Chapter Six: The Forest Owls
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Final Fantasy VIII no matter how much I wish they were my works. Any additional characters added are mine.
oOoOo
Hermione walked into the corridor, her thoughts still on her discussion with Griever and the implications of it. She glanced up, seeing Selphie standing by one of the windows gazing out into the ocean. 'I'll catch up!' she said quickly, smiling at her before looking back out the window, humming to herself softly.
Hermione smiled at her as she entered the cabin. Squall peered at her curiously and she imagined it was because she hadn't followed him when he left. She looked at Zell who was bouncing on the seat cushions excitedly and couldn't help snickering at the sight. 'Having fun, Zell?' she asked, shaking her head as she took a seat on one of the bunk beds.
Zell laughed. 'This is so cool!' he replied, grinning at her.
Squall rolled his eyes, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. 'I'm glad you're so excited,' he murmured, shaking his head.
Hermione frowned at him, crossing her arms but chose not to comment. Zell ceased bouncing on the seats, looking slightly deflated and he sighed. 'They even have magazines here,' he said, his enthusiasm not quite snuffed as he pointed to a stack of books on a table next to the bed Hermione was sitting on. 'This is pretty damn amazing. It pays to be a member of SeeD!' he yelled with a wide grin, punching a hand into his palm.
Hermione smiled at him. 'Is this your first time away from Balamb, Zell?' she asked interestedly, ignoring the indignant glance Squall threw her way.
Zell nodded. 'Yeah, but I do know quite a bit about other places in the world,' he answered, puffing out his chest proudly. 'I may not look it, but I actually like to read a lot,' he admitted, looking a little embarrassed.
Hermione shook her head. 'That's not a bad thing, Zell,' she told him, leaning forward and resting her arms on her legs. 'It's good to expand your knowledge, especially if you don't get a chance to travel all that often,' she said encouragingly, and he beamed at her.
Zell's expression turned wistful. 'I imagine we'll be travelling quite a bit now,' he said, crossing his arms. 'It was one of the reasons why I wanted to become a SeeD,' he explained, before looking at Squall. 'You know anything about Timber, Squall?' he asked curiously, tilting his head.
Squall sighed, and Hermione gritted her teeth getting fed up with the way he was treating them. Squall sensed this, and counted to ten, before leaning forward and eyed Zell in interest. 'I don't, no. What do you know about it, Zell?' he asked, and Hermione raised her eyebrows in disbelief.
Zell gaped at him like he'd grown another head, having not anticipated Squall to care about it at all. He just found it awkward talking to him, so he tried to chat with him about trivial things to break the ice. He recovered from his momentary shock. 'Well, allow me to explain briefly,' he began, and Squall had the feeling it was going to be anything but brief, but indulged him anyway with a nod. 'Timber used to be a country surrounded by deep forests. Then, eighteen years ago, Galbadia invaded,' he explained with a serious expression on his face which seemed almost out of place for his typical disposition.
Hermione frowned. 'What happened?' she asked, wanting to know everything about this world she had been taken to. It would make her journey far more manageable even if she only had a basic understanding of it. Plus, it would give her so much to tell Harry and Ron when she returned. As this thought crossed her mind, her eyes saddened, and her frown deepened. This wasn't lost on Squall, and he glanced at her curiously before turning his attention back to Zell.
Zell crossed his arms. 'Timber is a small nation, so they fell quite easily to Galbadia,' he explained, shaking his head. 'Now, they're under Galbadian occupation. There are loads of resistance factions there striving for independence,' he finished, proud that he retained all of that information. It had been a while since he'd read up about Timber.
Hermione nodded. 'So, do you think they'll ever get independence?' she asked, wondering if their mission had something to do with assisting the resistance in achieving this.
Zell shrugged. 'Who knows,' he answered, shaking his head. 'They've been trying for eighteen years now and haven't succeeded yet,' he pointed out and she nodded.
The three looked up when Selphie stumbled into the cabin, holding her head. 'I'm not… feeling well…' she trailed off, slurring her words.
Hermione stood up worriedly, moving over to her. 'Here, lie down, Selphie,' she said, helping her over to the bunk bed she had been sitting on. Selphie collapsed onto it, a frown on her brow. Hermione placed a gentle hand on her head; she was hot and clammy. 'Get some rest, Selphie,' she said, and the girl fell asleep almost instantly.
'Hey!' Zell shouted, making Squall and Hermione turn to him in confusion. 'What the—' he cut himself off, gripping his head. 'Somethin's wrong with me, too…' he trailed off, passing out on the seat.
Hermione ran over to Zell to see if he was okay. 'What's happening?' she asked Squall, not receiving a reply. She turned to him, noticing he was now holding his head like the other two had been. He let out a pained shout, staggering forward. 'Squall!' she cried, rushing to him, and catching him as he crumpled to the floor. 'What on earth?' she whispered, shaking her head. She peered around at the three SeeD's feeling panic creep into the pit of her stomach.
Hermione glanced down at Squall, realising she was still holding onto him. She let him go gently, making sure his head didn't collide with the floor and kneeled at his side. She reached for her beaded bag, grabbing her wand, and aiming it at Squall. 'Renervate,' she whispered, but nothing happened, and she examined her wand in confusion. She knew it was functioning as she sensed the magic channel through it. She frowned, not knowing what to do. She hoped they would wake up soon and there would be an explanation for what happened.
oOoOo
'Next stop, Timber…' an announcement echoed throughout the train.
Hermione glanced up at the speaker in astonishment from where she was still kneeling next to Squall. She gazed down at him, fighting the impulse to brush his hair away from his face while he slept. That would be seriously inappropriate, and she flushed at the thought. Shaking her head, she glanced over at Selphie and then Zell. An hour had passed since the three SeeD's had collapsed, and she was worried about them.
Her head shot up as Zell and Selphie grumbled from behind her, and she stood up to check on them as they sat up, peering around in confusion. Squall groaned from the ground, grabbing his head. Hermione rushed to him, taking his hand and helped him to stand.
Squall looked around in confusion, shaking his head. 'Were we… all asleep?' he asked, reaching up and rubbing his face with his free hand as he was mildly aware of Hermione's hold on his other.
Hermione frowned at him. 'You all collapsed. I didn't know what to do,' she explained anxiously, realising she was still holding his hand and let it go before moving away from him.
Zell shook his head. 'Maybe someone released some sleeping gas?' he suggested, rubbing the back of his neck.
Hermione frowned. 'Would someone do that?' she asked, crossing her arms.
Zell nodded. 'Sure, there's lots of people who resent SeeD,' he divulged, shaking his head to wake himself up a bit more.
Squall gazed at Hermione, her words when they woke up coming back to him. He frowned, crossing his arms. 'It couldn't have been sleeping gas,' he muttered, and the other three turned to him. 'Hermione wasn't affected,' he rationalised, gesturing to her.
Hermione shook her head. 'That's true, I feel fine,' she answered, crossing her arms. 'Do any of you feel strange? Maybe someone spiked you before we left?' she suggested, glancing at each of them in turn.
Squall's frown deepened; his expression contemplative. 'Maybe,' he murmured, shaking his head.
Selphie inspected herself. 'Am I missing anything? Anyone hurt?' she asked, looking around at them.
Squall turned to her. 'I don't think so,' he replied, shaking his head.
Selphie smiled. 'What a relief,' she said, sitting down on the couch. 'I had such a nice dream, so I'm not complaining,' she added, smiling to herself.
Squall crossed his arms, his frown returning. I had a dream, too. It wasn't nice though… he thought, moving to sit on the couch. I dreamt I was a moron… he trailed off in his musings as the speaker jingled with a train announcement that they would be arriving in Timber soon.
Squall tuned back into Selphie who was telling Hermione all about her dream. 'But seriously, Sir Laguna was so cool!' she said animatedly making Hermione giggle.
Zell perked up then. 'Hey! There was a Laguna in my dream, too! He's a Galbadian soldier, right?' he asked Selphie who nodded at him in bewilderment.
Hermione frowned. 'How…?' she trailed off, gazing over at Squall who was a little wide-eyed at their revelation.
Squall crossed his arms. 'Laguna, Kiros, and Ward…' he whispered, peering at Zell and Selphie who nodded at him, both looking baffled by this.
Hermione was stunned. 'How can you all have the same dream?' she asked, looking at them in disbelief.
Squall shook his head. 'I don't know. I don't like this,' he muttered, reaching up to brush his hair from his face.
Selphie shook her head. 'There's no way we can understand this for the moment. Let's just concentrate on our first mission!' Selphie said, receiving nods of agreement from Squall and Zell.
Squall stood up. 'We'll put this incident on hold. I'll report it to the Headmaster once we get back to Garden,' he told them, and they nodded at this.
Hermione was astonished at how quickly they could dismiss something like this. If she had the same dreams as Harry and Ron or anyone else, she would be freaking out and spending her every waking moment trying to solve the puzzle.
Zell grinned. 'We should be there soon, eh?' he asserted, punching his hand into his palm. The speaker jingled again announcing their arrival in Timber. He stood up. 'Here we go! Psyche yourself up, baby!' he said eagerly and left the cabin.
Selphie stood up, trembling slightly. 'Whew… still sleepy,' she said, trailing Zell out of the cabin.
Hermione came to stand next to Squall. 'Should you be ignoring this dream?' she asked him uneasily, crossing her arms.
Squall shrugged. 'It's disturbing, but we can't do anything about it for now,' he answered, peering down at Hermione. 'If it happens again, then I'll worry about it,' he added, shaking his head.
Hermione nodded. 'We better go,' she said, leaving the cabin and Squall watched her go.
Squall stood for a moment, placing a hand on his hip as he thought about what happened. He felt a bit bad for Hermione because she couldn't have had any inkling about what was happening to them. He shook his thoughts away, following her out of the train.
They watched the train leave the station before surveying the town of Timber. Hermione noted it looked like a blend of new and old architecture. Many of the houses and stores were made of stone, but there were innovative patterns painted on a lot of the walls. A large building in the distance and parts of the railroad station had a more futuristic look to them than the rest of the town.
They made their way down the steps and were hindered immediately by a man wearing a yellow body-warmer, green trousers, and a blue cap – quite the contrast – running up to them. He saluted them, startling the four companions. 'The forests of Timber sure have changed!' he said, eyeing them expectantly and it dawned on them that this guy was their contact.
Squall frowned as he tried to recall the password, opening his mouth to speak but Hermione beat him to it. 'But the Owls are still around,' she replied, glancing at Squall apologetically but he just shrugged.
The young man grinned at Hermione. 'Welcome to Timber, sir! Come with me, sir!' he said courteously, and they followed him towards another train stop. 'Please, please, this way, sir!' he called to them, gesturing for them to wait on the platform.
Hermione shook her head. 'He's very polite for a resistance member,' she whispered, receiving a nod from Zell who rolled his eyes at the guys antics. The contact proceeded to stand on the train tracks, signalling to the oncoming train. 'What the heck is he doing!?' Hermione yelled out in a panic and without thinking of the consequences she reached into her bag and seized her wand.
'Ahhhh! Look out!' the guy screamed, falling onto the tracks, and getting his foot stuck as the train bounded towards him giving no indication it was slowing down anytime soon.
'Aresto Momentum!' Hermione cried, aiming her wand at the train. It came to a screeching halt about two metres away from their contact. She took a deep breath, her eyes wide in alarm as she slowly turned to look at her companions. Squall, Zell, and Selphie were gaping at her in disbelief and… was that fear she could see in their eyes? She tucked her wand back into her bag and lowered her head. 'I…' she trailed off, not knowing how to explain.
Squall glanced from her to the train with wide eyes. 'You're a Sorceress?' he asked in a whisper, frowning at her.
Hermione nodded. 'Yes, but if you let me explain—' she was cut off.
'The Headmaster sent us away with a Sorceress!?' Zell yelled, pointing at Hermione in terror as he backed away from her. Hermione's face fell, and her shoulders sagged. She slowly turned to walk away from them.
Squall watched her before looking at Zell. 'Zell, calm down,' he said, glancing back at Hermione whose shoulders were visibly trembling.
Zell disregarded him and began pacing on the platform. 'What the hell was he thinking!? She could be dangerous!' he was yelling, throwing his arms up in the air and attracting attention from the townsfolk.
'Zell!' Squall raised his voice in warning, his anger only increasing when he saw a tear fall from Hermione's eyes, rolling down her cheek.
'You might kill us all!?' Zell roared at her, pointing his finger. He lowered it in uncertainty, his eyes widening when he saw the tears falling from her eyes.
It was too late though; the damage had been done. Squall pulled his arm back, punching Zell in the face, causing the blonde to fall to the ground. He stared up at Squall in alarm, holding his jaw. 'We don't know that!' Squall seethed, rubbing his fist. Zell's face was like hitting a brick wall. 'Don't just make accusations against her until we know what's going on!' he added, glaring at him.
Hermione wiped her tears away, shaking her head. 'It's okay,' she whispered, making them look at her. 'Cid warned me about how people might react if I revealed what I am,' she told them, lowering her head miserably.
Squall frowned. 'The Headmaster knows?' he said pensively, crossing his arms.
Hermione nodded. 'I told him when I met him,' she answered, shaking her head. 'I just couldn't let that guy kill himself…' she paused, gesturing to their contact who was now being yelled at by someone who had ran off the train. She looked back at Squall. 'If you want me to leave I…' she trailed off, another tear falling from her eyes as she crossed her arms tightly as if to protect herself.
Squall shook his head, moving over to her. He gazed at her for a moment, before placing a hand under her chin gently and tilted her head up to look at him. The action stunned Hermione because even though they had danced together the night before, Squall didn't seem like he was keen on any form of physical contact with anyone. 'We'll talk about this later,' he said to her, leaving no room for dispute and she nodded dejectedly.
Another guy who was wearing a blue jacket and black knee-length shorts came over to them, followed sheepishly by their contact who greeted them initially. 'Sorry for my friend,' he said, rubbing the back of his head. 'Please, this way,' he instructed, gesturing for them to get on the train.
They nodded, entering the train followed by the two young men, the door closing behind them. The train rumbled to life, pulling out of the station which made them all stumble a little. 'So, you guys are SeeD's?' he asked, peering at the four companions. 'We were told there was only going to be three of you,' he added, eyeing Hermione who was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
Squall nodded. 'You're correct,' he advised, subconsciously moving to stand a little in front of Hermione. 'This is Hermione. She is also a client of ours and we are under contract to protect her. It's part of a separate mission we are on,' he explained, crossing his arms.
The guy nodded. 'I understand,' he said with a smile, nodding to Hermione in greeting.
'I'm the Squad Leader, Squall,' Squall greeted, before turning to the others. 'This is Zell…' he trailed off, pointing at Zell who was standing off to his right looking shame-faced. Good, he should, Squall thought touchily, before continuing, 'and Selphie,' he said, pointing a thumb behind him to where Selphie was standing with Hermione, rubbing her back comfortingly. At least Selphie doesn't seem to be afraid of her, he mused before turning back to the guy.
'Nice to meet ya! I'm Zone, the leader of the Forest Owls,' he greeted, reaching out to shake Squall's hand. Squall nodded but didn't take his hand. Seeing this, Zone moved on, shaking Selphie's and Hermione's hands instead. He moved back to the front while Zell rubbed his hands on his shorts before holding it out, but Zone either ignored it or didn't notice.
Squall crossed his arms. 'So, let's get on with it. What do we do?' he asked, raising an eyebrow at Zell who still had his hand outstretched.
Seeing that, yet again, nobody would shake his hand, Zell turned away to the corner. After a moment he began to throw feign punches, before sighing and sitting on the stairs. He rubbed his jaw which was already bruising as he peered over at Hermione guiltily. Squall perceived this, glancing at Hermione but she was gazing out the window now and not paying attention to much else.
Zone smiled at them. 'Just take it easy,' he told them before gesturing to his companion. 'Looks like you already met Watts. I guess it's just our Princess then,' he said thoughtfully, his eyes moving towards the stairs Zell was sitting on.
Watts's eyes widened. 'It's the Princess's nap time, sir,' he said nervously, scratching the back of his head.
'Ahh man…' Zone trailed off, tapping a finger to his chin pensively as he thought about what to do. He regarded Squall then with a smile. 'Hey, Squall, sorry, but could you get the Princess?' he asked as Squall stared at him blankly. 'She's in the last room, up those stairs,' he explained, gesturing to the stairs. 'Some of our other guys are in the room on the way. Ask them if you get lost,' he told him, thinking his plan was genius.
Squall sighed impatiently, rolling his eyes. 'Were we hired to run errands?' he snapped, not at all happy about running after people. 'Well?' he prodded, crossing his arms.
Zone held up his hands in fear. 'A-Are you angry!?' he stuttered, backing away from Squall.
Squall reached up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. We're not gophers… we're SeeD… Special Forces, he thought as he crossed his arms, giving Zone a hard look. 'This is the last time for this kind of thing,' he muttered, turning in the direction of the "Princess's" room. As he reached the top of the stairs, Squall turned to glance back at Hermione who was frowning at him. He tilted his head, wondering why but shook it off and walked down the linear corridor.
Selphie shook her head. 'Squall should have told them to get lost,' she muttered, leaning against the window, and gazing out at the scenery speeding past.
Hermione nodded. 'Could he get into trouble for that though?' she asked, crossing her arms.
Selphie frowned. 'I don't think so. They're clients, sure, but we're not here to run fetch quests. We're here to help them with important matters,' she explained, and Hermione nodded, not entirely convinced by this. From what she gathered, SeeD's were contracted to do whatever their clients asked of them, which she assumed meant the dreary, nitty-gritty tasks as well such as running errands.
Zell sighed, standing up to move over to them. Hermione eyed him warily but didn't comment. 'I'm sorry about earlier, Hermione,' he said sheepishly, lowering his head. 'We were raised on stories of evil Sorceresses and… I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions,' he told her, inclining his head to her.
A small smile touched Hermione's lips. 'It's okay, Zell, I understand,' she told him gently and he raised his eyes to meet hers. 'Cid warned me this could happen, so I should have expected it at some point,' she explained with a reassuring smile to him.
Zell nodded. 'Even if you are one, I don't get evil vibes from you at all,' he said, smiling at her.
Hermione chuckled a little. 'That's good to know,' she answered, shaking her head. She felt much better knowing Zell had accepted it at least. She knew they would be scared for a while as they got used to it and she would just have to make sure none of them ever got harmed because of her magic.
Zell shook his head as he took in Zone and Watts. 'These guys don't seem to have it together, huh?' he asked hypothetically, crossing his arms. Zone was crouching on the ground, holding his stomach, and moaning loudly. There was a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead, probably due to motion sickness. Watts, on the other hand, was leaning against the wall smiling absently at nothing.
Hermione nodded, chuckling. 'They do seem rather dysfunctional,' she mused, shaking her head. She found her eyes were drawn back to the stairs where Squall disappeared. Who is this "Princess" they mentioned? And why is Squall taking so long? she wondered, a frown creasing on her brow.
oOoOo
Squall managed to find the room without too much difficulty, stopping outside, and peering in the open door as the train came to a screeching halt. This woke the "Princess", and she turned over on the bed. Squall identified her instantly as the same girl from the Ball who sought to get him to dance with her, and he almost turned and walked back out. Biting the inside of his mouth, he braced himself knowing he couldn't. He had to finish this mission.
The girl looked over at him with bleary eyes and then recognition. 'Hey, you're… you know, from the party,' she said, sitting up on the bed. 'Does that mean you're a SeeD?' she asked, her tone hopeful.
Squall nodded. 'I'm Squall, the Squad Leader. There are two others with me, and another we're protecting,' he answered in greeting, trying to be civil.
The girl's eyes widened, and she leapt up from the bed, running over and startling Squall with a hug. 'YES! SeeD is here!' she cried as Squall pushed her away from him in irritation.
Squall frowned. 'Take it easy,' he snapped, shaking his head.
Unfazed by this, the girl smiled and walked over to the dresser, examining herself in the mirror. 'It's just that, I'm so happy!' she replied animatedly, and Squall rolled his eyes behind her back. 'I've been sending requests to Garden forever, but nothing…' she trailed off dejectedly, reaching up to hold a pendant hanging from her neck. 'I'm so glad I spoke to Cid directly!' she said, her smile returning full force as she turned back to him, the excitement in her disposition back.
Squall nodded. 'Ah, so that's why you were at the party?' he asked, and she gave him a shy wave. 'You were looking for the Headmaster,' he reflected, crossing his arms.
She nodded. 'You know Seifer?' she asked him, tilting her head as she looked at him.
Squall nodded, unfortunately, he thought but stopped himself from saying it out loud. 'Yeah, I know him…' he trailed off indifferently, shrugging his shoulders lightly.
She smiled. 'Well, he's the one who introduced me to Cid,' she explained, her eyes gleaming. 'Cid is such a nice man. I didn't think SeeD would come out to help a measly group like us, but after explaining our situation, Cid gave the go ahead right away!' she said cheerfully, clasping her hands together in front of her. 'Now that you guys are here, we'll be able to carry out all kinds of plans!' she chirped, letting out a giggle as Squall forced himself not to pinch the bridge of his nose in irritation.
Squall shook his head. 'I'm going back to the others,' he said, turning to leave. He missed the smile on her face dropping at his abrupt declaration and lack of enthusiasm.
'Um… okay, let's go,' she said, the excitement from her voice gone. She walked ahead of him, pausing at the door which prevented him from leaving. She turned to look at him. 'Squall, is "he" here?' she asked curiously, crossing her arms.
Squall frowned. '"He"?' Squall asked, raising his eyebrow at her.
'Seifer,' she answered, her shoulders falling slightly.
Squall shook his head. 'No, he's not a SeeD,' he replied, moving to walk past her, but a dog entered, sitting in the doorway, obstructing his escape. Squall clenched his hands into fists, he just wanted to get back to the others. He didn't feel comfortable being alone with this girl… there was something off about her, but he couldn't fathom what it was. All he knew was that he didn't like or trust her.
'Oh well…' she trailed off miserably, shaking her head.
Considering how close Seifer and this girl seemed to be, Squall was somewhat amazed to find she didn't know he never made SeeD. He would have thought Seifer would have told her when he saw her at the Ball. Squall shook his head, it was none of his business, but it was certainly curious.
She smiled at him. 'Oh yeah, my name's Rinoa,' she greeted, offering her hand for him to shake. 'Very pleased to meet you, Squall,' she added, gazing up at him. Squall looked at her hand as he crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. She blinked before sighing and withdrawing her hand.
A few moments of tense silence passed between them before Rinoa looked back up at him. 'So, why did you refuse to dance with me at the Ball?' she asked abruptly, startling Squall. 'I gather SeeD members dance quite well,' she added, peering at her nails as if his rejection hadn't fazed her.
Squall, of course, wasn't stupid and knew fine well it obviously had got to her more than she let on or she wouldn't have bothered asking. Besides, her assumption that all SeeD members danced quite well was comical to him considering what happened with Zell being forcefully dragged about the dance floor. He was about to mention this, but he didn't want to be around her any longer than he had been already. 'I wasn't in the mood,' he answered frankly with a shrug, believing that would be the end of it.
Rinoa raised her eyebrow at that. 'Yet, you danced with someone else five minutes later,' she stated, crossing her arms.
Is she for real? Why does this even matter? he thought impatiently. 'Headmaster's orders. She's a client,' he said knowing it was a lie as Hermione wasn't a client at the time. He didn't believe it was Rinoa's business to know he had wanted to dance with Hermione and not her.
Rinoa nodded. 'Oh, fair enough. I didn't realise it was work-related,' she answered, but it was evident from her tone that she didn't believe him. She gazed back up at him. 'I didn't think dancing with a client should be so… intimate,' she said, grinning at him and there was a flicker of something in her eyes that he couldn't place.
Squall gritted his teeth, forcing himself not to bite back at that. What's with the interrogation? Is she judging me? he fumed, closing his eyes, and counting to ten to stop himself from lashing out at her.
He was saved from responding at all when Rinoa noticed the dog sitting in the doorway gazing up at her expectantly. She smiled, moving over to pet the dog, scratching behind its ears. 'Oh, well, it's none of my business,' she muttered, but she didn't sound pleased about that at all.
Squall shook his head. Damn right it's none of your business! Fucking audacity, he thought, crossing his arms, his eyes flashing in anger.
'This is Angelo, my partner,' Rinoa said softly, stroking Angelo's chin gently. 'I have some important work to do now. Be a good girl, Angelo,' she cooed, receiving a bark in response. Rinoa stood as Angelo moved further into the room, jumping up on the bed and making herself comfortable. 'I'll meet you there!' Rinoa called back to Squall as she ran out the door. Angelo whined sorrowfully as she left, resting her head on her paws as she stared at the door.
Squall was left furious in her wake, and he glared at the door heatedly. How dare she question me like that! She doesn't even know me, he snapped, clenching his fists. He closed his eyes, counting to ten and pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to calm himself down. I need to be careful. I'm working for this girl, and I can't let my anger get the best of me, he reasoned with himself. He took a deep breath, looking back at the door. This is going to be a long fucking day… I just hope we finish this mission soon, he thought, leaving the room, and walking back down the corridor to meet up with the others.
oOoOo
Hermione looked up to see a girl walking down the stairs towards them, and instantly recognised her as the girl who had tried to get Squall to dance with her at the Ball. She glanced behind her, expecting to see Squall, but he hadn't appeared yet and she frowned. Where is he? she wondered, crossing her arms.
Hermione glanced at Zell, noticing his face had turned bright red and she couldn't help snickering. Zell shot her a scowl, nudging her gently in the side, earning him another giggle.
The girl stopped in front of them, smiling brightly. 'I'm Rinoa, pleased to meet you all,' she said cheerfully, her smile faltering as her eyes paused on Hermione for a moment. Recognition seemed to dawn in her eyes and something else which Hermione couldn't place, but it made her uneasy.
Rinoa looked away from Hermione to Zell, her eyes gleaming. 'Nice to meet you again, Zell,' she said gleefully, leaning forward towards him.
Zell scratched the back of his head. 'Hey,' he muttered quietly, looking away from her in embarrassment.
Selphie took a step forward. 'I'm Selphie,' she said, shaking Rinoa's hand. 'And this is Hermione,' she said, gesturing to Hermione who nodded in greeting.
Rinoa's eyes moved back to Hermione. 'Ah, your… client,' she stated, her eyes narrowing on her.
Hermione was stunned by this. What's her problem? she wondered in confusion, frowning at Rinoa when she turned her back to them. She looked up at the stairs as Squall appeared then, her eyes locking with his for a moment.
Squall walked over to them. 'I see you've met everyone,' he said to Rinoa, crossing his arms.
Rinoa turned to Squall, giving him a winning smile, which would melt even the hardest of hearts. 'Yes, I have,' she said, tilting her head at him.
Hermione fought the urge to clench her fists, not knowing why this annoyed her. She was still puzzled by the look Rinoa gave her though. What was that about? she shook her head, wondering if she imagined it. Looking at Rinoa though she detected something was amiss and didn't know what to make of her. The tight knot of dread she felt before leaving Balamb Garden came back full force almost nauseating her, and Griever's warning about people she should watch out for echoed in her mind.
'This way,' Rinoa told them, snapping Hermione out of her thoughts as she watched the dark-haired girl in blue walk through a door to a room next to the stairs.
Squall gazed at Hermione, knowing something was bothering her if her expression was anything to go by. 'Everything okay?' he asked her, pausing beside her as the others followed Rinoa through the door.
Hermione's frown deepened. 'She's going to be a handful I think,' she told him honestly, crossing her arms.
Squall nodded, looking back at the door. 'Yeah, but we don't have any choice but to deal with her,' he said, and Hermione could hear the displeasure in his voice, feeling relieved that it wasn't just her that felt a disdain for Rinoa. He turned to gaze at her. 'We just have to help them with their mission, and then we can go back to Garden,' he said softly, and Hermione nodded. 'Come on,' he told her, leading her through the door.