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

Journey to the West

Oddly enough, the morning started quite normally for the group. Fuujin was the first one up, but it wasn't long before Quistis joined her. The two women had breakfast almost ready by the time that Seifer poked his head into the kitchen. Raijin was the last to wake up as usual. Once the four of them had finished breakfast, it was time to finish the preparations for their journey. It didn't take very long before they were ready to set out. Quistis made a silent farewell to the little cabin that had sheltered her for the past week or so before swinging herself up into the saddle behind Seifer. She would be riding double with him once again since there were only three horses.

If one followed the normal route, it actually only took about half a day's ride to reach the town of Caledonia from Seifer's cabin. Quistis' ranch was only another half hour's ride from there. However, part of their plan was to take a far more roundabout route to Caledonia Canyon Ranch in order to try and throw Adel and her minion's off their scent. All in all, it would probably take them about three days to reach the ranch. And that was only if they didn't run into any trouble along the way.

By taking the long way around, they were hoping to avoid trouble, but everyone in their party was armed. Including Quistis. She knew how to use a gun, but Seifer had really put her through the paces with the pistol he'd given her. Quistis would be more comfortable with the whip that she used with the ranch animals, but she understood why Seifer wanted her to have a gun as well. With a sigh, she rest her head on Seifer's shoulder.

"Don't tell me you're tired already."

"No. Just thinking."

"Don't borrow trouble," he told her. "So, you'll let me know when we need to head up into the hills?"

"Yes, though we've got a ways yet."

The path they had planned out would actually take them on to Quistis' land long before they got near the ranch buildings. It was not easy terrain to cross, and Quistis didn't use it for much at the moment, but at least that would make it much more difficult to either follow them or ambush them. Plus it would put the four of them in territory that Quistis knew better than anyone else. That would also work in their favor. Thankfully, it was late spring, and so the route would be passable. This would be too dangerous to try in the winter or late fall.

As sunset approached, they were already well onto her land. Quistis led the little group to a sheltered stand of trees where they could set up a camp for the night. It didn't take the four of them to set up camp and get a fire started. Quistis leaned back against a tree with a sigh, holding a cup of coffee in her hands. It felt good to be back someplace she knew even if she wasn't quite home yet.

"So, Quisty, what are we looking at tomorrow?" Seifer settled down beside her.

She sipped her coffee. "Mostly rocky terrain. We're going to head up in the hills that separate most of the ranch from the ocean. It's not easy going, but it is the fastest way to the ranch house from here. And there is a path, but it hasn't been used in awhile."

"Not a problem then." He downed his own coffee. "You've been pretty quiet. Most of the time you're a lot more bossy."

She glared at him. Seifer just smirked.

Quistis sighed. "I just wish I knew how this was going to play out."

"I told you not to borrow trouble, Quisty." To her utter surprise, he kissed her cheek. "Get some sleep. Wearing yourself out worrying won't us any good."

It was good advice. Today had been a long enough day, and she knew that tomorrow would be longer. Quistis got up and settled into her bedroll. She closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep. It must have worked because the next thing she knew, someone was shaking her shoulder.

"Wake up, Quisty. We need to get a move on."

It was the grey light before dawn. No one spoke much as they broke up the camp, but then no one in the group was really a morning person. Before too long they had hit the trail again with Seifer and Quistis in the lead. The small group carefully picked their way over the rocky terrain keeping an eye out for places where the trail had worn away or been washed out. By noon, storm clouds were threatening, and the group started looking for some place to take cover from the storm.

They were partially drenched before they reached the cave that Quistis knew of. Raijin didn't waste any time starting a fire while the others dealt with the horses. The four of them huddled around the fire as the rain intensified outside. Fuujin had rigged up a line to dry their outer wear on, and most of them had taken off their boots as well. Quistis found herself leaning against Seifer's shoulder with his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"How close are we to the ranch do you think?" Raijin asked.

Quistis sighed. "About a day's ride actually. We got further yesterday than I expected. It should also be all down hill from here."

"Good." Fuujin smiled. "I'm taking a nap."

She wasn't the only one. Raijin nodded off soon after Fuujin did leaving only Seifer and Quistis awake.

"Do you think we'll need to stay here overnight?" Seifer asked quietly.

"If it doesn't let up before it starts getting dark, I would suggest it," Quistis replied. "It would probably be safer. Trying to navigate the trail in the wet and the dark is an accident waiting to happen. Plus this is probably the best place to spend the night unless we can get a few hours of travel in."

He nodded. "That's what I thought."

The four of them did end up spending the night in the cave. But by morning the rain had stopped, and they were able to continue on their way. Once the group got down out of the hills, they were able to move at a much quicker pace, and Quistis knew that they would reach the ranch house before evening fell. She held tight to Seifer as they cantered over familiar fields. She was almost home.