Selphie was, by no stretch of the imagination, a morning person. Until the rich, bitter coffee touched her tongue, she was a grouch. That wasn't to say she didn't know how to pretend to be cheery: it was a part of her job.

The truth was, it was hard for her to wake up because of the aches in her bones and muscles that kept were awake at night. In her coffee she added a red, medicinal herb that dissolved, and acted as a primal pain killer. One that lasted up to 16 hours and made her grin like a 4 year old that had eaten too much sugar.

She had packed her suitcase the night before, and checked it again now, double, and then triple checked that she had everything she needed for the trip to Esthar. The usual was in there: clothes, toiletries, a book or 2 to read at night, but she also included a camera, tourist books, and a translation guide in case she heard an unfamiliar phrase.

Not that her native Trabian language was all that different from Galbadian or Estharian, but on her last trip to the large city, some of the more colloquial terms had passed right over her dark head, and she had to turn to Zell or Irvine for advice.

One time she had been traveling with Squall and Rinoa and had turned to him to ask about a strange sign she had read, thinking that her quiet leader would be able to help, and she had found that Squall was just as confused as she was, his head tilted to one side in a confused manner.

"Rinoa, do you know what it means?" Selphie had asked the new sorceress, thinking that she would be able to offer an answer with a smile.

"Do I look like a tourist book Selphie?" Rinoa had snapped, causing Selphie to take a stunned step backwards, "I'm not here to be your guide to every phrase you can't understand! Galbadian isn't THAT hard to understand!"

It was that day Selphie had realized that Rinoa's powers had changed her somehow: the fact that Squall was her knight had made her possessive of the Gunblader, and turned her against any of the women traveling with her.

Rinoa's attitude had worsened as time went on. Even Squall was starting to lose patience with the pretty dark haired woman. The more paranoid Rinoa got, the crankier Squall became. More often than not these days, Squall was more agitated than a T-rexaur that had been woken from hibernation.

If the demanding manner in which Rinoa woke Squall up earlier this morning was any sign of his mood over the next few days, he knew the trip to at least Timber was going to be hellish for all who had to interact with Rinoa; and not just because she was whining and clicking her fingernails together in annoyance. As Squall leant against the electric blue GARDEN issue van, he knew that because of Cait's involvement with the mission, Rinoa was going to be less that co-operative. And that was being polite.

'A whining pathetic bitch,' he knew Cait and Selphie would say. But in truth they were biased to the negative, and these days, more than ever, Squall found himself agreeing.

Not to say he didn't carry some affection for the dark haired sorceress, who was glaring down the long hallway at the lone approaching figure. Squall pushed his weight away from the van, raising a gloved hand in a wave.

Cait approached the pair, Obelisk in one hand, the handle of her green travel bag in the other. Her cold hands curled around both as she caught the dark, narrowed eyes of Rinoa, annoyance building in her stomach. She turned her attention to Squall, giving him a look she knew he would understand; both girls had given it to him in the past.

"She asked me if we could take her to Timber on our way to Deling City," he tried to explain a moment later when Cait had drawn level with him, propping her weapon against the vehicle. He leant down to speak into her ear, "I couldn't exactly say 'no', could I?" Cait turned her eyes on him and shrugged.

"I would've," she retorted, voice as quiet as his had been, "you could've told me," she continued, in a huff now. Squall sighed.

"You left before I could- besides, it's not like she's going to be around forever, she's just traveling with us. There should be no issue." Delicate eyebrows rose in derision.

"Says you," she remarked, folding her slender arms over her purple jacket, "I know damn well that this is gonna be more trouble than it's worth."

"Well," Squall retorted, falling into the old habit of picking a useless argument with the feisty girl, "if you remembered to bring enough medication, you'll sleep for most of the trip." Cait blinked several times, biting her lower lip as she thought his statement through.

"Damn Squall, you right," she told him a moment later, and the taller released a breath he didn't know he was holding as Cait cocked her head to one side and shrugged her surrender, "guess I can't argue with your flawless logic."

Cait and Squalls friendly rivalry had grown as their friendship did. After meeting Zell and hearing about Squall's uptight and icy attitude, she was surprised when the pair had begun to bond; she discovered that not only was the so-called 'Cold Commander' funny, often leaving Cait in fits of laughter that brought tears to her eyes and confusion to his face, that he also held an innate sense for the fine arts. She had told him so, asking him to draw her a tattoo that she had inked into her shoulder blade on her last birthday- 3 black spirals to symbolize her elemental affinity. A smile came to Cait's face as she remembered the only time the pair had ever raced, circling the main halls of GARDEN, until Squall had almost broken Quistis' ankle as they rounded the library. He maintained he was winning at the time, and she never let him live it down. Of course, there were still certain things neither shared with the other, but theirs was a strong bond.

"Phew! Good thing I'm not the last one—Rinoa!"

Selphie stopped dead in her tracks, doubling over to catch her breath as Cait and Squall looked at each other, eyebrows raised in the same way.

"Selphie, you ARE late," Squall reprimanded her, glancing at his watch, "but Zell and Irvine still aren't here, so I'll let it slide… This time." Selphie glanced at him through her bangs and poked her tongue out at the pair.

"So what's Rinoa doing here?" Selphie asked Cait several minutes later as the pair loaded their suitcases into the further most end of the can. Cait shrugged, pushing Selphie's yellow case against Rinoa's oversized blue one.

"Leonhart said she wants to go to Timber," She offered. Selphie scratched her head in thought.

"That does sound like her… why didn't he say something earlier?"

"Because," a third voice interjected, "he knew you'd react like twelve year-olds."

Selphie squawked and Cait swore as they turned at the same time to look at Squall, who had a hand on his hip. "I understand that for various reasons, the two of you don't like Rinoa," Cait muttered something under her breath, and Squall scowled, "but it's only for as long as we're traveling to and from Timber; that's it." Cait didn't answer; she didn't have to. The three of them knew all too well that even just conversing to Rinoa about the spear-wielding girl meant trouble. In fact, more now than ever, conversing about any girl who wasn't Rinoa sent her into a fit of rage. And that included Selphie and Quistis.

Rinoa stared at Cait from her spot on the floor. She watched her and Selphie smile in unison (although she admitted that Cait's smile was something more like a smirk, which sent a flare of anger through her being) and flash Squall the peace sign. The rage told her that a sneak attack on the pair would be fun, but irresponsible. She needed Squall to stay with her, and Cait would be out of their lives before he would be out of hers.

Rinoa was aware in her mind that Cait, who she glared at as she pulled the boot door shut, was around to get into Squall's bed. What girls weren't these days? The hero of the second sorceress war was hot game, and everywhere he went, a gaggle of teenagers follow. Those she could endure, but she found it impossible to handle Squall letting one into his life- hell into their room!

Cait felt the daggers Rinoa was sending at her and turned on her heel ready to give the sorceress a piece of her mind, anger turning to amusement as Irvine and Zell pulled their bags up the hallway. Irvine was laughing at Zell, who looked rather annoyed, blonde hair falling into his eyes. Irvine's laughter died on his tongue as Zell glared up at him, eyes narrowed and mouth pursed. "What?" he asked, scratching the side of his head, confused, "I didn't throw you into the fountain, sweetheart!"

"It's about time you dorks turned up!" Selphie cried, no malice in her voice as she squashed Zell's retort. In its stead he threw another look in Irvine's direction before approaching Cait, who was muffling her laughter well enough to rake her fingers through the blonde's messy sopping hair. "We're gonna miss the train now cause of you two!" Selphie added.

"Sefie quit throwing a fit!" Irvine called over her as he pulled the sleeve of his tan jumper up his arm, "see? We've got heaps of time!" Selphie peered at Irvine's outstretched watch, head cocked to one side.

She was so focused on the ticking hands that she completely missed the hurt in her tall friend's eyes.

"You're still late," Squall told him. Irvine blinked, and then nodded, blue eyes intent on Cait and Zell, the former attempting to dry the blonde's hair with a singlet she had pulled from her little back pack. Zell laughed at her once and took the black article from her hands, throwing her an easy grin as he proceeded to run it along the top of his head, and then his arms.

Cait turned to face him, waving him and his belongings over. In the space of a few minutes they had wedged the boys more realistic sized suitcases into the back, forcing the boot closed with their shoulders. "So we're all set now?" Irvine asked, taking a deep breath as he rubbed his now aching limb.

"Seem to be," Squall replied, running his hands through his hair, "You're okay for the first six hours, right Cait?" She nodded and then made an indignant noise as Squall tossed the keys in Zell's direction. Zell caught them with a grin, and Cait stared at the pair of them, eyes wide.

"You're letting ZELL drive?" the blonde in question looked over at her, eyes narrowed, "what? I remember what happened last time."

"I got my license back last week," he said with a pout, "besides, that bird drove out onto the road, I wasn't about to squish it under the wheels, was I?"

"I still wished you'd warned me before you tried to kill me," she replied, defeated. But there was a little smile on her face as she approached the large door, which Irvine opened with a bow and a flourish.

"Your chariot," he teased as Cait levered herself in. She shook her head and ruffled his hair as she passed him. He whined his objection as he followed her in, oblivious to the glares Rinoa was giving the pair as she climbed into the front seat of the vehicle, resting her hands in her lap as she rolled her eyes. In the back of the van, Cait imitated Rinoa's imperial nature, making Irvine do everything bar stuffing his gloved hand into his mouth to keep from laughing.

"No, Irvy, I mean it," she began in a quiet high-pitched voice, "does this dress make my butt look big?" Squall looked over his shoulder from the middle bench seat, half a smile on his face, "Ooh, sorry Squally," she continued as Rinoa slammed the door closed, "I didn't mean to be such a giant pain in the—"

"Cait, please, just be nice," he told her, resting his arms on the top of the seat.

"Fine..." she said with a pout as Zell turned the ignition and the van screamed into life. Cait reached down to pull her boots from her feet, before sprawling herself along the seat, blue socked feet in Irvine's lap. She smiled at him and he nodded an innate understanding in their motions. Her eyes fluttered shut as Zell pulled out of the grounds, and with the combined effect of the anti-sickness medication and the muscle relaxant she had taken for her aching foot, she soon drifted into a peaceful, uninterrupted sleep.

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Cait dozed on and off for the first day and a half of the trip, jerking awake when her dreams turned dark as they often did. Sleepy eyes turned towards Zell, who sat in the back of the van with her as they drove through the Galbadian desert. Heat waves rose from the dry ground around them and for a moment she wished she was outside, feeling the wind against her bare arms.

Every man, woman and child is born with an innate elemental affinity. Some people never discover it, and some do under moments of extreme stress or pain. Cait discovered her affinity to wind when she was 13, training in the Balamb plains with Jack. It had terrified her at the time, but in the 6 years since learning the ways that the wind could shift and rise when she was angry, she had used it in the ways she would have never before thought possible.

Some people's 'affins' made perfect sense, like Squall's icy demeanour and his glacial elemental manipulation, and then there were others like Selphie, who many would assume was affiliated with thunder and all things bright, but felt most at home with the earth under her little feet. More than once Cait had found her in the training centre, bare foot and dirt covering half her legs.

Cait's wind affinity had been part of the reason she had become dragoon trained. After she had crashed back to the ground Jack had been laughing out loud in surprise. She glared at him and the noise intensified. Once he calmed down he explained that he was a wind affin as well, and that most, if not all, dragoons used the air to leap high into the air.

It had been a surprise to John when the pair returned, windswept and laughing, proclaiming he suspected that she would have been a fire elemental like he was. "Your temper," he explained with a shrug, "most people with an angry streak like yours end up fire affins."

Cait had known from the day she had met Zell that he was a thunder affin- the air cracked with energy whenever he was the slightest bit annoyed.

"Are you feeling okay Caitie?" the thunderous blonde asked, raking his fingers through his hair as he looked at her. She nodded, yawning. "We'll get to Deling City in a few hours, we just went past the old Garden."

Galbadia Garden: after the war its halls remained abandoned, a monument to the errors of the western continents ways. The government would never admit it out loud, but allowing the Sorceress to take control of their ways 2 years ago had been their biggest failure to date- something they would never allow to happen again. It had only been a year since the new president had come into power, a stern man named Rhodes, who's one goal seemed to be to unite the world as one government.

Although, Cait decided as they drove on, his methods seemed at bit heavy handed.

Selphie was at the helm at the moment, wearing a white summer dress combined with black tights and her brown knee high boots. Irvine sat in the seat next to her, shoes missing in brown suede and a black shirt. His hair sat spiked to perfection, left alone from tampering Cait-hands. Squall scratched his denim clad leg, turning his attention to his companions behind him.

"Cait, can I have your laptop?" he asked, reaching his gloved hands over in an expectant fashion. He heard Cait grumble her assent as she rummaged through her black duffel in the furthermost compartment.

"Get your arse outta the way Caitie!" Selphie yelled down the length of the vehicle. As Cait 'aha'ed and wrenched the offending electrical object from her bag, she wiggled from side to side to further annoy her friend, "yes Caitie, you have a fine butt! Now MOVE IT!"

"I'm goin', I'm goin'," she called, righting herself in her seat. She handed the laptop to Squall who thanked her as he powered it up. "How much longer?" she asked Selphie as she lay across the seat, using Zell's track suited leg as a pillow. Zell chuckled as she got comfortable, moving the hand that was on his lap so it rested on Cait's waist.

"If we don't stop, we'll be there just before sunset," Squall answered for Selphie, who was ignorant to the question, fiddling with the car radio as she drove, "is that them?" he asked as Cait grunted and sat up, looking over the seat at her desktop.

"Yup, that's them- taught me everything I know," she replied, watching the screen with a smile.

The image was the only one of its kind- taken before the world had gone to hell and back. Cait stood in the middle, mouth half open as she barked instruction at the photographer. Jack flat out refused to be in the picture, but had agreed to take this one for her student. To Cait's left were 2 tall men who looked alike; John and David were cousins and had grown up as brothers. John was seven years older than David- 10 years older than Cait- and larger around the chest. His arm was around Cait's waist, a furrow in his thick brow.

To the right stood Hal and Isaac. Technology savvy Hal had a hand on the back of his mop of light brown hair, a delicate flush on his pale cheeks. Isaac alone was smiling at the camera, green eyes shining in the sun.

Squall seemed pleased with his recollection, and opened a game of solitaire as Cait laid back down against Zell's knees.

Cait remembered that day with a smile- it had taken weeks to convince them to take the day off and travel to Balamb beach. Jack had wanted to say no, but had taken one look at the girl's face and had conceded. He layered himself in sunscreen, but still managed to get burnt by the sun.

They had all come back to Garden with varying degrees of sunburn that day, but none worse than Isaac, who was a violent shake of red for 4 days. Cait had been the one to look after him, running cold baths and slathering his back with lotion while the others picked on him.

"Hell, at least I get to have a girl give me a rub down!" he had shot at them, winking at Cait the way he often would.

Only a few months after that day the Garden went mobile and the garden battle happened. Cait and Isaac had been sent across and-

Cait shook her head hard, shaking the memory, trying to focus on the memory of the sun, the way David tossed her into the waves like she was a leaf, laughing at her indignant face when she re-surfaced, hair covering half her face.

Zell's hand squeezed her waist, reminding her where she was, and she turned to smile up at him, grateful for his steady presence. "Go back to sleep Caitie," he instructed, giving her a stern look when she opened her mouth, "I'll wake you when we get there." She nodded and closed her eyes, allowing good memories wash over her as she dozed off.