Now that he had expressed himself, Cecil felt much better about the whole thing. He let a friendly smile appear on his face.

"Well, you did make Cyndaquil cry and the rest of us worry. I couldn't let you get away scot-free, could I?"

He couldn't let himself get truly angry at Squall, no matter how much he had worried. He'd only disappeared a week, and he hadn't gone very far. Wanting a bit of space was perfectly normal at that age, after such a dark experience. Besides... If he did decide to resent Squall for this, he'd have to resent Kain and Golbez too. And he refused to do so.