#squalltaejin

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Alyssa Zaidelle ( 2 August 2013)

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Mission briefing (050) has been sent out to the following soldiers:

Luneth Sarvielle Erol

Squall Leonhart

Please make contact with your mission partner and make preparations for deployment. We wish you good luck and safe travels on your respective missions! (If you did not receive your briefing, inform HQ!)

Billowing columns of smoke saturated the air around Oerba's training field. Minor spells flew every which way, often hitting unintended targets, or colliding with the ravaged earth below. Scars were permanently etched into the training grounds, due to both a lack of keeping, and an excess of use. Despite the seemingly sparatic spell casting, and chaotic fighting, there was indeed a structure. There were two rings of soldiers, one was much smaller and was located within the large circle. On the outside stood approximately 30 men, while the inner circle contained around half as much. Upon command, every soldier in the smaller circle would stop fighting with their designated partner, and shift to their left, and assume their new partner. Soldiers on the outer circle remained stationary, until the command to fight was given. Due to the larger amount of soldiers on the outer ring, contestants from either ring were allowed a break every other fight, while someone else stood in for them.  ".............."

Cecil glanced down at his training partner. It hadn't taken long for him to submit, and take a knee, leaving the Dark Knight with ample time to catch his breath. Aside from a few considerably seasoned men, most of the soldiers here appeared young and stupid. Halfway through the exercise, many would abandon their form and simply swing their sword around madly. It didn't really bother the Knight, but it was clear who to avoid when given a mission. 

"Next!!!"

To give;

Physical Therapy - Faris (Basch)

Pride and Honor - Squall (Kain)

For the Better Good - Cloud (Kain)

To receive;

Repercussions - Faceless (Basch)

Boys and Their Toys - Firion (Basch)

It had been some time since he had been assigned a mission. Whether that was by some strange twist of fate or somebody's actual machinations, Squall didn't know, nor was he interested. He had never planned to run from his responsibilities from the start, and all he cared about was that it actually felt good to be moving again.

It didn't matter that this mission reminded him of a silveret. He would deal with it, one way or another. He certainly wasn't going to abandon his responsibility. He would see this mission through. Fingers drummed along his upper arm as he listened to the briefing with arms folded, managing to keep his thoughts from drifting.

Blue eyes turned towards his partner for this mission, sizing him up. There was something uncomfortable about him. And yet, something strangely familiar in that discomfort. A cold mask. Impenetrable almost. At least, that was how it felt.

And then there was his weapon, so long it seemed almost unwieldy. A weapon that looked impractical at first sight, and yet was carried with the seasoned confidence of someone who had carried it to battle repeatedly. It seemed like something that only those of a certain stature could hope to carry comfortably, and even then, Squall had his doubts that he would ever willingly carry a weapon of such considerable length. It just didn't allow for the flexibility in his style, and a part of him was...interested. Would it be wielded well, and what was this man's fighting style?

Loneliness was a million times worse when you had come to know love. Years of keeping people at bay had saved Squall like that. Left him blissfully alone, with only his memories of sis leaving reminding him of that immense loneliness. But then things had changed. His closed heart had been pried open, and he had been...thankful for it. Not wanting to get hurt, what a lonely way to live. Oh, he had always been afraid. But the silver-haired ravager had showed him what he would miss if he kept at it.

He had changed.

And now he was sitting here, in the cool darkness of his abode, alone and bitter.

He had been right after all. It was better to be alone than to be left behind.

...No. That wasn't true. He had been distraught when sis left, but he had also been young. And his young mind had been unable to comprehend fully what had happened. So he had convinced himself that he had to get stronger, so that sis would return. It had been all he could cling on to. Self-pity and that one hope.

But the silveret had taught him the value of friendship. Of love. The pain of being left alone stung, but he could not forget that. He wasn't a kid any longer, and a part of him knew that being left behind was probably inevitable, but that closing your heart did no good. You would be alone either way. Just blissfully unaware in the latter, and there was no way he could go back to that state. Pretend none of this had ever happened.

But there, the clarity of thought ended. Nothing made sense. What he wanted, what he should do.

There had been that apology. 'It's not your fault. I'm sorry.' Gentle words. No explanations. What was the point? It left him as confused as ever. An apology did nothing to take away the guilt and the pain.

Irrational. Feelings hardly were rational, were they? Guilt for something that was no one's fault. That feeling that maybe it had been something he'd done. What was he supposed to do with these feelings? How was one supposed to live with this bitterness? It should have been easy, with all his years of experience coping with sis' leaving. But even the pain from that had been dulled with the passing of time, leaving only the strongest feelings of determination and being completely alone. How had he coped? Squall didn't think he had an answer.

Better off alone. Was he? Hands curled into tight balls as he leaned further back into the sofa, head thrown back and eyes staring into the silent darkness of the ceiling.

Mission briefings (039-040) have been sent out to the following soldiers:

Luneth Sarvielle Erol

Sephiroth

Squall Leonhart

Zack Fair

Please make contact with your mission partner and make preparations for deployment. We wish you good luck and safe travels on your respective missions! (If you did not receive your briefing, inform HQ!)

Replies to do;

Faris (Basch, Physical)

Faris (Kain, Valse)

Squall (Kain, Pride & Honor)

Cloud (Kain, Better Good)

Replies to receive;

Cloud (Basch, Petal)

Firion (Basch, Boys & Toys)

Faceless (Basch, Repercussions)

Squall strolled the plains of Gran Pulse, returning once more to the shade of that tree; the one where he had met Yeul.

He still enjoyed being alone. Sure, he enjoyed Hope's company even more than being alone now, but old habits die hard, and the lion always found it good to have some time to himself. Today was just one of those days.

A yawn was suppressed as destination was reached, and the brunet leaned tiredly against the trunk of the tree, stretching his left leg out while hugging his right to his chest.

He hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night. Finding himself awake from a nightmare not long after he had closed his eyes, Squall had ended up working on his gunblade maintenance long enough to greet the rising sun, and had promptly left his house to get some fresh air.