A/N: We have decided to start posting review responses on the bottom of each chapter, because they've been getting longer as the story progresses as well. What can we say? We love all of the reviews we receive and we want to thank every one of you and answer your questions. Remember, everyone is welcome to IM or send us emails (see our profile for our screen names/email address, as well as updates if you're interested in any of our other stories). We think that's about it. Thanks for putting up with our random babbling (wonder how many people completely skip over this part and go straight into the story…hehe) o
Oh, and sorry about the long delay. Umm, our Beta-Reader just got a job and she's been very busy, which we can totally understand. So, we'd like to thank Brian for offering to help us while she's unable. (Thanks bunches!)
Taming the Lion: Chapter 8
Selphie woke up the next morning feeling very refreshed and cheerful as well. She slipped into a pair of jeans and buttoned up a green shirt, leaving the top button undone. As she ran a bright pink brush through her hair, she knelt down beside her sleeping companion and rubbed the top of his head. "You ready to go do your business?" she smiled.
Rocks opened up a single eye and jumped up all at once, almost as if he had never actually been sleeping. "Yeah, yeah. I know you're excited, but you'll just have to wait buster," she laughed, running into her bathroom.
The dog followed behind and sat patiently behind her as she brushed her teeth. His tail thumped against the tile floor, keeping almost perfect time, and his tongue hung out of his mouth lopsidedly. Finally, Rocks decided that he was getting tired of waiting, so he stood up and pressed his wet nose against the back of his master's arm.
Selphie jumped and yelped in response to the wetness on her elbow. After spitting the toothpaste into the sink she turned and looked at the dog, "You goobered all over me, Rocks!" she laughed, running her arm under the faucet as well.
The golden retriever merely cocked his head to the side, and in a strange way it seemed as if he were smiling. "Alright. I know, I know, you want to go say hi to every tree in the Training Center….you'll just have to wait a little longer."
Rocks' ears drooped and he looked up at her, giving her the oh-so-evil puppy dog face that just so happened to be one of Selphie's tactics for getting things her way as well. And as a master of that tactic, Selphie knew just the way to overcome it: simply try not to look at it and give into the pity. As soon as she finished applying her mascara, she found that she couldn't bear it anymore.
"You are truly evil, you know that?" she laughed, strapping the leash to the dog's collar. Rocks barked in response and dragged her to the door.
For a few moments, she fumbled around on a table next to the door until she managed to grasp her keys; she then opened the door and shut off her lights upon exiting. While Selphie was supposed to be walking Rocks, it seemed as if he were walking her instead. Clearly, a dog with a mission, he was intent on making it to the Training Center.
The two weren't in there long before Rocks encountered a Grat and managed to tick it off just enough for it to cover him in a thin layer of 'gastric juice'. Needless to say, Rocks learned the hard way that Grats do not enjoy being marked territorially. He ran back to Selphie, ears down and tail between his legs, whimpering at her.
"I don't feel sorry for you. I'd do the same if you peed on me," she smiled. "But you will be itchy for a while. Gastric juice isn't very fun." Rocks seemed to be sulking. "Hey now, Mister, haven't you heard of the Golden Rule? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Now come on, I think you've had your fun."
Still, he seemed adamant on staying, even though he'd already done his business. She knew that she hadn't spent much time with him lately, so she picked up a stick from the ground and led the dog into a room specified for sparring and recreation, in other words: monster-less. This was also the room that Squall and Seifer had exchanged blows and scars in just a year earlier. Because it was relatively early, she didn't think anyone would be training yet, but she was wrong. A little boy, one of the younger Junior Classmen, was curled up in the fetal position, crying to himself.
Selphie stopped in her tracks and glanced down at Rocks, but he was already on the case. The dog made it over to the boy and began nudging him with his snout. With a sniffle, the boy lifted his head to look at the dog. Rocks promptly licked his face.
"Hi, doggy," the child whispered, hugging the golden retriever.
"Hello there," Selphie smiled, seating herself next to him. "What's wrong?"
The boy wiped his sleeve under his nose and quietly replied, "The T-Rexaur got a hold of the ball Granny gave me for Christmas."
Selphie felt her heart sink, she felt really bad for the child. She knew that most of the really young children that attended Garden were orphans. Not many parents would just send their five-year-old child to a military academy where they would spend most of their life learning magic and attacks. Not to mention the fact that most of the children lived in Garden, just like the Junior Classmen and SeeDs, and their tuition was paid by orphanages or charities.
She smiled at him in a friendly manner, "Ooh! At least it wasn't you!"
This didn't seem to help the kid at all, but it didn't matter because he seemed to be more taken with Rocks anyway. "Hey lady, is this your dog?"
"Yes. His name is Rocks!"
The child giggled as Rocks continued to lick his face. "I wish I had a dog."
Selphie smiled sadly and dropped the stick she was holding. Originally she was planning on playing fetch with him, but she knew she had things to do.
"I'll tell you what," she said in a friendly tone, "I have to go run some errands, would you mind watching him for me…uh…?" she paused for a second and looked at the boy, she wasn't sure what to call him.
"My name's Brian."
"Okay, Brian. You up for it?"
"Yeah!" he exclaimed.
"Thank you, I shouldn't be too long, but if you get bored or have somewhere to go, just leave him in this room and I'll come back for him as soon as I can."
"Okay," he beamed.
As Selphie exited the Training Center, she couldn't help but think, man, they seem to get younger and younger. That boy she had seen, she knew couldn't be much older than five. In Trabia Garden, you had to be at least thirteen to enroll; she thought it almost as bad as child labor to allow someone so young to start training as a mercenary. These thoughts distracted her so much that she bumped right into Xu.
"Hey, you need to learn to pay more attention," Xu laughed. "You tend to run blindly into so many people."
"Sorry, Xu. Just distracted, I guess…it was a long night, you know?"
"Wimp! We stayed on the balcony three hours after you left!"
"And you're getting ready to train? Are you even human!?"
"That's beside the point. Quistis was looking for you, she's in the library, said something about your detention."
"Oh, Hyne," Selphie mumbled and drug a hand down her face. "Was she able to get me out of it?"
"That I don't know. I have not spoken to Cid yet this morning."
Selphie sighed, "Okay, I better go find her then." As she ran for the library, she yelled, "Thanks Xu!" over her shoulder.
Smiling, Selphie ran past a huge group of students that were walking in the hall, "Booyaka!" she called out as a warning, ducking under several arms and legs as the students jumped out of her way. She rounded the corner into the library and finally skidded to a stop in front of the librarian's desk. All eyes were on her as she tried to catch her breath, and once this was accomplished, she looked up and waved at them, almost as if signaling them to go back to work.
Using her hands to steady herself against the wall, she glanced around. She couldn't see anyone she knew, most of the students in the library at this time of morning were the bookworms or students cramming last minute for an exam. However, she saw one thing that astonished her. A pile of books, that seemed to be twice Selphie's height, seemed to be walking in her direction.
"Selph? Is that you?" the pile of study material asked.
"It's an omen," the SeeD breathed, "but what could it mean?"
Quistis' head poked out from around all the books, "Get serious, this stack is getting really heavy."
"Well, gee Quisty. Why do you insist on checking out so many books at once?"
"They're for you," the instructor grunted and passed half of the stack to her cohort.
"Very funny, Quistis. You're making it sound like you actually expect me to read all of this."
"I do."
Selphie's eyes grew wide and she almost fell backwards, books and all. "You've gotta be kidding me! Do you want me to go into cardiac arrest?"
"How can you go into cardiac arrest by reading?"
"I'll…I'll…find a way."
"Okay, sure, while you think, take these to the librarian and ask her to start checking them out to you."
"No…that's okay Quisty, you do that…" she said slowly, inching her way around the taller girl. "I'll look for more books."
"Dr. Seuss does not count as study material."
"Quisty! I'm surprised at you! I've moved on to better authors than Dr. Seuss…"
"Name one."
"…I'm quite fond of Shel Silverstein…"
"Right Selphie. Go check these out and wait for me. I'll be there in a little bit."
Selphie grumbled a few incoherent things to herself as she lugged the gigantic pile of books back to the librarian, who in turn looked at Selphie in astonishment. "Wow, Ms. Tilmitt, I don't think you've ever checked this many books out at once. As a matter of fact, I think this is more books than you've ever checked out in your life."
"You're right, but you know what?" the petite girl leaned in closer to the librarian and said, "It's because of her. If you ever want a tutor for taking the A rank exam, do not ask for Quistis; she's out for blood."
"I heard that!"
"YOU HEAR EVERYTHING!" Selphie shouted over her shoulder. "When I whisper, even if you can hear me, you should pretend like you didn't! It's good manners!"
"Shh, please, this is a library," the girl laughed and began to check the books out to Selphie, and Selphie merely stood there, tapping her foot. It wasn't long before Quistis returned with another stack of books.
"Are these going under your name, Quistis?"
"Nope, under Selphie's."
Selphie at this point seemed completely emotionless. She stared blankly at the books as the librarian dragged them under the laser and typed things into her computer. One book, however, caught her attention. 'A Rank for Dummies' was its title.
"Oh, so I'm a dummy?!"
"I never said that!"
The next book that went under was, 'Are you Prepared? SeeD exam: Rank A'. "I don't like the look of these books, Quisty," she whined.
"Sorry."
With much difficulty, the librarian picked up the last book. It was so incredibly heavy, her tongue poked out of the side of her mouth as she dragged it under the laser. This book was called, 'The SeeD's Guide for Everything'.
"I'm going to die, and then you'll feel really bad," Selphie finally said.
"No you won't. And if you do, I'll be the one to suffer the consequences. It wasn't easy talking you out of your detention, you know? Cid would not be very pleased with me if you were to pass away before you actually took the exam."
"Oh, ha ha. Very funny. I just want to let you know that I don't like you, or anyone else for that matter at the moment." Grunting from the effort, both of the girls picked up a stack of books each and walked out of the library facility.
"Where are we putting these?"
"In your dorm, where else?"
"One problem, Quisty. They'll never fit," Selphie grunted. Those books were heavy, and every step made her feel as if she was getting closer and closer to the ground. Tiny beads of perspiration slid down from her temple as the two worked their way down the hall.
Despite being laden down with what seemed to be well over half of Selphie's body weight in books, the two managed to struggle their way to the girls' dorms. Immediately upon arrival in her room, Selphie dropped all of the books into a heap on the floor and leapt over them, before settling herself on the bed.
"No, Selphie. We do not treat books this way, especially when they do not belong to us," Quistis sighed, placing her stack on Selphie's desk, then stooping to pick up the books scattered pathetically on the floor.
"What's with the plural usage? We may not treat books like that, but I do, so there!" she yelled, sticking out her tongue.
The blond instructor sighed exasperatedly and searched through the gargantuan pile of books before pulling one out. "Okay, before anything, you need to read this," she stated, throwing it into Selphie's lap.
"What is it?" It was a stupid question, she knew, because on the black leather cover it had written 'SeeD Handbook' in bright red letters.
"That is the handbook, my copy of it. I have highlighted everything you need to know."
"Wow! That's handy! So, all I have to do is read what's highlighted? Thanks!" Selphie beamed and anxiously opened the thick book and her expression immediately dropped. Unbelieving, she flipped through the pages, but it was the same on every page. Almost every sentence had a bright yellow glow around it. "Hyne Quisty! You might as well have highlighted the whole book!"
"I only highlighted what was important."
Selphie stared in awe at the book some more, then turned it to face the instructor, who had also seated herself on the bed. "Yes, I know. It's all very important."
"Gah! You have got to be kidding me!" she griped.
"If you would actually look at what I've highlighted, you will see that you probably already know most of it."
"That is beside the point!! You tell me that I have a week to prepare for this exam, then you give me an entire mini-library for me to study!?"
"I suppose you're right. Okay, how about this. I'll go through the books and pull out all the unnecessary ones, that way you only need to study the important material.. I'll call someone over and have him or her turn the others back into the library. Deal?"
Selphie didn't say anything.
"But, if I do this, that means you have to read all of the left over books."
"…Okay…"
With a smile, Quistis began to sort through the pile while Selphie boringly flipped through the SeeD Handbook. It wasn't long before there were two piles of books, and thankfully, the majority of them was to be taken back to the library. "Now…who to call?" Quistis thought aloud, tapping her lip all the while.
"Oh, how about Renee?" Selphie suggested, looking up from the book. "Was Seifer able to get her out of detention?"
"Maybe…let's check, shall we?" The blond walked over to the pink, fuzzy phone and picked it up. Selphie kept all of her friends' numbers on Post-It notes, which were evenly distributed around her phone. After scanning the vicinity around the telephone, Quistis' eyes finally landed on Renee's number and she hurriedly dialed it.
The phone range twice before it was picked up. "Yeah?" came Renee's faint reply. It was apparent that Quistis had awoken her.
"Sorry to bother you Renee, but do you know if Seifer was able to get you out of your detention?"
Quistis could hear Renee yawn then there was a brief pause before suddenly Renee shouted, "Aw shoot!" Lots of scrambling could be heard. "Why doesn't anyone tell me what time it is? I've overslept, and even if I don't have detention I'm in big trouble… I'll be late again. Gah!"
Despite all Quistis' efforts of trying to gain Renee's attention again, the transfer student continued to get ready quickly, mumbling to herself. "Wait a minute! Quistis, hold on! I have a message on my answering machine."
The instructor heard a beeping sound that obviously meant Renee was checking her messages. "You have one new message," the mechanic voice stated.
"Hey, Renee. It's Seifer. I tried and tried to get you out of detention, but Cid wanted some sort of trade off, either you had detention or you had to do something else. I hope you don't mind, but I told him you'd be helping Quistis tutor Selphie. It got you out of detention…"
Another beep resonated, signifying that Renee had turned off the machine. "Well, you heard the man. It sounds like I'm helping you two!"
At this point, Quistis was laughing quietly to herself. "Heavy sleeper, huh?"
"Normally I'm not that bad, but we were up late last night."
"Yeah, I know."
"Anyway, I'll be over there in a jiffy. I'm just goin' to grab some food."
"Oh, well if that's the case, if you don't mind, would you mind picking up some books and dropping them off at the library for us? We got too many."
"No problem. How many books are we looking at?"
"Uh…well, get Seifer's help if you can. We're looking at about…" Quistis glanced at the desk, "Around twenty."
"Twenty!!?"
"And they're big books too!" Selphie yelled from her bed.
With another laugh, Quistis said, "It would help us out, and give you and Seifer time together."
"Well, of course I was going to do it anyway. But that is bonus. I'll be there once I'm done getting ready. See ya!"
"Alright, see ya." Smiling, Quistis put the phone back down. "Well, she's out of detention, she's going to help you study too."
"Oh, that's great! It'll be like a party!"
"No, it won't. Because we can't afford for you to fail this test."
"You don't ever let me have any fun!" she yelled, trying her best to sound like a teenage girl fighting with her mother.
Quistis rolled her eyes, "Maybe, but that'll be decided later. Now," she started, pulling the handbook from Selphie's hands and replacing it with a folder full of papers, "I made you a study guide. These are some questions that could show up on the test. But they will not prepare you for the final question. The final question depends completely on you."
"Okay, now you're starting to creep me out," the small SeeD said, wide-eyed.
With glee, Quistis slapped her leg, "Don't worry! You'll be perfectly fine!"
"Please say you'll be the one giving the test. Please! Puh-leeese!!?"
"No, I'm sorry. Cid won't authorize for anyone but him or Matron to give the Rank A exam."
At this last statement, Selphie's jaw dropped. "Is it that hard?" her voice came out thin, almost as a squeak.
"It's…challenging…"
"That's not a direct answer!!" she shouted. "Yes or no?! You've taken it! I haven't!"
Quistis merely smiled wryly.
"Fine, if you won't answer me, I'll ask Squall. He'll give me a direct answer."
"He's so blunt, all he can give is a direct answer," the instructor laughed.
"You're mean," Selphie pouted and stuck out her tongue.
Shrugging, the blond smiled and opened up the handbook she had taken from Selphie. "Alright. Now, what is the most important thing a SeeD must know?"
As Selphie opened her mouth to answer, she came to the conclusion that she would much rather be serving her detention than studying for this exam. Bite the bullet, she told herself, it'll turn out for the best.
Eyes still threatening to shut, Rinoa trudged into the kitchen of the cafeteria to see Roxanne lying with her head on a wooden table. From the looks of it, the redhead was just as tired as she was, because she could hear light snoring coming from the girl. Tiredly, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stared blankly at the sink, hoping to keep herself awake.
A loud bang came from behind the door, causing Rinoa to jump and Roxanne to stir and lift her head. The two girls watched the door intently to see Sae and Arisu stumble in, falling over each other.
"You klutz!" Sae yelled at Arisu, who had landed Sae's back. With a grunt, the brunette managed to push her friend off, the two got up and dusted themselves off, and sat at the table as well. When Sae's eyes drifted over to Roxanne she almost fell out of her chair. The redhead's nose was swollen, purple, and covered with a huge bandage. Selphie had managed to break her nose!
When Roxanne saw her looking she gave Sae the most nasty look she could muster, so she averted her gaze elsewhere.
"I wonder where Nida is…" Arisu muttered to Sae as she took a seat.
"Guess he isn't here yet."
The group of four sat in silence until a lunch lady came into the room. She looked around and sighed, "Your supervisor isn't here yet?"
In unison, they all shook their heads. "Okay. Then I'll tell you what you need to do. Right now you are in charge of doing the dishes. We'll need someone to wash them, and someone to dry them. The other two need to put them away."
"Who's going to do what?" Rinoa asked, trying to sound polite.
The lunch lady thought for a moment. "You, dearie," she said, grabbing Roxanne by the shoulder and steering her to the sink, "you wash them." Roxanne groaned and slammed her fist of perfectly manicured nails against the counter. "And you, the one in blue," she pointed to Rinoa, "you dry them."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Suck up..." Arisu muttered, glaring at Rinoa. The lunch lady took one last look at everyone, then she gasped.
"Oh! I almost forgot. You are all required to put these on." From the pocket of her apron she pulled out four hairnets and walked through the doors.
"No way!" Roxanne yelled, "I will not wear that!"
"Oh, come on Roxy," Sae rolled her eyes, "your hair could use a little flattening." Arisu laughed and steadied herself against the table to keep from collapsing in a fit of giggles.
Roxanne scrunched her nose up, grabbed the liquid dish soap and squirted the entire bottle at the two girls. However, her aim wasn't true, and most of the soap ended up on the floor. Angrily, Arisu walked around the puddle of liquid soap and just as she was getting ready to pummel Roxanne, the door swung open and Nida walked in.
"Hi girls…" he smiled and waved jollily.
"Wait! Nida! Watch out!" Without knowing it, the young man was walking right for puddle of soap, but he had no idea why everyone was yelling at him. Suddenly, his foot came in contact with something slippery, but before his brain could process what was actually happening, he was on the ground staring up at four faces.
"I told you to watch out," Rinoa sighed, but she was still smiling. Arisu offered him a hand and with Sae's help, managed to get him off of the ground.
"Look, I know it's impossible for me to ask all of you not to fight, because it's in your guys' nature. But, all I'm asking is for you to please keep it down, I'm hoping to catch up on sleep." Roxanne stared in awe as Nida walked to the table, still clutching his head, and laid his head down. It wasn't very long before his snoring was heard.
The tension in the room grew; it was so thick that not even Squall could chop it in half with his gunblade. Lips pursed and scowling, Roxanne bent down and cleaned the soap up off of the floor so that no one else would slip, then everyone awaited the first load of dishes.
In no time at all, it seemed as if a steady flow of plates, bowls, and utensils were coming in from the cafeteria, and everyone was busy with their jobs. While Roxanne scrubbed at the dishes and Rinoa dried them, Sae and Arisu struggled to keep up with the pace by putting them in their respected places.
Fights broke out over the smallest things, though everyone tried to keep them quiet so as not to wake Nida.
"You missed a spot," Sae pointed to a frying pan that Roxanne had spent about five minutes scrubbing.
"Oh, did I?" she asked, picking it up. Then the redhead held it over her head in a fashion that made it seem like she was threatening to hit it over the girl's head.
"Cut it out, Roxanne," Rinoa sighed, shoving a plate she had been drying a little too hard into Arisu's stomach.
"I swear to Hyne, you do that one more time and my foot is going up your ass!" Arisu grumbled, raising a fist as if to emphasize her statement.
The little brawls went on for about an hour, until Nida had awoken to the sound of someone's skull coming in contact with a skillet. He opened a sleepy eye to see Sae and Arisu ganging up on Roxanne, who was defending herself with the guilty skillet, Rinoa was off in the distance ignoring the entire entourage.
"Listen, Ms. Priss. I'm sick to death of listening to your complaining! None of us want to be here, but you're not making the experience any more pleasant!" Arisu was screaming.
"No kidding!" Sae agreed
Nida stood up and plucked the pan from the redhead's hands. "Who hit who with the skillet and why?" he asked, tiredly. No one said anything. "I'm not playing games! This is serious!" Sae and Arisu pointed to Roxanne whose face was growing a bright red to match her vibrant hair. "Who did you hit?"
"She started it!" she bellowed, pointing an accusing finger at Sae.
"Did you hit her?"
"Yes. But sir! She punched-" Nida waved his hand dismissively.
"Apparently I'm not going to get any sleep if you aren't separated," he sighed. "Okay. That's a simple enough task." He disappeared deeper into the kitchen where all of the lunch ladies were busy cooking.
While he was gone the girls traded death glares with one another. Arisu sat on the ground and crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly. "This sucks," she finally announced.
"Are you going to do any work at all?" Rinoa asked. "You're supposed to washing the dishes…"
Roxanne turned up her nose and went back to the sink to continue her job.
The four worked in bitter silence until Nida reappeared. "Okay. Sae, Arisu, get yourselves up to the second floor classroom."
"Why-?"
"Your detentions have been reassigned. The teacher for the newbie junior classmen is out sick today, and you two are to substitute."
"But! We don't have a teaching license!" Sae exclaimed.
"They're five year olds, they read books and finger paint," Nida smiled.
"…Yeah, because finger painting is a skill that all SeeDs must acquire…" Sae muttered sarcastically.
"Damn straight!"
"I hate children! I'm not good with them!" Arisu whined and got down on her knees in a pleading manner. "Please, Nida! I'd rather scrub toilets than watch a group of five year olds!"
"Sorry, we already have people doing that for us. Now go, Cid wants you two up there pronto."
Looking very much like two people walking down death row, the girls shuffled out of the kitchen. Of course, they could always consider skipping their detention entirely, but unlike other students who could possibly be kicked out of Garden, Cid would probably end up raising their SeeD rank as punishment.
"I can't believe it, out of all things to do for detention…teaching the newbies?"
"Lighten up a little," Sae laughed, "It can't be too bad. I'm actually pretty good when it comes to kids."
At this statement, Arisu scoffed, "Yeah, well why don't we just brag about it?"
"I will!" the brunette declared, sticking her tongue out sarcastically.
"Selphie! I'm so proud of you! You're working so hard!" Quistis exclaimed upon entering Selphie's dorm again. She had gone to teach a class and told Selphie to study while she was gone. Renee was sitting on the floor close by the desk, lying on her stomach and reading a magazine. She looked up from whatever article she had been reading, glanced at Selphie and tried to suppress a laugh, then went back to reading.
"That's because I'm a good student…" the girl said uneasily, trying her best to cover up her 'work' without being too conspicuous.
"Let's see how you're doing."
"Naw…you don't want to look at this Quistis!"
"Yes, I do!"
"No, you don't."
"I'd trust Selphie with that, you don't want to see it," Renee giggled, sitting up.
Quistis furrowed her eyebrows and reached over Selphie's shoulder to grab the paper she had been writing on, but Selphie grabbed the other end. "Let go, Selphie! I just want to see your progress!"
"No, you let go Quisty! You're going to rip it, then what'll I study?!"
"Let…me…see!!" with a great heave, she managed to wrestle half of the paper away from the smaller girl.
"Oh, sure, I get the innocent looking half," Selphie sighed, dropping it and allowing the paper to waft back down onto the table. "Look, Quistis. I was trying to study, I really was! But I got sidetracked…"
The blond instructor wasn't sure whether she should laugh or yell at what she was seeing. Selphie had definitely gotten sidetracked; because on the bottom half of her notes was a nice little picture she had drawn all by herself. It showed a gigantic stack of books, very thick books at that. At the very top of the pile was a stick figure grinning wickedly and cracking a whip, and below the pile, apparently being crushed, was another stick person with giant rivers of tears streaming from her eyes. To tell the truth, the instructor probably would have had a hard time figuring out what it all had meant had Selphie not included labels for everything.
By the top figure was a label and an arrow pointing to it that said 'Big Fat Meanie Quistis'. Pointing below her was an arrow that said 'Stupid Books', and lastly, an arrow pointing to the pitiful person on the bottom of it all said 'Poor Me'.
"Well, this is…interesting…" Quistis sighed.
"So you're not mad?" Selphie beamed.
"I never said that…"
Looking every which way, Selphie finally pointed an accusing finger at the girl seated on the floor, "Renee added the devil horns!" Quistis looked down at Renee, but she was already pretending to be fixated on an article about a new weapon that had been designed in Esthar.
"Okay, whatever. How far did you get before you became distracted?"
Shrugging, Selphie handed Quistis her half of the paper that had actual work on it. Quistis scanned the paper from over her ovular shaped glasses and finally sighed, set the paper down on the desk and rubbed her temples. Selphie had managed to answer a grand total of three questions while the instructor had taught a forty-five minute class.
Noticing Quistis' look, Selphie immediately jumped up to defend herself. "Look, Quisty, I'm tired. I've been studying all day; don't you think you could give me a break? I mean, you let me take one break for lunch, and at that, you gave me roughly twenty minutes to run down to the cafeteria, eat, and make it back up here so that I could continue studying!!"
"It's part of your training. You need to be able to successfully take orders and follow them, no matter how ridiculous they seem at the time," the instructor stated, matter-of-factly.
"Come on! Loosen up!" Selphie grumbled, burying her nose back into 'A Rank for Dummies'.
"Selphie has a good point, Quisty. You have been working her really hard today. Don't you think it's enough for one day?" Renee asked, standing up and placing the magazine back on Selphie's cluttered desk.
With a sigh, Quistis flicked her shoes off of her feet and sat on Selphie's bed, cross-legged. "Okay, Selphie. Obviously you don't want to do this, and I'm sorry for getting you involved in it. But Cid expects you to take this test now, and I worked so hard to convince him that you are Rank A material, he actually pulled you from your detention after you broke Roxanne's nose!!"
"It's broken!!?"
"…Yes…let me finish."
Selphie looked down at the floor, face bright red. "I didn't mean to hurt her…" she muttered.
"Anyway, he has faith in you, a lot apparently because it isn't easy to convince him of anything."
"But I got out of the detention and I'm not even planning on taking the test…" Renee said slowly, tapping her lip. "Not only that…I kinda helped start the entire fight…"
"Yeah, I'm not sure how Seifer managed to convince Cid to relieve you from your detention…but I'm sure the fact that you just transferred benefited you more than anything. But it just goes to show that either Seifer has a good handle on him, or Cid is scared spitless of Seifer." Renee beamed at this last thought. "But, Selphie…" she continued, "If you don't do your damnedest to pass this test, I'm going to be the one who gets reprimanded…"
The girl shuffled her feet, "I know, and I'll try. But you need lighten up a little, okay?"
"I will not allow you to slack off! I don't want to sound mean, but your commanding officer is not going to 'lighten up' on you during a mission. Do you understand where I'm coming from?"
"Yes," Selphie sighed.
Renee pulled a chair over and set it next to the bed, so she could communicate easier. "So, what're we doing now?"
"Let's quiz her," Quistis suggested. "I'll ask the questions and Renee, you check the answers."
"Whoa, wait a minute. I'm not planning on becoming a Rank A SeeD, I know just as much about this stuff as Selphie."
"I guess you have a point," Quistis rubbed the side of her face as she thought, "I have an idea. Didn't you say that you wanted to raise your rank?"
"I was thinking of it…but the next test is too soon."
"Well, you can use this as your alibi to Cid. Tell him that you're studying for your next exam and go do whatever you want," she beamed.
"Quistis! You rebel!" both Selphie and Renee said simultaneously.
"I would never expect to hear such words come from your mouth!"
With a laugh, Quistis added, "Yeah, well just don't tell Cid and no one will ever know I said it."
"I like the way you think," Renee laughed. "But I'm going to stick around here a bit longer. Or at least until dinnertime."
"Oh, speaking of which, I was thinking of having someone bring us dinner up here so that we can study more," Quistis said as if it were an excellent plan. Selphie, on the other hand, felt like beating her head against the nearest solid surface.
"You have got to be kidding. You might as well put me under house arrest, my God!"
"You know, Selphie, that sounds like a good idea…" Quistis grinned evilly.
Selphie glared at Quistis with utmost loathing. If looks could kill, Quistis' appendages would have been ripped off, decimated, then burned, while what remained of her body would be cut into bite size pieces, fed to the Grats and peed on by the T-Rexaur.
Quistis shivered under that look. "Sheez, it was just a joke." Still, Selphie's glare didn't change, so the instructor sighed. "Well, how about this, if whomever we send to fetch dinner needs help with carrying it or something, then I'll send you. Deal?"
Selphie pretended to think about it. She had already formulated a plan to make absolutely sure that whomever was sent would have to ask for assistance. She smiled a slightly evil smile, which instantly sent chills down the blonde's spine. "Deal!"
Squall was just standing up to dump his tray into the trash bin when the cell phone at his hip rang. Everyone who had been enjoying his or her dinner in the cafeteria watched him as he brought the device up to his ear.
"Yeah?"
"Hey, Squall, it's Quistis. Will you do me a favor?"
"What?"
"Well, you see, we've been in Selphie's dorm studying all day and we were wondering if you'd bring us up some dinner?"
"We'll pay you back, of course!" Renee's voice added in.
"Sure, I don't care…" he said, dumping the food from his tray into the trash and then placing it on the counter for the lunch ladies to wash. "What do you guys want?"
"I want a turkey sandwich with lettuce and no cheese!" Renee yelled.
"I think I'm leaning more in the direction of a salad…" he heard Quistis say slowly. "How about you, Selph?"
While Selphie thought, Squall walked over to a lunch lady who didn't have a line and started to order. "I want a turkey sandwich with lettuce and no cheese…a salad…"
"What kind of dressing?" the elderly woman asked.
"What kind of dressing, Quistis?" he asked into the phone.
"Fat-free Ranch!"
"Fat-free Ranch…" he repeated to the lunch lady.
She smiled and pressed it into the computer. "Anything else?"
"Selphie, have you decided yet?"
"Um…" her voice came from the phone. "I think I'll have some pepperoni pizza…"
"Pepperoni pizza…" he told the lunch lady, but as soon as the words escaped his lips Quistis was shrieking in his ear.
"Don't order that! She needs brain food! Did you order it already!?"
"Can I take that order back?"
The cafeteria woman shook her head, "They're already making it in the kitchen."
"Get her a salad!" Quistis continued.
"No way! I'm not eating a salad! Yuck!"
"Brain food, Selph. Brain food!" You're studying for an important exam!"
"I don't care! If you want me to live through the next few days of studying, you'll let me get what I want!"
Squall sighed and continued to listen to the argument. The lunch lady was looking at him expectantly.
"She's trying to decide…" he whispered, pointing to his phone.
"It's fattening and unhealthy!" Quistis continued, "Order something else!"
"Look at this!" Selphie yelled, and Squall heard everyone in her dorm gasp.
"Put your shirt down, Selph!" Renee exclaimed.
"What the-," Squall mumbled, his eyes widened. What the hell were they doing!?
"Good God! They shouldn't poke out like that, Selph!"
"That's what I've been saying!"
"Okay, Squall, you still there?" Quistis asked.
The commander managed a very awkward, "Yeah…" He didn't know why he was still there. The conversation was getting way too awkward for him.
"Get this child a tub of lard to eat, Hyne!"
"Ewww! That's gross, Quisty!"
"How about a steak…?" Renee added in.
The lunch lady cleared her throat as if reminding Squall that she was still waiting.
"No…I want…Ramen!"
"Ramen…" he sighed, looking at the agitated woman.
"Flavor?" she asked.
By this point, Squall felt like hitting his head against something hard. He knew that this would just take longer.
"What flavor, Selphie?" he sighed into his cell.
"Let's see…miso? No…um, chicken! Naw…that's what I had last time."
Everything she was saying, Squall spewed out to the cafeteria lady. He knew that he was racking up the price, but the damn lunch lady wouldn't let him take the orders back!"
"Oriental…?" she continued.
"Hurry up and make your decision!" Renee laughed, "I'm hungry!"
"Fine! I'll just have the pizza!" she sighed exasperatedly.
By this point, Squall had most likely ordered about five bowls of different flavors of ramen, and in the end, she went with her original order. Pizza. Not only was the lunch lady fed up with his 'pokiness', but he was sure that he had dodged something aimed at his head at one point, coming from the kitchen.
"Your total comes to thirty gil."
"WHAT!?"
"Please wait for your food."
Squall reached into his billfold and pulled out the money. It wasn't as if he couldn't afford it, but thirty gil was a lot for dinner at Garden. He handed the currency over to the elderly woman and in return, a few moments later she and another lunch lady brought him two trays of food.
They must have seen the look on his face because one of them said, "You ordered it, you carry it."
"Guess what?" he said into his phone. "They're making me take all of the food you ordered, and I don't have enough hands to carry it all alone."
"YEAH!" Selphie exclaimed, "I'm on it!"
"Well…she was excited…" Renee laughed.
"Congratulations, Squall. You've made her day," Quistis giggled as well.
Meanwhile back in the kitchen, Rinoa and Roxanne were working their hardest to keep up with demands. Apparently, they weren't washing dishes fast enough, so the lunch ladies came in and took over that job. Instead, they were supposed to help prepare the meals.
Rinoa was stirring a big pot full of chili so that it wouldn't burn or stick to the bottom, while Roxanne bustled here and there, looking around for ingredients to add. And, much to Rinoa's dislike, the redhead hadn't shut up for the entire detention.
She knew that detentions weren't supposed to be pleasant, but she also knew they weren't meant to torture the student serving them. Roxanne talked about a number of different things, each and every one of them got more and more on the brunette's nerves. But one in particular was really starting to anger her.
"And that Selphie girl. Just because she's in the group that supposedly 'saved the planet' she thinks she can get away with anything she wants!"
"You know, I was in that group too," Rinoa said quietly.
Roxanne pretended like she hadn't heard her. "Then you've got that anal retentive instructor. My God! She's always getting on my case, just because I forget an assignment or two…"
That anal retentive teacher you speak of just so happens to be one of my best friends, Rinoa thought bitterly.
"And don't get me started on the high and mighty 'Mr. Commander!' He's even worse than that little Tilmitt girl! I swear! What a dog!"
By this point, Rinoa was so fed up with listening to Roxanne insult her friends like that; even if she hadn't spoken to some of them in a while, she was not going to stand by and let Roxanne say any more horrible things. She pulled the wooden spoon from the chili and with a gasp spun, letting the hot food fly onto Roxanne's shirt.
"Rinoa!" she screamed angrily.
"I'm so sorry," Rinoa said in a breathy voice, yet making sure that her sarcasm was noticeable. "There was a mouse, and it startled me…"
Roxanne glowered at her; she knew what the brunette had really been thinking. "Do you not trust me? I'm the one who saw him leave her room!"
"You have no right to say those things about them. You don't know any of them!"
"So then, you are going to actually believe her? Fine, whatever, be naïve, I don't really care," the redhead sneered, folding her arms across her chest.
Rinoa returned the same look and threw the spoon at her. Without looking behind her, she walked over to the nearest cafeteria lady. "Can I work somewhere else?"
Having been around for many detentions, the woman knew what had most likely happened and said, "They're grilling the hotdogs over there, if you want to do that."
Rinoa nodded and thanked her. Then, she walked as far away from Roxanne as possible. "That girl's words are poisonous," she growled to herself. "I feel like such an ass. Now I know I have to talk to Selphie…" she sighed. The only problem was actually talking to her, especially now that Rinoa was embarrassed to admit that she should have trusted Selphie and Squall all along.
"I'm heeere!" Selphie exclaimed, jumping into the cafeteria. She looked around until she finally saw Squall. She beamed and bounded over to him.
"Well, you've got a lot of pent up energy."
"I've been in my dorm almost all day, what do you expect?"
Squall shrugged and Selphie picked up the other tray that was waiting for her. "It's a good thing that the dorms aren't too far away, otherwise these would've gotten cold," she smiled.
As they walked out, Selphie started laughing again. No doubt she was really happy, apparently he had saved her from almost sure house arrest. "Man, and Quistis actually expected me to eat a salad! Ew! That is so gross. I don't like anything green…to eat that is. Do you know how I convinced her to let me get something else?"
Actually, the commander had been curious, but he was still almost afraid to know what she had done. Renee's exclamation of 'Put your shirt down, Selph!' was still imprinted into his brain.
"I showed them my hip bones! You wanna see too!? I don't know whether they're gross or cool, but they stick straight out!"
"Your hipbones?" he tried not to laugh, but couldn't hold it. Hipbones would have been the last thing he guessed after hearing the conversation from the wrong side of the phone.
"Yeah! You wanna see? They're pure bone!"
Selphie awkwardly tried to balance the tray in one hand so that she could lift her shirt up just slightly to show off her hip. Sure enough, her hipbones jutted out in front of her in a very odd fashion.
"Is that healthy?" he asked.
"Well, I feel fine. And it isn't like I don't eat. I'm just…"
"Unbelievably skinny?" he finished for her.
"Yeah!" she beamed, then she changed subjects completely. "Hey, do you mind if we run to the Training Center? I left Rocks there with a little boy this morning, and Quistis hasn't been very good about letting me out of the dorm."
"This morning?"
"Yeah, he was upset and Rocks cheered him up. Besides, Rocks didn't want to leave, so I told him that he could play with Rocks if he wanted to."
"That dog has been in the Training Center almost all day?" he asked, wide eyed.
"Well, yeah, but when you say it in that tone, it gets me worried. Oh no! What if Rocks was eaten!? And the little boy!?" she exclaimed.
"Calm down, we'll go check on them."
"The food'll get cold!"
"Eat your pizza while we walk. The turkey sandwich and salad are already cold. I'm just worried about what we're going to do with all this ramen."
"I have a plan," she smiled.
From then on out, every person that they approached Selphie would ask, "Would you like some ramen?"
It was a good thing for them that ramen tasted so darn good, because they managed to get rid of it pretty quickly. But when they were getting ready to walk into the Training Center, Squall noticed something happening ahead. It appeared that someone was being pulled out of the fountain in the center of the walkway and put onto a stretcher.
Squall and Selphie glanced at each other, then forgetting all notions of what they were originally going to do, ran over to see what was going on. When they got there, they saw a frantic Kadowaki putting a bloody body on a stretcher, but whoever it was, seemed to be struggling against her.
Selphie covered her mouth with her hand, almost as if stopping a scream. The person looked back and they both automatically recognized her to be Arisu. "Selphie, help me!" she said.
"What happened!?"
Desperately, Arisu continued to struggle against Kadowaki and a team of SeeDs who were all trying to hold her against the stretcher. "Tell them that I'm okay!"
"You're not okay! What happened to her, Kadowaki!?"
"We aren't sure," the doctor answered, tiredly. "Cid found her, as he put it, 'floating in the fountain'."
"But I'm not hurt! I'm fine! See, I'll get up! I can walk!"
"Oh dear, the poor child's delusional."
The SeeDs pushed her down a second time and started to lead her off.
"Selphie!!! Help!!" Arisu lifted her head and yelled.
The two traded glances again and followed behind, anxious to find out what happened. As they were nearing the infirmary, Sae came running around a corner and nearly ran head on into one of the SeeDs carrying the stretcher.
"No…wait…Kadowaki!" she said, between gasps for breath. "You…have it…all wrong…" but before she could finish what she was about to say, she collapsed.
Kadowaki looked at Squall. "Squall, would you please…" He knew what she was going to ask, so before the doctor even finished her statement, he bent down and picked Sae up and carried her to the infirmary as well.
Kadowaki and her crew carefully transferred the still complaining Arisu to an infirmary bed. "Get me some wet towels," she called to one of her assistants, "we need to find out where the bleeding is coming from!! Squall, just set Sae in that chair over there. Is she conscious?"
Selphie glanced at her friend; Sae was indeed blinking and looking around confusedly. "She's conscious," she announced.
"Good, good…" Kadowaki said quickly. A SeeD ran into the room with some wet towels and immediately, the doctor started wiping the blood from Arisu. "Sae, can you tell me what happened exactly?"
"Well…" she started slowly, but Dr. Kadowaki interrupted her.
"This isn't blood!" she exclaimed, staring down at the towel. After examining it for a big, she yelled, "It's paint!"
"I told you! I'm fine!" Arisu yelled.
Kadowaki rolled her eyes and threw the towels down at her. "That sure gave me a scare. Clean that paint off of your skin." Then she walked out, shaking her head.
Selphie wasn't sure whether to laugh or let out a gigantic sigh of relief. She really had thought something horrible had happened to Arisu. "So what happened?"
"I'm going to kill Nida," Arisu grumbled.
"Oh, were you his latest art project?" Selphie giggled.
"No! He made us substitute for the newbies!"
"Oh…" Squall said. He knew that couldn't have been very much fun.
"It wasn't that bad…" Sae laughed.
"That's what she thinks!" Arisu continued, still wiping the red paint from her arms. "While her half of the kids sat on one side of the room reading 'The Lorax', I was trying to keep my kids from tearing the pages out of the books! While they were finger painting, I was dodging paintballs!"
"They were five years old," Sae shook her head, though she was still smiling.
"They were demonic children. I thought it was just my half of the classroom, so we switched…" Arisu said, then she paused as if recalling a painful memory. "I think Sae's half was worse!"
"I'm good with kids," Sae beamed. "I just don't particularly like them."
"Well, gee, you sure gave us quite the scare. I thought you had been mauled by some monster."
"I might as well have been!" Arisu screamed.
"What were you doing in the fountain?" Squall asked.
"I felt dirty! I needed to wash some of the paint off, and I was so tired I didn't want to go all the way to my dorm," the blond whined.
"But then Cid saw her 'floating', went into hysterics and called Kadowaki. I tried to cut her off and stop her before she made it to where we were, but I ran in the wrong direction. By the time I got there, Kadowaki had already loaded her onto the stretcher…and you guys know the rest."
Selphie was laughing really hard at this point. "You don't like children? What a shame!"
"Don't laugh! It isn't funny!" Arisu exclaimed, throwing the now red towel at Selphie's head. "I could have died."
"At the hands of five year olds?" Selphie continued to laugh.
"They're being trained to become mercenaries one day, aren't they?!"
Arisu's last point had been a good one, so Selphie had straightened back up. "Okay, are you ready to go to the Training Center?" she asked Squall. He nodded.
"The Training Center, huh?" an all-too-familiar voice said from behind.
If Selphie had been a turtle, she would have crawled inside her shell. "Quistis?"
"So, you were planning on ditching studying?"
"No! I was going to pick up Rocks! He's been in the Training Center all day!"
Renee came up from behind Quistis. "Jeez, you run fast Quisty!" she exclaimed, then looked at the bedded girls. "What happened to you two?" she asked.
"Oh, it was horrible!…" Arisu began.
Quistis took the dinner tray from Squall, grabbed Selphie by the back of the shirt and began dragging her back out of the infirmary. "You know what, Quisty? You sure haven't been very nice lately," Selphie said. She had managed to get Quistis to let go of her and she was walking beside the instructor. Both were carrying the trays.
Quistis smiled softly, "You know I don't mean to be, but I am a strict teacher. And you'll have to put up with that until after the Rank A exam."
"I don't want to take the stupid exam," she grumbled.
"I know, I know…"
As they were walking back to the dorms, Selphie realized that Squall was still back in the infirmary. Or, at least, wherever he was, he sure wasn't anywhere near her and Quistis.
"Wait for me, you two!" Renee exclaimed. Quistis and Selphie stopped and Renee finally caught up with them. "Those two girls are something, aren't they?"
"Definitely," Quistis agreed.
"I think this is their best story yet. It ranks up there with them knocking Nida out with the barbell!" she laughed.
Selphie joined her in laughter, and added, "Well, Nida better watch out, because I'm sure that if Arisu was able, she would knock him out with something much bigger than a barbell. It would be an entire dumbbell! He's the one who made them substitute teach for detention."
The three finally made it back to Selphie's dorm, and they all sat on the floor and began to eat.
"Yum, there's nothing I like better than cold pizza," Selphie said, sarcastically.
"It's your fault, you're the one who was trying to spend as much time with Squall as possible," Renee teased.
"I did not!" Selphie yelled, defensively, "…Okay, so maybe that was half of the reason that it took so long. But, Hyne, if you saw what you thought to be a bloody body being pulled out of the Garden fountain, what would you two have done?!"
Quistis shrugged and Renee smiled and nudged Selphie with her elbow. "Excuses, excuses…"
"Oh yeah, that's it."
She turned the television on and started flipping through the channels, before landing on a cartoon. "You're seventeen, Selph. You shouldn't still be watching cartoons," Quistis stated.
"Correction: I'm sixteen, Quisty, and who made up that stupid rule anyway?"
"Oh yeah, Nida told me all about that. I'm surprised at you, Selphie."
The smaller SeeD shrugged and pretended to be engrossed in an old rerun of 'Tom and Jerry'. There wasn't any talking between the three for a while, until there was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it," Selphie said, chewing up the last bite of her pizza. She walked over to the door and opened it up and was automatically jumped on by a dog. "Surprise," Squall said, with a hint of a smile on his face.
"Rocks! Hey boy! How're you?" she exclaimed petting the dog. Rocks was standing over her and was already attacking her with slobbery doggy kisses. "And you have another visitor," Squall announced.
He looked over to his side but she couldn't see anyone. After she managed to push the dog off of her, she stood up and looked in the hallway and it seemed empty. "Who is it?"
Squall looked shook his leg a bit and said, "You can come on out, she won't bite you." From behind one of his pant legs a head peaked out. It was the same little boy from earlier that morning. "Hi, Brian!" she smiled, rubbing the hair on his head. "Thank you so much for taking such good care of Rocks for me!"
"You're welcome…" he said, blushing and hiding his head behind Squall again.
"I don't know why he's so shy," Squall shook his head.
"You were the same way when you were little," Selphie laughed. "You used to hide behind Matron all the time. Remember?"
Squall grunted, but didn't answer.
"You hear that kiddo? You may be shy now, I'll bet you grow up to be just as cool and powerful as Commander Leonhart!" she beamed down at him.
Brian smiled really big, but continued to hold tightly onto Squall's pant leg. "Th-Thank you…"
"Well, I'll walk him back to his quarters."
"I'll go with you!" she said, stepping out with him.
"Be back in a bit, Quisty!"
The instructor opened her mouth to argue, but Renee elbowed her in the side. "Let it slide, she won't be long."
"You are a very good dog-sitter, Brian!" she smiled at him. "I may have you watch over Rocks more often!"
"O-Okay," he stuttered.
Selphie smiled up at Squall and the two led the little boy to the block where all of the newbies bunked. There was a huge room that was filled with many, many bunk beds and a folding screen that separated the boys' section from the girls'.
"Here ya go, kiddo!" Selphie beamed. "It was nice meeting you!" She held her hand out for a low five, but he merely glanced at it, then back at Squall, still gripping his pants.
"Bye," Squall said boringly and watched as Brian ran over to what must have been his bunk bed.
The two watched him for a few seconds before turning around to go back.
"Cool and powerful, huh?"
"Well, I could have said 'and sexy to boot' too, but I'm not so sure what that would do to someone of his age," she winked.
She noticed Squall blush slightly, but then he averted his eyes to the ground. After an awkward pause, he finally said his trademark, "Whatever."
They stopped in front of Selphie's dorm. "See ya, Squall!" she waved.
"Bye. Good luck with your studying," he waved and disappeared down the hall.
She walked in to both Renee and Quistis standing, arms crossed, waiting for an explanation. "So you kissed, now tell!" Renee squealed.
"Okay, so I obviously can't accuse you of watching," Selphie laughed.
"Aw, well if you didn't kiss, then we're not interested," Quistis sighed, plopping down on the ground.
"Alright. That's fine," she beamed, leaning her head against her bed.
Two more weeks of studying before the exam, and somehow, she didn't seem to mind anymore.
That's all folks, and thanks again for putting up with our slowness. We're truly, very sorry that it took us so long to update. Forgive us? ::Dodges random objects:: But...do remember to leave us a review.
Draic: Wow, it's great that you're reading and actually enjoying this story. Don't think of it as that we hate Rinoa, because we really don't. But it's for the sake of the storyline, and we're trying our hardest to keep everyone in character, which is hard enough in itself. We don't make Rinoa do anything that we don't believe she would actually do. Anywho, we're glad you've enjoyed it thus far. (And by the way, thanks for the compliment on Rocks and our character development.)
Jordan Herrick: You named characters in your story after Sae and Arisu? Or after Fujin and Raijin? In any case, that's really cool. o
Bittersweet Mika: Most of the humor we use in this story comes from real life experience. (Except the thunder spell in the elevator…hehe, though that would be quite the story to tell everyone).
Manda: That would be awesome if you want to send us your drawings! We'd be very happy to see them! (Selphie108: We looked at that picture you told us to look at, and that was very cute too!) Thank you to A Fire Inside Girl and CheriChicola, who has already submitted their artwork!
Ferret mage: I'm happy that the story and in-characterization is to your liking. It's always great to hear that people think that we do a good job keeping them in character; it helps us to continue without worrying too much. o
Elvi-Rose: Well, we suppose that the best way to separate the Irvine haters from the Irvine lovers is to bash on him in a story. Hehe. So you're another Irvine hater? That's great! o So far the only Irvine lover that we know personally is our friend, Mickayla (author Micky-chan…check out her stuff if you have time!)
Elcyion-Pitye: We definitely agree that there needs to be more Squalphie authors. But until we have converted more people to reading them, we need to just keep writing them and make sure that the pairing is always on ff.net! o
So far we have a total of three Squalphie pictures uploaded onto our website! If you would like to see them for yourself, just click on the link in our profile! And if you are interested in submitting your own art, just email us at CuteMooglezhotmail.com! If you go to our website, then please sign our guestbook!