Chapter 2: Old places, New faces

  They loaded everything they needed into the Ragnarok. The trip would take about eight hours, but Zell and Irvine insisted that they be prepared. The two made sure that enough food and drinks were packed into the ship's galley, as well as some items for entertainment purposes. After packing everything away, the group loaded up, Headmaster Cid, Nida, and Xu being their only send off. Irvine stared blandly out the window as the landscape changed from green, hilly fields of grass to coastline to deep, blue, endless ocean. Far off near the horizon, he could see the railway that ran to Fisherman's Horizon, and then momentarily, Fisherman's Horizon itself. Adjusting his cowboy hat, he turned in his seat to talk to Zell, who was preoccupied in reading the latest issue of Combat King.
"Hey, Zell. What're you going?"
Zell looked up from him magazine, one blond eyebrow raised. "What's it look like, genius?",he huffed, and reburied his nose back into the pages. Irvine snorted.
"I never really did like you, Spike.", he muttered subconsciously. Reaching out with a gloved hand, he pulled the magazine back from Zell's face and let it pop back on him. Zell jumped and rubbed his nose, immideately rising from his seat, and knocking Irvine's hat from his head in the process.
"What the HELL was THAT for?!",he roared, his blue eyes blazing in anger and annoyance. Irvine calmly stood, towering about a foot higher than the martial artist. Glaring back with a fury to rival even Zell's. Suddenly his fierceness vanished, and a cocky smirk washed over his face.
"Just wanted to talk, Spike.",he explained, raising his hands, trying to show he meant no harm. Zell's voice shook with anger. "Don't EVER call me that. That or the "C-word"."
"Oh, you mean...uh, Chicken-wuss?"
"I DAMN MEAN IT!"
"Zell! Irvine! Take your seats...now.",barked Squall from his position in the front of the passenger area. His cold glare stabbed at the two men, forcing them to return to their former states. Irvine stooped to pick up his hat. He dusted it off and slumped back down into his chair, pulling the brim over his eyes. Zell glared at Irvine's covered head, snatched his magazine from the seat, and repositioned himself near Quistis, putting as much distance between himself and Irvine as he could. Snapping the booklet back open, he scanned quickly through the pages, his thoughts not allowing him to concentrate on any articles.
"I hated that prick from the day I saw his stringy ass.",he thought bitterly. "I TRY to be nice, I really do. Only because Selphie asked me to. I don't know why she likes him so damn much. He thinks with his pants too much, not that he's the only one, but man, he...h-he STILL PISSES me off! I only treat him halfway decent because Selphie asked me too. I can't believe that bastard thinks he can treat me that way! God, I'm so mad I can't even think straight...", Zell finally sighed, letting the magazine drop from his hands. Running a set of fingers through his hair, he settled back in his chair, closing his eyes and trying to shake the reminants of his anger off. First Lana, then Edea, now this. He was having a hell of a week.
"I wonder what Matron looks like now?",he asked himself, feeling the tingle of sleep creep into his mind. "I wonder how many new kids she's got there. I wonder if they're as hard to keep up with as we were. I wonder...if she's still got my finger paintings and...if she... still cooks that...sweet stuff I...always liked...eating....."
Quistis looked over from her book at Zell, who was lounging out in his seat, his head back and mouth slightly open, snoring as loudly as a T-Rexaur. Squall had just returned from checking up on Selphie. The petite girl loved flying the Ragnarok ship almost as much as she loved trains, and she was always the first to volunteer to fly the craft. Besides the fact she was a willing operator, she was a top-notch pilot too. She had reported that they would be arriving at the orphanage in ten to fifteen minutes, and everyone should be getting ready for departure. Squall gently roused Rinoa from her sleeping position in the seat opposite of his.
"Rinoa.",he coaxed gently. "We're almost there."
"Nnggg.",she muttered, beginning to wake up. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and sat up. Seeing Squall's face in her vision, she smiled and stretched slowly.
"Have a nice rest?",Squall asked, settling back into his seat and fastening his seat belt for the landing. She nodded and grinned.
"Yup! I was dreaming about...you.",she laughed. Squall raised his eyebrows in mock suprise. "Really? What was I doing?"
"Well...", she started, putting a finger to her chin, "...you were running, but you were running in your underware from this giant stuffed rabbit and screaming bloody murder, and I was running after you and the rabbit. Then you tripped and fell, and then the rabbit tripped and fell on you and you got squished, and I tripped and started flying, so I flew away. Weird, huh?"
Squall rubbed his neck, nodding his head as he did so. "Yeah...that is weird. Wonder why I got crushed by a stuffed animal?"
Rinoa shrugged and turned to look out the window. Squall sighed, the guilt beginning to set in on his conscience. "Rinoa...",he started, sliding a gloved hand over hers, "...I'm sorry for this morning. I shouldn't have blown you off like that."
Rinoa turned around, an expectant look on her face. After a few seconds of silence, her look faded. "What? No, 'I was just so busy...' or 'But I had something to take care of...'? No excuses or anything?"
Squall shook his head. "No excuses. Just an 'I'm sorry'."
Rinoa smiled and squeezed his hand in hers. Then looking up with a childish twinkle in her warm, brown eyes, she giggled, "You're going to have to make it up to me, you know." Squall leaned forward, placing a soft, brief kiss on her lips.
"I know.",he simply replied, his voice soft and somewhat husky. Selphie's perky voice blurted out over the intercom, interrupting their "moment".
{We'll be landing soon guys, so buckle up and get ready! I'll put us down as close to the orphanage as I can get.}
Squall reached over Rinoa's body and strapped her in the seat.
"Better get ready."
Out of the window, Rinoa could see misty, rust colored land peeping out through the clouds, more and more of becoming visible by the second. From what she could see so far, nothing seemed to be too badly damaged. A sudden glimpse of a oncoming forest suddenly changed her mind. Even from their altitude, she could see that several trees along the outskirts of the forest had been plucked from the ground as if they were merely daisies, and some had been snapped in half like twigs. The fact that she still even considered the scattered stacks of lumber a forest startled her. She could feel the fear mounting in her throat that what they would find at Edea's orphanage would be far worse than the mangled remains of the forest.

  The Ragnarok landed soundly about two hundred yards from Edea's orphanage. As the engines whirred to a halt, Squall led everyone to the lift that would take them to the ground. All around them were signs of heavy wind and rain damage, but nothing to be worried about. Walking towards the old building with firm strides, Squall spotted a familiar figure. A dark, graceful woman was running towards them, her long ebony hair billowing out behind her. She shouted a few faint words, waving to them as she did. "Is that Matron?",Zell asked, picking up his pace to keep up with the others.
"Matron!!",Squall hollered through cupped hands. Finally she reached them and breathlessly, gave each one of them a firm hug.
"Oh my children...",she murmered into Squall's soft hair as she let him go. Holding him back from her, she studied his changed features. He was no longer the quiet, shy-eyed little boy she had raised long ago. He, as well as the others, had grown up. Shaking her head in disbelief at their prescence, she smiled, vague wrinkles prying at her still youthful face. "I can't believe...how you've all changed!", she said with excitement. "How...what...w-why did you come here?"
"It was Cid's orders.",Squall explained. "He thought you may be in danger from the storm and..."
"Oh dear. I tried to contact him, but our phone line became disconnected and I was out of contact for about a week. How is Cid? Is he alright? Has he been doing what the doctor told him?",she demanded, leaning forward slightly, her hands on her hips. Squall nodded nervously.
"Y-Yes Matron. He's fine. He's...uh, getting plenty of rest.",he lied. He knew that if Edea found out about Cid's returning to his position so soon, she'd have a duck...and then see to it that he made sure Cid was doing what he was told to. Edea nodded, a smile returning to her motherly face.
"Well, there's no use standing around here any longer. Come on, let's go inside. We have a lot to talk about, and I want you all to meet the children! They'll be so excited to have visitors!",she stated with excitement, hooking her arms around Squall's and Quistis'. How could they refuse their Matron?

  The orphanage was a site for sore eyes, but the winds had taken their toll on the old building. A few columns had been knocked over and the wisteria and ivey that had grown around the sides of the house had been ripped away by gusty fingers. Irvine removed his hat, shaking his head in wonder.
"I can't believe it. This place looks like it was hardly touched."
"I believe the storm took a turn away from our peninsula.",explained Edea as she brushed away some fallen wisteria. "We only got the winds and some rain." She ran her hands along the cool stone facing of the house, sighing deeply. A brush at her shoulder caught her attention. She turned to look up into the deep hazel eyes of Squall Leonhart.
"What's the matter Matron?",he asked softly. She shook her head and smiled.
"No...nothing. I...I was just thinking." Then turning to Rinoa she asked her about her new powers as a sorceress. "Are you able to control them now?"
"Yes m'am.",Rinoa nodded. "I've gotten better at it. Sometimes though, I slip up."
Edea chuckled at the young sorceress. "Don't worry about it. I'll teach you all I know...and I know a lot. You'll get used to accidental spells."
A sudden shriek of high-pitched laughter caught everyone's attention. Running at full speed came five young children, barreling from around the corner of the house. One little boy with matted, sand-colored hair and dark brown eyes grinned as he ran towards Edea, a bucket in his hands sloshing water everywhere.
"Mat-won! Lookit what I gotss!",he said proudly, his words whisteling through a hole in his teeth where another tooth had been. Edea laughed and knelt down beside the boy, peering into the water-filled bucket.
"What is it Demitri?"
"Dem's gots a big bug!!",procliamed a wide-eyed, red haired little girl. "He pulls it outta da water."
"Dem! You've caught a crab!",Edea exclaimed, spotting the light pink creature scuffling around in the bucket. Zell knelt down beside the bucket, also looking into it.
"Hey, you do! I used to catch those things when I was little too. How'd you do it? You get it buy yourself?"
Dem shook his wet hair. "Nopes. Sewfer helped me."
"Sewfer?",Zell muttered to himself, trying to place the name. He had risen and was turning to walk back to Squall and the others, when an all too familiar voice echoed in his head, bringing back a wave of memories along with it.
"Long time no see."
Zell whipped around to see Seifer Almasy, in all his so-called glory. But something was different. He looked...older. He had traded out the gray overcoat, blue vest, and slacks for a pair of worn jeans and a black t-shirt. Besides that, nothing had changed about him. He still had the scar, nearly identical to Squall's, and his eyes were still that piercing emerald green. His eyes seemed softer this time though. Zell unconsciously stepped back, his face twisted in confusion.
"You? What are you doing here?",he asked loudly, pointing a gloved finger at him. Demitri scurried over to where "Sewfer" stood, holding up his bucket. Seifer knelt down beside the little boy and ruffled up his hair.
"You may want to put your crab back, Dem. He'll want to go back home for dinner.",he said, a small smile pulling at his lips. Dem nodded his head and ran back towards the beach, the other children following him. Rising, he dusted off his jeans and stuffed his hands in his pockets. An odd silence followed then, neither side daring to speak. Edea walked over to where Seifer stood, gazing calmly at Squall. Seifer nodded his chin in their direction. "You guys haven't changed much."
Squall looked at Edea for some sort of explanation. Why was his motral enemy here before him? And further more, why was he being so...nice? Edea cleared her throat anxiously.
"I think I should finish the dinner. I'll need some help in the kitchen. Squall, do any of you mind?"
They silently shook their heads no, their gazes never leaving Seifer's for a minute. Then, filing behind Edea, they entered the battered house.

  Seifer had gone off to round up the children for their meal, while Squall and the others set the table and helped Edea finish up the cooking. As Edea poured the rest of the spaghetti into a large mixing bowl, Quistis looked up from her sinkful of dirty pots and pans. "Marton," she asked, "Why did you take in Seifer?"
Edea wiped her hands off on a nearby towel and sighed. "Quistis, you know just as well as anyone else that Seifer was one of my children too. When he needed help, I helped him."
"I understand that Matron, but what I don't understand is why he decided to come here. I always thought he couldn't stand this place."
"There's a lot about Seifer that you don't know, Quisti. He has changed very much so, and I believe it to be for the better. He does have a soft side. Rinoa, of all people, should have known that. I always knew he had the potential, but now I see if for myself. He's like an...an older brother to the children. They care for him very much, and he cares for them. They've accepted him. I think that's all he wants. To be accepted again."
Quistis nodded, refocusing her attention on the dishes. "How did he get here?",she asked suddenly. Edea tapped her chin in thought.
"I have to say it was about two weeks ago. He came up on this little fishing boat. He told me that he had finally saved up enough gil to pay the man to take him all the way down here. His friends, Raijin and Fujin I believe, were going to come along too, but the man wouldn't take all three of them at once, and he charged them nearly all the gil they had at the time just to take Seifer. So Raijin and Fujin stayed behind in FH, and Seifer got to come here. He's really very happy here, but I think he misses them."
Thumping footsteps could be heard pounding their way across the stone and hardwood floors. Five children, followed by Seifer who was carrying the sixth, filed into the dining room and stood near their usual places. Instead of finding empys seats, they found them occupied by the strange visitors they had seen earlier.
"Hey!",pouted a little boy with short, black hair at Irvine. "Dat's MY seat!!"
"It is?",Irvine questioned innocently, smiling at the boy's boldness. A little girl with long black hair and features that matched the boy's pushed him out of the way from Irvine.
"Lucus is a dork. Yoo can sit in his seat."
"Lily!!! It's MY chair!!!",Lucus stomped on the floor.
"Lucus...",Edea said sternly. Lucus hung him head sheeplishly, kicking at the leg of the chair with the small toe of his shoe, mumbling inchoerent words under his breath. Irvine nodded in thought, and then pulled his hat from his head, depositing it on Lucus'. Lucus, suprised, tried to look up from under the large brim of the Stetson, but it fell over his face; his small ears were the only things that held the hat up. Irvine kicked back his chair and grabbed a small footstool from a corner of the room. Picking up the little boy, he placed him on the stool and pushed it up to the table next to his seat. Lucus looked up from under the hat, grinning.
"How about I just sit next to you?",Irvine asked, laughing slightly at the boy's awkward appearance.
"Alwight.",he replied. "As long as Lily can sit next to me."
"Oh! She your girlfriend?",Irvine chuckled, helping Lucus pull the hat from his small head. Lucus' face twisted in disgust.
"Ewww! No! That's gross!!",he proclaimed as the other children giggled. Lily pulled another stool up next to Lucus and ploped herself upon it, poking Lucus in the arm. He slapped her hand playfully and laughed as she found his tickle spot.
"I'm not Lucus' girl-fwend. We're twins!"
"No wonder you guys look so much alike!!",procliamed Selphie, marveling at the siblings' resemblance to eachother. They nodded simultaneously, little grins pasted on their little faces. The little boy named Dem sat next to Zell, and a little girl with short red hair named Camilla sat between Quistis and Rinoa. A dark skinned little boy named Damien sat between Squall and Edea, and Seifer placed the petite, brown haired, grey eyed little girl he was carrying between himself and Irvine. She silently looked about the table at her friends happily chatting with the strangers. Edea had said to her that they grew up here along time ago, and they came back for a visit. Edea looked down the table at the little girl and smiled. "Mirina? Would you say the prayers for us please?"
Mirina nodded and clasped her little hands together, the others copying her actions.
"Thank you for the visitors, and for the food, and for my fwends and for Sewfer and for Matwon and I hope you'll make the weird girl all better so she can play wit us. Amen."
Everyone replied in an "Amen", and began to eat the spaghetti and bread sticks that had been prepared for their dinner. Damien, always being the one to be the center of attention, blurted out more about one of the subjects of Mirina's prayer.
"Yeah, see this weird girl showed up. And we fownd her on the beach and she's REAL weird."
"Yeah!",exclaimed Dem. "She alwayss sweepss."
"Sweeps?",asked Zell, one eyebrow raised in question. Lily shook her head.
"No. SLEEPS. Dem can't talk right. He lost his toof."
"Matron...what are they talking about?",Squall whispered to Edea as the children talked loudly of the "weird girl". Edea wiped her mouth with her napkin and hushed the children.
"Keep your voices down.",she commanded softly, bringing a finger to her lips. The children copied her and thought this was hilarious and immideately burst into muffled giggles. Seifer nodded to the kids with his chin.
"Finish up and we'll go to the beach before you go to sleep."
"Weally??!!",squealed Lucus, as he dove ravenously into his spaghetti. "I'm gonna get done fwirst!!"
Naturally Lucus sparked a see-who-could-inhale-their-spaghetti-the-fastest competition, and naturally all of the children joined in, all except for Mirina. Seifer nudged her wth his elbow. "You don't want your food?",he asked the little girl. She shook her head no, replying in a quiet voice that she wasn't hungry.
"I don't feel good, Matwon.",she quietly complained. "I'm tired."
Edea sighed, motioning to Seifer to take her to her room. "You can finish it later Mirina. Go to sleep if you feel bad."
As Seifer carried Mirina off to her room, Lucus finished his meal and jumped from the table.
"I beat all of yooo!!!",he proclaimed proudly, and quite loudly as well. He jumped from the table and raced towards the back door that led to the beach. Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks, his sneakers squeeling on the floor. Standing perfectly still, he caught everyone's attention by his awed whisper.
"Lookit. She's doing it again...", he breathed, pointing a small finger at a closed door. A faint green light glowed in a pulsating light from the crack between the door and the floor. Edea rose from her seat, moving to where Lucus and the other children had gathered. Seifer had returned to a quieted, awed room. Edea looked up from the glowing green light and mouthed something to Seifer. He nodded and moved to gather the children up. "C'mon guys. Outside. We'll go to the beach."
They nodded acceptingly and followed him out of the room. Once they had left, Edea slowly opened the door. The room was dark inside, the only light of the sunset coming in through a shaded window. In the middle of the room was a bed, and on the bed was a young woman. Edea motioned for Rinoa silently as she moved towards the bed. Rinoa hesitantly followed Edea, standing on the opposite side of the bed from her. Everyone else filed into the small bedroom silently, oblivious that Mirina was awake and had snuck back to eavesdrop. Edea's hands hovered expectantly over the girl's still and silent form.
"Watch.",she commanded in a hushed tone. Seconds ticked by with no change in the girl's condition. Then a faint green, pulsating light shone through the sheets where her chest was covered. The light radiated throughout the entire room, casting an eerie yet comforting green glow on the walls.
"Oh my gosh...",Selphie whispered breathlessly. Zell shook his head in disbelief.
"Man...what is that?"
"It's a Cure spell.",replied Rinoa quietly. "But no one casted one. Matron...did you?"
Edea shook her head. "Only once, when we first found her. She was in such terrible shape. Near death really. There was a bad storm about two days after Seifer arrived. After each storm, we always walked the beach and looked around to see what the waves brought in. We found...her. The strange things are that we have no idea who she is or where she's from, and she seems to be generating these spells on her own. It frightened the children at first because they thought she was a monster."
"How long has she been like this?",Squall asked, watching the rythmatic green light.
"She's been this way for a week. And she hasn't changed in condition at all."
"Dat's not true.",stated Mirina from the doorway. Moving past the adults, the little girl walked to the beside and stretched over to pat the girl's hair. "She talks to me when she asleep. She's my fwend. She's so purty too."
Taking Mirina in her arms, Edea picked her up looking seriously into her small face. "How often have you seen her talk? What does she say, Mirina?"
"She says, 'Where are you?' and 'Come back.' I tells her that I'm wight here and I never left and then she stops talking and goes to sleep again. I like it when she does the light thing. It makes me feel better..."
Edea placed Mirina back on her feet, and patted her head. "Go back to bed Mirina. She'll be alright. Just let her sleep some more."
Mirina nodded quickly and padded out of the room back to her bed. The green light had subsided, and the girl's soft, steady breathing could be heard echoing through the room. "We should go now. I think she'll be okay for now.",Edea breathed, brushing the girl's forehead with her hand, They nodded and followed her from the room, Zell being the last to leave. He turned to look back at her sleeping figure and wondered who the girl was. He could feel Bahamut stirring within his mind, and the sensation made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Just before pulling the door shut, he could hear the girl mumbling things in her sleep.
"Wait...wai...Don't leave...me...alone...."

Author's Note: Okay okay. I know this chapter is pretty long. I tried to make it shorter, but I couldn't tell when to end it, so here it is. Anyway, I'll be writing more bit by bit, and I may revise some of the current parts. Are you intrigued yet? Want to find out more about the "weird girl"? Stay tuned for chapter 3!!

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