~Irvine~
"No fair!" Selphie squeals, hopping up and down in her chair while she jerks and thrusts her fists up and down in a tantrum. I smile sweetly at the girl, gently pinching the corner of the card between two fingers and bringing it closer to my eyes.
"A very good lookin' card, I must say." I lower the card from in front of me, exposing a huffing brunette behind it. She crosses her arms in front of her chest and slouches in her chair, a full pout forming over her features.
"Do you know how long it took me to get your card?! Stupid hippy Flo would never play it against me! I had to throw, like, a million games before she finally thought I was losing enough to play it!" I place the same grin I have in my picture on the card on my face before her, waving the card lightly as if to fan myself.
"Sorry darlin', rules are rules." I slide the card into the middle of the stack I hold in my other hand, feigning disinterest in its rarity. Selphie's eyes widen when she sees this, her knuckles turning white when she grips the arms of her chair harshly and leans forward halfway across the table.
"What?! Don't do that! It's rare! It belongs with your other rares! What if you play with random?! You'll lose it so quickly!"
"Lose what?" Ignis's questioning voice is heard when he and Quistis walk into the conference room together. Quistis presses her fingertips against her lips, her shoulders bobbing up and down as she holds a giggle back.
"You got the Irvine card from her didn't you?" she asks through her giggles. I nod, beaming a victorious grin while Selphie throws her arms up into the air, nearly striking Ignis who has stopped to stand behind her chair.
"He cheated! He knows I'm horrible at math and insisted on playing with Same!" I wiggle my finger back and forth at her, shaking my head as I do.
"Ah ah, rules are specified before cards are chosen. You knew what you were gambling with," I mention, glancing up at the other two. Ignis frowns, leaning over Selphie's shoulder and sliding one of her cards off of the table to bring it closer to his eyes.
"What is a Diablos?" he questions, holding the card out for Quistis to see. Quistis takes the card from the man and points at it to start explaining the face of the card, but Selphie snatches it back from her.
"It," she air quotes, "is a super awesome, badass, amazing guardian force that is equally super awesome, badass and amazing as a card, that's what!"
"You guys haven't played Triple Triad yet?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at the man as he continues to lean over Selphie's shoulder. Ignis rises, glancing over at Quistis before shaking his head at me.
"No, I cannot say that we have." Selphie immediately quirks up, jumping out of her chair and shuffling behind it. Ignis flinches when the perky brunette grips his shoulders before shoving him down into her recently vacated seat across from me.
"Oh man, nobody's shown you yet? Great! I'll teach you," she announces, already plucking cards out of her stack and placing them between the two. I sigh, my narrow eyes still locked onto the encroaching man, tapping a finger on the table between us to stop her.
"Why not let him watch the two of us play? You may be able to win your card back," I offer, scanning through my cards until I see my familiar face. She turns and beams a threatening grin, sitting abruptly in an empty seat and shoving Ignis's chair sideways to take his spot. The man rolls toward Quistis, who stretches her hand out and stops him from colliding with her legs.
"Oh! You're on!" Selphie squeaks, completely unaware of the abandoned man and his ruffled exterior after being handled in such a way. Quistis stoops down beside Ignis, pressing her glasses closer to her face.
"I'll explain how the game works while they play. You and the others might enjoy it. Especially Prompto, poor thing still pouts about not being able to play that phone game of his." Ignis smiles at the woman before looking back at the table. We play a few more rounds, Quistis explaining what rules there are other than the ones we are playing with, which we demonstrate so he better understands them. Ignis asks if he can see one of Selphie's cards while we are in the middle of a game, keeping the girl from making her play.
"Ifrit? This looks nothing like how Noct described him," he mentions, pinching the rim of his glasses and narrowing his eyes to scan over the image printed on the card. Selphie turns and faces him, leaning over his arm to look at the picture on the card.
"No? That's how he looks," she says before glancing back at the man's face. He hums, handing the card back to the brunette.
"Noctis described him as having more humanistic qualities to his appearance, like a towering giant with a crown of horns stretching back the length of his body. I cannot be for certain though, since I have never seen him with my own eyes." Selphie takes the card out of Ignis's hand and sets it in her lap, staring at it briefly.
"Well, he does have two horns that reach almost to the middle of his back, but I wouldn't call him human-like at all." My gaze narrows again at the two staring at each other before I quickly adjust in my seat and clear my throat.
"Would you like to see them?" I offer, watching the three turn their heads toward me. Selphie frowns, turning back to Quistis with a curious look in her eyes.
"Can we do that?" The spunky brunette questions innocently. Quistis glances between the two of us before shrugging, standing up and holding her hands out.
"I don't see why not, but we'll have to ask Squall before we take them. I doubt he or Laguna will want us using them anywhere in Esthar so, we'll probably have to figure out a spot to do it at. Would you be interested in seeing them?" she repeats the question to Ignis when she looks down at him again. Ignis stands from his seat, stepping sideways before his hand presses against the back of it to tuck it neatly under the table.
"I would like to, yes, if it is not too much of a bother. I want to see what Noctis says about Ifrit, if he is the same as he remembers." Quistis nods, turning back toward the door.
"Well, let's go ask if it is alright before we tell the others. I don't want to get their hopes up just for Squall to say no." Ignis politely thanks us for teaching him how to play the game before they walk out the door, leaving Selphie and me alone again. I hear him questioning Quistis as they leave about how they will be able to see them though, making me frown. What kind of question is that?
"Finally," I mumble under my breath, but my hopes are dashed when Selphie stands from her chair and slides her hand across the table, gathering up her cards together in a messy pile.
"Come on Irvy, let's go!" She squeaks excitedly. I watch her gather my cards with hers and shove them into her pocket before she wraps her hands around my arm and pulls me from my chair.
"You took my cards darlin'," I mention while the girl pulls me quickly across the room to catch up with the others.
"What? No, I don't know what you're talking about. Come on! Move it!" she orders me with another tug. I see the smirk on her face, realizing she snatched up my Irvine card in the process. I'll tease her about it later, I decide as we leave the conference room.
~Squall~
"I have no idea," I mumble before taking a sip of my coffee, watching the blonde sitting beside me out of the corner of my eye. Laguna sighs, shuffling through stacks of papers on his desk between us while Kiros reorganizes them after the man casts them aside.
"There must be something out of all of these suggestions that appeals to you, Squall," Laguna implores me to go through the ideas again, wanting my help with his trivial matter. The President has an obligation to organize his new idea for an Estharian ball. The goal in mind is to open up Esthar to the rest of the world, inviting the leaders of the other countries to attend and offer them a night of dancing and entertainment, which is where Laguna has lost interest in deciding on anything. Dancing is easy enough, just hire a band or small orchestra and play music in the grand hall, but entertainment? The last thing Laguna knows anything about is entertainment, which still gives him an advantage over me; I know nothing about either choice for the intended grand evening. "Nothing? Really?" He presses me, sliding more files in front of me to choose from. I pinch the bridge of my nose before taking another sip of my coffee. Yes, Esthar and Balamb Garden are close, closer than most after everything that happened with the sorceress wars and, of course, my biological link to the president of the country. But that doesn't change the fact that I hold no obligation to help the man figure out how to throw a damn party.
"I know nothing about entertainment, Laguna, or dancing for that matter. You know that," I mumble, my cheeks reddening when Prompto faces me while I speak. The blonde doesn't need to bear witness to our meetings, but lately he has been insisting on coming with me. I internally hope he does it to spend more time together but I'm not certain, nor do I even think about possibly asking. Waving a hand over the folders, I set my coffee cup against my knee. I'm growing more and more frustrated with the man; asking me daily for over a week now what I want to do with this damned ball.
"Ask Selphie. She's the head of the Garden Festival Committee, she should be able to help you figure something out." As if on cue, the door to the office slides open and Selphie enters the room along with Quistis, Irvine and Ignis.
"Hiya!" she chirps, bouncing toward the desk and turning to face Quistis. The woman glides in between mine and Prompto's chairs, placing a hand on the back of both.
"What are we discussing today?" Quistis asks, smiling at each of us. Laguna sighs and flops back against his chair, his hands full of disheveled sheets of paper.
"Still trying to figure out something to do for the ball," I mumble, raising my mug back to my lips and taking another sip.
"Selphie. Help," Laguna whines while Kiros fusses over the crumpling sheets between the President's fingers. The brunette perks up beside Prompto before walking around the desk to stand next to Laguna.
"What's up?" She asks, peering at the pages Kiros hasn't organized yet that are still strewn across the desk top.
"The President needs to decide on what he wishes to do for entertainment the night of the ball. It's proving," Kiros snatches the last pages out of Laguna's hands with a huff before straightening them to at least all face the same direction again, "difficult." Selphie jerks her head toward Quistis before she hops up and down, clapping her hands in front of her rapidly.
"Ooh, great! We actually came to ask Squall about something that I think would solve your problem!" Quistis glances down toward me, a small smile spreading on her lips.
"We were wondering if we could use the guardian forces, to show Ignis and the others what they look like here, since they have them where they are from as well." Quistis explains calmly.
"We can do a demonstration! Show the world the power the SeeD's hold!" Selphie thrusts her fist up in the air and bending a knee so her foot sticks straight out behind her. Laguna frowns for a second, glancing down at the pages on his desk in thought. I lean forward to peer over at Prompto.
"You guys have guardian forces?" Ignis steps forward, pressing his glasses up on his nose while subtly slipping closer to Quistis.
"We call them Astrals where we are from, and from the looks of them on the cards I saw a while ago, you have quite a few more than we do." Prompto quirks a brow at Ignis before looking back at me and smirking.
"Guardian what now?" he teases, holding the smirk in place. I roll my eyes at him with a quirk in the corner of my lips, ignoring him while I look back up to Quistis.
"Where at? The training facilities are hardly spacious enough for them." Quistis shakes her head at my question before Selphie jumps in with another suggestion.
"We can do it out beside the city with actual fiends, so everyone gets the full show!" I shake my head at the girl, frowning.
"They're not pets, Selphie, to be taken out to show off," I lightly scold her, knowing her unusual attachment to some of them. We all have one or two we are closer to than the others, but I sometimes wonder if Selphie took it to an extreme. She presses her fists against her hips, scowling at me.
"You know what I mean, Squally!"
"That's actually a great idea." Laguna chimes in, shoving the pages in front of him to the side and knocking Kiros' freshly organized stack to the ground. Selphie chuckles when she bends over, helping a peeved Kiros pick up the pages from the floor. Laguna starts spouting out ideas of where the 'display' can be thrown and what precautions can be taken to keep everyone else safe. I shift my eyes upwards to look at Ignis before glancing back at Prompto.
"Would you guys be willing to wait a while before you see them?" They both agree with waiting, turning back to watch Laguna and Selphie throw out ideas at each other. Ignis rests his hand against his stomach, feeling a grumble beneath his palm.
"Apologies, I think my body is trying to tell me something," he smiles, glancing over at Quistis. She mimics him, placing a hand on her own stomach before nodding.
"Yes, I think mine is as well. Anyone else getting hungry?" she asks us, dropping her hand back to her side.
"I could eat," Prompto shrugs before eyeing me. I nod, realizing hours have been lost since we've been cooped up in this room with the President.
"Yes, we all should eat. Selphie, would you sit with me so we can continue our discussions?" Laguna asks as he stands from his desk. The brunette nods and smiles, wrapping her hand around the President's offered arm while they head out of the room. "What does everyone want? I'll ask the chefs to meet in the conference room if you want to gather up everyone else?" Ignis holds a finger up, clearing his throat.
"Actually, I was hoping I could cook for you all. I have an idea. Quistis, if you would not mind accompanying me?" Quistis smiles at the man and nods, her cheeks flushing slightly. Laguna agrees, turning toward Prompto and me and asking us to go gather everyone else to meet in the dining room. Ignis promptly takes Quistis's hand to wrap it around his arm, her hand placed on top of his sleeve beneath his hand as he guides her out. Prompto and I smile at the two in front of us as we follow, but keep our thoughts to ourselves.
"Selphie, what do you think about having some kind of a barrier put up for the guests to stand behind, so they aren't attacked or anything? Like the ones in the training facility?" Laguna questions the girl when they whiz past Prompto and me to make their way to the lift. The two take their seats on the now full lift, continuing their discussions while it raises off the ground and carries them downwards. A sigh over my shoulder comes from Irvine, who turns and shuffles slowly toward the stairway. Glancing over to my other side at Prompto, we both smirk before following the cowboy down the stairs.
"Where do you think Gladio and Rinoa are?" he asks me when we reach the main level, Irvine holding the stairway door open for us.
"Probably training again, unless Rin managed to get him to go shopping with her," Irvine chuckles at the thought before pointing over his shoulder.
"I'll go find Zell and Seifer if you two want to hunt them down." Prompto and I nod when Zell suddenly appears in the entrance to the palace.
"Hey," he waves, meeting us in the middle of the room. Irvine glances over the blonde's shoulder before looking back at him.
"Is Seifer with you?" he asks. Zell tenses, shooting a glare at Irvine that, if it were a punch, would have knocked him clear across the room.
"Why would he be with me?" he snaps, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Irvine stares wide-eyed at the agitated man, holding his hands out in front of him.
"Whoa, just asking. Ignis is going to make lunch for us all and we're gathering everyone up to wait in the dining room. Have you seen him?" Zell drops his arms back to his sides, but still holds an irritated glare.
"No, I don't know what that guy does all day." We watch Zell for a minute, but the man keeps his bristled posture and icy gleam in his eye.
"Maybe he's in the training facilities too?" Prompto offers, turning to Irvine. Irvine nods slowly, keeping an eye on Zell.
"So we meeting in there or what?" Zell asks, jerking his chin out toward the dining room. We each nod and the blonde stalks off, his face still twisted in irritation.
"O...kay? Let's see if we can find them. Maybe Cloud, Noctis and Vincent are in there too." We make our way to the training facilities, Prompto calling his gun into his hand while Irvine and I ready our own weapons. Better to be prepared for anything, in case we do come across something other than the people we are looking for in there. Various towels are strewn across bars and hanging up near the showers, suggesting most, if not all of them are in here.
"I'll head this way if you guys want to go that way. Meet in the middle?" Prompto and I nod and head to our opposite ends toward the barriers.