A BRIEF VISIT
It was early afternoon now. Squall and Rinoa spent their entire morning with eachother, admiring the landscape, the birds, and even talking about the past. The time they shared together was very important to her. She was no longer sure how much longer they had with eachother. They were getting older now. Squall was losing more and more steam each passing year. Not only that, but the people of the world went out of their way to dislike Rinoa, because they knew she was a sorceress. He only talked about her being in danger, but she knew well enough Squall was in even more, being her Knight.
They both sit in the grass, talking to eachother through whispers. Every once in a while one of them would smile at the other, causing the second to smile in return. They could easily be seen as the best couple around, oddly enough. Especially considering their personalities, and how Squall use to be before they met eachother. It seemed like so long ago now, when they met and danced after the group returned to Balamb Garden after their mission. That was a beautiful night, she remembered it very well.
Squall begins to hear footsteps. Sometimes they hit nothing but dirt and they are silent, but other times the feet hit rocks and grass, and they are very audible. He leans up farther from his sitting position and begins to look around, alerted by this new presence. Rinoa looks questioningly at him before she begins to hear the footsteps as well. She tilts her head, looking around the general area. Then the footsteps go quiet. Squall stands all the way up, putting a handle to his sword. He turns quickly, to see a man standing on top of a nearby rock. The man is very young, and handsome looking. He has short hair that is a gentle shade of brown. He wears a long red cloak that is shredded at the bottom, while wearing nothing on his head.
"Gilmahn!" Rinoa shouts, and smiles brightly at him. He was the only friend she had held on to besides the old group she had with Squall and the others. Being a sorceress didn't really help her social life either. Gilmahn nods at the couple and then hops down from the rock. He has a scimitar at his side, though neither of them had ever seen him use it, or even wield it for that matter. And they had known him for years. Realizing who it is, Squall sighs with relief and then kneels down again next to Rinoa, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry to break up your trip, but some things have come up."
"Oh?" Squall asks back, he seems to remain patient and calm.
"Well, the Galbadian 'election' is over." Gilmahn frowns a little.
"And by your excitement, should we assume all went well?" Squall responds, obviously with sarcasm.
"Let's put it this way: the new leader doesn't see eye to eye with us on most issues. But this is not much of a surprise in my opinion. This won't bring any new problems you haven't already had to deal with already. People who dislike any sorceress, you know the type. But what can you do? We need to move on and do what we need to."
"Yeah..." Squall says quietly.
"He will be giving his first speech in a few days. I suggest that we all be in attendance. I also suggest that we be in attendance in low profile, for safety sake, there are a lot of paranoid people out there." Gilmahn holds tightly on to his cloak as the wind blows against it with some force.
"I agree. The days of friendly leaders for us is over. But we still need to see what he has to say. A few days you say?"
"Aye, Squall. Enough time to take a nice walk back, and a boat for part of the way. Sound good?"
"Yeah.." Squall says, also quietly. Rinoa moves closer to him and places a kiss on his cheek. She smiles at him and gets up.
Gilmahn turns around quickly and begins to walk down the hill, ignoring the surroundings unlike his companions, his red cloak trails behind him, sweeping against the grass, rocks, and branches. No wonder it is so badly torn at the bottom...
