concoursec | (no subject)

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

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.

"You're right," Squall answered once the doors shut and the car began to move upwards. He deserved whatever verbal beating she had ready for him. "And I'm apologizing for it."

Looking at her then, he continued. "The recent Time Compression seems to have thrown things out of whack. But it's no excuse, I know that. Like I said - I'm sorry."

There was no coolness to his tone, only as calm as hers. With a tiny hint of remorse.

With a heavy sigh, Quisits leaned against the back wall of the elevator car and uncrossed her arms. The topic was a sore subject for a variety of reasons, but she was too tired to continue to try and make her point-- all she really wanted to do was stand under a stream of hot water for the rest of the night until all the grim on her body melted away. Thanks to her current state, though, it required a change of fresh clothes, thus why she had to head back to her dorm instead of making her way straight to the communal showers outside the Training Center.

She lifted a hand to give it a small wave, as if to dismiss the matter altogether. "Apology accepted."

Thankfully the bell chimed right after she spoke, indicating that they had arrived on the second floor. Waiting until the doors parted, Quistis pushed off the wall and exited the car, though she paused her strides a couple steps later. Straightening her posture, she turned her head as if to glance over her shoulder, though her eyes remained averted.

"Goodnight, Commander."

And with that, Quistis resumed her walk towards her room.

The doors closed and Squall sighed to himself. He was left alone in the car as it traveled up to the third floor. He let himself out and moved down the hallway to let himself into his room, stripping the shirt and tossing it to the hamper on the way to the bathroom.

Squall did exactly as she wanted to do herself- he stood beneath the scalding stream from the shower head, letting the water wash away the blood first before he worked to scrub the grim free.

At least she accepted the apology; he wasn't one to just apologize most of the time. But that still didn't stop him from feeling like a complete and utter jackass.