based on it. It's a five-day weekend! (at this point the author dances around, doing an imitation of the Selphie happy dance) And once again, I must thank all of you who have continued to review my story. Really, I'm shocked at all the reviews. I can never thank you enough! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
"We finally made it." Squall said as he stepped out of the car.
"Yeah, I know. Thank Hyne." Rinoa said, as she followed him out of the car, stretching.
"I'm starved!" Irvine said, leading the way up the sweeping stairs, and through the glass doors. They stopped just inside, admiring the view.
The room before them was about as tall as Garden's foyer. An enormous white marble fountain stood in the center, with a giant golden cactaur at the top (hence the name), surrounded by a jungle of colorful flowers of every size and shape. Huge windows gave excellent views of Esthar, and the plains could be seen in the distance. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and musicians performed live in one corner. Beautiful potted trees were placed all around the walls, and there were exquisite oil paintings higher up on the walls. There were green and gold coverings everywhere. They walked over to the front desk, still surprised by what they saw.
"When Edea said this was a nice restaurant, I didn't think she meant like this." Rinoa whispered to Squall, who nodded. From the words Rinoa had used, he hadn't expected this either. Quistis spoke to the man at the desk.
"We're supposed to meet our friends Cid and Edea here. Do you know which table they're at?"
"One moment, madam." the man said, and looked through his guest book. "Ah, right this way." He walked off to the right, and they followed him.
Cid and Edea looked up as they sat down and pulled out the menus to look at. "So you made it." Cid commented.
"Well, your instructions didn't help, sir." Squall said.
"Yeah! That bowling alley was being repaired." Rinoa added.
"Sorry about that. We only noticed on our way here. It has been quite awhile since we were here." At that moment, a waiter came over.
"Are you ready to order?" he asked.
"We are." said Cid. "I'll have the combo platter. And bring us a platter of appetizers."
"I'll have the combo platter too." Edea added.
"I would like a Mesmerize steak, medium rare." Selphie said, after quickly scanning the menu.
"I'll just have a salad." Quistis said.
"Marinated Malboro tentacles with mushrooms and peppers, hold the onions." Irvine said.
"One Cockatrice stew, please." added Rinoa.
"Adamantoise stir fry." said Squall.
"Very good." the waiter said, and walked off.
"You should try this wine we got while waiting for you." Edea said, gesturing toward a bottle sitting at the end of the table. "I've had some, and it's quite good."
Everyone filled their glasses, and generally agreed it tasted good.
"Excuse me for a moment." Irvine said, standing up. "I'll be back."
"Where are you going?" Selphie asked.
"Where do you think?" he retorted, then walked away.
"Why is this called the Golden Cactaur?" Squall asked.
"I don't really know." Edea admitted.
"Neither do I." added Cid.
Suddenly, there was a crash behind them. They whirled around to see Irvine guiltily standing near a fallen tree. He was flushed a brilliant red.
"Sorry." he muttered, and quickly fled back to their table. Unfortunately, in his haste, he tripped over another patron's chair, and went sprawling onto the floor. He swiftly jumped up. The miffed woman, who was seated in the chair, looked at him in annoyance.
"Madam, I extend my apologies." he said, flashing her a roguish grin, which quickly withered under the intensity of the woman's glare. "I'll.be going now." he informed her, and hastily yet carefully retreated to the table where the others had watched the unfolding drama with amusement.
"Real smooth, Irvine." Rinoa said, smiling, as he sat down heavily in his chair and tried to shrink under the table.
"It's not funny." he complained.
"Yes, it is." Quistis replied, trying, and failing, to keep the wide grin off her face.
"It was hysterical." Selphie added.
"Extremely humorous. That was the display of a true SeeD. Shall we put it in the SeeD manual?" Squall deadpanned, although his eyes glinted with amusement. Everyone, even Irvine, laughed.
"Let's put it under the heading, 'What to do in front of foreign dignitaries'." Quistis suggested.
"And have full color photos. I took some, you know." Selphie said, holding up her camera.
"Hey, give me those!" Irvine demanded, making a grab for them. Selphie backed up, and accidentally hit her full glass. The contents splashed into Rinoa's face.
"Sorry about that, Rinoa." Selphie said, passing her some napkins.
"It's alright. Just give me a moment." she said, and left the table. They all sat there in silence for a while.
"So, thanks for inviting us." Quistis said.
"Yeah, it has been.an interesting time so far." Selphie added.
"You're welcome." Cid said. Rinoa came back to the table. Her face was cleared, and you couldn't tell she had gotten wine in her face. The waiter appeared with some appetizers. They thanked him, and sat there in silence, savoring the delicious food.
"This is really good." Rinoa commented.
"Better than the cafeteria food." Squall said.
"Well, really anything is better than cafeteria food. That stuff bounces." Selphie complained.
"The hotdogs are good though, as Zell could tell you." Irvine interjected.
"I wonder how his 'date' is going." Quistis wondered.
"I hope they don't have some of the mishaps we've had." Rinoa said.
"At least they won't get lost." Edea said, smiling.
"Thank Hyne for small mercies." muttered Squall.
Selphie stretched. "Well, after all of this, I think I'll just kick back and.ahhh!" Everyone looked over at her, alarmed.
When she had stretched, she had hit a waiter, who had dropped the food. Unfortunately, the food was some kind of meat that was still on fire.
"Fire!" shouted Cid, as he jumped up to try and tried to stop the spread of the flames by pouring the remaining wine on it. There was no effect. The fire alarms went off, and water started to spray from the ceiling. The other patrons shrieked, and started running for the exits. They all looked at each other, and started to hurry out as well. However, the floors were marble, thus when the water collected on them they became very slippy. As they were running Quistis fell, landed on some discarded food, and knocked Squall and Rinoa over. Right into the fountain. They both surfaced, spluttering in the frigid water. The others helped them out, and together they all made their way out of the building.
Cid and Edea, surprisingly enough, looked pretty good, other than being a little wet. They all said goodbye, then Cid and Edea left for their car, while the others went to Quistis'.
As they approached it, they noticed a police officer near the car, with a tow truck attached to the car.
"Excuse me, is there a problem?" Quistis asked.
"Is this your car?"
"Yes."
"It's illegally parked. We're going to have to tow it."
"What?! But how will we get home?!" Irvine demanded. The officer looked bored.
"That's not my problem." he said, and drove away, with the car in tow. All they could do was stare at the retreating car.
"Now how do we get home?" complained Rinoa.
"Does anyone have any money?" Selphie asked.
"No." they all said.
"Well, we can't get a taxi without money, so we'll just have to ride one of those elevator-car things to the outskirts, then walk to Garden."
"Without weapons? What if we're attacked?" asked Squall.
"It's either take that risk or spend the night somewhere on the street."
"Or.we could go see Laguna. He should have a car." suggested Rinoa.
"Why?" Squall asked. "He's a moron."
"Do you have a better idea?"
"No." he admitted.
"Then we get to go to see Laguna. He'll give us a car, then we can drive back to Garden, okay?" Rinoa said.
"Fine." Squall muttered, and went to the nearest transport. Rinoa and Quistis got on with him, while Irvine and Selphie waited for the next one.
"The presidential palace." Squall said, and the car sped off to the towering building in the distance. When they arrived, they waited at the door for Selphie and Irvine. After they had joined them, Squall knocked on the door.
Hiya! With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I wanted to do a few chapters based on it. It's a five-day weekend! (at this point the author dances around, doing an imitation of the Selphie happy dance) And once again, I must thank all of you who have continued to review my story. Really, I'm shocked at all the reviews. I can never thank you enough! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!