DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FINAL FANTASY VIII, NOR ANY AFFILIATED CHARACTERS, LOGOS, TRADEMARKS, ETC. TINS༔R, AELIN, DEWN, AND OTHER ORIGINAL CHARACTERS NOT FROM FF VIII ARE MINE. ANY SONG USED IN ANY CHAPTER IS NOT OWNED BY ME UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE.

AFI OWNS THE SONG "RED HAT"

Chapter 4: Proselyte

She paced back, and forth nervously, hands behind her back military style. Virgil sat on a nearby couch cushion, contentedly eating a pastry of some sort which had oozed some jelly on his shirt. They stood in front of two large crimson doors ornamented with silver fastened, and metal work. Odin wearily came out from the room. Deliberations had taken longer than he had hoped. Tinsཾr helped him to a nearby chair, and he leaned back in it as if all strength had left him.

Odin: Well, the guard has been raised. Hades had been released under Neathil's orders, and he is nowhere to be found either. The Council prefers you to defend your realm. They will give you your skin, and means of travel so your magic is not lessened.

Tinsཾr : I need to go to the mortal realm to save Squall, and the others. I have promises to keep, Odin. And people who have stood by me despite my crimes to protect. I will not fail them.

Odin: They will not allow it.

Tinsཾr : Ask them if they would prefer to factions of rebels on their hands!

Odin: Do not be hasty. Let me regain my tenacity, and I will ask for your release to go there. But until then attend to your duties. Your country is left leaderless, and in chaos. They need you now more than your friends.

Tinsཾr : No one needs me more than they, especially my children. I will speak to Materna for aid seeing as you are unable to convince them to let me go. I thought that they had let me go before this fiasco began.

Odin: They had said you may go to your realm, not the mortal.

Tinsཾr : Neathil is a liar.

Virgil: That's a given.

Tinsཾr : Shut your trap door.

Virgil (quietly): Touchy.

Tinsཾr starts to pace again, and Odin sits back, and watches. Vigil continues to eat his pastry, and licks his fingers rather loudly after finishing it. Odin looks at the cherubim from the corners of his eyes, and sighs.

Odin: Would you lend leadership to me while you go the mortal realm? Temporarily only. I should not like to be a leader of them for long.

Tinsཾr (stops, and smiles): Aye, I would.

Odin: I will see what I can do. Stop fuming, and acting miserable though, and hurry woth your business.

Tinsཾr : I should like to stay as long as they live.

Odin: Should Hades do his evil workings that won't be long. I am sorry, my mind is morbid at the moment.

Tinsཾr : It ia alright. I have thought that thought many times.

Virgil: What do I do?

Tinsཾr : What you always do.

Virgil: I am always cooped up here, giving skins to those going on a journey, but never on my own. May I accompany either of you.

Odin: ...My duties would be dull to a cherubim. Tinsཾr, perhaps you should take him along.

Tinsཾr : ...inhales...exhaling Fine then. One a couple conditions. One, you do not get in my way. Two, that you do as I say. Three, You keep your true self secret. I will tell those that need knowing. Also, no spilling your food on the carpets, and such. Alright?

Virgil: Yes, ma'am!

Tinsཾr : light growl Odin, should I go in for deliberations?

Odin: Nay, they would not approve.

Tinsཾr : Why am I not allowed to speak for myself!

Odin: Because you are thinking with your heart, and hurt rather than your head. rises, and enters red doors

Virgil: ...Think they'll let us go?

Tinsཾr : I pray they do.

Virgil: Tinsཾr praying!

Tinsཾr : I pray. I may have fallen an aeon ago, but my loyalties to The One Being never changed. Fallen, and turn-coat are two different things.

Virgil: I suppose.

Tinsཾr sits down on the ground gracefully, and begins to meditate. Virgil at first watches in curiosity, and does like wise, his thoughts on the skin he wants to wear.

ƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒin

Squall stood in the shower, water streaming down his back. His hands against the wall, and his head under the cascading water. Deep in thought he stood there, the click of the door went unnoticed. Rinoa's gentle hands glided down his back, and wrapped around his waist, holding his chest. Her face against his spine she held him, and proceeded to kiss his lion scar. He turned around, and almost said another's name, but was shocked when it was she.

Squall (embarrassed by his nudity): Why the hell are you in here!

Rinoa: I am not supposed to be?

Squall: You can't just waltz in here, and do that! I thought you were- ...never mind.

Rinoa: You thought I was her! How lame. You know just as well as I do THAT SHE'S DEAD. Get over her. She was a murdering, twisted bitch anyways. I thought you were better than that, Squall. (leaves with slam of the shower, and bathroom doors)

Squall: I know but...she promised she'd be back... And better than this...?

Little did he know that his scar dubbed Greiver was pulsating a red, and orange glow. Parallel to his heartbeats, it sent a signal to anyone that was listening, waiting, watching...

ƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒin

Tinsཾr : Owwie.

Virgil: What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?

Tinsཾr (smacks him, and holds her head in frustration): No twinkle toes.

Virgil: Your sign changed to the dragon, huh?

Tinsཾr : No duh.

Virgil: Okay, seriously, what's wrong?

Tinsཾr : If you'd hush I'd track it.

Virgil: ...twiddles thumbs...Done yet?

Tinsཾr : No.

Virgil: ...hums...

Tinsཾr : ...

Virgil: stops...sigh...tap dances

Tinsཾr : No noise.

Virgil: ...

Tinsཾr : Okay, I found it. Hmm. Squall...?

Virgil: A storm, oh goody. I have always wanted to see one. I have only heard about them, and-

Tinsཾr : Squall Leonhart.

Virgil?

Tinsཾr : Deluge...

Virgil?

Tinsཾr : The lion?

Virgil: OH! I know now! That chap you did the dirty with.

Tinsཾr : sigh I thought heaven was supposed to be rated G.

Virgil: R, baby!

Tinsཾr / Virgil: giggle

Odin (enters): They agree to let you go in a few mortal realm months. You must stabilize your realm first, then go about your business. But Virgil must go, and be of assistance. Also, should anything go array, you report to your true realm immediately. Understood?

Tinsཾr : He'll have rallied his forces by then, and may have killed my friends! And also lead trouble to my home? (dripping of sarcasm) That makes a whole lot of sense.

Odin: I will be strengthening the armed forces, and with The One Being's approval, we will be victorious. Also, they are sending some Guardians for your mortals until you arrive. No one will harm them, but you must follow orders. Get your body in order, and go to your realm as soon as possible.

Tinsཾr : nods Virgil, the skins.

Virgil: Huh?

Tinsཾr : Go get them.

Virgil: I get my own now, huh? skitters off in glee

Tinsཾr : I am going to have my hands full.

Odin: Yes.

Tinsཾr : I haven't had a chance to talk with you really yet. How are you here?

Odin: My soul is, but I am physically in your realm.

Tinsཾr : I didn't know that they decided to allow that.

Odin: It was only instated about three scores ago our time.

Tinsཾr . Ah. I see. What is wrong with Squall? I have a really bad feeling brewing in the pit of my stomach...

ƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒin

Squall looked in the mirror, wiping away the steam. He looked at his reflection for a moment, or two, his brow furrowed in thought. He grabbed a comb off of the counter, and accidentally knocked off something.

I'm on the sea so bargain with me
So I can be home once again
To lose ways
To sing
An odd time of death
To lose and not to win

He bent down to pick it up, a towel tightly wrapped around his waist. It was his ring. He had totally forgotten that he never had the nerve to get it back from Rinoa after their initial break up. Now he wondered if he should apologize, and be with her. He sat on the ground in his usual way, and stared at the metal. He leaned against the counter door, and a knob poked him in the back. He opened it up, and took out Tinsཾr's blade kit.

Why must I, always have to lose with an easy life
Why cant I, just pretend to fall asleep
No longing goes through the night.

He took them out one by one, and set them on the counter, after locking the door. Serrated blades, single edge blades, double edged, all types lay before him, glinting in the artificial light. He mouthed Tinsir's name, and a tear welled in his eye as memories flooded his mind.

Caroline was greater for breaking down the set
Wanting to find a look
Can't remember days
The days we posses
Only the day she left

Beckoning him, their cold silver shone brightly, and almost as if they sang for his blood. He stared as if in a trance, and picked up the serrated blade. Holding the blade to his wrist, the skin dented in.

I see her in the crucifix
My mind begins to slip
My love had fallen right to a T
Then I close my eyes and the tears begin to run
The nightmare has just begun.

His hand shook as he tried to gain his composure, but failed. He cut himself, and watched the crimson fury fall. He watched it run around his arm as he moved it. It flowed to his elbow, and dripped onto the cold floor.

Why must I always have to lose with an easy life
Why cant I, just pretend to fall asleep
No longing goes through the night.

Thus, a cutter is born.

ƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒƒin

I added this part to explain how Odin is alive, but in heaven. If any of you know about magick, he is astral projecting.