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Character(s): Quistis and ANYONE
Location: Training Center
Rating: PG-13 for violence
Open/Closed/Finished: Open
Summary: In an attempt to clear her mind, Quistis heads to the Training Center to beat down some monsters.

While Quistis had told many of the new cadets that she was sure their transition to the world would take some time to properly adjust to, she hadn't expected to encounter the same problem herself. She wasn't new to the world, after all-- even if she had been pulled from the past, she was still a native and had become especially familiar with nearly every corner of the world considering the amount of traveling she had done over the course of the mission. While the time which passed over the rift in the Time Compression hadn't changed the world much, the mere fact that she had skipped over two decades in an instant still perturbed her slightly. It was unsettling, knowing one being could harness such an extreme power.

And now after the grueling journey, she was allowed to resume her life as a SeeD. It seemed simple enough, and perhaps the most natural reaction should have been for Quistis to accept the regression with open arms and jump back into the life she was so familiar with without any problems-- but things were never that easy. With the discoveries that she had made along the quest regarding her forgotten past, the fact that she had to face her own maternal figure in battle with no room for hesitation coupled with the constant paranoia of monster and military personnel ambushes during all hours of the day, it was understandable that the transition back to "normal" SeeD life would take some time. No matter how hard she tried to push herself, in the end even Quistis had to acknowledge she was only human.

So with her restless state, Quistis turned to the most obvious means to settle her mind, an outlet to momentarily distract herself: Training.

It wasn't quite yet curfew when Quistis made her way down to the Training Center, but by the steady stream of students heading towards the dormitories, she had no doubts that the Disciplinary Committee would begin to make their rounds soon. While it wasn't against Garden rules to occupy the Training Area after curfew, the thought of another possible encounter with a certain arrogant blond when they began their patrolling around the lobby quickened Quistis' steps just a touch as she walked over the bridge connecting to the Center entrance. She was in no mood to deal with Seifer.

Her usual battle attire still in the process of being mended after the countless tears and beatings it took while the party chased after Ultimecia, Quistis was donned in a simple gym shirt and a pair of thick pants, though her usual leather boots and gloves were still present. With Save the Queen grasped firmly in one hand, Quistis made sure to keep her steps light as she padded her way through the jungle environment, eyes alert for any signs of monsters. If she was lucky, she might stumble across an unsuspecting T-Rex.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

At least one of them was smiling. Hope returned the expression, albeit with a certain degree of reserve in it. At least he wasn't in danger of being picked off and eaten even before classes really began, but he wasn't exactly out of hot water yet either. "Thanks, Miss...um."

She looked older than the Commander, but she was hardly aged or male enough to be the Headmaster. A professor? A librarian? School nurse?

"SeeD Quistis Trepe. You can just call me Quistis, though." She finished for him as he trailed off with the title. The boy seemed to be a rather polite guy, which was always an appreciated trait of a cadet in training. Respect was important when you were always dealing with superiors.

After a brief glance over to Squall, Quistis turned to face the cadet again, a hand on her hip as she flashed him a warm smile. "It's getting pretty late-- how about we get you out of the Training Center so you can head back to your dorm? You need a good nights sleep if you want to get up on time tomorrow."

Turning back towards the two, Squall looked between them before his gaze settled back on Hope. "Next time- don't come alone," he advised. "At least not until you know what you're up against and what you're doing. Got it?"

There was no warm, chipper, happy smile on his face like some. He was dead serious. He really did not feel like processing the paperwork for a casualty so soon. Especially for someone who looked like they couldn't properly hold a sword.

"Here." Squall stepped towards him, turning Lionheart around so he held onto the blade, the handle extended to the cadet. The gunblade wasn't a light weapon but it was easy enough for him to hold as he'd been holding the weapon itself practically his entire life.

"Go on. Take it."

"Yes!" he responded immediately.

As the gunblade was extended to him, Hope almost opened his mouth again to ask, 'Why?' One glance up at Squall's face made him snap it shut. The Commander certainly didn't look like the type that enjoyed useless questions. Instead, Hope just pulled the cloth on his wrist higher, over his brand (force of habit) and reached out, wrapping his fingers around the handle. His hand was smaller than Squall's, and he used a second fist to balance the grip. Even though Squall was still holding on to one end, Hope could feel the weight in the weapon.

"I'm...a little more used to boomerangs," he murmured. Was this some sort of test? He raised his head to the Commander.

Quistis simply crossed her arms and watched the scene play out before her. If she hadn't known better, she would have found Squall's gesture to be rather touching-- he didn't seem like the type who would let just anyone touch his gunblade. But the impatience and irritation he felt was evident on his face, and she tried to hide the small smirk as Hope grasped the weapon with hesitation.

"Boomerang?" Quistis couldn't help but tilt her head at the mention of such an object as a weapon. "Well... I suppose that could be a form of aerial weaponry."

Squall said nothing as their eyes met. Hesitantly he pulled his hand back to let Lionheart rest completely in Hope's grasp, watching him and how he handled the weapon.

Then he snorted softly, lips quirking into a brief smirk (or smile - PICK WHATEVER YOU WANT), the impatience and irritation Quistis had noted fading gradually into a more calm, content expression. "...Not bad."

Looking bewildered, Hope continued to look back between Squall and Quistis. Was that a pass? He just had to hold up a weapon? They were smiling, at least - a marked difference from the I'm About To Squash You Under My Heel Cadet look from a second ago. The boy looked down at the Lionheart, testing it with a small, tiny swing. It was still leaps and bounds away from handling it as well as Squall and Lightning did, but the fact that it was a weapon just like theirs still made a small, modest smile bloom on his face. "Light has one of these two. I've never picked hers up before, though."

He turned to look at Quistis. "I never used my weapon much to begin with. Mostly, I used magic, but I didn't know the spell you used back there. It was really cool."

While the mention of someone else owning a gunblade was rather intriguing, Quistis was a bit more interested in the fact that Hope was a magic user. Though her strength in casting magic and physical attacks were basically on par with each other, her specialty in Blue Magic made her favor casting just a bit-- and to hear that a new cadet might possibly venture into the field of para-magic delighted her.

"I don't doubt that your Boomerang will see much more action now that you're a cadet. Though, if you say you're use to casting magic, perhaps you should consider exploring the advanced para-magic specializations once the electives are open to you. They might be right up your alley." Then again Quistis was a bit biased-- back in her days as an instructor, she had taught the Advanced Attack Para-Magics class along with the Introduction to Para-Magic and Guardian Force course.

Letting the cadet hold onto the gunblade for a while longer, Squall absently picked at his shirt. He pulled the wet fabric away from his skin and sighed under his breath. A nice, hot shower would do wonders right about now. And he sent a glance over to Quistis, noting how she was also covered with the T-Rex's blood and equally as sweaty looking. "I don't see why you haven't gone back for your license," he spoke up quietly then, glancing at her again.

"You miss teaching, just admit it."

Through the corner of her eyes Quistis noticed Squall assessing the mess he was covered in, and she made a quick glance down to her own attire-- a small sigh escaped her lips at the sight, the front of her shirt soaked in an unfortunate mixture of blood and sweat. His words caught her off guard, though, and her body visibly tensed at the mention of her license. Was he really going to bring this up now? And in front of a cadet, no less?

Taking a deep breath, Quistis lifted her gaze as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before she crossed her arms over her chest, the stance a bit more guarded than usual. "We were just thrown twenty years into the future, Squall. That takes a bit of time to adjust to. And besides, I'm not sure I want to take up a position I was previously deemed unqualified for." The subject was still sore to her, and quite honestly she didn't want to talk about it-- especially with Squall of all people. So she turned her back to him to face Hope and slipped on a smile, one that was almost apologetic.

"Pretty heavy weapon, isn't it? I have to admit, I've always had difficulty wielding saber weapons." Hopefully the topic change would stick.

Hope was sure he wasn't the only one who noticed that segue, but he certainly wasn't going to be the one to point it out. Being no stranger to secrets and secret-bearers, he knew what sorts of situations called for prying and, more importantly, what sorts didn't.

"Huh?" Oh, uh, me too! They're usually too long for my reach, and since I'm not charging in most of the time, it'd be pointless. Light's is a little lighter than this, I think. Hers is thinner, and a little shorter." As he spoke, he held the Lionheart out, back to Squall, carefully pointing the blade down as to avoid careless injury (not that Squall would need it, being a practiced wielder). He wasn't about to admit it, but Hope's arms were getting a little sore anyway. "Here," he said. "Thanks for letting me try it out, Commander."

Almost. Just almost does he let it slip out- telling the cadet to just call him by his first name. Because Hyne-damnit the title of Commander is a little unnecessary after curfew, at least Squall thought so but he knew Cid would argue otherwise and go on and on about how Squall was the cadet's commanding officer and thus should be addressed as such.

Squall nodded and took Lionheart back, bringing her up to rest against his shoulder. Kind of weird to hear her address me by my actual name in front of a cadet rather than my title. She's normally the one who's so strict on them..

"Light...?" he asked Hope, his attention diverted from his thoughts right back to the cadet. "So then there are three in total now who wield the gunblade."

Quistis was more than relieved that Squall dropped the subject of her license, though she hadn't necessarily expected him to press on about it. The fact that he had even bothered to bring it up surprised her-- he certainly didn't care when he had informed him of her dismissal nearly a year ago. She shrugged it off, though, and instead listened to Hope's explanation, nodding along with a knowing look.

"Looks like you and Seifer may have some new competition."

Edited 2010-05-06 10:46 (UTC)

Hope lit up. "Lightning!" he said, and if he weren't scratched up here and there with dirt on his clothes, you would've never known he had just been fighting for his life. He gestured with his hands as he described her. "She's my friend, and she's helped me a lot. She's about this tall, and her face looks serious all the time, so she looks kind of angry, but she's actually really nice, and I don't know what I would've done without her back in Cocoon."

After a second, however, he sobered up. "I don't know if she's here, though. We all got separated when we arrived."

If the mention of Seifer had bothered Squall - he barely let it show. He kept his attention focused on Hope, listening as he described this woman as his friend. A woman who had mastered the gunblade? It was interesting to hear as it was only himself and Seifer who had taken up mastering the weapon and no other.

Concerning his earlier slip up on a rather personal matter regarding Quistis and the loss of her instructing license; admittedly, Squall was mentally kicking himself for it. He'd certainly put his foot in his mouth at that point. But he would approach her later and bring it up again, or at least apologize. As he should've done the instant the words had left his lips.

She sounds almost like-- no, don't even thinkthat-- "Leave a message on the boards. If your friend checks them, she'll likely see it." Squall tapped Lionheart against his shoulder. "Looks like a lot of people lately have been looking for their friends."

...What a strange name for a place. Cocoon. Reminds me of butterflies- hnn.

It was endearing, the way that Hope spoke about his friend-- the younger male obviously looked up to this "Lightning" person by the way he described her. Hopefully the woman did show up in the world, just so Hope would have someone he was familiar with in the foreign world; in such a distressing situation, friends would no doubt be crucial.

Of course the familiarity of the description didn't escape her mind, either-- this Lightning individual sounded suspiciously similar to Squall, other than the obvious gender difference. Her eyes briefly flickered over to her male companion to see his reaction, but Quistis was hardly surprised by the stoic expression that was ever-present on his face.

"I agree, the boards are probably your best bet. I'll be on the lookout for anyone who fits the description, though."

Their quiet session was soon disrupted by a roar not too far from her the opposite direction they had come from, and her grip on Save the Queen tightened a bit. "It's probably best if we get moving-- I think I've dealt with enough T-Rexaurs for the night."

Squall looked over towards the bridge at the sound of the beast. "...What's one more?" he asked, looking back to where she was. He shrugged a shoulder, Lionheart lowering.

"Although you should be back in your room-- let's go." He led the way, already thinking about that shower and how nice it would be to get the blood cleaned away. Of course, once the cadet was returned safely to his room.

A part of him felt sorry for the faculty who had to deal with their laundry, all that blood.

The trio made their way through the Training Center with no problems other than the stray Grat or two that barely required more than a hit to slay. Upon reaching the exit, Quistis turned to briefly glance at Squall, before focusing on Hope.

"Since it's past curfew, it's best if we escort you back to your dorm. The Disciplinary Committee is probably patrolling around the lobby right now, and I don't want you go have any problems should you encounter them."

Hope nodded gratefully. Disciplinary Committee, huh. He could do without getting into more hot water on his first day. "Thanks. Sorry for the trouble."

And so the trio continued onto the dormitories where they left Hope to walk the rest of the way to his room. Once the two were alone, Squall glanced at her and then looked around the quiet, empty first level of Garden where they stood near the entrance to the dormitories.

"...Guess that's it then." That's all you have to say? Pathetic.

Quistis waited until Hope's door slid shut and the click of the lock was in place before she turned back to Squall. She lifted a hand to push back her sweaty bangs away from her forehead, and with a tired sigh she clipped her weapon to her belt, a sign that she was done with her workout.

"Well, I'm going to turn in for the night. If you're going to keep training, I'll see you later." Without another word she turned and made her way out of the dormitory wing and back to the main lobby where the elevator was located.

Squall watched her go for a moment only to then follow. They had to take the same elevator after all to their separate dorm rooms. Long legs and long strides helped him catch up. "Quistis..." He reached out to snag her upper arm and stop her.

What are you doing...

Quistis had heard Squalls' steps echoing behind her, but assumed that he was simply following the same path down before the hallway diverged between the Training Center and the steps to the elevator. So when she felt his hand clasp around her arm after she had pressed the "up" button for the elevator, Quistis immediately turned to face the Commander, but not before snatching her arm away.

"What is it?"

Sometimes Squall could be seen as entirely oblivious about some things. Other times he just chose to ignore them. But this time he knew his old instructor wasn't too happy with him. And normally he wouldn't give two shits and shrug it off with a nonchalant 'whatever' and go on his merry little way doing whatever it was he was doing.

"...I'm sorry." His brows knit slightly as he took in the tired and exasperated expression.

He glanced at the doors then as they parted and waited for her to enter first.

There was a pause as she took in Squall's apology, her previous exasperation replaced with a slight look of shock. Instead of responding, though, Quistis stepped into the elevator once the doors slid open and immediately distanced herself from him as far as she could.

While under normal circumstances she might have accepted the apology with a wide smile, Quistis was currently tired, irritated, and a bit humiliated with what had happened in the Training Center earlier. But she wanted him to hear her piece of mind, and so she turned to face him, her arms crossing over her chest.

"I appreciate your apology, but really, I thought that was highly inappropriate earlier. Bringing up the matter in front of a cadet was extremely unprofessional." Though the words came out calmly, there was an obvious coolness to her tone.

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HAPPY SMILE ON HER FACE

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