route_1065 | When darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can't take anymore

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Location: Dark Cave
Current Music: "Meditational Field" - Paprika OST

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When darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can't take anymore

Who: Squall Leonhart and Firion, then Aerith and Cecil, and then the Warrior of Light. XD
Where: Dark Cave, Route 31, CherryGrove City
When: A few hours after this
Summary: Squall and Firion finally leave the cave, run into Aerith and Cecil on the way back, and then the Warrior of Light upon returning to Cherrygrove City.
Rating: IDEK
Log:
After many battles, Squall and Firion were finally out of the Dark Cave, both exhausted and a little more than sore. Firion was ready to sleep, to be perfectly honest, he had yet to really get a decent amount of rest. But they had to return to Cherrygrove first. However, he made sure to post an announcement when they finally left before putting the phone away so that they may meet Cecil and Aerith on the way back. In the meantime, Firion looked to Squall.

"Will you be alright after this?" Firion asked, looking at him with a stern, but gentle gaze. He wanted to be sure his friend would be fine, even if nightmares may plague him still after this. He didn't tell anyone, but he still had nightmares himself. So he knew Squall would have them soon after this, if not immediately. "And... will you travel with us? Light, Cecil, and I?"

They never traveled together during the Conflict, hardly looked at each other when all ten of them were together, but Firion still felt that Squall was a friend. Sure, Squall reminded him of a certain brother-like figure back home, but everyone reminded him of someone back home and he was sure it was almost the same with the others. After all, didn't Squall mention that Seifer, whomever he was, was like him with his talk of dreams? It didn't matter much to Firion, however. That they hardly traveled together, that he hardly knew much about the stoic teen. Firion didn't think he had to know that much to consider the young man a friend. After all, he could lose Squall any day. Death, going home, anything.

And if Firion didn't know a thing about him, like before, then how could Firion properly miss someone he barely knew?

[OOC: I put up subthreads for people to start posting in, there isn't much of an order established though, so we can establish one when everyone tags in]

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Aerith was following Cecil around the entire time while letting her pokemon help in the search for Squall. Heartless has been behaving and helping in the search for Squall which she found a little strange the ghost pokemon was being cooperative. The three pokemon were following behind Aerith - Chansey, Ledyba, and Heartless. The pokemon were making sure their trainer doesn't pass out because she hasn't been sleeping for days. Instead she's been training and searching for Squall at every inch of each route.

Luckily Firion really did find him at the Dark Cave just like Aerith predicted. A smile appeared on her lips when she noticed Firion waving from the distance. She returned the wave happily along with Chansey and Ledyba. Heartless wasn't paying attention to the male trainers because they were...well male. Aerith quickly noticed Squall at the distance with her smile faltering upon seeing him. Ever since she had the conversation with Cecil, she has been thinking about her friendship with him. Even doubting it. But she made up her mind to find Squall for Cyndaquil's sake. Nothing else mattered to her.

Looking away for a few moments, she said to Cecil weakly, "You should talk to him first, Cecil. I need to check on one of Ledyba's arms..." Her Ledgyba got injured in the battle against Heartless because the pokemon kept attacking her even when she was caught. But that wasn't the reason why she was giving Cecil the chance to talk to Squall first.

Cecil was starting to know every inch of the route by heart. It felt like he had seen that particular tree a thousand times before, and that funny-looking rock was starting to appear in his dreams. Rosie the Cleffa, Avenger the Suppet and Esuna the Caterpie were all looking tired, and he knew they'd have to visit a Pokémon Center soon enough.

Therefore, it was with happiness that he registered Firion's wave. He waved back with all the energy he could muster, looking all around the young man. And there Squall was, looking paler and thinner than he had a week before.

Cecil watched them approach, his feelings a mixture of anger and relief. Squall had abandoned them, abandoned even his Pokémon, running off who knew where with no way of reaching him in case of emergency. But Squall was safe, and he'd been found in a mere week -- it could have been years -- and even after he'd been found he had not run off again.

"If that's what you prefer," he answered Aerith. "I have a few extra potions if you want." Yet already his mind was wondering what to say to Squall, where to start. He stepped toward them.

Squall walked a bit of distance away from Firion, his pack slung over his left shoulder. The hidden lacerations on his arms throbbed with pain but he kept his expression neutral. If there was any trace of what he was feeling, it was how his body still shook and quivered (although it was much less noticeable compared to the last time he'd seen Cecil--after Firion collapsed and fell on top of him the night he caught his ghosts).

When he and Firion left, it was nightfall already, just after sunset maybe. A fact that Squall was grateful for, having spent who knows how many days and night in the cave--in constant darkness.

The SeeD came to a stop, standing a few feet away from Cecil and Aerith. His back straightened but he didn't say or do anything. He just watched them for a moment, unsure what to say to them. Don't even know... if I should say anything now or until head back to Cherrygrove.

Firion felt a little awkward now that they regrouped, the tension a little thick. But he honestly was not sure what to say. It was obvious he managed to retrieve Squall and now they simply needed to get back to Cherrygrove. But Squall needed to work this out with the rest of their comrades too, Firion thought. Cecil and Aerith were the immediate ones, obviously. But then there was also Light and Zidane.

Though, knowing Light, he may not ask too many questions. Zidance on the other hand...

"Perhaps we should talk while on our way back to the City?" Firion suggested, finally.

Shaking her head softly, she gave Cecil a smile and responded, "Thank you, but I still have a few potions left. I'll take care of her while you talk to Squall." Aerith turned to her Ladyba who has a bandaged arm. She began to check if the injury was closed before she took one of her potion bottle out to spray on the affected area. Chansey will be pouting while her trainer was trying to distract herself because her trainer was acting silly when she shouldn't. Heartless continues to hover over Aerith with his eyes glowing every once in a while.

Aerith watched Cecil stepping towards his friends while Squall looked like he usually does. She watched him closely wondering if he was really okay. Something nagged in her mind, but she wasn't going to pry more than she should. She all ready felt like an intruder.

Once the Ladyba felt better, the pokemon began to fly around her trainer before heading towards Squall with curiousity. She stood beside the male trainer curiously wondering if she should thank this man for helping her meet Aerith. She looked at him happily.

Baa~!

Aerith moved towards the group (while sorta hiding behind Cecil) to try and get her Ladyba away from Squall. "Ladyba! Come back or I'll return you into your ball," said Aerith a bit annoyed with her pokemon. Ladyba glanced at her trainer before her attention was back on Squall again. She wants to watch the stinky trainer some more! Aerith gave a sigh realizing her Ladyba wasn't going to come back any time soon. So she looks to the side for a moment before a smile appears on her lips realizing she should thank Firion for finding Squall, but decided to stay quiet. She did ask Cecil to talk first, didn't she?

Cecil thought about Firion's suggestion. Should they start walking immediately, to reach the city as quickly as possible? All of his muscles and his bones said so, but... "...There is something I must do first," he finally answered quietly. Normally he would have waited until they were all rested, but not this time. The frustration of the last week would get to him and he'd do something he might regret. Better do it quickly, before other travellers came by.

He took a deep breath and started walking toward Squall, looking at him in the eye, only stopping within an arm's lenght of him. There was nothing but steel in his gaze, and already his right hand was making a fist, almost unconsciouly. He raised it, pulled back, let it fly-

-and bumped his knuckles gently against Squall's forehead.

"You're grounded."

His back stiffened when he saw Cecil's arm move back. His eyes closed, he waited for the blow, ready to roll his head if he had to. What he didn't expect was the light bump of knuckles on his head. Opening his eyes, Squall stared (not even bothering to hide his confusion) at Cecil.

Grounded? Grounded?

"That's it?"

Firion had also originally thought that Cecil would hit Squall and was even prepared to stop him, however, upon hearing the statement, Firion couldn't help but chuckle. "Squall, I would suggest leaving it at that."

Absently, he rubbed at his neck, wincing slightly at the soreness. The bruises were nearly gone, but the evidence was still there. Luckily, the darkness hid a good portion of them. But he felt awkward without his scarf now. "We should head back before Light becomes more worried as well."

Aerith knew Cecil wasn't really going to hit Squall, but she did talk to him earlier about their plan. She couldn't help laugh softly watching the situation because Cecil really did look like a father grounding his son. Even Squall looked like a confuse kid.

"Wait until we get back to Cherrygrove," added Aerith with an amused smile on her lips. "I have a few things to say to you too," explained Aerith with the same smile on her lips. Only a handful of people could be able to tell it's one of her fake smiles. The flower girl wanted to yell at Squall without his friends looking later. She has a lot to lecture him for. A lot!

At the mention of another name, Aerith looked at Firion curiously and asked, "Light?"

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.

"...No." He eyed Cecil for a moment before looking away. "How do you plan to ground me anyway?" You're not my commanding officer. Or Headmaster, even. Hyne, like grounding would have worked on him anyway. Squall had no familial relationship to Cecil. The only connection between him and the others was that they all fought together during the Conflict.

And yet, something was more was building between himself and them. Just like he knew that something was transpiring between him, Zidane and Bartz after he found his crystal. He started to actively call them friends, despite turning down their offer to travel with them when the Conflict started.

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When darkness is upon your door and you feel like you can't take anymore

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