The Strongest Weakness [Queen]

[Hope Estheim]

A workaholic. Perhaps Hope could admit that the term many people had used to describe him in the past few years was an accurate one. He had good reasoning behind his often-incessant toiling, yes, but he knew the hours he usually logged as the Director of Academy Research were sometimes...ludicrous. He set aside time to keep himself sane, yes, but his friends and acquaintances often told him he worked more than even the nonhuman automations (which he had obviously helped to develop) did. Without having attained his goal of fixing the future, though...Hope couldn't exactly stop, could he? He could always rest once he was finished...though after all these years, Hope had started to wonder if he really would ever see the end of his task. His arrival in Oriens had changed that. While the fight was far from over...Hope had accomplished a portion of what he had originally set out to do - find Lightning, reunite with the people he had thought of as family for ten years, and find his answers to the pressing questions that the timeline and Caius presented. Not only could the former l'Cie find peace in their reunion and the strength to continue their fight to sustain the life of the goddess, Etro...but Hope and the Academy now had the tools to prepare for the future of destruction Serah and Noel had warned him of.

Unfortunately, hope for a brighter future would have to be put on hold while Hope figured out a way to open a portal that would transport him back to Gran Pulse...not to mention the many other projects involving communication and transport to Oriens that he would have to put on hold for the time being. For a large portion of the past two days, though he could have easily found other ways to entertain himself and wished he could afford to spend more time with both the other time-travelers, Hope had been essentially shut up in a research room the school had been kind enough to provide for him, hovering over all manner of data and tools that he would need in order to artificially generate a portal to Gran Pulse. It was not going to be an easy project in the slightest...most of Hope's proper equipment was back in Academia, as well as the majority of the people who had extensive knowledge of the portals and fal'Cie magic. Some of the researchers here at the Magic Academy had helped him as much as they could, but for all intents and purposes, Hope was on his own with the project that would take him, Noel, and Serah back to their point of origin. For once, Hope wished a fal'Cie could just happen to open a portal for them. Would that be too much to ask for?

But he wasn't at the point of frustration yet, even if he hadn't had terribly much success yet. After all this time as a researcher, he was used to dealing with a little failure interspersed with eventual success. Currently jammed underneath the bottom of a piece of machinery, Hope moved a wire here and an energy core there, trying to find the right calibration that would cause his little attempt at generating a small amount of magic to work long enough to allow three - maybe for, if Light could be convinced to make a short visit to Academia before resuming her fight - people to pass through without it shutting prematurely and leaving them in...well, in a place Hope had never been and never wanted to be, frankly. His hands moved in practiced motions, shifting parts around, until his upper body eventually emerged out from underneath and he pushed himself to his feet. Time for his sixth attempt...

Moving over to a small set of dials, levers, and buttons, Hope turned a few settings back and forth, pulled down a pair of levers, and ignited a couple of buttons. Taking in a deep breath (and bracing himself against the table), Hope switched down a third lever and was immediately greeted with the crackling sound of fal'Cie magic. Squinting towards the glow it had created on the far side of the room, Hope grew wide-eyed as the light and sound grew in intensity. He'd barely managed to cause any reaction at all with his previous attempts. The light became so intense that he had to bring his arm up to shield his eyes, and he felt a vacuum effect starting to pull on the front of his shirt and his hair just as the glowing magic orb started to open slightly. Hope had begun to think he was successful, a bright smile easing its way onto his face. Just as the opening became as tall as Hope himself, though, an all-too-familiar zapping sound reached his ears, and the opening completely disappeared, along with the light and the roaring sound. Hope lowered his arm slowly, his smile slowly dissipating. Oh well...at least that was closer than he'd come with the other five attempts.

He sighed audibly, but quietly moved back over to some of his equipment, partially disappearing underneath it again and ignorant of all else going on outside his little cubicle. In doing so, he had missed it was nearing sundown, and forgot he hadn't had anything to eat since his friends had brought him something earlier. Oh well. He'd keep working.

Words - 942
Tagged - Queen!
Muse - Spectacular!
Place - One of the magic laboratories.
Outfit - Bam
Notes - Long, rambly, dialogue-less....perfect for a random Queen entry? [/size]

[Queen (No. 12)]

This really did need to stop. Kazusa, and his desire to steal students and…research on them. It needed to stop. Queen had heard reports, of course, that the man drugged students and researched on them, but part of her had always thought it a ludicrous thought. After all, he was a highly esteemed man around Rubrum. And if he did do such a thing, surely the other members in power, Kurasame, Emina, Arecia, would do something about it. Unfortunately, they didn’t. As the president of Class Zero, Queen felt that it was up to her to put an end to this preposterous behavior. Who would allow a man to do something like this? An adult, someone who should know better. And who gave them power? Though she had no weight in that, and could not remove him from his power, she also felt it her duty to go see him, and to ‘work out’ this little problem. No one. Absolutely no one, messed with her fellow classmates.

Cold, seemingly uncaring, the young woman was protective of the members of class Zero, and maintaining boundaries. Kazusa had overstepped both of those, when he had taken one of her classmates and drugged them. So it was time for a little…discussion. With confident steps, the dark haired young woman made her way down the hallway, going at a steady pace toward the research labs. This, she was sure, was where Kazusa would be, if of course, he wasn’t off drugging someone right at that moment. He would surely feel her wrath if he was. The very idea that someone could get away with that was appalling. If she ever woke up, strapped to Kazusa’s table, she would maim him.

The problem was that Queen, who didn’t often come to the research labs, didn’t know which was Kazusa’s. Perhaps it was that, or perhaps the memory loss that she was still recovering from. King was helping her regain her memories, and they were coming back, but some things had yet to do so. Frustrating, but she could do nothing about it, but try and be patient. Thankfully, she was picking up most things again with ease, and the memories were returning to her.

Slowing as she reached the labs, Queen peered around, trying to find someone. Finally walking up to one of the doors on a whim, a steady hand adjusted her glasses as she peered through the glass panel on the door which separated the outside world from the crazy scientists within. Something that most of the students appreciated…a barrier.

Seeing movement, which was enough to draw her in, Queen quietly opened the door, and just as silently entered the room. The man she saw working diligently was none she had seen before. Was he a man that had been hired recently? Cocking her eyebrow, Queen started toward the young man, when suddenly there was a crackling noise, quickly followed by a light, which was so bright it forced her arm up to cover her eyes. Turning her head and body, her hand fumbled for the door, wanting to escape whatever it was this man was doing, before almost as quickly, the crackling ceased and the light dissipated.

When it stopped, Queen opened her violet eyes and blinked rapidly, adjusting her glasses and trying to get the glare from her orbs. Glancing back for the man, she saw him go under the object he was working on. With another cocked brow, Queen found herself walking toward the man and his machine. Bending her knees, a fist raised to prop her chin up on, and she simply waited, her eyes looking up to see what it was he was working on. “Most intriguing. Did you construct this yourself?”

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

Words:; 781
Muse:; Great!
Location:; Research lab
Outfit:; Class Zero summer
Tagged:; Hope!\o/
Notes:; ^__^
Listening Too:; Nothing

[Hope Estheim]

With all of his attention diverted, Hope likely would have barely even noticed anyone tugging on his sleeve before he went back underneath the machinery. Delving back into his own thoughts and focusing on his work, he was completely ignorant of the footsteps in the room, and could barely hear them over the clanking he was making as he fidgeted with the machinery. He was only beginning to debate with himself over moving an entire string of wires back to the other side of one of the cores when the sudden tones of a female voice startled him and triggered a reflexive movement. He banged his head on the underbelly of the machine only hard enough that it would be sore, letting loose a very low "Agh" more from the surprise of hitting his head than from the actual pain it caused him. Well...that wasn't embarrassing at all.

Still conceal underneath the machine, Hope craned his head towards the source of the voice, only able to see a pair of legs. He slowly eased his upper body out from underneath the machine and peered at the young woman before him, clearly marked as a student by the uniform that she wore. She had an intelligent look about her, which the sharp glasses she wore clearly attributed to. Hope stared at her with raised eyebrows, trying to decipher what it could have been that brought her in here (all the noise he was making notwithstanding). Oh, she'd asked him a question, hadn't she? It would probably make sense to give her an answer, since she seemed so interested. None of the other students seemed bold enough to approach Hope, Noel or Serah in general despite their curiosity. They seemed far less inclined to express their interest in Hope's work, so to say he was surprised that a member of Class Zero had been drawn into the room was...a surprise, but a pleasant one.

"A portion of it," Hope finally answered, wiping his hands into a towel and pushing himself to his feet. He wasn't used to discussing his work with people while sitting on the floor, after all. His eyes stared with a hint of pride at the machinery, though back in Academia he would have been able to design all the pieces from scratch and thus, make a much more useful machine. Here, he was left with the results of his scavenging and Oriens' own way of utilizing magic in conjunction with technology. "Most of the components are borrowed from your magic researchers here at your school. I only put those components together and linked them all to the same device. It's...tacky, but I can't say I completely understand the technology your world possesses. It's a little more trial-and-error than I'm used to." Hope stopped himself from rambling too much, deciding he'd answered her question all too well already. He crossed his arms and stared at the machine, trying to express to it just how disappointed he was in it for being so clunky. Oh well, being so involved with the nuances of the timeline, he supposed he couldn't expect to have the convenience of a time-traveling technology manual everywhere he went. With others relying on him for these things, he had to figure out a way to deal with it.

He should have also thought to introduce himself before exploding into his mini-rant. Snapping out of his staring at the machine, Hope turned towards the student and lowered his head slightly. "You probably don't know who I am..." He extended a hand to her. "Hope Estheim. One of the latest portal arrivals, as I'm sure you've heard. School hallways usually relay information faster than the evening news," he joked, with a light chuckle. "Can I help you in any way?"

Words - 715
Muse - Great!
Outfit - Bam
Notes - Epicness BEGIN. [/size]

[Queen (No. 12)]

Hearing the sound, Queen furrowed her brow, leaning back slightly in her crouched state to take a look at the figure that was wedged underneath. From the sharp ‘thud’ that she had heard, the class president could only assume he had hit some part of him on the underside of the project he was working on. Perhaps she shouldn’t have startled him. That would be a safe assumption, but the time had already passed, and if he had harmed himself, then he had harmed himself. Remaining where she was, the serious woman turned her gaze away from the man, still buried beneath the object, and turned to look at whatever it was he was making. Odd.

"A portion of it,"

Nodding again, Queen adjusted her glasses, before standing herself to follow his movements, appraising the man behind calm features. She had, of course, heard about the three strangers that had ‘dropped out of the sky’, but before now, had not had the pleasure of meeting them. From what the rest of the girls said, they were ‘hearthrobs.’ A term that had not only forced an eye roll, but made Queen wonder at how some of the students had made it into the academy. First on her list of wondering, was that Kayla. She was something. Tall, she would admit he was fine looking, but then again, many around the school were. Crossing arms over her chest, Queen remained standing there, before once more sparing a glance at what he was working on.

It became apparent by his long speech just how interested he was in the subject at hand. Some may get bored, but Queen listened attentively to every word spoken. This was nothing compared to some speeches she’d heard from Trey or Quon. Those two could talk endlessly. Uncrossing her arms, a shift in weight, and then her hand rested underneath her chin as she settled down to listen to a speech about how the entire machine worked, its parts, and different things. No mechanic or inventor herself, there was still appreciation for things that took effort, and thus she followed his words carefully, piecing them together to try and figure out just what the machine was. “Sometimes I wonder if the scientists who invent the technology even understand what they’re doing, so perhaps you shouldn’t be hard on yourself.”

An introduction. Unnecessary, but the formality was there. Thankfully this man was someone who understood formality, instead of some bumbling idiot like Nine. One Nine running around the school was more then enough; two would just send her over the edge. Glancing at the extended hand, Queen didn’t hesitate to reach out her own hand to clasp his firmly. Drawing it back after that, her own introduction was added. “Queen, number twelve of Class Zero.” Still, a smile formed onto her lips at his mention of how fast news traveled. “Thankfully you recognize our ‘media’ around Rubrum. Tongues waggle information out faster then any newspaper would. Fortunately at times, and unfortunately at others. Still, a pleasure to have you among us Mr. Estheim.”

"Can I help you in any way?"

“No, you cannot help me with what I approached the research labs for, it matters not. I am, however, interested in learning a bit more about this machine you’re building. I assume it’s purpose is to figure out some way to get back home?” Turning from him and approaching it, violet eyes gazed with curiosity, wondering just how it would work.

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Words:; 761
Muse:; Good! Distracted by...Uncharted stuff xD
Location:; Lab
Outfit:; Class Zero Student
Tagged:; Hope! \o/
Notes:; Notta!
Listening Too:; Redlight Kings

[Hope Estheim]

"“Sometimes I wonder if the scientists who invent the technology even understand what they’re doing, so perhaps you shouldn’t be hard on yourself.”

The younger woman spoke truth, and Hope knew it. While not particularly angered by his failures thus far, Hope was undoubtedly discouraged with his progress thus far. Obviously, he knew he was doing something wrong with the machine, but considering he was working with a piece of equipment he had never seen in his life up until forty hours ago, he couldn't say what he was doing wrong. Then again, none of the scientists who worked here knew the first thing about how to generate a portal (though they certainly possessed some advancements Hope had never even began to think of), so it was understandable that this was extremely trial and error, as he'd said. He nodded at her, his eyes turning to shape up the confounding machine again. "I can say this much - they clearly didn't understand some of this equipment well enough to leave behind a user's manual," Hope said, lightly, pushing on a few pieces of white paper he had been using to scribbles of the machine's schematics. He doubted anyone aside from him (and possibly Alyssa) could understand any of it, but perhaps someone could decipher it if they ever had a need to.

But Hope could fret more over the machine later. After all these hours of working, he needed some contact with the rest of humanity. "Pleasure to meet you, Queen." The moniker appeared to suit her. It was not hard for Hope to tell she carried herself in a stately way - even the handshake had formality to it, and Hope had partaken in quite a few formal handshakes over the past several years. She referred to herself as the twelfth member of the class. How many were there? Hope hadn't quite caught the number as of yet, nor had he managed to meet all of them. He would need to make note to at least speak to each of them. The whole idea of this school, admittedly, interested him greatly. Part of him wanted to hear what the students here thought about training and studying in a military school...which made him sound like he was going to go around and take a survey. Actually, he just wanted to hear how students were recruited and other similarly mundane things. He couldn't imagine it was the greatest feeling to know one's high school life could come to a screeching halt if any sort of war was to break out. From what Hope understood, war was never too far from the minds of the people of Rubrum due to the militant nature of their neighbors.

Seemingly right about the school being a hotbed for gossip, Hope let out a chuckle or two. "I understand. Oftentimes, the city I live in is no better." There were always rumors in Academia, and so many people lived in such a contained area that basically anyone, from laborers to teachers to military officers to academy researchers, could hear any tidbit of information about anyone. It had its merits at times as Queen mentioned, with information traveling so fast...at other times, when lies were the only things spreading, it made for a mess.

Hope nodded again as Queen expressed she was happy to have him there. He was sure other students didn't quite hold the same opinion, but most seemed to have reacted to Hope, Serah and Noel in a relatively welcoming way....some more welcoming than others, most of them the girls in the school (though he was sure some of the male students had been impressed by Serah, and he just hadn't noticed). Hope could only count it to Queen's credit that she was neither intimidated nor all over herself speaking with a strange man. Finding himself hovering over a short silence, he remembered something he needed to say to someone. Queen seemed like as wortyh of a recipient of his thanks as anyone, even if she hadn't known terribly much about the foreign pinkette present in the school. "I should thank you all for taking in Lightning when she arrived here. After ten years, to find her here with your instructor, safe and sound, was...as much of a relief as it sounds. I felt like I needed to tell at least one of your class."

What genuinely surprised Hope was that Queen's interest in his work hadn't quite run out yet. He thought he would have bored her to tears by now, but she seemed to be so curious about it that she chose to ignore what had brought her to his cubbyhole in the first place. Hope was more than happy to oblige her on her intrigue. Stepping over to join her with the machine, he drummed his fingers on the top of it a bit. "Exactly. The idea is to have the machine generate the necessary power to maintain one of the portals which brought all of us here long enough to let us pass back through." His hand moved to a few of the wires connecting two different pieces of equipment. "With Oriens having its own l'Cie, I thought I would be able to convince this machine to channel something akin to fal'Cie power by using a few amplifiers...so far, it only works long enough to create a portal, but not to keep it open for any amount of time. Meaning, I'm only partially right, but I can't tell which part of the process I'm right about, much less the part I'm wrong about."

Yes, in Academia, this whole process likely wouldn't have taken him more than a few hours working on his own. With members of the Academy assisting him, two hours. He sat down on the table, running a hand through his hair a bit and giving Queen an apologetic look. "It would probably be best for me to stay away from struggling with it for at least a few minutes....I've been staring at it for most of the day."

Words - 1111 (awwww yeah
Muse - Excellent!
Outfit - Bam
Notes - Long and rambly >> But should be okay.[/size]

[Queen (No. 12)]

The crack about an owners manual caused a slight lift in her lips, amusement showing in the violet in her eyes. Adjusting her glasses then, Queen strode closer, studying his work out of curiosity. Queen herself was no engineer. Of course, she did well if the material was presented and she was given an opportunity to learn, but just to create something from scratch using technology you weren’t used to, was impressive, and a feat she couldn’t do herself. Anything she couldn’t do herself was something she wanted to learn more about. Curiosity killed the cat they said, but learning was the only way you could make something of yourself. “Unfortunately, I’m sure they don’t think ahead to when other people will have to use their inventions.” That was scientists for you, and one of the reasons Queen found it annoying when she did have to talk to them about something she couldn’t understand.

"I understand. Oftentimes, the city I live in is no better."

Turning and walking around the desk to wander and look at what he had on the table for tools and papers, Queen settled finally, having turned back to the table. Reaching a hand for a paper, glasses were adjusted as the curious eyes turned to look at what he had written. To her, it was indistinguishable what he was trying to write down. Narrowing her eyes to study it some more, she glanced across at him, eyebrow raised as he mentioned his city. Though she knew he was from somewhere else, she had no idea where. Returning eyes to scan the paper some more, Queen settled a hand on her hip, “And just where is this city you live in? I’m afraid I haven’t heard that in the wagging of tongues.” Reaching forward, Queen set the paper carefully down where it had previously been and picked up another. This one was just as foreign to her, and though she tried to understand it, she failed miserably, a moment later returning it as well to its proper place. This man was obviously intelligent, a pleasure to speak to as well.

The thanks she got on behalf of the school surprised her. She had met the woman of course, and knew her name, but hadn’t gotten a close friendship with her. It was still shocking to see the resemblance of this woman and their own Seven. “Anyone that isn’t threatening our school is welcome here. Only recently have we had anyone from different worlds instead of different countries come though. I would like to think these worlds would receive us just as hospitably if the circumstances were flipped. Lightning is respectful and hasn’t caused any trouble, so of course it’s been a pleasure. If you wish to know more about her, I would ask our instructor, Kurasame. He’s seemed to, from what I hear, take a shine to her.” It was hard to believe. Queen wasn’t sure how on Oriens Kurasame could ‘take a shine’ to anyone, with his personality. But that was what she had heard. Perhaps Carla wasn’t the best source for figuring something out.

What he explained was somewhat hard to understand. Queen tried hard to follow it, and did for the most part, or at least for the first while. The gist anyway, she understood that. This portal was a gateway to his home but he didn’t expect it to stay open for long. Glancing over at him as he explained, a slight smile lifted on her lips. He really was an intelligent person. “Well it seems as if you’re on the right track to getting it to work. If you need any assistance, I could provide some. I don’t know much about what you’re doing but if you instruct me what to do, I can do it. Simply a thought of course, not like you need to.”

Then again, she could understanding staring at something for a length of time. Laughing slightly, arms crossed over her chest, Queen peered around. She should be hospitable, which of course, meant showing him around. “Perhaps since you mentioned not having any desire to stare at it for any longer, I could show you around Rubrum? As long as you’re stuck here, you should check it out.”

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Words:; 893
Muse:; Great actually O.o
Location:; Lab
Outfit:; School uniform
Tagged:; Hope!
Notes:; --
Listening Too:; --

[Hope Estheim]

"Which is a strange irony, when you consider it," Hope said, in between a laugh. Weren't inventions meant for people to use in the future? Yes, but did that always mean an inventor could actually succeed in making their inventions worthwhile to anyone but themselves? No, in fact, it was a rare thing. Hope couldn't even imagine how many inventions had been created by a man or woman only for the individual to find no one else understood it. Hope had even had that problem himself a time or two in the past five years or so. Thankfully, he knew plenty of engineers who could take his strange plans and make them actually useful to the everyday person, otherwise he would have plenty of devices and research tools lying around in an Academy basement, never to be seen again by human eyes.

He stood back as Queen sifted through his papers, always glad when someone actually didn't run away in fear of his chicken scratch. Though he didn't fully expect her to understand what he'd written down, since most of it would have been illegible to Hope himself had he not been the one to write it all down, he gave her credit for trying. He straightened up a little when she asked where he came from. "A sprawling city called Academia after the organization I work for. Even as large as it is, the city is still crowded, so the rumors fly from mouth to mouth easily," Hope informed her. He'd always been used to city life from birth, and really couldn't imagine living in a quiet place though he liked the wilderness of Pulse whenever he had a chance to see it. It was probably a result of Vanille rubbing off on him over the years. He wondered if she was worried with him and Serah having been gone a little longer than anticipated now...though she tended to get distracted with things, so hopefully she'd found something to put her mind at ease.

He rubbed his chin a little at the thought, before the thought crossed his mind and he chose to express his appreciation that another of his friends, Lightning, had been accepted in her refuge here. What he heard impressed him even more...the students here, they knew their stuff. He grinned widely and nodded at her words, before he heard something interesting towards the end. An instructor? Fond of Lightning? "Really?", he said, voicing his thoughts. Hope hadn't heard anything about this instructor He wondered who this "Kurasame" was, but whoever he happened to be, he'd obviously taken good care of Lightning. She had almost seemed cheery (well, as cheery as Light could be) when he and Serah had arrived. Hope wanted to ask her about it sometime later. He'd tuck it into the back of his mind with all the other notes he had back there.

Even an offering of help. Hope was tempted to take Queen back to Academia with him and find a job for her...though he suspected he'd suddenly become a kidnapper. That could turn out to be a rather awkward explanation... But, jokes aside, he appreciated the sentiment. "Ah, I couldn't ask you do to put aside time to help, though I really am thankful you'd be willing to offer. I'm sure you already have enough to busy you with school." And with their training. Hope had managed school even at a faster pace than normal, but he'd never trained to fight at the same time. He couldn't imagine it was an easy way to go through school, but it was surely an admirable way.

At her offer to show him around, Hope peered over at her and tried to hold in a small amount of boyish excitement. He'd been hoping to see more of this school and this similar world than simply the science labs and the room he'd been provided with for sleeping and privacy. "I'd enjoy that," Hope responded, briskly, as if he felt the offer wouldn't be on the table for long. His hands moved to push a few of his diagrams back into a neat pile before passing over his tools and doing the same with them. He didn't want to seem like a complete slob with the school's lab, so a little needless tidying wouldn't hurt a thing aside from making him spread everything out on the table again later, and...that was a non-problem anyway. After popping up from his makeshift seat on the table, he took ahold of a tarp propped up against the wall and pulled it over the top of the machine. He turned back around to face Queen, an expectant expression on his face, waiting for her to lead the way if she was ready.

Words - 881
Muse - Great!
Outfit - Bam
Notes - Lead him wherever![/size]

[Queen (No. 12)]

“Irony is the key ingredient to most humanistic traits,” she stated calmly. Cocking her head to the side, Queen simply glanced at him again. Well cut, nicely built, Hope seemed to be as intelligent, if not more so, then any of the other scientists here. Though when you compared him to someone like Kazusa, it was easy to see how he would excel and look a lot smarter then any of them. She found that though she had just met this bright young man, he was refreshing from many that she dealt with on a daily basis. Not that there was anything wrong with them, –aside from Nine’s case of stupid- but she found their continual hyper personalities a bit much to deal with at times. When she had to deal with Nine on one side stating he was smart for knowing the four countries of Oriens, but only being able to think of three, and then Jack bubbling on about their band and air drumming randomly, it was nice to be around someone that actually paid attention to what happened around them, and seemed to think logically.

At his explanation, Queen set the papers down carefully and gave him her full attention. Academia, the name itself sounded odd, and she rolled it around in her mind a few times to get her tongue around it before attempting to say it back to him. “Academia, interesting name.” To her names such as Sazaku, Rubrum, and Byakko were normal names. That was just because of contact with these on a daily basis however. If she lived in this Academia, the name wouldn’t sound so foreign on her lips when she tried to speak it. She herself had always lived in Sazaku, but later on had come to live in Rubrum. Arecia had raised all of class zero, and it had been expected that one day they would come to the school to learn more. After so many years, she was used to the large school.

He didn’t seem to quite believe what she said about Kurasame. Queen herself, as well as most of class zero, weren’t as fond of Kurasame as they could be. That probably stemmed from him replacing Arecia as their instructor. Nodding, Queen clasped hands in front of her, a twinkle in her eye, “Oh yes, from what I hear anyway, I haven’t seen them interact.” Queen hadn’t actually thought that their cold, stoic instructor could ever feel this way about anyone. He constantly created tension between their class, especially Nine and Cater, even Ace. She wasn’t so sure exactly why, but they had all butted heads with him at some point it seemed like. Well, if he found happiness, then good for him, she wouldn’t deny him some time spent with a rather cold woman. If she had to say, each one seemed to be just as cold as the other. That was something she thought rather odd. Obviously in this situation, opposites didn’t attract.

Enough to keep her busy? A small smile lifted on her features, “Of course, if one does it properly, there is always something to keep you busy. Keep it in mind though, I’m not above helping.” Queen had often been interested in the engineering of things she didn’t quite understand. The problem was that, just as he said, school and all the extra activities that put on her shoulders indeed kept her busy most of the time. Still, time could be taken out in small quantities to do other things, especially if it wouldn’t be for the rest of her life. A few hours here and there wouldn’t make her grades slip. She wouldn’t be in danger of Trey getting better grades then her, which was of importance.

At her offer to show him the school, which she hadn’t been sure he would accept, this Hope seemed to come alive. Though his manner of speaking was brisk, she noted how quickly he had started to get everything straightened up. That might, however, be just her imagination, because one could never tell with these things. It was interesting to see just how proficient he was when it came to his actions. Really, it didn’t seem like there was any wasted movements. After the tarp went over and he looked at her, she cocked an eyebrow. “Ready?” Turning on her heel then, she made her way over to the door, thinking he would follow her. Opening it with her hand, she opened it, calmly went through, waiting for him once she did so.

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Words:; 933
Muse:; Good!
Location:; Labs
Outfit:; Uniform
Tagged:; Hope!
Notes:; --
Listening Too:; Hairline fracture - Rise Against

[Hope Estheim]

"I'll certainly keep it in mind," Hope responded to Queen, supposing he could find a reason to pacify her interest by asking her for help once he needed an opinion on Oriens magic or some other subject of which he knew nothing about. Judging by their conversation, she could have easily been one of the professors of researchers at this school, anyway. The fact that, by her association with Class Zero, she was likely martially skilled as well only furthered Hope's belief that the very young woman before him had an extremely bright future. If someone so talented wanted to get her hands dirty with one of Hope's clunky machines, he certainly would not stop her.

Hope supposed they could riddle each other with questions as she showed him around the school, so he kept the few other thoughts he had - about the instructors and about the various classes, mainly - subdued until they were out the door. He spoke as he took a moment to shut the door behind him. Assumedly, no one would want to touch what to them probably appeared to be a doomsday machine, so he left the door unlocked. "Admittedly, I'm surprised one of you opted to come into my mechanical cave here. What portion of the students aren't clinging to our heels seem wary of us, though I can't blame them. Having large groups of strangers falling through portals would have bothered me in school, as well." Eventually, if Hope had his way, Rubrum and Academia could establish some sort of rapport through the portals where both sides would freely be able to travel back and forth between worlds and share resources, in a way. It was something that would benefit both parties immensely. For such a thing to happen, however, Hope knew that a higher comfort level would have to be established between both sides. He'd have to prepare such a proposition sometime in the near future.

But, dwelling on such things during this tour would not serve any real purpose aside from the possibility of Hope's missing something of interest. His eyes skimmed the hallway he'd already traversed many times that led from the lab he was using back towards the spare dorm room he'd been provided with, glancing a few of the names by the doorways. Eventually, though, he glanced to Queen. "If the question's not too personal...", Hope began, with a wave of his arm. "How did you first arrive at the magic academy, Queen?" The students here were so skilled and...well, militarized that Hope couldn't imagine a person's parents simply sent them here. He imagined either that they were recruited or funneled here through some sort of military program of some sort. All speculation...hence why he chose to ask the question in the first place. Hope wished that Gran Pulse would never need to organize any sort of military school, but if they ever did, Rubrum seemed to pull off the task as well as anyone. The students certainly didn't seem caged in as if this were a boarding school. In fact, most seemed highly pleased to be here, and Hope could not help but tell that a comraderie had grown between most students of the same class. It all interested him immensely...but, admittedly, Hope knew he was easily drawn to such things other people would probably find commonplace or boring. Oh well. Research had to start somewhere, right?

Words - 643
Muse - Excellent!
Outfit - Bam
Notes - Little short, sorry D8[/size]

[Queen (No. 12)]

Queen had to smile when he mentioned his ‘cave’. The presence of these people didn’t bother her, more like…intrigued her. Still, she had been far too busy up to now to do anything about the new comers. Not unfriendly, she held the classmates, grades, and the looming war above meeting strangers and chatting over tea. Much more important. Not only was there the actual preparation, but also the emotional support needed to rally the team members. This is what they had been brought up for, Queen wasn’t going to lie to herself. Arecia had been good to them, taking them in when they had no one else, wandering orphans with nowhere to lay their heads, no direction to go in. She had become like their own mother really, and Queen knew the rest thought of her in the same exact way. Really, she was their mom. She could barely remember her own parents. Even now, the faces were blurry and she couldn’t focus on any one feature. Still, despite Arecia being their mother, and acting like it, Queen knew what purpose they had been given. Class Zero. In the magic school they were in, their class was he most esteemed of them all, the most elite members in the school, and they were the biggest backing if there was to be a war, as it would seem there was going to be now. Nine finding Seven, battered and bruised, deposited at the gates had been enough to set them all off. The Milites would be put down, if she had to see to it personally, then so be it.

“The rest, I assure you, aren’t unfriendly, just weary of people that drop out of the sky. Besides that, there’s tension between a country bordering our territory, and so everyone can feel it. Not much time to chat with strangers over tea,” she commented quietly. Really, her reason for coming here had had absolutely nothing to do with Hope, and being herself, she just decided to tell him that. “Really though, I had no idea they had allowed you a lab in which to study, or that I would be running into you. I came to…converse with Kazusa. It’s really no wonder he’s hiding in one of his labs somewhere.” By converse she meant the talking of threats. Queen had enough on her plate with the upcoming war, the tension, everyone on edge, she didn’t need that insolent prick kidnapping her fellow classmates and trying to run studies on them.

When they were ready, she waited until he followed her out the door before her heels made soft clips down the hallway. Silence followed them for a few moments, and Queen made no move to fill it. Unlike the silence that came when you were in the presence of Kurasame, this was a comfortable silence. Though she didn’t mind when he broke it. Glancing at Hope out of the corner of her eye, Queen listened to him trail off, encouraging him with a quick, “Yes?” His question made her glance back down where she was walking, deciding how to answer that question. She didn’t, after all, know him, but from her interaction she would say he seemed a hardworking, honest man. “I was six,” she started out, glancing at him again. “My parents had just died, car accident they said, I can’t remember almost anything about them, or the day.” It seemed funny, talking about a past that didn’t even seem real to her. No, he could barely remember life outside the orphanage. “I remember being scared, and a few nights at some house with strangers I knew nothing about. I’m not sure how long I was there, or why she came, but after some time had passed, she showed up, Arecia I mean.”

The past, so odd, to bring it up now of all times. “I never did figure out why she came, but finally, after some heated talking with the strangers that owned the house, she came and took me away. Took me to an orphanage we within Class Zero like to call ‘home.’ Over the years she took them all in. King, Jack, Nine, Eight, Seven, Sice, Cinque, Cater, Trey, Deuce, Ace and myself, she became our mother. Really, the only mother we can remember anymore. When we were young we picked our weapon of choice, and at a very early age, we started training. I think, even back then, she had a plan for us.” The plan included this war, she was sure of it. Despite there being more students in the school, different classes, it was theirs that Arecia still followed the most. Theirs was elite, having been doing it their entire lives.

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Words:; 969
Muse:; Great!
Location:; Hallways
Outfit:; Uniform
Tagged:; Hope
Notes:; \o/ BSing history? I think yes
Listening To:; --

[Hope Estheim]

"So I've heard," Hope replied, almost apologetically, to Queen's comment about their "enemies at the gates," so to speak. The researcher had heard a decent bit from all parties at the school about the situation with the nearby Milites Empire. If the current "incumbent" military governor, Cid Aulstyne, really believed that he was merely working to protect his country in the aftermath of their emperor's disappearance, than he was a truly ignorant man. An ignorance Hope sincerely doubted a man of such station possessed. No, this Cid knew exactly what he was doing, and by Hope's guess, that was the most disturbing facet of this whole situation. These students - Queen included, he was sure - would have to face that brutal man someday. Frankly, it was frightening to think about an all-out war, but considering all the factors, one seemed to be close on the horizon.

By the tone in Queen's voice, Hope had to let loose a chuckle at her mention of Kazusa. "He's...the scientist with the sideswept hair and glasses?", Hope asked, motioning to his own face to show where the hair would be. "I haven't spoken to him, but he does seem a little...enigmatic." Though he would have loved to hear why he would have been hiding from anyone, Hope held his tongue. Getting stuck in strange little student-staff disagreements didn't sound like the best plan he'd had since arriving. And Hope was perceptive enough to tell...Queen had something of a bone to pick with the scientist.

The conversation moved to more reasonable topics for Hope to show interest in once they were in the hallway, anyway, so he didn't feel as if he was dealing in school business. Fortunately, Queen didn't seem all that bothered by his question. He listened intently, already drawn in by her mentioning she was only six years old when she became affiliated with the magic academy. Parents both dead in a car accident at six... Hope remembered losing his own mother. He was ten years older now, and it still stung him. Would it have been any better for him to have lost her earlier? Hope couldn't be the one to be the judge of that. He could only wonder how Queen had come out of the situation with such...strength as she displayed now, to become a member of the finest class in the school. His wonder was answered by her mentioning Arecia, the sort of "headmistress" for Class Zero, as he'd noticed. Hope had noticed a close relationship between the woman and the students, but he didn't know anything about the orphanage or the way she had assembled them all. It kind of amazed him, how a group of students could be assembled in such a way and thrive under the hand of a single woman. Hope would definitely need to meet this Arecia properly before he left the school. She seemed like as great of a woman as Lightning or Serah or any of the other women Hope knew, and that was saying something.

Hope nodded slowly at her statements before looking back down to the floor, building himself up for what he was about to say. He no longer had any issues expressing himself about his mother's death, but telling a young girl who had been through a similar situation and who was still partially a stranger to him proved harder than the average associate. He cleared his throat lightly. "Did all of you lose parents in some way? I only wonder because...I lost my mom at a young age, myself. During a war." A war between civilian and the people who were supposed to protect them. It still amazed Hope how people back then could have been so...fearful of Gran Pulse. But he had been too. He'd learned to accept it, but if he was in the same situation, and he thought someone was a danger to them because they'd been touched by Pulse...would he have reacted any differently if someone placed a gun in his hand?

That was a question Hope had asked himself many times, and would surely ask again. In a way, it had reminded him what he set out to do, and what brought him here in the first place. And...he was glad it had brought him here, to people he could level with. That alone was worth at least some effort, wasn't it?

Words - 776
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - Worst ending to a post ever? I think so. [/size]

[Queen (No. 12)]

Queen had no idea why she was talking about such personal school matters with a complete stranger she had only met minutes before. It wasn’t in her nature to make comments to those she didn’t know regarding the state of the looming war, or the relationships with others. Still, it seemed natural to talk to him about such things. Was it his calm personality? Sharp mind? Or something else? Whatever it was, she trusted him, oddly so. Enough to let comments slip about the current situation that was going on around the school. So he had heard about the looming war on the horizon? Queen had thought that it might be able to be avoided, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that at this point, war was a definite possibility. Sighing then, she shrugged and continued on, wanting pity from no one. “The last thing Suzaku needs right now, or ever, is a war. Yet it’s looming on the horizon, coming closer and closer. Despite the best intentions that Arecia and the other leaders have to put an end to the tension, I fear that it will only make matters worse.” Gritting her teeth, the only indication of the strong feeling she had on the subject, Queen continued, her voice calm and steady. “Really no matter what happens, we’ll be prepared for it. We’re always prepared. If peace is what comes, then we will go on the way things are right now. If war is what they wish, then Rubrum will do what it has to in order to survive, even if that means fighting and crushing the Byakko empire.”

Onto better subjects. Her voice had taken a decided chill when she had spoken the last statement, but she then became distracted by Kuzasu. At his description of the scientist, Queen found herself nodding. That sounded like him alright, physically and otherwise. Shrugging then, Queen toyed with a piece of her hair, glancing from the tall young man next to her, and then going back to the hallway they were walking through currently. “Yes, that would be him. Intelligent, I’ll give him that. The problem lies in that he’s taken to drugging the students and dragging them into his lab in order to perform experiments on them. What with the tension and the given circumstances, these actions are not doing anything to help ease the minds of my fellow classmates. So…if you see him, perhaps you could direct me to his location.” Queen finally realized how bad that sounded, a little laugh leaving her lips. “Listen to me, dumping all the personal problems of the school on your shoulders. Forgive me.”

It would seem today was the day to just tell Hope everything personal about them. She didn’t know if she enjoyed explaining about her past, or if she was apprehensive about it, but needless to say, she found herself explaining their early history to him. Noting that he had lost his own mother, she felt a moment of pity for him as well, lying a hand on his forearm. “I apologize for your loss. It doesn’t matter how or when you lose them, they’re a part of you. Not an easy task to let go of.” Spoken softly, Queen withdrew her hand and glanced straight ahead, answering his second question. “Yes, I do believe we’ve all lost our parents. We were a pitiful lot growing up together, all with our problems and the demons we faced. Somehow Arecia managed to tame the beast in all of us, so to speak, to train us into what we are today.” Again she found herself glancing at him. “And yourself? What made you chose to become a scientist?”

As they were walking and talking, Queen had led him to where she spent most of her time. The classrooms. Pausing at the door, she pushed it open after a moment, gesturing for him to follow her into the large room, with the chairs that all faced the teachers desk. In this case, it was Kurasame’s desk. “Our classroom. I think we spend just as much time watching Nine attack Kurasame and get beaten down as we do listening to lecturing. It can get…interesting in here.” Interesting might be an understatement. Nine…always good for entertainment.

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Words:; 910
Muse:; Great!
Location:; Classrooms
Outfit:; Student uniform
Tagged:; Hope!
Notes:; I don't know what this was
Listening To:; When I'm Gone - 3 Doors Down

[Hope Estheim]

It was so strange for Hope to hear someone so young speaking of war in such a way. Sure, he had been only fourteen years old when he'd been turned into a l'Cie, but his battles with PSICOM had been more a fight for survival than out-and-out war. The closest relationship he'd had to war was the "War" with Barthandelus' plans for them all. But this was no war of survival, nor a war of the corrupt against the victims of that corruption (though that was not to say Hope thought this CId wasn't corrupt). This was a political war between a nation vying for expansion and another that refused to be infringed upon. A political war. And children 0 thought Hope thought it was demeaning to call the students here as such - were going to be fighting in it. "It would seem as if Cid never cared about negotiations, from what I understand. He seems like a man who wants war and nothing else. I suppose war was always inevitable for you all," Hope simply stated, contributing all he could to further comment on the war. A part of him had to wonder if this conflict with the Milites Empire had been what Class Zero had been created for all along...if the leaders of the nation and the school had somehow known this war would eventually come. It was possible, if unlikely. At least Hope could be glad these students could all handle themselves in battle, moreso than he ever could, even when he'd faced Orphan.

Well...that Kazusa certainly sounded like an...interesting one? Drugging students and experimenting on them? That almost sounded like the work of a mad scientist. With some genuine concern, Hope listened to Queen's words about the other man. While Hope doubted it was his place to get involved in the situation whatsoever, he couldn't imagine why a student would have to be the one to tell this Kazusa that he couldn't go on drugging students like this. Why hadn't a school authority handled it? Hope shook his head lightly. "I'll be sure to warn you if I see him again," Hope told her, because it was all he could really do, to be quite honest. He ended up laughing off her last statement, though. "You'd probably be surprised how used I am to hearing problems like these, so I'm not bothered at all. If someone was drugging my friends and carting them off for experiments, I think I'd tell someone too."

It would seem that Hope had more in common with these students than he'd initially thought. Their own personal tragedies had brought them together, by the sound of it. Swallowing at the thought of his mother for the thousandth time, Hope gave Queen a small nod at her apology. It was nice to know there were more people out there - even if they were in another world - who could understand the kind of situation he'd been in. "Thank you," he eventually mustered, before she drew her hand back. Handling the demons...Hope knew all about that, as well. Just as he'd had Lightning to help him get over his hatred of Snow, so did the students seem to have Arecia. Hope could only guess, but he figured if the students hadn't learned from her and been brought together by her, they would have gone through some of the same problems Hope himself would have, too. And Hope...well, he would have killed a man if not for guidance.

Hope glanced back to Queen at her question of why he became a scientist. She probably didn't realize it, but it was quite the loaded question for him. Clearly not unanswerable, though. "I was a l'Cie once," Hope stated, eyes turning forwards again as he gathered his thoughts. "Along with Lightning, Serah, and four others. After all that happened...most people decided that it was time for humans to start taking care of themselves instead of having gods - some of them with bad intentions - brand them. The Academy was started for that very reason." He paused, realizing that didn't quite explain why he'd become a scientist. Part of him had believed once that he could bring his mother back somehow...but had that ever really been what explicitly motivated him? He couldn't say, but he as almost embarrassed to bring that part of it up when Queen had lost both parents herself. He chose not to mention it. "I...actually became a scientist mainly to bring all of those l'Cie - whom I consider family now - back together. I couldn't sit and wait for things to fix themselves, and since I was never much of a fighter, I figured I could help best by studying everything I could. Finding Lightning here, though...it was more random luck than anything, so I suppose I didn't quite accomplish what I set out to do..." He knew he shouldn't really say such things, but it was kind of the truth. Only Hope's portal device had been of any use here...the rest was all "Lady Luck", as Fang would say, being on their side.

Following Queen into the first room she chose to enter, Hope immediately recognized it as a classroom. A very nice classroom, at that. Large, comfortable-looking chairs and long desks that allowed for plenty of space. He smirked at Queen's comments about the instructor and one of the other students. "Nine is...the tall one? With the scar?", Hope asked, ensuring he was envisioning the right one...though by the sound of it, he was. The one he believed to be Nine did seem to have...authority issues...and probably grunted out whatever complaints he so desired. Smacking people around...perhaps Lightning and this instructor had taken a liking to each other...

Words - 1050
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - Not a thing. Sorry for the delay.[/size]

[Queen (No. 12)]

For some strange reason, talking to Hope didn’t seem like talking to a complete stranger. Perhaps finding people with intelligence anymore was so rare that when you did find one, you took advantage. That sounded a bit harsh even to her. So instead she decided to simply ‘go with it’ and talk a bit more. Queen had always been one for a nice conversation, and wouldn’t generally turn down anyone that could hold one. “Yes, I suppose you could say this has been coming for some time. The relationship between the Byakko empire and Sazaku has been…on edge ever since Cid took over the leaders position. Unfortunately, he didn’t like the treaty our nations had had before his leadership. It was then perhaps that we got so geared up for a war to start. Greed and lust are powerful in men, especially when they have the power to be able to do something about these desires.” With a little sigh, Queen crossed her arms over her chest, thinking yet again that Arecia had selected them, raised them, trained them all for this. Why had she been having nagging feelings on that subject so much lately? “Also unfortunately for us, Cid is all of this and more. But we cannot let the Milites empire trample us beneath their feet. And so here we are, ready to send children to war.” Queen didn’t lump herself into children, for in her own mind they had all been forced to grow up at the realization of war. They had been trained their entire lives for this, but…the underclassmen. Children, in physical age and mentality as well.

Would they also be forced to go to battle?

With a troubled look on her face, Queen tried to imagine them going out there against trained soldiers. They would be slaughtered immediately, no doubt about it. The thought sickened her, but always hovering there was just the desire to keep ‘her own’ alive. If they could come out of this war with Class Zero still intact she would think it a success. Perhaps that was cruel, perhaps it was harsh, but that was her feelings. Her family came first, the nation second. It always had been, and always would be that way.

Thankfully he didn’t seem bothered by her running off her mouth about –to him- completely useless information. She was angry though, and angry people tended to run off their mouth. Still, she ended up laughing along with him when he mentioned that he was used to it. “Well that’s a good thing. We may look pristine here, but it’s still a bunch of teenagers.” Her laughter quieted down until it was simply a smile, “Etro knows they should have some times to be kids. We’ve all had some growing up to do with this coming war.” Even she couldn’t deny them that, being children at times. There would be less and less times when they could be childish in their thinking.

But after asking him about his story, Queen settled in slightly, quieted down and simply listened. He had been a l’cie? Glancing at him quickly, she didn’t comment, but nodded to show she was following him. How had he gotten away from his focus? If he had said he was a l’cie it would make more sense, but he had said ‘once’, so did that mean he had completed his focus? As far as she knew, one could never ‘escape’ their focus. Instead of asking him a million questions though, she waited, feeling that he would explain to her what he meant. Unfortunately he had answered none of them with his brief explanation. “Did you complete your focus then?”,she asked quietly when he paused, curious as to the answer.

It was a noble cause, bringing his friends back together. How would she feel if she was separated from Class Zero? They were her family, and she figured, given the same circumstances, she would do almost anything to get them back. Even Nine. Yet he mentioned he hadn’t accomplished it yet. Resting a hand on his arm, she gave him an encouraging smile. “I’m sure if you really put your heart and soul into your work, one day, your friends will all be reunited. Just work hard, and they’ll come back, you’ll see.” Since when had she started giving out pep talks?

When he asked which one Nine was, she nodded, amazed that he was sorting them all out in his mind so quickly. “Yes, the scar and the attitude problem,” she mentioned, though her voice held affection. Crossing her arms, she took a few steps inside, glancing around at the room that she had spent so much time in. It was then that she got another of those weird feelings. Like she had been through the war already. Furrowing her brow, Queen shook her head, annoyed with herself. Why had she been feeling this way? Like she had already lived some events? It didn’t make sense. ’You’ve been listening to Cater too much again.’, she thought to herself. Still, she decided to put the question to him. “In your studies, have you ever had anything where you feel…moments of déjà vu but felt-…oh, it’s probably nothing,” she finished lamely, thinking she would look foolish with her questions.

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Words:; 1077
Muse:; Great!
Location:; Classroom
Outfit:; Uniform
Tagged:; Hope!
Notes:; --
Listening To:; Monster You Made - Pop Evil

[Hope Estheim]

Though he didn't expect Queen to be naive or anything of the sort, having grown up around military life, Hope was impressed to hear how much she understood the situation with Cid's empire and how it would effect her and the other students. She seemed to have a perfectly clear perception of how the politicking between the two nations, as well as Cid's apparent ambition, had led them to the point of conflict. It put Hope's mind just a little more at ease to know that these students seemed to gather the gravity of war and how men like Cid could seek out a reason to cause one. Hope doubted Queen was referring to herself within the realm of children - she was hardly a child - but the point still stood. Some men could stand back and, with their own hands, start a fire that would spread to consume men, women and children all alike. Barthandelus, while not a man, had been one who could do so, and he was the only person outside of this Cid Aulstyne from whom Hope had ever seen such actions. The scary part in that was that both of those men had gotten exactly what they wanted. Greed was indeed power - a power Hope prayed he was never tempted to use.

He could say nothing more on the war situation. It was not his place to agree or disagree with it, and if Rubrum so chose to send their students into battle, he supposed there was little he could do but pray they weren't hurt or ensure they weren't by whatever means necessary. He would be checking on Oriens, no doubt about it, from the Oracle Drive, and he knew Lightning would be watching as well. Hopefully, that would be enough to give them the time to assist if they were ever needed. These people were allies now, and Hope would never hesitate to help an ally.

Hope nodded to Queen's words that they should still have the ability to be kids. "I agree with you. No one should have to grow up too fast... I had to grow up a little too quickly in some ways, for the worse and for the better I suppose." Losing his mother was for the worst, he still believed to this day. Learning to fight was for the better. He knew, though, that the students would be losing friends - family, even, if he understood fully how close they all were. He only hoped that they didn't turn into what he'd become after his mother's death - a bundle of different emotions dead-set on getting revenge against something. Again, he was thankful they had someone like Arecia to ween them away from such feelings.

His eyes moved back over to Queen from his thoughts as she asked if he'd completed his focus. Ah, yes, he needed to explain that. His hands clasped loosely behind his back. "Yes. Our focus was to knock our own planet out of the sky, and in the end, despite our doubts, we were forced to do so. The fal'Cie gods who maintained the planet had grown corrupt, so we really had no choice. If we'd failed our focus to save the planet, the fal'Cie would have simply branded new l'Cie to complete it in our stead," Hope explained. "The people were saved, though, by two of our friends you haven't met - Vanille and Fang. We did fall into crystalstasis, as all l'Cie do when they complete their focus, but...we were freed. I can't explain why to this day. I suppose we all wanted to live our lives so badly that some force decided we could be free." He smiled a bit, turning to look down at the floor. "None of us expected to become entwined with the world's problems yet again, but maybe they're right when they say one is never really free from their destiny. We'll get there, though. I believe that wholeheartedly." And Queen appeared to feel the need to reassure him of that fact, as well. Giving her another smile, he spoke again. "I thought I was supposed to be the one comforting you, with this upcoming war."

Ever-impressed by their classroom, Hope wandered inside behind Queen and stepped up behind the desk, putting himself where the instructor would be and seeing what they had to work with for their teaching. Hope had considered teaching...someday, after the problems with the timeline and with their separation were over and done with. He thought he might enjoy it. If he had a classroom as fancy as this one, he would really enjoy it.

Stepping back down to where Queen was in the room, Hope fielded her half-question with a slightly raised eyebrow. Deja vu? "I have deja vu occasionally, yes. It's a pretty natural occurrence, though I'm no professional in the field of the mind. I do know that precognitive dreams can cause deja vu, but otherwise I have no real explanation for it." He stepped up closer beside her, so he could see her face. "Why?"

Words - 922
Muse - Excellent!
Notes - Bad post is bad.[/size]