"Pretty rad, isn't it?"
Alice glanced to her right as she adjusted her arms leaning against the railing on deck. A cute and petite blonde with green eyes and a bright face stood beside her. She had an ink smudge on her forehead above her right eyebrow and ink stains on the scarf that covered most of the unruly curls of her hair.
Alice changed her focus back to the horizon, as did the girl beside her. "Yeah."
"I always have Setzer take me out so I can paint it. I usually don't do landscapes, but there's just something about the view from the airship. It inspires me."
Alice absently nodded.
"So, you're going to the Academy, huh? Excited?"
Alice turned with a sigh and leaned her back against the railing. "Yeah."
"Oh yeah. You really sound excited, too." The girl wrinkled her nose. "You know, not just anybody gets into the Academy. You should be a little more enthused, don't you think?"
Alice narrowed her eyes as she looked up at the blue sky. "I am. It's just... It's just the first time I've been away from home." Alice looked again to the girl beside her. "What about you?"
"I've been at and away from home since I was 10. Not a new thing for me." The girl examined Alice's face. "I think I get it, though."
Alice looked away. "Great. I'm surpassed in worldly experience by a kid all of 15. Thrill of thrills."
The girl laughed. "Nah. 'Worldly experience' is over rated. And I'm 14."
"Yeah. Right."
"Hey, I know a kid about your age who's had less 'worldly experience' than you, believe it or not. He was raised by animals on the Veldt. In fact, he's--"
Alice turned sharply. "You know Gau?"
The girl stopped mid-sentence, jaw still hanging. After a blink or two, she closed her mouth and examined Alice from head to toe. "Yep, but the question is how do you know Gau? I don't think he's been off the Veldt since Terra, Edgar, Locke, and Celes' wedding."
Alice smacked her forehead. "You must be Relm Arrowny."
"Yep. How'd you know that?"
Alice smiled. "The fact that you know the saviors of our world by name maybe?"
Relm pointed a finger at Alice with a smirk. "Good point. I guess that's a 'duh'."
"I'm Alice. Alice Camf." They shook hands. "Nice to meet you."
"Do you have a problem with me arranging the dorms with Edgar so that we can share a room?"
"Nope."
"Rad." Relm tugged at Alice's arm. "So, tell me about yourself. Where're you from?"
They walked the deck and exchanged stories.
"Ladies?" Setzer opened the door to the cabin and entered. "We're approaching the Academy, if you care for an aerial view."
Relm squealed. "Darn right! I need to grab my palette and brushes."
Alice chuckled and stood as Relm rushed from the room.
"How was the trip, Miss Alice? Not too bumpy, I hope."
"No. It was wonderful," she assured as she made her way forward. You're talking to the Setzer Gabbiani. "Thank you."
He sent her a charming smile before she passed and made her way on deck. Relm scurried on deck a moment or two later and set up her easel and canvas.
Making her way to the , Alice gasped "It's huge!"
Relm looked over at Alice's large sparkling eyes and shocked face with a knowing look. "If you think that's big, you should see Figaro castle. Doma castle's even bigger... I think."
Alice stared in stupefied wonder at the sprawling mansion-turned-educational-facility. Located northwest of Figaro near Kohlingen, its three-story mass was a collection of architectural beauty and organizational genius. The third story was dedicated solely to the students' dorms. The second story held the library and research facility. The ground floor held multiple classrooms where the select few accepted students would have the benefit of specialized professors teaching what they loved. The professors' bungalows were behind, giving the teachers and students an opportunity to develop a bond.
"Another pass, Relm, and then I'll need to go in," Setzer told them from the helm.
"Okay. I've almost got it."
Alice couldn't help but feel she'd get lost in the sheer mass of the building. You're definitely not on the Veldt anymore. Welcome to city life.
"You better hold on," Relm said with a laugh. "Setzer can get a little exuberant with his landings."
Alice moved away from the railing and gripped a safety post. Relm did the same. But the landing was as smooth as the ride had been.
"I guess Terra and Edgar are going to give us a tour of the place, and then we'll head on over to the office to fill out paperwork and sign up for classes."
"Already? I thought the term didn't start until after the summer."
Relm waved the comment aside as she stowed her easel and paints in a safe place. "Oh that. There aren't very many students here, so the teachers can work on almost a one-to-one basis. Groups of three to five, most of the time. You can start whenever you feel like it, basically."
Good. Maybe I can get home sooner. "Sounds great." Geez, Alice. Pull your head out and quit feeling sorry for yourself.
Relm made a motion with her head to the exit. "Come on. Let's go find Terra and Edgar. The chance to look around without them is going to give me hives."
Alice sent the girl a slight smile as she followed her. "I take it you like being on your own?"
Relm waited at the end of the ramp with a smirk. "Darn right. Most of the time it's more fun."
"So then what are you doing here?" Alice asked as the two headed for the Academy.
"You mean what am I going to be studying?"
"Yeah. It seems to me that helping save our world would've made it easy for you to be a world-class whatever."
Relm made a face. "What's the fun in that? I like adventure as much as the next teenager. Besides, if I took the easy road I think I'd disappoint my dad and myself."
"Don't want to waste life on an easy ride, huh?"
"Nope. You never learn anything that way."
Alice absently nodded as she stowed her hands deep into the pockets of her denim shorts. "Yeah, well, sometimes adventure sucks," she mumbled. She felt Relm's eyes on her and shook her head. "Don't ask."
"Too bad. I am." Alice didn't answer and Relm pressed on. "I know adventure can suck the crap right out of a chocobo, believe me. I almost got myself, my grandpa, and my friends and father killed because of it. But, that experience is part of my life now and I wouldn't trade it for anything." Relm moved her eyes to an examination of the Academy. "Of course, I haven't had nearly the adventure as Gau."
Alice looked over at her. "Why's that?"
"Didn't you know he was left on the Veldt by his dad - crazy bastard - when he was a baby?"
Alice nodded.
"He was left to die and turned out to be a really nice guy," Relm continued. "A little dense sometimes, but a nice guy just the same." The artist glanced toward Alice. "You said that you've actually met him, right?"
"You could say that."
She smirked. "I did. What'd you think?"
"He understands me like my friend Eric does." She gave a shrug. "He's okay, as guys go." Too bad he's dense about girls. Alice sighed. Carol, why couldn't you have left him alone. He doesn't get about things like you do...
Relm examined Alice's expression, then she looked away. "Geez. And I thought Edgar was blind," she muttered.
Alice looked over at her sharply. "Wh--?"
"Relm! Alice! Welcome to the Figaro Academy for Higher Studies!"
King and Queen Figaro approached them with smiles and laughter, and all Alice could do was set aside the question for later.
The Academy's size and potential blew Alice away. State-of-the-art everything at their disposal, including books and research texts that had been saved from the Empire. In fact, when they made a 'quick stop' at the library, Alice was awed by the amount of research listed for the Veldt - taking place both before and after the change to the environment. If it hadn't been for Relm tugging on her arm, Alice would have stayed behind to get her feet wet in the volumes of newly discovered knowledge.
Hours later, Alice was exhausted and massaging her sore feet as Relm laid back on the bed in their newly reassigned room. It measured twice the size of her room back home, but Alice knew it would take a little getting used to. Yeah. No Eric barging in without knocking. No Gau bringing me flowers, or samples, or anything. Alice sighed and moved to lie back on her bed, same as Relm. No Gau asking ridiculously bright questions in class. No Carol bringing over the latest rage in scarves or boots. No Gau and his great sense of humor. Alice covered her eyes with her arm. Could I sound any more homesick?
"Cool!"
Alice turned her face toward Relm, who stood by the window unwrapping a bit of paper pulled from a little tube. A carrier pigeon perched on the windowsill. "You got a letter? Here?"
"Yeah. Each room has its own pigeon. We have to send notes from the depot, but when they receive one, they find out who it's from, what room they're in, and then poof! Delivery." Relm unrolled her note and brightened. "It's from Dad!"
"Geez. A little tight on the reins, isn't he?"
Relm read the letter, eyes glistening. "I don't mind. I just found him about a year ago."
Alice spat the shoe out of her mouth - figuratively speaking of course - and sat up. "Sorry."
Relm shrugged and rolled the bit of paper up again. "Don't sweat it." She peeked at Alice, eyes twinkling with mischief. "He's Shadow, you know. So don't mess with me. He'll kill you."
Alice stared at Relm for a full minute before giving a shake of her head and laughing softly. "Hey, you won't have to worry about that. I'm weird, not insane."
Relm tossed a bit of paper at Alice with a grin. "We'll see. Anyway, why don't you let the fam know you got here safe. I'll jot a little ditty for my dad, and then we'll go find the pigeon depot. They're bound to have one for your town."
Alice shifted her gaze to the paper. "Don't bet on it."
"Why?"
"I don't think a lot of people even know it's there."
"Whatever. You have a school, don't you? You get supplies from Edgar, don't you?" Alice nodded to each statement as Relm grabbed a shawl from the back of a chair. "There. Don't you worry about fame and fortune with Eddie around. He'll make sure that the right people know about the right town." She gave Alice a nudge. "Come on. I'm bored."
Alice reached across her bed for the pencil on the desk between their beds and scribbled a brief note, then rolled it up and tucked it into the offered carrier. "There."
"Rad. Let's go."
Alice sighed, pushing herself to her feet and into her sandals before following after the girl. She gave a slight shake of her head. "Can't we take a break? My feet are killing me."
"Oh 'waa'," Relm told her. "You'll have time enough to give them a rest when you're sleeping."
Alice tucked her hands into her pockets and followed to the pigeon depot behind the Academy. Okay. I can handle this. If she keeps me this busy I won't have time to think about... home. It never hurt to hope.
She descended onto the lush green loveliness of the Veldt like a great bird, soaring inches above the ground with a laugh as the wind caressed her face. A mountain of rocks with a cave within the deeper part of it appeared, so Alice made her way toward it. Warmth and happiness seemed to pull at her as she descended and touched ground with bare feet. When she looked down at herself, she noticed for the first time that she had dressed in comfortable hand-stitched leather pants and a soft leather sleeveless shirt. She stroked the pants and shirt with a lingering smile, looking up when she heard her name.
"Alice!"
Walking toward the sound, Alice slowly approached a silhouette several yards from the cave. She narrowed her eyes but still couldn't tell who or what it was against the glare of the sun.
"Alice! Come see!"
Alice hurried her step until she found herself jogging toward the figure with a catch of expectancy in her throat. The silhouette sharpened and cleared-- Alice stopped, eyes widening as her jaw dropped.
Gau held a 5 year-old-boy on his shoulders.
The boy glanced over at her and immediately squealed, giving a wide smile as he reached his hands out toward her. Gau lowered the boy from his shoulders with a grin, laughing when the blonde beauty launched himself into Alice's arms with so much force that she tumbled backwards--
--Alice sat up with a gasp.
She covered her eyes with a hand, taking in a deep breath to release it slowly. Then she laid back, moving her arm up to cover her eyes... 'You're the one who got us together in the first place, what with all the emotional support I had to offer. I'll let you know how it works out.' Alice cringed again at Carol's words, rolling onto her side to squeeze her eyes shut tight. There'll be plenty of time for looking for heroes after school's over and done with. She'd waited this long. What were a couple more years?
And hadn't Eric seemed eager enough to wait?