A/N: Big thanks to LloydXpresea and Fan Fan Girl for their kind words.
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II) Rochelle
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"Don't leave me. Don't leave me here."
"I promise, I won't."
"Big Sister! I'm scared. Help me!"
There was a single moment between the loud crash outside and her eyes opening in alarm where the nightmare Presea was having took on a formidable clarity that almost survived her waking up. The fragile mental images shattered as easily as whatever had just broke outside, and the sudden chorus of shouting and the metallic sounds of weapons being drawn eroded quickly the last echo of the voices from her dream.
Sitting up and rubbing at her eyes, Presea stared at the window opposite the bed she and Lloyd were sharing. Judging by the low level of cold sunlight creeping in through the slits in the shutters, it was still in the early hours of the morning. Presea lay back down for a second, and rolled over to glance at Lloyd. Despite the noise, which was increasing in volume, he had managed to remain asleep. The commotion outside grew louder, with the owners of the raised voices appearing to be getting closer down the street towards the inn the pair were staying at. Glancing once more at the still sleeping Lloyd, Presea climbed out of bed and padded across the room, opening the shutters and looking down into the street, running left to right, below.
A small girl, no bigger than herself, was running from the right up the snow-coated street on all fours with remarkable agility, weaving in and out of the numerous stalls being set up along the buildings opposite the side the inn was on. To the supportive chorus of the merchants in charge of the stalls, her pursuers – Meltokio guards by the looks of them – were doing their best not to let her leave their collective sight.
Another group of noises down to her left caught Presea's attention, and she turned to see a few more guards moving down the street from the opposite direction. By their casual manner, Presea doubted they had yet seen the girl, who had quickly moved out of sight of those on street level by leaping onto the awning of an unoccupied stall. It had only been as she had moved closer up the street that Presea noticed with surprise that the girl appeared to have a tail, one of feline origin. Making the most of her advantage, the girl jumped from the stall up onto the awning of the building opposite the inn, and squashed herself close against the wall, panting. Presea watched her as she looked desperately about her and wondered if the girl had come from one of the poorer districts of Meltokio. Her wild, windswept hair was shoulder-length and probably a light blonde under the dirt, something that also stained her rather oversized clothing. She appeared to have feline ears as well, short but slender things that surfaced from the tangled mass of hair. Presea couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something in the back of her mind, a strange feeling. It almost felt like familiarity, but she knew she hadn't seen a girl with such distinctive features before. But still…
Her thoughts were disrupted as she realised the girl opposite was looking straight at her. That feeling returned, albeit briefly, as the girl shouted across as loud as she dared to above the noise in the street below.
"Hey, you gotta help me," she gasped, wiping away long, messy strands of hair from her face. "Please please please let me in…or hide me or…I don't know, anything! Please!"
Presea blinked at the sudden outburst. "Pardon me?"
The girl's tail flicked in agitation and Presea could make out the striped combination of blonde and brown fur that coated it. The appendage, and indeed the odd fugitive herself, transfixed Presea for a second before the girl began pleading again, her voice a low hiss. "C'mon missy, don't make me beg, I don't do begging…although I…I will if that's what it takes."
"Hey, excuse me miss," shouted a gruff voice from the street below. Presea quickly dropped her gaze to see one of the guards staring up at her.
"Um…yes?"
"We are pursuing a wanted criminal. A female who we believe is behind a number of crimes in the area." The guard was looking around at the rooftops as he spoke. "We have reason to believe that she is attempting to escape via the rooftops in this location. Have you seen anything in the past few minutes?"
Presea paused for a second, then nodded. "Affirmative." On the edge of her vision she saw the girl mouthing the word "please", and it was then that she was struck by the desperation in her pale blue eyes. Pity, and something else she couldn't pinpoint, welled up inside Presea and she found herself pointing to a stretch of rooftops back down the way the girl had come from. If it had come down to it though, she didn't think she would have revealed the girl's location anyway.
"The criminal you mentioned doubled back on her route upon reaching roof-level. She is now returning the way you have just come from." As she relayed the false information to the guard, Presea saw the girl slump down in relief out of the corner of her eye.
"Really? Well…thank you miss." The guard frowned slightly as he looked at rooftops, then back to Presea, before cursing and giving the order to his men to turn back in pursuit.
She looked back at the girl – who was still staring at her, obviously alert despite the relaxed pose – and sighed. What was her story?
The girl returned her stare and absently scratched an ear. "Hey missy," she said, her voice a raised whisper. "Is the coast clear?"
"Excuse me?"
Another flick of the tail followed this time by a sigh. "Have they gone?"
"Um…" Presea took another look down into the street. With the departure of the guards, most of the merchants had returned to the preparation and construction of their stalls. There was not a single person looking up now. "…I believe they have."
"Great." She leapt forward from her position then, crossing the narrow street effortlessly with a single bound. Presea took a step back in surprise as the strange girl landed, grinning, on her window ledge.
"Thanks for that. Hey, it looks real warm in there. Mind if I chill here for a while till those jerks give up and go home?"
She bounded through the window before Presea could reply, the pink haired girl turning to face her as she landed on the end of the empty side of the bed and brushed loose snow off her clothing.
"Chill?"
"Yeah, y'know; hang out, crash, relax." She stretched and let out a loud purr. Near her, Lloyd moaned as he rolled over but did not wake. The girl watched the mound under the covers for a second before leaning back to rest on her elbows. "Thanks anyway, guess I owe you one."
Presea closed the shutter. "Do not thank me, there was a high probability that you would have escaped by merit of your own abilities."
The guest scratched her ear again. "Huh, I seriously doubt it babe. You really pulled my tail outta the fire there."
Presea was quiet for a second, trying to make sense of the metaphor. "I…did?"
"Yeah, too right!" The blonde haired girl paused for a second, studying Presea's face. The moment lasted just long enough to make Presea begin to feel uncomfortable before her guest spoke, a questioning look on her face. "By the way, what's your name? Have we met before?"
"I am Presea…I do not think we have met."
"Huh…Presea eh?" She frowned. "Can't say the name sounds familiar…but, ah well." The girl leapt off the bed, a hand extended. "The name's Rochelle babe, pleased to meet ya."
Presea took the proffered hand and shook it slowly, overwhelmed by the whole encounter.
"Yes…um, are you a Katz?"
"Whaaat?" Rochelle jumped back a step, her exaggerations lending volume to her voice. "No way am I one of those guys! How could you? Man…" She placed a hand over her heart. "I am a Felesian," she said proudly.
"Felesian?" Presea tried the word out. "That is strange…I do not think I have ever heard of such a race."
"Yeah, we're kinda rare I guess." Rochelle grinned. "You should be honoured babe."
Presea was finding it difficult to maintain conversation with the rather boisterous Felesian, watching her for a few seconds as she ran a hand through her hair, trying to dislodge the matted knots.
It was then that Lloyd rolled onto his back and rubbed his eyes with a groan. "Uh…w-what's going on?"
Rochelle bounced on the bed beside him. "Hey babe, what's your name?"
Lloyd looked at the girl for a second and blinked. Then he leapt from the bed with a startled cry. "Wha-? Who the hell are you?"
Rochelle scowled, rolling on her back to take up the whole bed. "Huh. Charming. Hello to you too!"
Lloyd looked from the Felesian to Presea, who was trying to decide whether she should be laughing or enraged. "Presea, what's going on?"
Presea blinked rather foolishly at the question. "Lloyd! Um…the girl is called Rochelle and she is a…Felesian. I…ah, let her in the room a few moments ago."
"A…what?"
"Felesian. Apparently they exhibit feline characteristics. I have been informed that the race is rare."
Lloyd blinked, looking completely lost. "Ok…and you…let her in?"
"Yeah, she was amazing," interrupted Rochelle, her tail flicking about excitedly. "First she sent those bozos in the Meltokio guard off to search for me in the wrong direction, and now she's hiding me here till everything cools down."
Presea fidgeted uncomfortably under Lloyd's half inquisitive, half-humoured gaze. "I…uh…" she trailed off, realising that she couldn't even deny what Rochelle was saying.
Lloyd laughed at that, saving Presea from further embarrassment. "Guess you must have a rebellious streak somewhere deep down, eh?" He turned to the Felesian. "So, the Meltokio guard are after you? What did you do?"
Rochelle sat up and crossed her arms, a defiant look on her face. "Huh, those guys are always after me – like, every single day! I tell you, it's harassment!"
Presea thought back to what the guard had said to her. "It would be a reasonable assumption that she is the thief currently wanted in this locality."
Rochelle's tail twitched angrily, but Presea wasn't sure if she could make out a slight colouring in the girl's cheeks. She looked away. "I'm not a…thief," she practically spat the word out, looking thoroughly disgusted.
Lloyd's eyebrows were raised. "Uh-huh."
"I'm not." The young girl leapt from the bed and stalked over to the window. "You got it wrong."
Presea was shocked at how quiet, how sad Rochelle suddenly looked and sounded. It had been the first time since they met that the Felesian was not being loud. She felt that earlier feeling of pity returning.
"I do not understand," she said. "You say that you are not a thief, correct? But you are the one who has been taking things from inns and hotels in Meltokio."
Rochelle didn't turn to face Presea, just remained facing the window, her head bowed. "Yeah…kinda. But…I…" She spun around, and the passionate gleam that had filled her eyes combined with her wild appearance to make her seem even more feral. "…I'm not a thief. I just take what I need to survive…y'know – food and," she looked down at herself, "Clothes…stuff like that. Heck, these rich places and people can afford to lose one or two things y'know?"
Presea shot Lloyd a quick glance. "Does your family reside in one the poorer areas of Meltokio then?" She wondered how long it would take before that kind of inequality was removed from the city.
"My family?" Rochelle seemed to perk up suddenly, as if the cause of her emotional outburst had vanished as quickly as it had come. "Haven't got one babe, at least…not one that I remember. An old man took me in at one point, but he died 'bout two years ago."
"I'm sorry to hear that," said Lloyd, taking a fresh pair of clothes from out of a cupboard.
"Yeah, well…" Rochelle shrugged, staring once again at Presea.
"You informed us that you do not remember your family," the pink haired girl said. "Does that mean you have been an orphan your whole life?"
"Dunno missy, I don't remember much at all till about five years ago. Still, no point dwelling huh?" She grinned. "Say, you got a bath in here?"
"Uh…yeah, through there." Lloyd watched as the girl dashed through the door and locked it behind her.
"Wow, en suite, cool!" Her muffled voice filtered through.
Presea released that her thoughts must have been reflecting on her face, as Lloyd looked at her with concern on his face.
"You okay?"
"Yes…I am fine." Presea blinked, feeling confused. "It just…reminded me of myself to a certain extent. I wonder how much she does remember."
Lloyd was quickly swapping his clothes over, but paused to meet Presea's eyes. "You mean all those years you spent under the influence of the Exsphere."
Presea nodded. "I still find so much of that time either fragmented or absent altogether. I was just thinking if she was having similar experiences."
Lloyd walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Is that why you helped her then?" He grinned, "I mean, that was quite unlike you!"
Presea smiled. "No, not really. I'm…not sure what I felt when I decided to help her. I think it was pity, but…there was something else too. But I need to time to think on what it could have been."
She turned to open the shutters, letting the pale winter sunlight stream into the room. A cool breeze followed, ruffling her hair as she leaned on the window ledge to look out.
"She must be lonely," she said.
Lloyd joined her at the window. "Maybe. I got the feeling that when she was talking about her reasons for stealing it was the only time she was being honest with her feelings. She seemed so different."
Presea idly brushed the remaining snow from the ledge. "Perhaps you are correct." She smiled at her companion. "You normally are when people's feelings are concerned."
Lloyd grinned. "I don't know about that." He looked back at the door to the bathroom, "Man, how long is she gonna be?"
Rochelle leaned back into the warm soapy water until she was completely submerged and lay there for a few moments, feeling the earlier aches and tensions in her body ease and fade away. As she emerged and began to scrub herself clean she tried to address the nagging thoughts which were tugging at the back of her mind. The guy, Lloyd, she knew as much as anyone who ever bothered to talk to her, but Presea…
"Presea." Rochelle muttered the name repeatedly, frowning. The name did not sound familiar, but why did the girl evoke such feelings of familiarity? The Felesian climbed out of the bath and grabbed a large towel to dry with, staring at herself in the mirror. The thing stared back, as always, glistening on her upper arm in the light from the high narrow window. Rochelle touched it hesitantly with a finger and closed her eyes, sighing. It was supposed to be bad, supposed to be evil, she had been told. So why did they…
She shook her head, and grabbed a brush from the shelf beside the mirror, her frustration bubbling over and lending strength to her as she tugged the item savagely through her hair. It just didn't make any sense.
Feeling warmer and cleaner than she had for ages, Rochelle looked at the pile of dirty clothes she had discarded on the floor and frowned. They would be of no use now. Maybe Presea had some spare items she could borrow; after all, they were quite similar in size. The Felesian sighed as she caught sight of herself in the mirror again. I hope I haven't already offended them, she thought, wrapping the large towel around her, and draping a second across her shoulders so it covered the thing. I don't want to be alone anymore.
Presea looked up from the bag she was packing as the door to the bathroom opened and Rochelle, wearing nothing but a pair of towels, strode nonchalantly into the room. She looked completely different now she had bathed and without her outsized clothes.
Lloyd had looked up also, but turned away upon her entry with an embarrassed blush and resumed packing. The Felesian strode up to Presea with a merry smile.
"Hey babe, you got any spare clothes I could borrow?" She asked cheerfully. "Something with nice long sleeves if possible – I don't deal with the cold well."
"Huh? Um…" Presea looked quickly at Lloyd, who was still resolutely packing, and then back the pile of clothes she was loading into the bag. "…I do have some items of clothing. Take something if you need it.
"Aw, thank you," cried Rochelle cheerfully as she wrapped her arms round Presea and hugged her. "I'll get you something later." She rummaged quickly through the pile and hurried back off to the bathroom.
"Her unrestrained personality reminds me of Zelos," she commented, wiping away the water that the Felesian had dripped on her.
"Yeah…she certainly is, um, loud." Lloyd looked up. "Have you finished packing then?"
"Affirmative." Presea crammed the remaining items into the bag and paused. "What is our destination then?"
"Well," Lloyd slung his rucksack over his shoulder and looked out the window. "I meant what I said yesterday. We should take some time off, you know, to go and visit people – see how our friends are doing."
Presea joined him by the window. "Yes. That sounds pleasant"
"We probably need to return to Altamira first to let Regal know how the mission went. But after that, well…" he grinned, "I'll leave it up to you."
"Hey guys, what d'ya think?"
The pair turned around as Rochelle entered the room again, wearing the clothing she had taken from Presea's pile – a dark blue leather dress which hung down to her ankles, and a white cotton long sleeved top under it. On her feet were some travelling boots, which Presea assumed were the ones she had on earlier, since she didn't recognise them. The combination was very odd, but somehow it suited the young girl.
"You look…very presentable." Presea replied after a pause. She had grown quite attached to that dress.
"Yeah…it certainly, um, suits you." Lloyd rubbed the back of his head.
"Cool." The Felesian ran up to Presea and grabbed her hands. "I really owe you one babe."
"Ah…um, there is no need."
Lloyd opened the door to the room. "Er, are we ready then?"
"Woah, is that yours?" Rochelle exclaimed, running up the Rheaird as Lloyd and Presea removed the covering, scattering loose snow everywhere. "What is it? How does it work?"
Presea looked around the grounds of the inn as Lloyd wearily explained some of the details to the excited Felesian. Her loud antics had raised some interest as they had left the inn, and now there were a number of people watching them and the Rheaird from a distance. With the Meltokio guard still looking for Rochelle, this was probably not the best turn of events to occur. She walked up to the Rheaird and slung her bag into one of the storage units Regal had had installed a few weeks ago.
"We should depart soon," she said to Lloyd.
"Yeah…" Lloyd looked up. "Uh-oh, what do they want?"
Presea turned, expecting for her fears to be confirmed and to see the Meltokio guard bearing down upon them. Instead, however, it was the trio of Eiros, Mara and Jorin who were making their way across the snow-coated garden towards them.
"Who are those guys?" Rochelle asked, frowning.
Presea ignored the question. "I must advise against doing anything to provoke them," she murmured to Lloyd. "We do not want to attract further attention."
"Yeah don't worry, I'm not in the mood for a fight."
Eiros' team stopped a metre or so away from the Rheaird. They looked very tired, and Presea wondered how long it had taken them to find their way off the mountain.
Lloyd frowned. "What do you want Eiros?"
The tall man raised a hand for silence, looking thoroughly disgruntled. "I'm here to officially deliver you an…invitation, on behalf of Lord Alderwyn."
Presea felt an eyebrow rise in confusion. "The president of Delphinium? I do not understand. What does he want to see us for?"
Eiros shrugged. "How should I know? I'm just here playin' messenger boy. Here."
He tossed an ornately decorated envelope towards Lloyd, who moved forwards to grab it before it landed in the snow.
As the team turned to go, Eiros looked back over his shoulder. "That's an open invitation apparently. He says that next time you're in the area, drop by. Oh, and speaking of next time, you won't be so lucky – so watch out."
They watched the trio depart. "Nice people," muttered Rochelle.
"Man, I really hate that guy." Lloyd turned round, tucking the envelope into his pocket, and climbed onto the Rheaird. "Time to go then Presea. Hey Rochelle, make sure you take care of yourself, Ok?"
The Felesian spun around as Presea climbed aboard the Rheaird. "Whaaat? What are you talking about?"
"He means, try not break the law, and keep healthy," replied Presea, feeling the craft begin to vibrate as it started up.
Rochelle looked startled. "Y-you mean, you're both just going? Now?"
"Yeah, sorry we have to leave so soon, it's just that there's somewhere we've gotta be."
"But…but…" Rochelle looked so vulnerable all of a sudden, and Presea began to feel pity again for the girl. "…You're gonna just…leave me here?"
"Lloyd…" she had started to speak, but caught sight of the Meltokio guards from earlier as they began to stream into the grounds of the inn, fanning out to surround the area. "Oh no…look!"
Rochelle had noticed the guards too, and began scanning around desperately as she backed away from them – panic beginning to set in.
"Y-you can't…don't let them take me, please. I'm begging here, and I don't beg…but I…I am now and…" she ran up to the side of the craft, her voice escalating from fear as she looked frantically at Presea. "…Oh please don't leave me! Take me with you – I'll do anything, just…don't let them take me away. Big Sister, please!"
A sudden jolt shot through Presea's body at those last words, and she was consumed by a dizziness so strong she nearly fell from the Rheaird. What was it? She stared at Rochelle, her eyes widened in shock.
"What…did you…" she began, but then realised that the guards had broke into a run now towards their position.
"Lloyd! Let's take her with us," she said, a powerful determination strengthening her voice.
"Just what I was thinking," he replied. "Hop aboard Rochelle, and hold on."
Rochelle stood hesitantly for a second, pawing at her eyes, but then she seemed to come to her senses and leapt up behind Presea. The pink haired girl felt the Felesian's arms wrap tightly around her waist as the craft began to ascend. As they left the guards cursing far below, Presea felt spasms tearing their way through Rochelle and she realised that the girl was crying. She hadn't known her long, but it was the most fragile she had seen her. A strange, powerful feeling came over her in those moments, and she suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to protect the Felesian. It was an odd sensation, and not one she was entirely familiar with. She turned her head slightly.
"Um…are you all right?"
She felt Rochelle nod as she buried her head into the back of the coat Presea was wearing, but she kept sobbing nevertheless. As the Rheaird slowed to a gentle speed, she remembered how Lloyd had comforted her so many times before and took the Felesian's hand into her own, their fingers intertwining.
She gave the hand a quick squeeze, wondering why she had reacted in such an odd way at the girl's words, and what it meant.
"Do not worry," she found herself whispering. "I won't leave you."