(Untitled)

[pearl_sorceress]

Who: Rinoa
What: Still out in the world
When: midday
Where: Balamb
Interactions: Open
Warnings: None

Comments

[leatheredlion]

Squall was sat on the dock, looking out over the ocean. It looked so peaceful on the surface, but he knew below it was a hive of activity. Funny how it refelected the whole world around them, really. The Malboro troubles had been a bit of a nightmare. He and a few others had grouped together to storm the Deep Sea Research Centre and wipe out the cause of the problem. No new Malboros had spawned after that, and the roaming beasts were dwindling in numbers.

Squall had been injured. Only the doc and he knew how serious it'd been. He'd played it off as nothing, just as he always did. But in truth, it'd been uncertain whether he'd ever be able to use a gunblade again. It had taken a lot of practise and a lot of pain medication to come as far as he had, even now his grip was weak and his swing lacking.

All in all, it was depressing. All he knew in life was how to fight - how to be a soldier. Without that? He was nothing.

[pearl_sorceress]

Standing at the top of the main street, deciding what she wanted to do, it was possible to see all the way down to the docks on a clear day as that day. And it was only that small stroke of luck that kept her from completely missing Squall and heading up toward the Garden. Rinoa was thankful however as she skipped down the street and then quieted her steps, approaching slowly and cautiously until she came to be standing just a few feet away. As always, her pulse quickened and she felt her heart beat a little faster. It seemed like every time she saw him it felt like it had been a million years since the last time. But she tried to make it seem shorter than that with a light and happy tone.

"Oh here you are." Her words came abruptly from the silence of a moment ago. "What's it been, a whole day?" And then followed by an airy laughter as she placed her hands on her hips and smiled.

[leatheredlion]

Squall was dragged from his thoughts by that familiar voice. It had been a long time since he'd seen Rinoa. Too long. That's what happened when you threw yourself into your work. He pushed himself to his feet. For once, he wasn't nestled in his jacket which exposed the bandage that started under his right glove and ran all the way to his t-shirt sleeve.

"Rinoa." He paused, looking her over. A look between a frown and confusion crossed his features. "You cut your hair." Well, that was a lovely, romantic greeting, Squall.

[pearl_sorceress]

"Well your eyes are as good as ever." She had to laugh a bit. He was so straight forward. But she quickly frowned as she noticed that he was bandaged up...again. With a harried look of concern she strode up to him and bent down in the quirky way she had to get a better look at his body. "Which is more than I can say for the rest of you. What happened? Did you crash again!? I didn't get any calls from Quistis so I assumed you were alright." Her face scrunched into an adorable pout as the straightened back up to look him in the eye.

[pearl_sorceress]

"Oh come on. I'm stronger than you give me credit for" She spoke in a teasing tone, taking a moment to deactivate the sphere grid so she could revert to the outfit she'd been wearing lately. It was much more suited to the warm weather around Balamb than her heavy white mage getup.

Walking along side him, she glanced up and smiled a little. "So...my hair. Uhm...do you like it?" She was curious now that the initial crisis was over, how he felt about her new look.

[leatheredlion]

"Even the strongest of mages can burn themselves out with constant casting. It's just a fact, that's all." He let out a sigh, hooking his arm with hers as they walked. At least he wasn't battling with the urge to constantly pass out and/or throw up any more.

He tilted his head to have another look at her. "It's nice. Different, but nice."

[pearl_sorceress]

"Ohh?" She tried to sound nonchalant, but it was clear from her expression and posture that Rinoa was positively beaming at the compliment. Her stride turned into a kind of half-skip, causing her hair to flop about a little.

"How is the Garden? You don't look like you're drowning in paperwork. Did you finally get someone to do all that for you?"

[leatheredlion]

"Oh, you know. Busy as usual. There's plenty of paperwork. Never ending paperwork. Keeps me busy. How about you? Where've you been? What've you been up to lately?"

He honestly couldn't remember the last time they'd spent any proper time together.