I'm trying to write the story I had originally intended.
I don't own any of the Final Fantasy 8 characters, but the six newbies are mine.
I don't know what Caraway's character is like, so he's going to wind up really snooty... I have no idea why.
~
Chapter 4
~0600 hours that morning~
The dark haired man stalked into the Garden, glaring at it as if it had personally offended him. His daughter followed quietly behind him.
The thirteen SeeD instructors, and the Headmaster stood in a straight line in the central hallway of the building. Standing in two rows in front of them were the seventy-two students they were trying to teach.
The youngest of the children stood, fidgeting. The older man spotted her and glared. The little girl's face pinched up, and she started sniffling. The old man's glare got harsher. Now the tiny blonde covered her eyes with her hands, whirled, and dashed right up to Seifer, who scooped her straight up, much to the General's surprise.
With eyebrow's raised, the man growled, "How do you intend to teach discipline if you can't even keep them from fidgeting and bawling?"
"Father," Rinoa started, but her father hushed her.
"Well, sir," the extremely tall, white-haired man clipped back, "It's not every day we have people as important as you and your daughter."
"Nor is it every day that Thea is glared at by evil-looking old men," one of the auburn-haired men raised an eyebrow.
"You don't even have discipline amongst yourselves," Caraway spoke condescendingly.
"Pardon us, General," Kiros managed to sound respectful, "But we are just a group of mercenaries. These are children. Thea is all of five years old, and I highly doubt you were as disciplined as you are now when you were five. No one could have been."
"Except maybe Squall," Rinoa attempted a joke.
"Allow me to escort you to your rooms," the auburn-haired young man who'd flared up a bit ago seemed to have reined in his temper, "If you would follow me."
As soon as the three left, Seifer set Thea back on the ground, whereupon she promptly giggled, "Did I do that right?"
"Perfectly so, my dear," Kiros grinned widely at the little girl, "And because of that," he paused and verified his decision with the others by eye contact, "Today will be a recreational day. Those of you who wish to read, Quistis will watch over you in the library. Any games will be monitored by Zell, Selphie, Lynne and Seifer. For those of you who wish to train, Squall, Edgar, Eric, and Maria will keep watch for you. And for those, oh so few, who wish to go back to sleep, Ariadne, Xia, and Irvine will walk you to your dorms. I will have no problems, as long as you report to one of the other areas as soon as you wake back up."
The children happily split up into their groups and traveled to the respective areas as soon as Kiros stopped speaking.
"Do you honestly think that did anything?" Max had returned about halfway through the impromptu speech. He looked back toward the guest rooms, "The little prank on the old guy might work for now, but who knows how long it will continue to."
"I have never liked Caraway," Kiros shook his head, "Therefore, I do what I can to anger him without getting into trouble for it. He returns the favor."
"And right now you're one up on him because he doesn't realize that you set him up," Max snorted, "And I thought kids' games were childish."
"At least you won't catch us throwing tantrums," the black man grinned down at the younger man.
"That would set a great example, wouldn't it," Max snorted, "Though it might get you back in Esthar. As nuts as he is, even Laguna would think twice about leaving you here if you're throwing fits."
"It's an idea, isn't it?" Kiros stepped into the elevator, "But I won't, since that would leave poor Leonhart as the Headmaster until a replacement arrived. And he's been quite adamant about leaving before allowing that."
"Do you blame him?" Max shook his head as the elevator doors closed. He then turned and walked toward the cafeteria, "It's amazing how we got more than enough cooks to supply food, but we can't get any more instructors."
~
Rinoa slipped out of her room and wandered about the Garden. It looked similar to the one near Balamb, with the sections of the building radiating from the center, but it was a little more orderly, like the one near her home. The coloration was certainly unique. Rinoa laughed slightly, thinking that Selphie had gotten her hands on the decoration scheme. There was yellow all over the place. Railings were painted with it, walkways had arrows of it, and there was a trio of girls holding paintbrushes, covering the walls with it...
"Are you three supposed to be painting the walls yellow?" she stopped and asked.
"Uh-huh," the tallest of the three, with mocha-colored eyes blinked upward. She then spoke through the gap in her front teeth, "Mishta Shkwall ashed ush to."
"What are your names," Rinoa squatted slightly toward them, smiling gently.
"I'm Reline," the mocha-eyed girl jabbed a semi-painted finger at herself, "She'sh Ashura, and that'sh Mayra."
"Nu-uh," the little red-head groused, "My name's Asura, not Ashura."
"Honey," Rinoa smiled at all three little girls, "You'll have to bear with her until her teeth grow in."
"Oh," Asura blinked, "Sorry, Reline."
"Sh'okay," the other girl grinned.
"Bye-bye, girls!" Rinoa giggled, and walked away. She decided to find some adults and inform them of the little yellow-fiends.
When she reached the center of the Garden, she looked at the directory. She'd just come from the Guest area..
"Need help?" the voice caused Rinoa to whirl around, so she was facing a man with red hair, who stood just a little bit shorter than she was.
"As a matter of fact, I do," she smiled brightly, "I need to find one of the Instructors."
"Found one," the redhead grinned, "My name's Lynne Moire. What did you need, Miss Heartilly?"
"Well," she looked in the direction she'd come from, "There are three girls in the Guest hallway, painting fixtures yellow."
"Ah," he laughed, "That would be Asura, Mayra, and Reline."
"Do they do this often?" Rinoa blinked.
"They always paint the Guest hallway yellow," he grinned now, "And then three little boys, Ashran, Grendyl, and Zack go through about an hour later, and paint it all back to blue. Then the girls go through again."
"Isn't that a waste of paint?" Rinoa giggled.
"Not out of our funds," Lynne shrugged, "All six of 'em come from wealthy families, and their mummies and daddies pay for the paint, even after we've told them what it's getting used for. They don't care, we won't either, as long as they keep it to the Guest area."
"How does this do them any good?" Rinoa blinked again.
"We're not sure," Lynne shrugged, "Those six aren't making much effort to learn, so we're hoping that they'll either get tired of it all and whine to go home, find out that they're just wasting time, or get to the point that they're dealt with by Squall, Seifer, or Kiros."
"How would that have an effect?" Rinoa asked.
"Well," Lynne scratched his nose lightly, and found skin peeling from the sunburn on it, "The first two will deal with the problem in the easiest way. But we've had to send back home four children in the last year because they behaved badly. They each saw one of them."
"What about the fourth?"
"Well," Lynne hesitated, "That one spoke with Max, and we learned to use him as a last resort."
"I take it, that it didn't go well," Rinoa crossed her arms.
"Well, it's like this," Lynne shuddered, "Squall froze the little tyke, telling her that her behavior was not suitable for a SeeD candidate, much less a SeeD, so she was to go home and grow up before she could even try to become a SeeD candidate again, and even then she'd be under serious probation. Seifer took the other tack, scaring the kid into saying that he wanted to go home. And Kiros just told him that he would be better suited to being a normal soldier, because he was such a bully. Max, well, he took all three tacks on the last one."
"What happened there?" Rinoa bit at a nail.
"The little guy left, bawling," Lynne snorted, "But then came back the next year, and he's been almost a little angel since."
"Then why is he a last resort?"
"Because we want to lower the student to instructor ratio," Selphie giggled, "And having them come back only makes things worse!"
"Well," Rinoa smiled brightly, "Then I have good news for you all!"
"What?" Selphie leaned forward, anxious for the good news.
"The Headmasters of the other three Gardens, and Laguna all agreed to let me teach here even though I'm not a formal SeeD!"
~
Is that news as good as she thinks it is? ~Thus speaks one who believes that no circumstances would have gotten the SeeDs to change their policies regarding late entrée/graduation~
I don't own any of the Final Fantasy 8 characters, but the six newbies are mine.
I don't know what Caraway's character is like, so he's going to wind up really snooty... I have no idea why.
~
Chapter 4
~0600 hours that morning~
The dark haired man stalked into the Garden, glaring at it as if it had personally offended him. His daughter followed quietly behind him.
The thirteen SeeD instructors, and the Headmaster stood in a straight line in the central hallway of the building. Standing in two rows in front of them were the seventy-two students they were trying to teach.
The youngest of the children stood, fidgeting. The older man spotted her and glared. The little girl's face pinched up, and she started sniffling. The old man's glare got harsher. Now the tiny blonde covered her eyes with her hands, whirled, and dashed right up to Seifer, who scooped her straight up, much to the General's surprise.
With eyebrow's raised, the man growled, "How do you intend to teach discipline if you can't even keep them from fidgeting and bawling?"
"Father," Rinoa started, but her father hushed her.
"Well, sir," the extremely tall, white-haired man clipped back, "It's not every day we have people as important as you and your daughter."
"Nor is it every day that Thea is glared at by evil-looking old men," one of the auburn-haired men raised an eyebrow.
"You don't even have discipline amongst yourselves," Caraway spoke condescendingly.
"Pardon us, General," Kiros managed to sound respectful, "But we are just a group of mercenaries. These are children. Thea is all of five years old, and I highly doubt you were as disciplined as you are now when you were five. No one could have been."
"Except maybe Squall," Rinoa attempted a joke.
"Allow me to escort you to your rooms," the auburn-haired young man who'd flared up a bit ago seemed to have reined in his temper, "If you would follow me."
As soon as the three left, Seifer set Thea back on the ground, whereupon she promptly giggled, "Did I do that right?"
"Perfectly so, my dear," Kiros grinned widely at the little girl, "And because of that," he paused and verified his decision with the others by eye contact, "Today will be a recreational day. Those of you who wish to read, Quistis will watch over you in the library. Any games will be monitored by Zell, Selphie, Lynne and Seifer. For those of you who wish to train, Squall, Edgar, Eric, and Maria will keep watch for you. And for those, oh so few, who wish to go back to sleep, Ariadne, Xia, and Irvine will walk you to your dorms. I will have no problems, as long as you report to one of the other areas as soon as you wake back up."
The children happily split up into their groups and traveled to the respective areas as soon as Kiros stopped speaking.
"Do you honestly think that did anything?" Max had returned about halfway through the impromptu speech. He looked back toward the guest rooms, "The little prank on the old guy might work for now, but who knows how long it will continue to."
"I have never liked Caraway," Kiros shook his head, "Therefore, I do what I can to anger him without getting into trouble for it. He returns the favor."
"And right now you're one up on him because he doesn't realize that you set him up," Max snorted, "And I thought kids' games were childish."
"At least you won't catch us throwing tantrums," the black man grinned down at the younger man.
"That would set a great example, wouldn't it," Max snorted, "Though it might get you back in Esthar. As nuts as he is, even Laguna would think twice about leaving you here if you're throwing fits."
"It's an idea, isn't it?" Kiros stepped into the elevator, "But I won't, since that would leave poor Leonhart as the Headmaster until a replacement arrived. And he's been quite adamant about leaving before allowing that."
"Do you blame him?" Max shook his head as the elevator doors closed. He then turned and walked toward the cafeteria, "It's amazing how we got more than enough cooks to supply food, but we can't get any more instructors."
~
Rinoa slipped out of her room and wandered about the Garden. It looked similar to the one near Balamb, with the sections of the building radiating from the center, but it was a little more orderly, like the one near her home. The coloration was certainly unique. Rinoa laughed slightly, thinking that Selphie had gotten her hands on the decoration scheme. There was yellow all over the place. Railings were painted with it, walkways had arrows of it, and there was a trio of girls holding paintbrushes, covering the walls with it...
"Are you three supposed to be painting the walls yellow?" she stopped and asked.
"Uh-huh," the tallest of the three, with mocha-colored eyes blinked upward. She then spoke through the gap in her front teeth, "Mishta Shkwall ashed ush to."
"What are your names," Rinoa squatted slightly toward them, smiling gently.
"I'm Reline," the mocha-eyed girl jabbed a semi-painted finger at herself, "She'sh Ashura, and that'sh Mayra."
"Nu-uh," the little red-head groused, "My name's Asura, not Ashura."
"Honey," Rinoa smiled at all three little girls, "You'll have to bear with her until her teeth grow in."
"Oh," Asura blinked, "Sorry, Reline."
"Sh'okay," the other girl grinned.
"Bye-bye, girls!" Rinoa giggled, and walked away. She decided to find some adults and inform them of the little yellow-fiends.
When she reached the center of the Garden, she looked at the directory. She'd just come from the Guest area..
"Need help?" the voice caused Rinoa to whirl around, so she was facing a man with red hair, who stood just a little bit shorter than she was.
"As a matter of fact, I do," she smiled brightly, "I need to find one of the Instructors."
"Found one," the redhead grinned, "My name's Lynne Moire. What did you need, Miss Heartilly?"
"Well," she looked in the direction she'd come from, "There are three girls in the Guest hallway, painting fixtures yellow."
"Ah," he laughed, "That would be Asura, Mayra, and Reline."
"Do they do this often?" Rinoa blinked.
"They always paint the Guest hallway yellow," he grinned now, "And then three little boys, Ashran, Grendyl, and Zack go through about an hour later, and paint it all back to blue. Then the girls go through again."
"Isn't that a waste of paint?" Rinoa giggled.
"Not out of our funds," Lynne shrugged, "All six of 'em come from wealthy families, and their mummies and daddies pay for the paint, even after we've told them what it's getting used for. They don't care, we won't either, as long as they keep it to the Guest area."
"How does this do them any good?" Rinoa blinked again.
"We're not sure," Lynne shrugged, "Those six aren't making much effort to learn, so we're hoping that they'll either get tired of it all and whine to go home, find out that they're just wasting time, or get to the point that they're dealt with by Squall, Seifer, or Kiros."
"How would that have an effect?" Rinoa asked.
"Well," Lynne scratched his nose lightly, and found skin peeling from the sunburn on it, "The first two will deal with the problem in the easiest way. But we've had to send back home four children in the last year because they behaved badly. They each saw one of them."
"What about the fourth?"
"Well," Lynne hesitated, "That one spoke with Max, and we learned to use him as a last resort."
"I take it, that it didn't go well," Rinoa crossed her arms.
"Well, it's like this," Lynne shuddered, "Squall froze the little tyke, telling her that her behavior was not suitable for a SeeD candidate, much less a SeeD, so she was to go home and grow up before she could even try to become a SeeD candidate again, and even then she'd be under serious probation. Seifer took the other tack, scaring the kid into saying that he wanted to go home. And Kiros just told him that he would be better suited to being a normal soldier, because he was such a bully. Max, well, he took all three tacks on the last one."
"What happened there?" Rinoa bit at a nail.
"The little guy left, bawling," Lynne snorted, "But then came back the next year, and he's been almost a little angel since."
"Then why is he a last resort?"
"Because we want to lower the student to instructor ratio," Selphie giggled, "And having them come back only makes things worse!"
"Well," Rinoa smiled brightly, "Then I have good news for you all!"
"What?" Selphie leaned forward, anxious for the good news.
"The Headmasters of the other three Gardens, and Laguna all agreed to let me teach here even though I'm not a formal SeeD!"
~
Is that news as good as she thinks it is? ~Thus speaks one who believes that no circumstances would have gotten the SeeDs to change their policies regarding late entrée/graduation~