#timebattle

Once the echo of the cathedral bell had reached the dormitories, Nikolette knew she had only a few minutes to just so happen upon her particular target. Edelgard seemed a diligent and thoughtful student, so it was difficult to imagine her bolting from the classroom at the first available moment, but neither did she give off the air of someone who would unnecessarily waste her professor's time, and linger beyond what was reasonable. Thus, to catch her, Nikolette would have to be quite precise. Well, hardly any challenge for someone like herself.

"Edelgard! Oh, just the girl I was looking for!" Excellent - she'd seen Edelgard exiting the Black Eagles' classroom right as Nikolette herself was rounding the corner from the dormitories, as though heading towards the cathedral, or perhaps the training grounds. Entirely the sort of thing that could have happened by chance, without any prior planning.

But, of course, there was planning - a great deal of it. Dealing with other nobles could be a double-edged sword, so it was important to handle things with care. If some commoner displeased her, it would always be trivial for Nikolette to place her boot upon their forehead and kick them away. With nobles, however, there was always a delicate dance of position. When it came to Edelgard in specific, Nikolette preferred to imagine her as no great threat - she had her own country to run, and thus it was greatly unlikely that she'd hold any affections for Prince Dimitri. Still, it could hardly hurt to be sure.

❝ ever so stubborn, aren’t you? ❞

a quiet sigh falls from squall's lips at the sound of @timebattle's voice, rinoa's voice recognizable even with his eyes closed. he stills as she walks closer, hoping that she takes his silence as a sign he doesn't want to talk. when that results in her tease, icy hues finally open to give her a withering stare that would send anyone backing away. it doesn't have this effect on the girl though, and another sigh falls from his lips, more audible than the last. it still confused him why selphie and the others were so insistent on holding the garden festival, and why he had to be involved. why his opinion even mattered when all he tried to do was keep his distance. he removes his hands from his pockets in favor of crossing them over his chest, though squall isn't outright dismissing rinoa either. in fact, he takes him only but a moment longer to reply, his eyes falling to the paper in her hands.

❝ i could say the same to you, you know. i don't even know what instruments would sound good together, i thought i made that obvious. ❞

aerith looks at zack with a QUIET amusement. she hadn't expected, when she'd died, to be reunited with zack, her SOLDIER boy. seeing him again had somehow made all of this WORTH it. watching the way he crossed his arms, rubbed his nose and grinned at her. it was like coming HOME.

and THEN he grew serious, showing how much he'd grown up. he was no longer the boy she'd first met in the church. he'd experienced so much, just like SHE had. they were both different and perhaps he was right. perhaps she HAD changed the most. for the BETTER, she hoped.

her heart SHATTERED a little at his words. she still wanted to be the girl he'd met and to think he couldn't see that anymore, it was enough to let a few TEARS roll down her cheeks. ❛❛ i'm still that girl you met. i've just ... changed. ❜❜

Pulse was hell, that was what they had always been told growing up in Cocoon. It was a lawless place and the inhabinates thereof were little more then demons. Since meeting Fang and Vanille though, Lightning had come to realize that much of what they had been taught was false. Even if there were differences in some of the experiences they'd lived through, overall they weren't that different then those in Cocoon.

Though if there was one thing said about Gran Pulse on Cocoon that was at least paritally true, it was that the place was dangerous. The monsters there were far stronger then on Coccon, and it wasn't the easiest to find a safe spot to rest for a bit. For all that Lightning was confident in her strength, she wasn't sure how well they would have done if they weren't l'Cie.

❝I'll be happy if I never have too see another Behemoth in my life.❞ Lightning grumbled, making her way towards the campfire that had already been set up. She was exhausted.

Not everyone seemed as tired though, the ever energetic Snow had dragged off Hope and Vanille to hunt for some dinner, with Sazh following to keep an eye on the 'kids'. That left just her and Fang with nothing to do and Lightning had never been good at doing nothing.

Drawing her gunblade out from its sheath, she rested it on her lap as she took as seat, before pulling out a clothe to polish it with. The last thing she needed was blood or some other fluid from monsters rusting it because she neglected to properly care for it.

Glancing across the fire at Fang, Lightning let out a sigh. Although she had grown fond of this group that chance had brought together, she still wasn't very good at small talk. She didn't particularly feel like just sitting in silence though, though she needed to come up with something.