Author's note: I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or its characters. This is AU.

Threats and Tales

Quistis was in a very good mood as she and Seifer made their way out of town. It had been good to get out of the cabin for a while, and Seifer had proved to be good companion. He had certainly been entertaining company. Quistis bit back another chuckle. Who would have guessed that Seifer Almasy would attract mothering women the way a horse drew flies. It had not taken the two of them long to pack up their purchases and load them on Seifer's horse. Hyperion had put up with that with good humor. They had ended up walking the horse out of town.

Seifer also seemed to be in very good spirits, and they continued to banter as they began making their way back to Seifer's little cabin. At least he was until Quistis found herself unceremoniously shoved behind him. She peered over Seifer's shoulder to see that he had drawn his gun. The reason why was also clear. The man that had murdered her father, Martine, was standing across from them.

"What do you want, Martine?" Seifer spit out.

"I want the girl. She can't be of much use to you, Seifer, since there's no one to pay a ransom for her, and I rather doubt that a lady like Miss Trepe enjoys spending time with an outlaw."

Quistis snorted. "He's better company than you are."

The smile Martine gave her made chills run down Quistis' spine. She did not trust that man in the slightest, and not only because he had killed her father.

"That's because you haven't be under me yet, little lady. I'm sure I can adjust that attitude of yours."

Quistis could not help shivering at that comment. She knew what he meant by that. Seifer growled.

"You are a fool if you think that I would give any woman over into your hands, Martine." Seifer's voice was harsh, but Quistis could not see his face.

"Hah. I wonder if the little lady would be so quick to trust you if knew about the trail of bodies this boy has left behind him. He killed the only person who has ever loved him, you know."

Quistis did not react to that. She had enough control to keep her face calm. She doubted it was true in the way it sounded. Besides, even if Seifer had killed someone, she was rather trust him than Martine. Seifer had yet to kill anyone she cared about. Besides, she did know what kind of person Seifer was. Even if he had death in his past, so did other people. Quistis did not believe that he would hurt her, and that was what currently mattered. Though it did look like she might have to find a way to keep him from losing his temper.

"Martine, you can either walk away now, or I can fill you full of lead," Seifer growled. "It's your choice."

Martine just sneered. "I'm running errands for the lady today. Otherwise I would put you in your place, boy."

And with that exchange, Martine rode off. Seifer waited until the man was out of sight before turning to Quistis and giving her a hand into the saddle. He didn't say anything, but he was scowling, and Quistis could feel the tension in his body. Seifer swung up in the saddle behind her, and they took off at a moderate pace. The silence hung between them oppressively, and Quistis was not quite sure what to do about it. But finally after about twenty minutes, she could take no more.
"I'm not going to ask, you know." Quistis kept looking straight forward. "Everybody has a past, and right now, that's not what's important. You're helping me despite whatever has happened, and I appreciate that. And I don't trust Martine as far as I could throw him."

Something in Seifer relaxed. "I won't let him get you, you know."

"I know. I'm not worried about that."

Seifer sighed. "We are going to have to do something about your situation though. People are going to need to know that you are not dead, and that I'm not the bad guy in this. Actually, what would probably be the easiest thing for Adel is to claim that you are dead, and then to try and take the ranch."

Quistis nodded. "I had considered that actually. My hired hands won't give up the ranch without a fight, but if she gets some sort of official to go along with her, I can't guarantee that they would still fight it. Not if they think I'm dead."

"So we need to make sure that they know you're alive. And if they're smart, they're not going to trust a note or some other sort of message. You need to get back your ranch." Quistis could almost hear Seifer frown. "The bad news is I'm pretty sure that if we've thought of the idea so has Adel, and she isn't going to make it easy for you to get back."

Quistis frowned at that, even if Seifer couldn't see it. "We're going to need a plan. I don't think we can just wing this."

"You're right. When we get back, we should put our heads together with Fuujin and Raijin and see what the four of us can come up with."

Quistis bit her lip before saying, "You know, you don't have to get involved in this, Seifer. You've already done plenty by saving my life earlier. If you and your friends want to stay out of this, you can."

"Not a chance, sweetheart. If we have the opportunity to shut Adel down, I'm going to be involved."

That made Quistis feel better. She had felt obligated to offer Seifer a way out, but quite honestly she wanted him on her side. Behind her, Seifer sighed.

"Listen, Quisty, you have the right to know. Adel framed me for death of at least one family, if not more. And she might have connections to the cattle rustlers that killed my mother. I know she was behind the train robbery that was responsible for my father's death. This is personal for me too."

There was probably more to his story than he said, but Quistis was just pleased that he had told her that much. She took a deep breath. This was one hell of a mess, but at least she wasn't in it alone, and it seemed like Seifer was in this for the long haul. That made her feel better than she wanted to think about. Instead, Quistis started focusing on how to get herself home.