Drifting
The hunter green shade intermingled with the pristine white of the snow, giving the forests of Trabia a dramatic backdrop that would have captivated the writers of old if they had witnessed the magnificence of the northern continent's winter wonderland. The several pine trees that cluttered the terrain looked every bit as perfect as those imitation plastic models sprayed with Styrofoam, except for the fact that these beauties were a product of nature's craftsmanship. Beautiful these evergreens are, and such wonders have, unlike the factory-made ones, stood the test of time, giving them an aura of grandeur and respect. Some people call it natural beauty, while others call it dignity. Whatever it is called, one thing is sure. Beauty could never in the artificial sense compare with the real thing. With man's great leaps of advancement in technology, it has been easier for him to fix things—even his own features. However he may tweak his true colors though, a made-up face can never compare with the slightly roughened edges of one left to age on its own, just as the factory trees can never compare with the grandiose textures of a pine left to grow for centuries of battering by wind, rain, and snow. There is a kind of force that draws us to things that have been untouched by man's exploits—be it an island paradise or a woman whose beauty was unaltered by surgery or such things that you do to fix your nose or heighten your cheekbones or even botox injections. Such was the beauty of the remote lands of Trabia. It was the kind of picturesque scene that you could place in one of those little snow globes, yet could never quite correctly replicate. And on its fields of snow that seem to span over the horizon, a lone figure silently waited behind the forests, stalking the great floating edifice that used to be a shelter for his ancestors.
Fifty meters away from the gaunt hooded figure, a lone Trabian white wolf cautiously approached the man, its strides making faint tracks on the white pillows of snow. At last when it drew near the cloaked man, it stopped, baring its teeth to the tall one.
"You don't have to pull off that kind of trick around me," said the man as he turned to look at the wolf's shimmering, golden eyes.
The wolf closed its mouth and formed what seemed like a smile on its lips. As if by magic, the wolf's coat of beautiful white fur began to change colors, a rainbow of different hues and pigments taking over the blankness of its pelt. The animal then stood up on its two legs like a human would, and its bone structure had begun to shift its shape as well. The snout became shorter and was soon replaced by a nose. The yellow of its eyes soon changed into a shade of beautiful blue as a mop of white hair on the animal's head turned into a flowing mane of long, blonde locks. From the animal's pink skin, it changed into pristine pale as the coat that used to cover it turned into a white fur coat. When the transformation was complete, a woman now stood where the wolf used to be.
"What are you doing here?" the woman huskily asked.
The man treaded the snow, his boots making its imprints on the cold, wet surface as he walked toward the woman. "I have reason to believe the child is in there." He pointed to the floating Balamb Garden and the woman followed his gaze.
"You do know that exposing ourselves will cause him great danger. Your ancestors told you so. If he sees you before he receives the powers of the moon, he will be killed!" the woman exclaimed at the man.
"I am not going to expose myself to him. However, I heard that the ship is going to Esthar. I cannot allow that to happen. The stars have told me that a dark aura clouds Esthar at the moment. This, I absolutely cannot allow. They must not reach the lunar portal."
"And what are you going to do? Teleport yourself to the bridge and tell the pilot to stop? They are on the run. Eventually, they will find no other safer place than Esthar. President Loire will protect them, and they would stay there. And then the trouble will begin. HER resurrection will come to pass when they reach the portal. You said yourself that a dark aura surrounds Esthar. What if that aura is a portal?" she asked.
"And what would you suggest, my dear? I really can't let them go to Esthar. The key to unlocking the witch's grave is to bring the angel of magic to the portal, and apparently the angel of magic is with them. If Ultimecia resurrects this time, there will be no stopping her. The time is not right yet."
The two figures paused for a moment when the woman said, "When Pandora moved over the lunar portal, it caused the Guardian of the Moon to lose control over the creatures living in it. It also resurrected her temporarily. What if she goes to this portal? What happens then?
The hooded figure reluctantly breathed and told the woman, "The Guardian of the moon is forever lost, and monsters will continually rain down from the heavens. It will be a disaster, so much greater than the first four lunar cries. The first lunar cry sent down a few monsters from the moon. The second one rained down the first resurrection and almost sent the first guardian, Luna, away from the moon. The third cry sent her down to the planet and left the moon to her second-in-command. The fourth cry sent the sorceress Adel from the heavens along with Ultimecia's second resurrection. My ancestors predict that the fifth lunar cry will eliminate all lunar guardians and will cause the greatest disaster ever seen on the face of the planet. The third resurrection will arise and take control of the second guardian, and all will be lost."
The woman gasped and said, "Then how to you intend to stop them? You must do something!"
The man closed his eyes and began glowing white. "A storm might help." When he said that, large balls of hail the size of little cars began falling down from the skies. About five hundred meters away, the Garden began rocking as hail threatened to tear it off its path.
---------------
Selphie, Irvine, Quistis, and Zell were taking a leisurely stroll around the Garden halls after Squall dismissed them earlier.
"Yo! If we get to Esthar, we might as well go to the shopping malls! I heard that the hotdogs there are THE best!" an ecstatic Zell suggested.
"Yay! Maybe I can get some new clothes or something like that! Yahoo! We're going shopping!" an overly active Selphie exclaimed.
"Now the both of you cut down on sugar, alright? As for me, I might as well buy a few books," Quistis laughed when she saw her hyperactive friends beaming over Laguna's city.
Selphie looked at Irvine and gushed, "So what are you going to get Irvy?"
Tipping his hat a bit to shade his eyes from the Garden's bright lights, Irvine shrugged and replied, "Sorry darlin', I don't shop."
Selphie widened her eyes and beamed at her boyfriend. "Really? You don't shop? Then what was that small bottle of designer's moisturizer doing in your cabinet?"
Irvine blushed a very dark red and stammered, "Uh, you weren't supposed to see that! And that wasn't my moisturizer! It was for you!"
Selphie laughed, "Aw! You're so sweet to give me some moisturizer that says "Pour Homme" (for men) on it." Quistis and Zell were giggling as Irvine took Selphie's hot seat of teasing.
Irvine blushed an even deeper shade of red. "Uh, I don't know what pour homme means Selph! I thought moisturizer was moisturizer, so uh, I got you that Clarins thing."
Selphie suddenly exclaimed, "And you even know the brand name! Hey! You do know how to shop! Don't lie to me!" Zell fell down on the floor laughing and Quistis could no longer control her laughter as well. Irvine looked like a beet with a coat and hat.
Selphie was about to continue when they heard Rinoa calling out their names. She was running in their direction, alone. "Quisty! Selphie! Zell! Irvine!" By the time she stopped at their side, she was heavily panting.
'Saved by Rinoa!' Irvine thought.
"Where's Squall?" Quistis asked the young sorceress.
"He's taking a nap. He's really tired so I put him to sleep," Rinoa replied. "So where are you guys going? Squall asked for some time alone so I decided to join you."
Selphie leaned on Rinoa in a playful way and winked at Irvine. The cowboy shook his head as if to say no but she just grinned nastily. "We were discussing some shopping stuff and discovered that Irvine here knows how to get around the mall. Can you believe I found some Clarins moisturizer for men in his cabinet? And you know what else? He said 'pour homme' so perfectly"
Rinoa exclaimed, "Oh! A designer guy! That's so...metrosexual!" Irvine now felt like he wanted to drown himself in a pool of acid. When it comes to teasing, Rinoa was subtle, but when it came to things like metrosexual and all that, she was cruel.
'Oh damn! Selphie shouldn't have told her that!' the cowboy thought as he threw the most disgusting glare his purple eyes could ever muster at his girlfriend.
"I...I...I...Clarins...moisturizer...that's not mine!" he struggled as he had two of Garden's most style-oriented girls around him.
Rinoa pitied the auburn haired cowboy, so she decided to spare him this time. "Oh, Selphie, you know I think Irvine just has an itch on his face so let's stop teasing him. Come on, let's go to the Quad."
They all complied and strolled to the Quad, taking one of the lovely benches adorning the area.
"So what is Squall up to?" Zell asked Rinoa.
"He's really bummed about seeing Laguna earlier, so he's in his room sulking."
Quistis, who rested her head on both her palms added, "You know, he shouldn't hide from Laguna, to be honest. The more he hides from his father, the more Laguna would try to connect with him, so to speak."
Rinoa nodded and said, "I agree, but don't you think the past had something to do with it? I mean, although Laguna's a really nice guy, he really did leave Squall alone."
"And Squall was a kid," interrupted Selphie. "I'm sure if my dad left me for dead and I found him alive and happy in some big, prosperous country, I would be fuming mad when I see him."
Irvine and Zell excused themselves and left the girls to their little private chat moments and went over to the other side of the Quad. Meanwhile, Rinoa was pondering on the Squall and Laguna father-son relationship.
"But I just don't get it. Why didn't Laguna come back to get him? If I was a father, I would have come back for my son."
"We don't get it either, but we can't question the fact that Laguna had perfectly good intentions. He wanted to rescue Ellone, and she was sort of like his daughter at that time. If he had known that he had a son, he perhaps would have stayed with Squall," said Quistis.
"Maybe..." Rinoa sadly said. Although she perfectly understood Squall's behavior towards his father, she felt sorry for the older man. While her father was cold and always the professional one, Laguna was the kind who would work his back out while still trying to find some time to make friends and mend old relationships—even with long-lost sons. Rinoa was already living in her mansion with her dad, and he didn't even try to make her happy. It was always "Rinoa stack those papers for me will you?" or "Rinoa try to act more sophisticated". It was never "Rinoa dear, will you please get daddy some water" or "Rinoa, come here and give me a hug." In a way, she still believed Squall had a better father.
Rinoa snapped out of her train of thought when Selphie suddenly suggested, "Hey guys! Let's join Irvy and Zell!"
Quistis stood up and said, "Sure."
Rinoa slowly got up and joined the two men overlooking the Quad balcony. The Garden was moving quite well, and the Bika fields looked beautiful. Rinoa found herself daydreaming about a skiing trip with Squall when Quistis suddenly screamed, "Rinoa! Look out!"
Rinoa regained her senses and got pulled from behind by Irvine and found an extremely huge boulder the size of a car in front of her, shattering the balcony railing as other hailstones that size rained on the hull of the mobile Garden.
===============
Sorry guys for this second long wait. My grandfather had to go to Hong Kong for a business trip and I had to accompany him. I'm back so I guess this is a good place to continue my story. I still hope you're enjoying it. If it lacks something, do tell me so in your reviews. Read and review please. Next chapter: Frigid Rain
The hunter green shade intermingled with the pristine white of the snow, giving the forests of Trabia a dramatic backdrop that would have captivated the writers of old if they had witnessed the magnificence of the northern continent's winter wonderland. The several pine trees that cluttered the terrain looked every bit as perfect as those imitation plastic models sprayed with Styrofoam, except for the fact that these beauties were a product of nature's craftsmanship. Beautiful these evergreens are, and such wonders have, unlike the factory-made ones, stood the test of time, giving them an aura of grandeur and respect. Some people call it natural beauty, while others call it dignity. Whatever it is called, one thing is sure. Beauty could never in the artificial sense compare with the real thing. With man's great leaps of advancement in technology, it has been easier for him to fix things—even his own features. However he may tweak his true colors though, a made-up face can never compare with the slightly roughened edges of one left to age on its own, just as the factory trees can never compare with the grandiose textures of a pine left to grow for centuries of battering by wind, rain, and snow. There is a kind of force that draws us to things that have been untouched by man's exploits—be it an island paradise or a woman whose beauty was unaltered by surgery or such things that you do to fix your nose or heighten your cheekbones or even botox injections. Such was the beauty of the remote lands of Trabia. It was the kind of picturesque scene that you could place in one of those little snow globes, yet could never quite correctly replicate. And on its fields of snow that seem to span over the horizon, a lone figure silently waited behind the forests, stalking the great floating edifice that used to be a shelter for his ancestors.
Fifty meters away from the gaunt hooded figure, a lone Trabian white wolf cautiously approached the man, its strides making faint tracks on the white pillows of snow. At last when it drew near the cloaked man, it stopped, baring its teeth to the tall one.
"You don't have to pull off that kind of trick around me," said the man as he turned to look at the wolf's shimmering, golden eyes.
The wolf closed its mouth and formed what seemed like a smile on its lips. As if by magic, the wolf's coat of beautiful white fur began to change colors, a rainbow of different hues and pigments taking over the blankness of its pelt. The animal then stood up on its two legs like a human would, and its bone structure had begun to shift its shape as well. The snout became shorter and was soon replaced by a nose. The yellow of its eyes soon changed into a shade of beautiful blue as a mop of white hair on the animal's head turned into a flowing mane of long, blonde locks. From the animal's pink skin, it changed into pristine pale as the coat that used to cover it turned into a white fur coat. When the transformation was complete, a woman now stood where the wolf used to be.
"What are you doing here?" the woman huskily asked.
The man treaded the snow, his boots making its imprints on the cold, wet surface as he walked toward the woman. "I have reason to believe the child is in there." He pointed to the floating Balamb Garden and the woman followed his gaze.
"You do know that exposing ourselves will cause him great danger. Your ancestors told you so. If he sees you before he receives the powers of the moon, he will be killed!" the woman exclaimed at the man.
"I am not going to expose myself to him. However, I heard that the ship is going to Esthar. I cannot allow that to happen. The stars have told me that a dark aura clouds Esthar at the moment. This, I absolutely cannot allow. They must not reach the lunar portal."
"And what are you going to do? Teleport yourself to the bridge and tell the pilot to stop? They are on the run. Eventually, they will find no other safer place than Esthar. President Loire will protect them, and they would stay there. And then the trouble will begin. HER resurrection will come to pass when they reach the portal. You said yourself that a dark aura surrounds Esthar. What if that aura is a portal?" she asked.
"And what would you suggest, my dear? I really can't let them go to Esthar. The key to unlocking the witch's grave is to bring the angel of magic to the portal, and apparently the angel of magic is with them. If Ultimecia resurrects this time, there will be no stopping her. The time is not right yet."
The two figures paused for a moment when the woman said, "When Pandora moved over the lunar portal, it caused the Guardian of the Moon to lose control over the creatures living in it. It also resurrected her temporarily. What if she goes to this portal? What happens then?
The hooded figure reluctantly breathed and told the woman, "The Guardian of the moon is forever lost, and monsters will continually rain down from the heavens. It will be a disaster, so much greater than the first four lunar cries. The first lunar cry sent down a few monsters from the moon. The second one rained down the first resurrection and almost sent the first guardian, Luna, away from the moon. The third cry sent her down to the planet and left the moon to her second-in-command. The fourth cry sent the sorceress Adel from the heavens along with Ultimecia's second resurrection. My ancestors predict that the fifth lunar cry will eliminate all lunar guardians and will cause the greatest disaster ever seen on the face of the planet. The third resurrection will arise and take control of the second guardian, and all will be lost."
The woman gasped and said, "Then how to you intend to stop them? You must do something!"
The man closed his eyes and began glowing white. "A storm might help." When he said that, large balls of hail the size of little cars began falling down from the skies. About five hundred meters away, the Garden began rocking as hail threatened to tear it off its path.
---------------
Selphie, Irvine, Quistis, and Zell were taking a leisurely stroll around the Garden halls after Squall dismissed them earlier.
"Yo! If we get to Esthar, we might as well go to the shopping malls! I heard that the hotdogs there are THE best!" an ecstatic Zell suggested.
"Yay! Maybe I can get some new clothes or something like that! Yahoo! We're going shopping!" an overly active Selphie exclaimed.
"Now the both of you cut down on sugar, alright? As for me, I might as well buy a few books," Quistis laughed when she saw her hyperactive friends beaming over Laguna's city.
Selphie looked at Irvine and gushed, "So what are you going to get Irvy?"
Tipping his hat a bit to shade his eyes from the Garden's bright lights, Irvine shrugged and replied, "Sorry darlin', I don't shop."
Selphie widened her eyes and beamed at her boyfriend. "Really? You don't shop? Then what was that small bottle of designer's moisturizer doing in your cabinet?"
Irvine blushed a very dark red and stammered, "Uh, you weren't supposed to see that! And that wasn't my moisturizer! It was for you!"
Selphie laughed, "Aw! You're so sweet to give me some moisturizer that says "Pour Homme" (for men) on it." Quistis and Zell were giggling as Irvine took Selphie's hot seat of teasing.
Irvine blushed an even deeper shade of red. "Uh, I don't know what pour homme means Selph! I thought moisturizer was moisturizer, so uh, I got you that Clarins thing."
Selphie suddenly exclaimed, "And you even know the brand name! Hey! You do know how to shop! Don't lie to me!" Zell fell down on the floor laughing and Quistis could no longer control her laughter as well. Irvine looked like a beet with a coat and hat.
Selphie was about to continue when they heard Rinoa calling out their names. She was running in their direction, alone. "Quisty! Selphie! Zell! Irvine!" By the time she stopped at their side, she was heavily panting.
'Saved by Rinoa!' Irvine thought.
"Where's Squall?" Quistis asked the young sorceress.
"He's taking a nap. He's really tired so I put him to sleep," Rinoa replied. "So where are you guys going? Squall asked for some time alone so I decided to join you."
Selphie leaned on Rinoa in a playful way and winked at Irvine. The cowboy shook his head as if to say no but she just grinned nastily. "We were discussing some shopping stuff and discovered that Irvine here knows how to get around the mall. Can you believe I found some Clarins moisturizer for men in his cabinet? And you know what else? He said 'pour homme' so perfectly"
Rinoa exclaimed, "Oh! A designer guy! That's so...metrosexual!" Irvine now felt like he wanted to drown himself in a pool of acid. When it comes to teasing, Rinoa was subtle, but when it came to things like metrosexual and all that, she was cruel.
'Oh damn! Selphie shouldn't have told her that!' the cowboy thought as he threw the most disgusting glare his purple eyes could ever muster at his girlfriend.
"I...I...I...Clarins...moisturizer...that's not mine!" he struggled as he had two of Garden's most style-oriented girls around him.
Rinoa pitied the auburn haired cowboy, so she decided to spare him this time. "Oh, Selphie, you know I think Irvine just has an itch on his face so let's stop teasing him. Come on, let's go to the Quad."
They all complied and strolled to the Quad, taking one of the lovely benches adorning the area.
"So what is Squall up to?" Zell asked Rinoa.
"He's really bummed about seeing Laguna earlier, so he's in his room sulking."
Quistis, who rested her head on both her palms added, "You know, he shouldn't hide from Laguna, to be honest. The more he hides from his father, the more Laguna would try to connect with him, so to speak."
Rinoa nodded and said, "I agree, but don't you think the past had something to do with it? I mean, although Laguna's a really nice guy, he really did leave Squall alone."
"And Squall was a kid," interrupted Selphie. "I'm sure if my dad left me for dead and I found him alive and happy in some big, prosperous country, I would be fuming mad when I see him."
Irvine and Zell excused themselves and left the girls to their little private chat moments and went over to the other side of the Quad. Meanwhile, Rinoa was pondering on the Squall and Laguna father-son relationship.
"But I just don't get it. Why didn't Laguna come back to get him? If I was a father, I would have come back for my son."
"We don't get it either, but we can't question the fact that Laguna had perfectly good intentions. He wanted to rescue Ellone, and she was sort of like his daughter at that time. If he had known that he had a son, he perhaps would have stayed with Squall," said Quistis.
"Maybe..." Rinoa sadly said. Although she perfectly understood Squall's behavior towards his father, she felt sorry for the older man. While her father was cold and always the professional one, Laguna was the kind who would work his back out while still trying to find some time to make friends and mend old relationships—even with long-lost sons. Rinoa was already living in her mansion with her dad, and he didn't even try to make her happy. It was always "Rinoa stack those papers for me will you?" or "Rinoa try to act more sophisticated". It was never "Rinoa dear, will you please get daddy some water" or "Rinoa, come here and give me a hug." In a way, she still believed Squall had a better father.
Rinoa snapped out of her train of thought when Selphie suddenly suggested, "Hey guys! Let's join Irvy and Zell!"
Quistis stood up and said, "Sure."
Rinoa slowly got up and joined the two men overlooking the Quad balcony. The Garden was moving quite well, and the Bika fields looked beautiful. Rinoa found herself daydreaming about a skiing trip with Squall when Quistis suddenly screamed, "Rinoa! Look out!"
Rinoa regained her senses and got pulled from behind by Irvine and found an extremely huge boulder the size of a car in front of her, shattering the balcony railing as other hailstones that size rained on the hull of the mobile Garden.
===============
Sorry guys for this second long wait. My grandfather had to go to Hong Kong for a business trip and I had to accompany him. I'm back so I guess this is a good place to continue my story. I still hope you're enjoying it. If it lacks something, do tell me so in your reviews. Read and review please. Next chapter: Frigid Rain