Author's Notes (New): See previous two chapters for the copy/pasta notes on the revision.

Author's Notes (Old): Okay, so here is the next part. I had hoped to also throw up 3 soon, but... well, that is a story for the next author's notes (and either epic fail or awesome), but just know that I decided to do a bit more effort on it and it will thus be delayed.

Hyne's War: Chapter 2

Thursdays were by far Nida's least favorite day of the week. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that his alarm clock started to scream at him at five am, but Nida wasn't sure. With a groan Nida shook the last remnants of half remembered dreams from his head and reached out to smack his alarm clock silent. So began another Thursday morning, and Nida, as ever, was almost tempted to roll back over and go to sleep. The urge only increased when a warm arm snaked its way around his waist, and Nida heard the first grumbles from Elijah.

"Ten more minutes," the red-haired man grumbled into Nida's back.

"If I didn't agree last week, or the week before, or in any of the ten weeks before that, why would I agree now?" Nida asked, prying Elijah's arm from around his waist.

"Stay in bed," Elijah insisted, tightening his grip as best he could, though Nida was slowly gaining ground against the still yawning red-head.

"You know I can't. Too much to do before the meeting."

"Work work work. All you ever do is work. Learn to relax."

Nida rolled his eyes even though he agreed. Thursdays always made him agree with Elijah on things like this. The reason that Nida hated this day more than any other in the week was because it was on Thursday mornings that the counsel of higher ranking SeeDs which Squall had set up just after the war always had their meetings. These things, sometimes lasting as long as three hours, covered everything from test results and requests, to mission debriefings, to training improvement, and even ways that SeeDs could improve relations with foreign nations. International tension, after all, was one of the most dangerous mission sources for Gardens. How could you maintain a positive relationship with one country if another country hired you to spy on the first?

While not bad in and of themselves, the meetings quickly got tedious and sometimes it felt as if nothing important was done despite all that was said. Of course, there was also the fact that it overloaded Nida's already busy schedule, forcing him to get up earlier and go to bed later.

"You could always skip training for a single day and stay in bed with me. It wouldn't kill you, would it?"

Nida smiled and turned to look at Elijah, placing a hand on Elijah's cheek. Just as the red-head started to smile back Nida brought his fingers together to pinch the skin. Elijah just smiled, not releasing Nida despite the implied threat, despite the fact that Elijah well knew that Nida was going to do the same thing he did almost every week when Elijah was like this. For a full minute Nida waited, and at last he sighed and twisted the flesh pinched between his fingers. The yelp that came from Elijah was almost enough to make Nida wince, but the fact that Elijah pulled away at the same time, wriggling back and pulling the blankets up over his head, made Nida grin. At least Nida was sure that that would always work.

Still, better not to leave the temptation for Elijah by staying in one place. Quickly Nida untangled himself from the sheets and slipped from the bed. With a sigh he made his way towards the closet to change. A worn t-shirt and jeans were thrown on as well as a pair of boots, all of which he would trade out for a uniform after he showered in the training area post-practice. Clothes on hangers were then pushed aside so that Nida could look over a series of hooks that lined the walls of his closet and bore his prized possessions, his polearms. All were polished to gleaming perfection, every blade sharpened to a razor sharp edge, and each one was different. Everything from the most basic pikes and spears to the more complex fauchard forks, and elegant war scythes. Nida's fingers brushed over the shafts of the weapons before he took a small, plain metal stick from a series of racks with near identical sticks of various lengths.

Nida quickly selected one of the brushed metal sticks and tossed it from his left hand to his right before flicking it backwards. There was a yelp before Nida turned and frowned at Elijah, who was now cradling his right hand to his chest, his knuckles already bright red from the whack Nida had given them.

"Give it up," Nida sighed, crossing his arms and shaking his head. After a moment he couldn't help but start twirling the metal rod in his hand. "Have you ever been able to sneak up on me this early in the morning? Have you ever been able to sneak up on me when we weren't sparring?"

Elijah stood there, rubbing the back of his hand and giving Nida an almost convincing pout. The only reason the pilot didn't give in to the look was because Nida had struck himself more than once when first learning to fight. While it stung, Nida knew he hadn't used enough force to do anything resembling damage. Still, when Elijah kept up the act, Nida sighed and took the 'injured' hand. Then, eyes closed, Nida reached for one of the cure spells he had perpetually fixed to mind.

It was hard, Nida knew, to fix any spell to mind for any length of time, allowing the person fixing it to use the spell even without junction. There were few people who had the skill, and even less were proficient at it or capable of doing it with more than one spell. Fujin, for instance, was quite adept at wind spells, and Squall could use high level ice spells without much difficulty. Nida, though, was only able to fix low end cures spells and the occasional silence if he spent time on it. Parting with one of the fixed spells was an annoyance, but he knew it was less annoying than letting Elijah keep up the act. As much as Nida was fond of the other SeeD, he didn't have patience on Thursday mornings.

"There. All better. Now either go back to bed or get ready. Either way just let me get on my way, okay?"

"Lend me one of your shirts," Elijah said, ducking past Nida and all but diving into the closet.

"Get your own shirt," Nida sighed, pulling Elijah back with a sigh.

"Easier this way. Then we can spar sooner."

"No. I don't want to fight this morning, Nida. I just want to practice."

"Oh come on, a little spar wouldn't hurt, right? It's been almost forever since I've fought you when you've had your sticks."

"Polearms, Elijah," Nida corrected. "And we sparred only last week, so don't give me that forever deal."

"You're no fun."

"Not what you said last night," Nida countered as he pushed Elijah out of the way.

With Elijah aside Nida moved back into the closet. Quickly he pulled the mate to the rod he had in hand, a heavy practice tambo. These two went into a leather pouch that was slung on a hook and were followed by several smaller lengths of metal pole. Finally Nida hung the pouch from his shoulder and brushed his fingers across several of his polearms before at last letting his hand close around a long metal pole that was almost seven feet long. Despite how heavy the simple stick was, almost twice the weight of Nida's normal polearms, he picked it up easily before heading for the door.

"Now he feels playful," Elijah grumbled, making his way towards the bed.

"I'll see you at the meeting," Nida said as he paused at the door. "And set an alarm this time, or you'll sleep through it again."

"Yes mommy."

Nida barely heard this last jibe, already as he was on the way out of the room, shaking off that weird after feeling he normally associated with deja vu passed.

Seven thirty found Nida freshly fed, showered, and slipping into the conference room that now dominated the basement level once ruled by NORG. Bagel and coffee in hand Nida nodded to those who had unsurprisingly beat him to the conference room. Never had Nida been the first to arrive, how could he be when there were people like Squall around? From what he heard, Squall arrived almost an hour before the scheduled start of any meetings when he could. At the moment the SeeD Commander was giving the coldest glare he could manage—one that sent shivers down Nida's spine—to the unnaturally perky Selphie. Xu was also present at her accustomed place to Squall's left, sorting through whatever reports she and Quistis would give during the course of the meeting, though the blond woman was not yet present.

Carefully Nida placed the hot cup of coffee and the bagel on the table before his settling down at the table, his foot purposefully nudging against that of Irvine's as he sat. The gunner's head rose from where it had been resting on the other side of the table, and shot Nida a look almost dirty enough to carry a thousand curses without a word, almost as bad as one of Squall's glares.

"You know," Nida teased, "I think we should move our training sessions up to this time of morning. It would do you good."

It was amazing to see just how much dirtier the look became, and icy as well, almost as much as one of Squall's. Then again, it was no secret that Irvine hated the timing of these weekly meetings, often suggesting that they changed. As often as not, Irvine half slept through the meetings, though Selphie was more than happy to bump him awake. Unlike the Trabian girl, the gunner was a night owl, not an early bird. Hell, Nida was much the same.

"Fuck you," Irvine croaked out.

"That is hardly polite," Nida laughed.

"Must you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Act cheerful?" Irvine growled.

Nida smiled as brightly as he could. "Am I not allowed to even though Selphie does it all the time? And really, must you sleep? Surely you get enough at night."

Something in the conversation, maybe her name, had drew Selphie's attention. The petite brunette smiled, wiggled her eyebrows, and leaned in close to Nida, as if telling a secret even though she pitched her voice so that Irvine could easily hear.

"I tried to get him to sleep last night, but he had so much energy."

The comment turned Irvine's face and ears red and he buried his face in his arm as Nida started to snicker.

"Don't worry," Nida said as he regained control of himself, his snickering dying away. "I promise I won't tell anyone."

"I don't," Selphie cheerfully said, which got her a a smack from Irvine. "Well, Zell will be here soon enough, and Quistis once she's finished whatever she's working on. We can start the meeting then, right?"

"Elijah," both Nida and Irvine corrected, though Nida could hear annoyance in Irvine's voice while Nida had pitched his voice towards patience.

"Oh. Right," Selphie said, rubbing the back of her neck. "He's always so late that I forget he's even supposed to be here."

It was hard to blame her for that because more often than not Elijah showed up late, earning dirty looks from Quistis and Xu, but barely being noticed by other people. When you had a situation like that it was hard to remember that Elijah even belonged there. Still, belong there he did, and Nida found himself reaching for one of the phones that sat in the middle of the table. Quickly he dialed his own room extension and was about to hang up as the fifth ring began, only to suddenly hear a noise on the line. Granted the noise was a combination of clattering, cursing, and a loud thump, but it was a noise none the less, and likely meant that Elijah was at least awake now. Of course it also sounded like he would be in pain, as Nida was more than willing to bet that the last part of the sound was Elijah falling out of the bed, especially when the resultant groan was taken into account.

"What?' Elijah's voice finally came across on the line, a grumpy demand at best.

"This is your seven thirty-five wake up call."

"Shit!"

Then, as abruptly as it was answered, the line was dead. With a sigh Nida replaced the receiver on the cradle and tried to figure out exactly what in his room Elijah might have knocked over to account for that clattering. Hopefully nothing fragile, but if it was then Nida was more than willing to make the other SeeD pay for it, one way or another.

When Nida looked up he found his gaze meeting Irvine's, the gunner's bright violet eyes inquisitive. "He just get up/"

"Wasn't up at all. I figure that he'll make it here on time though."

"He'll be late. No way he makes it in twenty-five minutes," Irvine countered, sounding exceedingly confident of the fact, though the effect was ruined by the fact that his head was still resting on his arm.

"He won't be late."

"Ten gil."

"You're on."

Nida reached out across the table, holding his hand out to shake, and couldn't help but chuckle as Irvine looked at it warily. At last the gunner lifted his head just long enough to extend his arm and shake, before going back to using it as a pillow.

Soon enough silence regained dominance in the room, interrupted only briefly for the arrival of Quistis and Zell. Finally there was only the sound of shifting papers and Irvine lifting his head frequently to glance at his watch. Each time Irvine's smile seemed to grow, his confidence in winning the bet obvious. Nida, though, just smiled and pushed the warm cup of coffee and bagel towards the seat on his right, even as the door of the conference room slid open. Everyone looked up then, and Nida just smirked as he saw Elijah stumble in, still looking exhausted. The red-haired man plopped down into the seat next to Nida and gratefully reached for the coffee, draining half of the cup before even pausing to take a breath. In fact, Nida suspected that the only thing which really caused Elijah to put the cup down was hearing the groan as Irvine fished out his wallet and withdrew a ten gil note to slide over to Nida.

At that point Squall cleared his throat to call the meeting into order, and Nida had to hold back a sigh of annoyance. As expected he found himself still sitting there an hour later, all but dosing through Xu's various reports. Just like every other week it was tedious and uninteresting, and already Irvine and Elijah had put their heads down to nap.

Nida must have nodded off himself because he found his head jerking up suddenly, and Xu was saying something completely different than what he had last remembered her talking about. Likely the only reason Nida had even become aware of it now was because Xu was mentioning something about Winhill, Nida's hometown.

"SeeD Burgess also noted that some of the rumors were more interesting than normal during his resupply. Apparently there a stranger has moved to Winhill recently."

"I fail to see why this is important," Irvine's voice slipped out from behind the arm that pillowed his head. Apparently the gunner was more awake than Nida had given him credit for.

"Burgess admitted that he too would not have noted it were it not for the description of the man. Word is that he is blond and has a scar on his face."

Nida watched as Irvine's attention, not to mention that of the other members of the Orphanage Gang, snapped towards Xu so fast that Nida was sure that the assembled group probably had several cases of whiplash between them. It wasn't a surprising reaction really, there had been attempts to find Seifer Almasy, the former Sorceress Knight, starting shortly after his departure from Balamb Town four months ago. Why they were so interested Nida did not know, he'd never been fond of Seifer as it was, but chances were that someone would be sent to Winhill to determine the truth of the rumor. Nida knew he would not envy the person who was selected for the task as Seifer was not only a hard man to track down, but no one knew how he'd react to having a SeeD sent after him.

Yet, despite Nida's certainty that Squall would act, the SeeD commander sat silently in his chair at the head of the table, looking for all the world as if he had not even heard Xu. Instead Squall waited for the room to quiet before picking up a piece of paper that had been sitting in front of him for the entirety of the meeting.

"One of Trabia Garden's instructors is retiring soon and they are holding a celebration. He is the only instructor to have been in Garden employ since establishment, and was previously a Galbadian soldier and veteran in the first Sorceress. Cid has requested an honor guard of high level SeeDs from all Gardens to be present. As such I'm putting the offer first to those present here."

"Who's retiring?" Selphie asked, already squirming in her seat. Likely, Nida thought, she would offer herself for a position. After all, Selphie had lived at Trabia Garden for a descent portion of her life.

"The combat instructor Boyce Megill..."

Squall got no further in the face of the rush of words that poured from Selphie, her voice both elated and sad.

"Megil was SO cool! I learned nunchaku from him! He was awesome at picking the right weapons for the right people and..."

"Relax, sweetie," Nida heard Irvine whisper, and from the corner of his eye he caught Squall shooting the gunner an almost thankful look. Selphie even seemed to calm for a minute.

"The honor guard is to consist of two SeeD to represent each Garden. Eligibility is based on rank and Garden that original training took place at. Trabia has also requested that former students of Megill be allowed to attend if it does not conflict with missions or lessons. We have been asked to compile a list of those interested and capable of attending on the suggested date. Now, is anyone interested in the honor guard?"

Surprisingly four hands shot up at the question. Well, three of them were a surprise. Nida doubted anyone was shocked to find Selphie bouncing around in her seat with both arms raised and waving, flailing enough that Irvine was leaning away from her as if worried he would be hit by accident. More surprising was Irvine's hand raised beside her, though his lacked the enthusiasm his girlfriend was exhibiting. Further down the table Xu had also raised her own hand, even though she was still jotting down notes in the margin of her papers. Yet the most shocking to Nida was the fact that Elijah had awoken from one of his naps to raise his own hand.

Squall too seemed a little shocked by this, his eyebrow raised just the slightest bit. "You would all like positions?"

For a moment there was no response. At last Elijah spoke, which Nida was sure was the only thing more surprising than the red-haired man volunteering himself for anything.

"I don't know about the rest of them, but Megill really helped me out. He spent a year here when we were younger, remember? Megill trained me himself, allowed me to get a real weapon and start working in the training center a year early. Everything I know, everything I've achieved, is due to Boyce Megill. I feel obligated to be there when he finally moves on to greener pastures."

"I agree," Xu added. "When Boyce came here I had just made SeeD but I worked with staves and my combat ability was never the best. Megill handed me my first crossbow."

Selphie bounced around excitedly, though she did not add her own story, already having shared. Beside her, though, Irvine remained silent, his face obscured by the hat he wore. What connection he had with Megill he apparently wasn't about to share.

"Understood. Xu, please seek out another Trabian and Galbadian SeeD. And if there is nothing else, you are dismissed."

Immediately everyone began to gather up what things they had brought and the report files Quistis had passed out at the meetings beginning. Selphie ignored her own mess, leaving it for Irvine, and bounced her way over to Elijah, where she immediately started to ask him about his time with Megill. Elijah just shook his head and waved the girl off with a yawn, heading for the door and complaining about a lack of real food. Upon reaching the door the red-head looked back, his eyes meeting Nida's for just a moment as he inclined his head just so to the side, a silent request for Nida to join him. Nida took a moment longer to gather up his things, more than willing to spend what little time he had left before the busyness set in with the man who had won him ten gil, but a single sentence cut through the buzz of conversation that filled the post-meeting air.

"Nida, a moment."

Nida looked towards Squall and frowned before nodding, caught off guard by Squall's command. These days it felt like Squall was the only higher level SeeD who didn't seem to notice Nida at all. Yet here Nida stood, specifically called out by the SeeD Commander. The very prospect of a few minutes alone with Squall was something Nida wasn't sure how to feel about. Should he feel proud that he had been recognized for something by the man, or should he worry just what could come with a conversation with one of the most powerful men in the world, especially one who could order him into life threatening situations with little effort.

In silence Nida remained in his seat as the conference room emptied out, leaving him alone at last with the Lion of Balamb. It was only as the door closed behind Quistis that Squall looked up from the papers arrayed before him, a serious look in his steely eyes. That seriousness, though, was the only thing that Nida could read of Squall. The silence that extended out from the man was indecipherable to Nida, though it seemed that often enough the Orphanage Gang was capable of reading the stoic Commander. Then again, they had spent far more time with Squall during the war than Nida, who had been nothing more than a glorified chauffeur for the greater part of it, rarely even given the chance to join combat with the enemy.

The silence held for a moment, then two, before Nida finally cleared his throat, hoping that the noise would prompt some response from the seemingly pensive Squall. Luckily the tactic seemed to work, and Squall sighed before starting to gather the papers in front of him into a neat stack.

"You're from Winhill," Squall stated, and Nida couldn't help but grimace. Something told him that nothing good would come from Squall being familiar with that fact, Of course he was a little shocked to find him familiar with it, but that was something to contemplate at another time.

"As from it as a Garden student could be, sir."

For a moment Squall looked almost curious, and Nida couldn't help but feel like he needed to explain the comment. "Like a lot of Garden students our age, I was a war orphan. I was adopted though, by a woman from Winhill. She passed away a few years later though, when I was about eleven, and no one was willing to take me in. I was sent to Garden as a result, but Galbadia would not have me, something about Winhill people being too soft, so I was sent to Balamb. I've been here in Garden for long enough that I'm all but an outsider back home. The fact that I'm the only SeeD to come from the town other than yourself means very little to them. I wasn't even born there."

Squall nodded. "But they never knew me, and consider me an outsider as well. I have heard, though, that they refer to you as 'our young SeeD.'"

The words made Nida flinch. Why the people of Winhill referred to him as such Nida yet to figure out. He had only lived in Winhill for four years before his mother's death, and Nida had rarely spent time with the villagers when he returned during breaks or to visit his mother's grave. Then again, they still called him 'Daphne's boy' as well, and 'young Nida,' just as they had when he had still lived there. At least that was what Nida remembered now. Whether any of that was accurate or not was something he could hardly be sure of when one considered the fact that Nida had been using GFs on and off for years, and most of his youth was foggy at best. Still, Nida remembered his mother's face and kindness if nothing else, and returned when he could to Winhill to honor her memory. Maybe it was that which made the villagers fond of him.

"Laguna and Ellone hear whispers of it when the visit the village."

And that, Nida assumed, explained Squall's knowledge of what Nida was called and the very fact that Nida was from Winhill.

"They tell Ellone more, though. She was always considered one of them, so she could cut through the rumors easily enough to figure out the truth."

There, then, was the confirmation of Nida's first fear when he had heard Squall mention his hometown.

"No," Nida said, knowing Squall would understand the meaning behind the world. As he said it, though, Nida found himself able to read the silence that came from Squall. It said 'you don't really have a choice.'

"I understand why you wouldn't want to send Selphie or Zell," Nida quickly added, "but there are choices other than me."

Squall sighed and shook his head. "Quistis was his instructor, and he never respected her. Xu dislikes him. Irvine and Seifer never saw eye to eye as children, and have only faced each other in fights since then. And if I go, there will be fighting."

"Elijah then."

Again Squall shook his head. "I want you to go the weekend of the Megill celebration. Elijah has already expressed interest in attending, and he would be more than obvious in a town like Winhill. Elijah was also the squad leader during Seifer's first SeeD examination. Seifer disobeyed an order from Elijah and failed by a narrow margin."

This was something that Nida had never known, but considering what he did remember of Elijah and Seifer's infrequent interactions at Garden when they were younger, Nida didn't doubt it. The relationship between Elijah and Seifer was almost as bad as that between Elijah and Irvine, though the reason was more obvious with Seifer. Nida had more than once watched the pair get in disagreements because Elijah couldn't stand the blond pushing other people around.

"You are the only real choice. You have no previous ties to Seifer of any consequence. You possess intimate knowledge of the area and relationships with people who can provide information. You will be better prepared to head off rumors of your arrival than any other SeeD. You score high in diplomacy and information retrieval. And from what I heard yesterday, you can handle yourself against Class-A Elite SeeDs, a necessity when dealing with someone like Seifer."

At first Nida was speechless, and not only because of what had amounted to almost a speech from Squall. All of this information meant not only that the others had spoken to Squall about him, but that Squall had read Nida's records. Granted it was likely Squall was only familiar with them because the SeeD Commander needed to be familiar with what people were suited to which missions, but Nida still hadn't expected Squall to know so much.

"I've even had recommendations that you be tested for Class-A now."

That was almost more shocking.

"Who... When... What?"

"Irvine was the first," Squall said, his papers now set aside, his gray-blue eyes focused only on Nida at this point. "Two months ago. Selphie and Quistis have added their voices within the last two weeks, and Zell was rather enthusiastic about it yesterday. Elijah has been suggesting it for months himself, and I have been inclined from his arguments to at least limit the amount of exams you could take in a month so that you stop overworking yourself. As such I would suggest you consider this to be a chance for me to gauge your abilities. Selphie and Quistis have both gone out to follow up on rumors and have found nothing, and that in places more open with information."

Nida turned his gaze to stare at his hands, shocked by the turn of events. These last two months Nida had grown less sure about wanting to be Class-A, but with the position all but being offered to him, Nida was less sure about being unsure. Then again having something like finding Seifer being a test, Nida wasn't sure he could handle it. As Squall had said, no one had come back with good information yet, and who knew if Nida would have any better luck.

"Well," Nida said after a few minutes of thinking, "I guess I couldn't refuse even if I wanted to at this point."

"Good. I expect you to present me with your plans for approaching this assignment by this time next week."