Oh noes Field Exam! [OPEN]

[angel5]

The bright sun filtered through the curtains of the classroom where Professor Trepe was. She sat on the main desk, writing down the names of each student to be evaluated in today's field exam. The burning caves of Ifrit will be visited to see if the students are capable of controlling and mastering the powers of a Guardian Force. This is the very same place Quistis took Zell and Squall for their field exam, hopefully, this time there won't be any problems with the outcome of the mission.

The students to be taken today is that introverted kid that resembled Squall in his youth which have proven to be quite smart, yet, he simply do not let others stand nearby. With him, another student, this time a lady, that is quite tough and very disciplined will be examined too. Quistis felt very confident of these two students, they have shown to be very capable and strong in terms of managing under pressure situations. She was certain that the outcome of this exam is going to be successful regardless of what other professor, who sees her as an underdog, may think.

Quistis rolled down her socks and confusedly stared at her ankle. Her facial expressions changed while looking at it then she sighed in disappointment before rolling her eyes. "Professor!" Loudly the tough girl called Quistis attention, whom quickly rolled back her socks and stood from her desk, with in hand. She noticed the male had a handgun in his right hip while the girl had a katana strapped to her back. Quistis smiled to them and guided them towards the exit to start the field work.

"Remember, stay calm and think... that's all. In Ifrit's Cave, you might see things never mentioned before in any of your classes, so beware since the worst can happen" Quistis explained her students while walking towards the SeeD vehicles. She described the worst case scenario, tactic mostly used to not make students overconfident. The girl, whose name is Crystal nodded in agreement, with a smirk of confidence that might be trouble if taken lightly while the male, better known as Vix, barely expressed any reaction and just followed.

The vehicles quickly took the trio nearby the parameters of the cave. The most heated breeze emerged from the caves like if the devil itself whispered to their face. "Here we start, keep your eyes open and remember your magic. Use it wisely." Quistis said while the students drew their weapons and followed her towards what would be an interesting mission.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Count: 451
Muse:
Next: Whoever
Outfit: SeeD Prof. Uniform

[dincht]

Being a messenger boy wasn’t one of Zell’s favorite things to do, but being a delivery boy just made him grumble even more. Frowning as he walked through the halls of the school, he listened to the footsteps trailing behind him, a nervous young lad who had quite a bit of skill and Zell was to take him to see Quistis Trepe while she was out with two other students, to Ifrit’s cave. Ha, didn’t that bring back memories. Zell shook his head as he remained pretty quiet for the most part, leading the way since it was his job to take this kid out to Quistis and make sure he got there safely. Hooray for Headmaster Squall for trusting his pal like this, of course, Zell was one to succeed anyway, or perhaps he was just conveniently around more than someone else. Had Irvine or Selphie been around, would he have sent them instead? Probably, but whatever! He was doing his friend a service, and he wasn’t going to mess it up.

“W-what’s it like, Zell?” The student asked with a shaky tone. For such a skilled student, he had nothing to be nervous about, but Zell being has helpful and nice as possible, shrugged his shoulders before folding his arms over his chest. “Well, it’s hot, I’ll tell you that. You just gotta keep your eyes and ears open. Don’t get distracted by the little things and you should do alright.” He looked over his shoulder with a confident smile, to assure the student that things would be okay, especially if Professor Quistis was out there, she wasn’t going to let them get killed or anything, this was a field exam, not a death sentence. “Just remember if Professor Trepe says anything, you listen, take her advice, she’s been in more than just the field regarding school, she knows what she’s talking about.” Zell advised almost in a cautious tone, before exiting the building, heading towards the SeeD vehicles, no problem! They’d be there in no time, and hopefully Zell caught them before they entered this lair of Ifrit’s. “Thanks Zell, I feel better, and I will listen to Professor Trepe, I always do.”

After a short amount of time, Zell looked around the area, a wave of Déjà vu smacked him in the face as he leaped off of the SeeD vehicle and adjusted his uniform, yes, his SeeD uniform. It made him look so professional, which was nice, especially when he was doing a job for Squall, it was best to look professional instead of like some teenager who had no right to do anything. With a confident grin he spotted the blonde professor, along with two other students, moving towards the cave of Ifrit’s and that’s when Zell broke into a run, the student trailing behind him rather quickly. “Hey! Quistis- er…Professor! I got one more for ya, Squall sent me out here to bring him to you, kid’s got a lot of potential I think.” He informed, as to explain why he was here with some random student, and hopefully Quistis would be willing to take one more inside with her, she was a good teacher, and Zell didn’t doubt her abilities, taking on one more wouldn’t be so bad, would it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:[/color] 654
Muse:[/color] Good!
Tagged:[/color] Quistis
Wearing:[/color] SeeD Uniform
Listening To:[/color] Nothing
Notes:[/color] Hope this was an okay entry!

[angel5]

Of course the students were nervous, they were going to enter inside a place that was hotter than hell itself. Quistis, as the professor evaluating them, let the students take the lead and of course the female student was the one leading the expedition. The cave was hotter than usual, Quistis could feel stronger magic than ever inside the realms of the demon. Her skin almost turned red by the caress of the gasps emanating out of such place. Something was not quite right and this was a very unusual environment here. As the female student stepped inside the cave, a stronger and demonic breeze pushed her back, now this was getting serious, but the field exam must continue since this is the last day to submit grades. With hope that everything will work well, the professor kept her mouth shut and ordered them to continue in.

A familiar voice could be heard, not from afar. It was non other than very mature and lovely Zell who walked down the hill waving his hand obnoxiously while accompanied with one of the students. Seemes like the headmaster allows this student to take the final exam in the end, maybe it was because Quistis strongly recommended him or Squall himself saw in him very good potential. In reply, she waved back to sell a little bit more conservative while the students awaited at the entrance.

"Quite unusual to see you as a messenger, however, thanks for the help". She said while ordering the student to join his other two companions. "Zell, i feel there is something going on inside Ifrit's realm, however, I can't just cancel the exam because of superstitions. I need a favor, I will like you to stay with me during the exam in case something happens." Quistis gently asked Zell for his help.

She was right, it was just a feeling and there was no way to justify canceling a field exam because of such. Quistis hoped that Zell will agree to help her, now that he was already there and also because he is an excellent martial artist than can buy time while the students are taken to a safe place. She looked towards the burning cave and sighed, then she awaited for Zell to help her or not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Word: 400
Muse: Wooot
Tagged: Zell
Wearying: SeeD Uniform
Note: Nice start!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[dincht]

Trotting up towards Quistis, Zell acted as professional as possible, gesturing to the student who had followed him out here via Squall’s orders. He gave the blonde professor a smile as he explained a bit, waiting to see if she would be more than kind enough to take one more student in for the field exam, otherwise he’d have to wait for awhile before getting this one out of the way. “Yeah, I know. I think I was just at the ‘right place at the right time’, or whatever, but hey! Call me a good friend for doing ol’ Squall a favor.” He said with a charming grin, almost in a confident way as he then looked over his shoulder at the student before he gestured with a nod to go join the others. After that one left Zell and Quistis, bright blue eyes then turned back to the professor again, listening to her words and frowning slightly, raising an eyebrow and mulling over her words.

“Something’s…wrong.” Her request wasn’t unreasonable, and Zell, being the super nice guy he was would be more than happy to help a friend out, besides, should things get ugly, he was another set of hands that could taken down whatever was going on inside, whatever danger was to come, he was a hero after all! Smiling brightly once again and folding his arms behind his head, Zell nodded confidently, and in fact his voice sounded rather encouraging as well. “Sure I’ll stick around! Everything will be fine, and should something bad come our way, at least not everyone out here is completely hopeless, right?” he said with a wink before moving past Quistis and towards the cave entrance. It was blasted hot, but Zell could take the heat! You know what they say, if you can’t take the heat, stay out of the kitchen…and Zell, well…he was really ready to get in on some action lately. The only action he had seen the past while was being portaled to New Bodhum, and luckily he’d found Selphie there, so it wasn’t completely a bust. That was off topic though, there was an exam to be taken!

“Alright Quistis! If there’s an exam to be taken, let’s get started!” Zell said before trotting past her and arriving at the group of kids, all three of them as they stared at him. He gestured towards inside the cave and made sure to keep his eyes open for anything that looked different than when he took his field exam to become a SeeD. He of course did have authority to advise the kids along…or something like that, he out ranked them being a SeeD himself, but whatever, that was Quistis’ job, he was just here for muscle…or…extra muscle, whether it was needed or not, he didn’t know, but hopefully it wasn’t needed. The action would be nice, but risking the lives of younger students who weren’t even SeeDs…well it didn’t sound like a good idea. How fun would it be to explain to Squall why some kids came back critically injured due to Zell getting to into a fight instead of worrying about the safety of others? A scowl and perhaps a hit upside the head would come his way should that happen. “Keep your eyes and ears open at all times!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:[/color] 657
Muse:[/color] Good!
Tagged:[/color] Quistis!
Wearing:[/color] SeeD Uniform
Listening To:[/color] Careless Whisper: Seether
Notes:[/color] --

[angel5]

The students entered the fiery caves followed by both the professor and her close friend who decided to stick around in case anything goes out of the normal. As they slowly went down the steep slope, Quistis could feel the voracious heat almost eating her skin and drying her throat. On their way, they were surrounded by pools of fluid magma flowing almost like a river while carrying chunks of red hot igneous rocks. Encrusted in the cave's walls, were small pieces of quartz crystals and layers that marked the level that the magma can achieve. Burning arcane monsters washed themselves in the depths of the lava gladly enjoying their environment.

Several battles took place against these burning monsters were students were very efficient using their water spells to put to an end the fire menace. Smartly, they played well using some earth magic to suffocate oxygen combustion causing the fire to cease. Quistis took note of every single move and strategy, she also observed their teamwork closely and how each of them participated in battle. The professor was satisfied up to this part of the exam, several times she nodded to Zell looking for his feedback. Quistis smiled knowing that her teachings were very crucial for the survival of the students. Each of them healed their wounds accordingly, used their spells efficiently and kept a continuous pace that allow them to get the faster record in achieving Ifrit's lair.

"Unusual, that the infernal beast is not present in his lair as usual" Quistis mumbled to Zell as the students inspected the area carefully. She feared the worst when the ground started to shake strongly and many stalactites started to collapse. The earthquake grew stronger, to the extent, that Quistis could barely remain on her feet and saw herself kneeling to remain stable during the unexpected event.

Suddenly, Quistis' brand started to glow strongly, it was even painful. Trying to contain her pain, she could see as the middle grounds of the cave collapsed into an abyssal portal as an golem-like beast emerged from it and growled stronger than any other monster. The beast launched a piece of rock towards her students, and Quistis had to intervene using her whip to divert the attack. The students were startled by the new challenge that did not look anything like what they studied in class.

Quistis, quickly scanned the beast noticing that this monster has never been seen before and is not part of the SeeD archives. She then worried about the students more than her own life and stared at Zell. "Please, take out the students, I will hold this beast for now" Quistis said while gesturing her companion to follow her advice.

~~~~~~~~~~~
Count: 461
Muse: YES
Next: Zell

[dincht]

Trailing in after Quistis and the students, Zell figured it would be wise to cover the rear, just in case something out of the ordinary either followed them in or decided to pop out of nowhere and try to attack them from behind. It sure was hot in here, like some sort of sauna, or even worse. Wiping his forehead periodically, Zell tugged at his collar, almost scolding himself mentally for wearing his SeeD uniform out here rather than something cooler. Continuing to follow, he allowed the students to take care of any monsters they ran into head on, after all, it was their exam, not his. With his arms folded behind his head, he kept his bright blue eyes alert though, not trusting anything to be safe around in this scolding lair that held the dreaded Ifrit. Looking at Quistis for a brief moment after witnessing some of the students do their attacks and stop some monsters, he gave her a thumbs up and a confident grin, as if to say she’d done a nice job in teaching, of course, no one should’ve ever doubted her anyways.

With his encouraging nods and smiles, he still stayed in the back of the group, noticing how quiet and weird things were here, but then Quistis took the words right out of his mouth. Nodding in agreement to her, Zell did step forward closer to the professor, his arms now folded across his chest, but one hand was lifted to his chin. “Huh, that is weird…Maybe…well, I don’t have any idea as to what to say really. It’s just odd.” Zell said with a confused written all over his face, lifting his hand from his chin to scratch the back of his head, looking around and trying to find the large summoning beast, Ifrit. Still no sign of him, it, whatever it was. As he was about to open his mouth and say something else, the ground began to shake, knocking Zell’s train of thought right out of his brain and causing him to become immediately concerned. This…this was not good! Shaking grounds were never signs of good things.

Stumbling to his knees, Zell then looked around as the creature appeared, his jaw dropped at the sight, wanting to make a note that this thing was NOT in any way Ifrit. Getting back up to his feet though, he took a few backwards steps to guard the students who were wide eyed, pale faced and indeed scared out of their wits. He was always the heroic type, hmm? When Quistis turned and requested he take care of the students – after having blocked an attack for them – he nodded and turned heel, prodding the students forward and out of the cave, at least back the way they had came…but the little voice inside his head wouldn’t let him go very far. Stopping, the students stopped too, looking back at him with worry. “Zell! Come on we gotta go!” He pointed to the calmest of the students and put on his professional voice. “Get out of here, I’m going to make sure Quistis is okay! Wait outside, but if something comes along, hide. Okay?” He ordered, instead of really asking. With that, he turned back around and sprinted back to his friend’s side, his eyes never drawing away from the summon that had appeared, the summon that wasn’t anything he’d ever seen before.

“Can’t just leave you here to handle things all by yourself now, can I?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:[/color] 683
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Quistis!
Wearing:[/color] SeeD Uniform
Listening To:[/color] Something!
Notes:[/color] I's tired, sorry for the crap post.

[angel5]

As expected, Zell reacted quickly and pulled out the students from the Demon´s Chambers. Quistis employed her blue magic summoning a considerable amount of missiles that were launched against the muscular beast. The small explosions triggered some stalactites to fall over the monster as calculated by the professor. The smokescreen left Quistis blind, she could not target the monster... maybe it was done for... but it was just too easy. Suddeny and to her surprise, a speleothem was thrown at her like a javelin. Quistis dodge the attack sucessfully with just a superficial sctratch on her arm. Surprised by the power embedded in such beast, Quistis hid behind a stalagmite until the screen dissipated. Picking trough the edge of the rock, she could see as the skin of the rocky monster eroded like sand and fell on its feet... realizing the monster covered himself with earthen material to avoid any damage.

Quistis then sighed in comfort when she saw Zell returning to the chamber. Even though she ordered him to take the students out, she expected him to follow his instinct on coming back with his heroic stance, posing with an obnoxious smile of confidence. Quistis joined him carefully as the beast composed inself for the explosive impacts and targeted both SeeDs. It is an earth based monster, probaly weak to wind or water magic damage and almost immune to physicals... at least if you can break his stoneskin The professor entrusted Zell with the task of using his mighty fists to break the titan´s defenses. For sure, she will try to buy some time using water or wind based blue magic while the bare fighter was ready.

In the meantime, the cavern turned hotter than before... bubbly magma started to slowly rise covering the edges of the chamber´splatfform. The walls turned red and hot like a stove´s oven makin it more difficult to deal with the battle. Quistis launched herself against the titan using her whip to buy its attention while the beast deflected most of her attempts with just one bulky hand. Time was running out, magma was rising and the cave was turning into hell itself... if this beast its not taken out both of them may perish in the attempt.

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
Word-381
Next-Zell
Muse-HOT!!!
Notes-Thanks fo the patience

[dincht]

Getting the three students out of the domain of Ifrit wasn’t hard, it was hot as hell, but nothing worth complaining about. Zell wasn’t going to leave Quistis behind to face whatever was going on, he just wasn’t that type of person, then again, he didn’t expect anyone like Squall or Selphie to leave her behind either, why would he do any different? Ordering the students to wait outside the caves, stay safe and protect one another should anything come along, Zell retreated back into the caves, wiping the sweat from his forehead as the heat was really starting to get to him. It was like walking around in fire or something like that, but his focus was really on getting back to his friend and making sure she was safe. If anyone could take down a massive beast of any sort, it would be him and Quistis! Right? Or at least that was the confident idea floating around in his head, after all…he was a true hero.

Seeing Quistis and the earth based summon ahead of her, Zell skidded to a stop at her side and had his fists raised and ready to get going for the fight. He knew it was inevitable, things like this always came with a fight, not that he minded. It’d been some time since he’d been in a good fight, and this seemed like a good fight to him. Looking to Quistis, he gave her a confident grin, a nod and listened to her words. It was his job to break the ‘armor’ so to speak, he could do that with a few good hits. He was a fantastic monk, didn’t believe in using weapons against anyone and using just his natural ability to knock them around silly. Bouncing his weight around from one foot to the other, Zell was analyzing his target, it was best to go for the limbs first, sort of weaken the stance of the creature, then go for the base and try to get its more…structured armor weakened as well, that way physical attacks would be worth something instead of a wasted effort. It was time to get started, and with that thought in mind, he gave Quistis a thumbs up.

“You can count on me.”

Rushing forward, Zell was very quick and light on his feet. He moved around a bit as he ran, making sure to keep from being in a direct line with the creature. Moving and running towards one of the sides, Zell pushed himself forward, bending his knees and leaping before spinning and striking the heel of his foot into what seemed to be nearly solid rock. He felt the pain shoot up his leg, never before had he hit something so hard…like striking solid concrete, but that would fade away in a few seconds. As he hit the ground carefully, he moved to avoid a swing of the creature’s arm in his direction. He chose to use this moment to his advantage. Jumping up and slamming his fist down onto the rock arm that was slowly moving around. He heard and felt a crack of the rock, and you can be sure that the hit had hurt his knuckles pretty bad. This was not something he wanted to do again, punching a tough surface, but…to help Quistis, he’d do what he could. He’d saved her once before, he could do at least this much to assist!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:[/color] 673
Muse:[/color] Better!
Tagged:[/color] Quistis
Wearing:[/color] SeeD Uniform
Listening To:[/color] Stuffs
Notes:[/color] I dunno what this is. I was in a crabby mood when I wrote this xD Sorry.

[angel5]

If Quistis was to trust someone with her life, it had to be Zell. He is the kind of person that will never leave anyone behind and will do anything to protect those he cared about. Maybe was because of his huge ego, but it was mostly because of his kind heart and need to demonstrate he is a hero. The hand to hand fighter sprinted towards the earthen beast dodging most of its boulder slams. The blonde monk gathered enough strength and concentration to land a powerful attack that devastated the protective cover that surrounded the rock-type summon. In the meantime, Quistis did bought some of his attention, using some of her blue spells to allow Zell to break its defense lines. This was all about teamwork, and both Zell and Quistis were quite good into fighting together despite his failed attempts to flirt and bug her.

The monster growled after getting punched hardly, it was such a powerful blow that even Zell struggled with the pain in his fist. Seeing the sand particles disperse in the ground, Quistis backed up and started to gather enough magical strength to end this once and for all. She first thought in using shockwave pulsar, but in such a closed space it will be harmful to both Zell and herself, instead, she had other plans in mind.

Seeing that the ground was crackled and some of the magma started to emerge from the ground, Quistis realized that maybe by targeting the ground she will be able to make this titan succumb into hell itself. "Homing Missiles!!" Quistis summoned a few dozens of missiles that crushed the ground and made an opening below the titan. The earthen summon, due to its heavy body type, was not able to dodge nor keep its balance falling into the deep pool of magma, screaming in pain as its body dissolved in the hot river. Quistis, with a smile drawn into her face, looked towards Zell and dropped on her knees.

Suddenly, the mark she hid from all her friends and partners for so much time, started to vividly glow in response to the monsters defeat. During the time compression that Ultimecia released upon her defeat, a Fal'Cie branded Quistis without hesitation. She could barely contain the pain, her body could not take it any more and decided to shutdown... then everything turned black... "H..el.p"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Count=400
Muse=Yey
Next=Zell
Note=Do not worry, it was great! Take your time too, i'm never in hurries for posting

[dincht]

Well, this sure was a hell of a day wasn’t it? Zell hadn’t expected to even leave the school campus, but here he was, having accompanied Quistis on a field exam, but it wasn’t like he hadn’t been through one of these before, it was simply routine to him and probably to Quisty too. Yet, this was not turning out like a regular field exam, in fact, Zell had to usher the students out and run back to help Quistis take on a force that definitely wasn’t Ifrit, it was something made of…pure strength but slow movements. Slow movements meant Zell could actually work with something here. As he rushed forward and began trying to break this monster’s defenses, he felt the struggle in his fists, it was a tough being and his knuckles were probably going to be sore after this, but putting ice on them would be good, besides, he wasn’t going to ditch Quistis all because this was going to hurt his hands…nope, he was sticking around until the end!

Watching the ground crack a bit, Zell’s face twisted into almost worry, but he simply flipped himself backwards once or twice enough to put some distance between himself and Titan, just as Quistis was casting her missile attack, which made Zell glad he had moved back. He moved back even more, taking just some backwards jogging steps more towards Quistis to be on the same plane as her as the ground crumbled under the force of the missiles and under the weight of the creature that seemed almost like a Guardian Force. Watching it become surrounded by magma before disappearing out of thin air, Zell spread his arms out in disbelief before bringing his hands up to his head, tugging at his hair. “What! That’s…unfair!” he exclaimed before turning around quickly to see what Quisits’ reaction would be, but as he looked to her, his look of worry about the monster simply disappearing was replaced with extreme concern for his friend as he moved fast and kneeled next to her, placing a hand against her back as he looked at her, spotting the glowing brand on her ankle above her attire.

That was…different.

With a puzzled look on his face, he looked at her face as she quietly called for help and fainted. With that one hand on her back, he made sure she didn’t hit the ground, just so she didn’t hit her head or anything as he sat there on one knee looking around the caves and seeing nothing. God was it hot in here…and Zell didn’t want to wait around for Ifrit to come back while Quistis was passed out. Looks like he was really going to be playing the hero today. He needed to get her out of here, it was a good thing he was on the strong side – due to his choice of weapon, he needed to be physically strong in most cases. As he adjusted himself and placed himself closer to the ground, he picked up Quistis, one hand behind her back, the other under her knees, he was going to get her out of here in one piece and once outside…then he could panic. For now, he simply trudged in the caves with the professor in his arms, moving carefully and watching his step before he made it out of the caves, the students instantly around in him and questioning if Professor Trepe was okay. He ignored their words, trying to focus before he laid her down on the grass a good couple yards from the cave. “I need a bit of space okay? She’ll be fine…she just passed out…from the heat, yeah, the heat.” He spoke, trying to calm the nerves of both himself and the students.

Gently shaking Quistis’ shoulder, Zell sat on the ground next to her as he kept his eyes on her face. “Quistis? Can you hear me?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:[/color] 751
Muse:[/color] Great!
Tagged:[/color] Quistis!
Wearing:[/color] SeeD Uniform
Listening To:[/color] Neon Trees
Notes:[/color] Nada!

[angel5]

Everything turned black and white, like the old movies. Quistis found herself, standing in front of a mirror inside her room. As she scanned her reflection, she could see she was wearing her professor's gown. She frowned to her won image and then turned to see a trophy lying on top of her end table. Quistis then reached for it to see that the throphy had no name, yet, it referred to "The Most Capable Student in Magic arts from Galdabia Garden". The professor sighed as her eyes narrowed wondering what was really going on. Then someone knocked her door and showed its face calling for the professor, it was non other than the professor of personal defense. "Professor Trepe, the ceremony is about to start" Unable to reply, Quistis just nodded while wondering what is going on in this dreamy uncolored place.

In a flash, Quistis found herself standing before a whole audience, holding that trophy she owned. Every single person in this room stared at her as she saw the professor, to her side, holding a list and going through the names. Then he called for a name she could not understand and this student which a blurry face, stood before her with arms opened expecting to receive something. Involuntarily, Quistis handed the trophy to him and the student left in joy for such an award, while the professor then whispered to her hears. "They are the ones, that in a near future, will save our world. Thanks to you..... Everyone in the room disappeared, the lights were turned of and the last candle sitting on a table faded into a pitch dark place...

Quistis then started to hear to a familiar voice "Zell?". Even though she could only see darkness, she could feel the fresh wind and the smell of nature to her surrounding. The voice became louder and then she felt her body shaking strongly. Then she opened her eyes to see the colors back and the blurry face of Zell and her students, all looking at her as she lied on the grass.

"Ugh... what happened, where am I? Is everybody alright?" Quistis said instinctively. She sat while cleaning all the dirt on her uniform. She felt quite a bit of an ache on her ankle, exactly where the brand is placed. With the help of one of her students she stood up and looked at Zell who seemed to be more than worried... maybe he just found out Quistis secret after all. "I'm sorry, I think the heat got into me... Do not worry by the indicdent, you all were able to demonstrate magic knowledge, strategy and most important discipline. You all passed your field exam!" Quistis said congratulating each student as they all celebrated the success. "Let us head back to the Garden. Zell... please meet me at my office, I need help with the report" Quistis said while looking at her friend, meaning, that she actually wanted to have a private talk just in case he found out about Quistis' brand. Better to know from her than to find out elsewhere.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Count: 537
Muse: WOOOT
NExt: ZEll
Note: See u at the gardenie!

[dincht]

Zell wasn’t going to toot his own horn, but he was pretty epic back there, being all heroic and helping Quistis like that, but there was no time to feel confident about himself. Quistis was passed out and possibly hurt. He’d seen the glowing mark on her ankle and it had alarmed him, but he didn’t know what to think, he’d never seen anything like it. He had a tattoo on his face, but it never glowed, even if he tried, not that he ever had…but he just figured that ink on your skin didn’t do anything special aside from stay there, it could be seen in the light…but never did it glow. Not worrying about that for now, he focused on getting the other blonde outside and away from the caves, then becoming harassed with worried questions for their professor from the students. Well, at least they cared, but Zell needed a moment to think, so he made up an excuse…a pretty believable one at that, anyone could pass out from the heat, even someone like Quistis.

Hearing Quistis speak, Zell felt a little more relaxed and a little more at ease, especially when she opened her eyes and sat up, letting Zell fall back to sit on the ground, resting his elbows on his knees while he silently heaved out a sigh of relief. “You’re outside the caves, everyone’s okay.” He replied briefly as he continued to sit back, letting himself catch his breath for a few moments as he listened to the chitter chatter go on around him. Students were happy and pleased with their passing the exam, but something just didn’t seem right, Zell’s mind continued to go back to that glowing tattoo thing, or whatever it was. He absentmindedly rubbed at his own tattoo on his face, feeling nothing but regular skin, but it was inked. He knew better than to imagine a glowing tattoo, maybe the heat had actually gotten to HIM instead? Perhaps, he was known for seeing things when tired enough, and being around that kind of unbearable heat for a good amount of time was sure to cause him to see things…but…still, there was some concern still lingering there as his eyes moved from the grass to his friend.

Something was off.

Looking to Quistis, blinking himself out of his dazed and confused thoughts, he jumped to his feet at her request, nodding, but knowing well enough that no matter what she’d never be the type to need help with a report, she after all was the professor, not him. They had a little bit to discuss didn’t they? It could be nothing, maybe some personal thanks for his assistance, maybe she wanted his opinion on a few things she could work on as a professor…or maybe it had something to do with that glowing tattoo thing and the monster they faced that definitely wasn’t Ifrit. “Sure, I’ll be there…after I check out the cafeteria of course!” he said with a cheeky smile and a wink to add onto it, anything to make the air feel just so…relaxed…it was also a good way to help him stop worrying for even a brief moment.

--------- a little later ---------

Zell marched his way through the hallways of Balamb Garden, holding a plate with two hotdogs on it while another one was in his other hand. He’d gotten lucky and made it to the cafeteria before all of the hotdogs were gone, that was always an accomplishment for him on any given day, but since there were so little left, he figured he could snag one for Quistis if she were hungry, it was the nice thing to do wasn’t it? Rounding one corner before approaching the office of Professor Trepe, Zell actually stopped outside the door and took a deep breath, he wasn’t sure what to expect, but he certainly was curious. Using his knuckles, he tapped lightly on the door to announce his presence before he carefully entered in the room, careful not to drop anything as he then shut the door with the back of his foot and looked towards the other blonde, a sheepish grin on his face. “They were almost out of food, so…I brought you some in case you were hungry…” what a lame way to start. They needed to talk about more important things than hotdogs…but a nice friendly way to start wouldn’t hurt, would it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:[/color] 856
Muse:[/color] Amazing actually
Tagged:[/color] Quistis
Wearing:[/color] SeeD Uniform still.
Listening To:[/color] Neon Trees
Notes:[/color] Such good muse! It's come back to me!

[angel5]

Quistis was glad to be back in the Gardens. Of course having Zell with her was quite a great addition, since he always finds a way to save the day, even though he has a cocky attitude. However, Quistis' heart raced like an ostrich, she anxious and worried about her brand and if Zell was to find out about it while taking care of her. She haven't told anybody about her demise, about the power embedded on her. In the end, the incident in Ifrit's cavern was solely her fault, since Titan was attracted to her more than to anybody else.

Quistis found all by herself in her office, researching more and more about the dream she had and the brand tattooed into her skin. She have only found glimpse of information by speaking to those that came from other worlds, specially those from Cocoon. Quistis laid back on her leather chair to stare at the dim lights of the sun filtering through her curtains. She smiled to the fact that at least she was alive and everybody was safe, however, she worried that in the future worse things may happen. Then the professor opened the curtains to see all her students in the courtyard sharing their experience in the field exam.

Suddenly, someone knocked the door. Indeed it must be Zell as she asked him to. "Door its open, come in!" Quistis said while receiving her friend inside her office and offering a share to the young man. Zell, to her surprise, got her a meal on his way to the cafeteria. Quistis giggled when she just remembered the video Selphie took in the celebration after defeating the sorceress. Zell even choked a piece after devouring one of those hot dogs he loves. Quistis gladly received the bag and placed it on the other side of her desk to eat it after the conversation they are about to take. "Thanks Zell, to be honest I'm starving, yet, there is something very important we need to talk about"

Quistis frowned, this time portraying a serious kind of scenery. "After our battle with Ultimecia, when time broke and we ended up in the compression... some kind of organism known as Fal'Cie, branded me with such mark. It said this was for the good of people, so I agree to his plea and let him use me to protect everyone in the Garden" She sadly lowered her boot to show her ankle to Zell while deeply staring at his eyes, expressing the truth about herself.

"In my research, I have found that I've been turned into a L'cie, a pawn of those Fal'Cie that can be either good or evil. To my luck, the one that addressed me seemed to be good. Evil Fal'Cie, however, are threatening the worlds... including ours. That is the main reason I agree to be branded with a focus I yet don't understand." She said beign truthfully with her words.

Quistis hoped that her words and explanations will find Zell's forgiveness. She kept this from everyone and put every student in danger. Her face now, resembling sadness, felt guilt enough to ask Zell for his forgiveness.

~~~~~~~~~~~
count: 552
Next: Zell
Muse: poor Quisty

[dincht]

Keeping some sort of…optimism in this talk – whatever it was going to be about – Zell had brought food, entered the office with a cheeky smile, and sat himself down across from Quistis. “I thought you’d be hungry, especially after all that crap that happened back at Ifrit’s domain.” Zell shrugged, knowing well by her words that this was going to be important and that he needed to shut the hell up now. Which is exactly what he did. He sat quietly, staring at the other blonde, not even taking the time to dig into his second hotdog, he wanted to hear what she had to say…that way he didn’t have a repeat of his choking experience. Hotdogs were good, but when you choked on them…that was a completely different story, so now all he could do was sit down, shut up and listen.

Then Qusity started speaking, Zell tried to follow her words…he really did! But the words of…a fal’cie really did confuse him. He wasn’t sure what to make of it, or what they even were, the term was very foreign to him but he wasn’t going to bombard Quistis with questions or anything, it seemed she had enough weight on her shoulders right now. Sitting there without making so much as a peep of sound, Zell let Quistis continue to speak, she’d briefly explained a little bit about what all of this meant, sort of. She was a l’cie…branded by this fal’cie being, and that’s what that mark on her ankle was all about. Apparently she was given some sort of task that she didn’t understand and that…it wasn’t…good? Judging by the look on her face she seemed rather sad and guilt-ridden about hiding all of this. Zell gave her a blank look for a few moments, trying to put together some helpful words…something that would make her feel better, if any words would help at all.

“Well…” Zell started, reaching a hand to rub the back of his neck for a moment, he wasn’t sure what to say since he still didn’t understand it all that well, but he could provide a few short words of optimism. “…You should tell the others. They deserve to know. Whatever this task thing is…I mean, I don’t understand this fal’cie and l’cie thing anymore than a rock would, but…don’t think you’ll be going through this alone. We’ll figure it out, and when we do…good things will happen.” He said, a small grin forming on his face as he had both arms folded behind his back. “Besides, nothing can go wrong with a hero like me around. If you really don’t want to tell the others, then that’s okay…just know I’ll help you out, alright?” his words were serious, and he meant all of them. He was a good friend, whether it be to Qusitis, Squall or even Irvine, he was one of a kind that was for sure. Always considered himself some sort of hero. But no, really, if Quistis ever needed help or anyone to talk to regarding this very confusing and almost frustrating situation…Zell would always be there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Words:[/color] 635
Muse:[/color] Good!
Tagged:[/color] Quistis
Wearing:[/color] SeeD Uniform
Listening To:[/color] Nothing!
Notes:[/color] --

[angel5]

There was tension inside this room, only few times Quistis was able to tell that Zell actually was serious about something. He truly cared about her and the situation she got involved. As she explained the whole thing to Zell, she could felt anxious and stuck with words while the blonde fighter listened carefully. The iced colored eyes of Professor Trepe turned towards Zell as she sighed in despair. Hopefully, the young brawler will have some words of wisdom for her and the stress she lives in. Zell under these kind of topics is very capable of giving excellent advice, at least, there is something mature about him regardless of his constant cockiness.

Then Zell started to speak, each word he said came out from his big heart. Quistis could feel a bit more comforted to hear him remain calm and not judgmental about Quistis' indecision. He sounded supportive with every suggestion he provided, he even let her know that it will be wise to talk this with the others and stop keeping everything to herself. The professor nodded to the young man as he spoke, she grabbed her face by her cheeks and started to think of ways to start such a delicate topic... Squall will quickly understand but Quistis was worried about the others and how they might react to Quistis turning into such a being.

Quistis then smiled and replied with a nod, assuring her friend that she will follow his advice and let the others know about the whole mess regarding the brand she bears. She then grabbed all the paperwork she has to do for the examination of the students and turned off the computer she uses for the research. Gladly, she pulled out the lunch bag Zell brought to her, almost tasting the flavored hot dogs from the cafeteria. Lastly she grabbed her purse and then turned to Zell. "I appreciate a lot your support, and I owe you lunch for sure" She said before hugging her friend while the sun started to set across the huge glass window of her office.

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Count: 352
Tagged: None