(OTA) A not so warm welcome

[firacrux]

WHO: Seifer Almasy
WHERE: South Village Park fountain; Around town
WHEN: December 7th - 8thish
OPEN TO: Anyone
WARNINGS: Swearing. Usually lots of swearing.

---

Fountain Arrival:

One good thing about growing up near the ocean your entire life was that it's very uncommon to not know how to swim. The downside being the water was never this cold. It felt like a dream, no, worse, it felt like clawing through Time Compression all over again as he breached the darkness into blinding daylight with gasping breaths. The shock of icy air was in many ways worse than the water, chilling him straight to the core as he flopped gracelessly in a sopping pile on the ground, coughing water out of his lungs. Hyne, what a terrible way to wake up.

After spending a few moments laying on the ground spluttering water out of his lungs and wondering what his life had come to Seifer finally pushed himself up, shivering. Miserable. It was cold, he didn't know where he was, and he had no idea who he'd pissed off this time. Whoever it was he must have really done it to find himself tossed, presumably drunk, into a fountain in the middle of winter. Wait.

"...When the hell did it turn winter?" He glanced down at himself then, finally realizing that his clothing didn't feel right. "And why the hell am I dressed like this?" He looked like a mental patient. Did he have a psychotic break? If so, who the hell throws mental patients in fountains? Even giant assholes like Seifer. Not that he could blame them, but still! That's just screwed up. With no one immediately around to hear him talking to himself, he presumed, Seifer decided to shuffle off toward the nearest building he could find. Maybe someone would take mercy on him and give him a towel before he froze to death.

Out and about the town:

This place had a serious rodent problem. He'd never been anywhere with mice just running around out in the open like it was nothing. They could really use some of Timber's cats here, or a truckload of traps. So far in his wanderings Seifer had managed to dodge stepping on any of the bold little creatures though it was quickly becoming increasingly hazardous to explore. Everywhere he went was a minefield of mice darting around, chewing on things, skittering right at him as though he weren't large enough to step on them and make them into tiny mice pancakes. Although, something was weird, anywhere the mice went was covered in thick ice. Which didn't make much sense to him at all, were they that hungry they were trying to eat ice? Or was he missing something?

Wait, no, crazy, of course. Just one big hallucination that was the obvious answer to all of this. He never expected he'd go this crazy, and yet the evidence couldn't be denied. One such piece of evidence was a small evergreen shrub of some kind he'd just witnessed a mouse go skittering out from beneath that was now a very intricate ice sculpture. Idly he meandered over to tug at one of the frozen over branches in wonder. "Guess I have a vivid imagination." He mumbled to himself, now more certain than ever that he was just lost in his own delusion. Probably meandering down the street somewhere screaming at himself. Or locked up in an institution.

Comments

[firacrux]

"I don't think dangerous animals count as monsters unless they go out of their way to try to eat you," He thinks that's one of the main differences. Of the few animals that had so far survived the various Lunar Cries or avoided being mutated they were mostly skittish of humans. And everything else, mostly how they survived really. "Is it magic or isn't it?" He asked, because there was a difference. The chi he used to channel for his crisis attack for example wasn't really magic he didn't think. Paramagic was, but also wasn't? Science magic. It was weird. Guardian Force? They were definitely magic. "All have what, abilities? Like what?" That didn't make much sense, though neither did climbing out of a fountain so he wasn't about to nitpick that point. Other points were still fair game.

Of course he caught her playing with the rings, though refrained from comment. Now was hardly the time. When she spoke on about having accidentally used her power he frowned over at her, a hint of understanding there in his expression. Out of anyone, Seifer certainly knew. He understood, perhaps better than most why she would want to avoid something like that. Even if it was useful sometimes the risk was far too great for the gift. Especially in their case. An eyebrow arched up, a flicker of concern. Squall, sick? Hard to believe, not that he thought she was lying. Just a difficult concept to think about.

As she continued understanding dawned. Understanding with perhaps the slightest bit of fear for just a moment. He nodded then, still silent, but the expression he wore said he knew exactly what she was talking about. As well as why she'd be hesitant to use it again. He really couldn't blame her after what they'd been through. Far too similar to what she already was now. "..You're sure it's not...?" He trailed off, not finishing the question. She'd know what he was asking her.

Then he was distracted by the offer of dry clothes. Loathe as he'd been initially now that he was inside and still shivering the offering was too good to refuse. Another nod as he turned to go do just that. He didn't say it out loud, but he knew what she meant by them fitting him: This was Squall's room. They were his. It felt a little wrong, intruding like this, but the Lion wasn't here to defend his territory. Probably wouldn't begrudge him warm pants anyway.

Once he'd found something that did fit he'd return to go become a lump on the floor next to the fire again, still wrapped up in his blanket. It was a weird night and it made him feel better.

[alittlelonger]

"Go get changed and I'll answer all that when you're done." No need for him to sit there wet and shivering, and besides that, she wanted to think over her answers. Especially about the powers one. Rinoa didn't expect to admit to that, because it worried her a lot. But Seifer was someone who understood. It didn't hurt as much as she thought, to see Seifer in Squall's clothes, because they were really simple and normal around here. Anyone could have worn them. They were freshly clean though and pressed. She didn't want the place to smell like him at all because she kept getting distracted, so everything was washed out.

"I think it's magic in the sense it's inborn. It's in our bodies, not from an outside force. Something inside of us is different and we can do things with it." So that sounded like real magic to her. And she was not happy about it. It wasn't the same as before, but she wasn't convinced they were safe either. What if the people in control of this place could control them? They brought them there. "I think people are still figuring out what they can do. They must have been able to use them if they know they exist." They didn't just make up that they had powers out of no where. And then she used hers.

She was glad for those few minutes in between to collect herself, because she could answer the question without the same kind of gut emotional response. "I'm not sure," she admitted. "I'd have to know if there were other people who could do it here to say. They seem convinced everyone with powers don't have their original ones here." But Rinoa doubted it. Maybe some of them didn't. Maybe some of them still did. She was paranoid but she had good reason to be. "It's a little too close to home." It was strange, that sorceress magic was dark from all they knew, but hers did things like heal and protect.

"This is a nice place. People are nice here. We're all stuck. You should make some friends."

[firacrux]

He nodded over his shoulder as he turned to go do just that. Nice clean, warm clothes, if of very simple design. Impossible to spot them as Squall's beyond the size being appropriate. Easier for everyone to accept that way. Besides, Seifer wasn't about to take up the mantle of wearing unnecessary belts. Squall can keep that fashion statement of his. He didn't question, Squall would be a sore subject for her and he wasn't about to pry. No, instead he just settled back in next to the fire once he was back, looking far less distressed now that he wasn't actively freezing. Much better.

"We all have it?" He asks, magic is... a touchy subject for them both. He'd always been drawn to it, always been infatuated with the fantasy of being a heroic Knight to his Sorceress. The reality was far less sunshine and rainbows, unfortunately. "Wonder how?" It wasn't like men to have magic. Not really. His Fire Cross didn't come close to the kind of power Quistis, Selphie, or Rinoa could wield. The concept was strange, exciting and somewhat terrifying all at once.

Her own fears were entirely understandable. He just nodded, offering another understanding look. All he could do, really. If it made her feel any better he still didn't believe a Sorceress was inherently evil. No more so than any other person. The power just... it could do things to them. And without a good Knight... Seifer had been an awful Knight. Pathetic, worthless fool as she'd so kindly informed him.

Her final comment earned a mild snort. "I have friends," He protested. Fujin and Raijin were his best friends. Okay he only had two but still! Three if she still counted herself among them he didn't know for sure.

[alittlelonger]

"So people say. I don't know that I believed it until I used them." Rinoa frowns and glances over to the fire. "I think the problem is that people haven't figured out how to set them off. Otherwise they'd already know. But you'd think people who had powers back home would use them easy." Rinoa wasn't one of those, because she never learned how to tap into those abilities, and she never wanted to. Although Nida did point out to her that if/when they went home, she could set a good example for a sorceress. Make people less afraid of them. To do that, she'd have to find peace and acceptance within her own heart.

"I don't know. They did something to us. Experimented on us." Another thing she is not okay with at the least. "I came in the bunker? It's this underground place where people are in pods before they go to the fountain. Squall found me in there. I didn't get to look around, but it has like, science stuff down there." Rinoa hasn't been back, and she's pretty sure she doesn't want to. It's all so eerie. "No one here seems to have an idea what happened. We just ... keep living."

She caught the understanding look, and her smile back at him was appreciative if still touched with sadness. Maybe they could talk about those especially difficult subjects another day, but for now, he only just got here. And at least she got him to agree to stay here, where she could look after him. Not that she thinks he'd like to see it that way. It's okay for him to think he's looking after her instead. Boys were like that.

"I don't mean as in replacements for Fujin and Raijin, more friends. Friends here. It's good to have them, because as you can tell, this place is weird." Rinoa looks at him and really hopes there is a time where things aren't so painful and complicated. "And you still have me, obviously, but new friends are good. And I'm not very useful in comparison."

[firacrux]

"Maybe they work different here. We know how to use magic that isn't ours already, so maybe it's like that?" Paramagic took a particular kind of practice to master, since it wasn't innate and didn't come from within. Seifer couldn't speak for Sorceress magic but perhaps that was similar. Proving to the world Sorceresses weren't all insane might be a good step back home. Edea wasn't... not on her own. But she also didn't need the limelight considering everything that's already happened with her face attached.

"Experimented on us, you're sure?" Seifer had the misfortune of waking up in the fountain which had left him dreadfully confused. Who the hell experimented on them? Hell, who caught them, much less out of random times? Nothing in this situation made sense. "...I might want to go have a look." It might spook Rinoa so he won't make her come, but Seifer's morbid curiosity and inability to not put his nose where it didn't belong meant he was now contractually obligated to go down there and poke. It's in the handbook, fine print.

Not tonight. Too much was too weird today. Another time maybe. Once Seifer was sure he wasn't actually just having a psychotic break and this was how his brain decided to let him escape. Of course it would have to be in another world for a chance at peace, wouldn't it? He probably couldn't reason himself into some kind of escape in his own. Yeah, crazy still made more sense so far. And yes, he will definitely think of it as him looking after her. Boys are like that. Squall would want it. It's the least he could do.

That suggestion just earned a flat, dry look. "Yeah, right." As if making friends was that easy or something he could do on command. He'd figure it out eventually, sure, but Seifer was far from a social butterfly. More like the thorn bush only the butterflies can navigate. "What d'you mean useful?" An odd sentiment. At least he knew Rinoa already, and did care about her even if things between them were complicated and painful.

[alittlelonger]

"That's possible. And my power, if that's what it was, was kind of passive. Not really used to fight or anything." Rinoa couldn't think of a way she'd use that in a fight, so all it did was make someone feel better. Which was nice, honestly, but not what she'd call helpful if they actually got attacked.

"Yeah, experimented on us. The bunker's some space away. I guess you have to walk really far, but there's a pod that takes you immediately but you have to swim in the cold water." She went the latter way since she and Squall didn't want to spend 7 hours walking back when she was so exhausted. "I can show you where the pod is? We can go, if you want. I'm not sure you want to go alone, it's possible someone will need help down there and it's good to have a second person in an emergency." Squall was down there alone and she still didn't know why, but probably searching for answers the same way Seifer did.

Rinoa was a very social person so people thought that meant she was good at making friends, but being trained to socialize at events wasn't the same thing as making lasting connections. She was a lonely child and a lonely young woman, and she was trying to make friends here too. So far so good. She loved everyone from the SeeD team, but they all had connections to each other. The orphanage, the Garden. She often felt like the one left out, although she didn't say as much out loud. They were all so kind and welcoming to her. And they came and rescued her.

Her head picked up to look at him and almost wished he hadn't noticed that particular word. "They can do things. Hunt, fight, engineer weapons, carpentry, be doctors, garden, cook. People have a lot of skills here that are useful. I'm trying to learn some of them." So she can be useful. Because she wasn't useful, as she is.

[firacrux]

"Still might come in handy. Healing, or something?" Perhaps, for the first time in Seifer's life anyway, they could stop to consider things that didn't revolve around combat readiness. A strange concept that would certainly take some time to get used to. Rinoa, as well, had spent much of her life if not directly involved in war at least surrounded by it. Military, resistance movements, and the like. Not to mention the ever present threat of monsters.

"I'd like to see it. There might be some answers down there if we look around long enough." Why they're there, how they got there, the reason they were here at all. She knew them well enough to guess their motivations. Ever digging for answers. No matter the situation Seifer wanted to understand it. There had to be a purpose behind all this, and he didn't know about Rinoa but he wasn't exactly keen on being used by someone again. Had enough of a taste of all that.

Then that was something they had in common. While Rinoa was better at socializing, Seifer was still bad at making friends and overall rather lonely. He had his posse, and without them? He was lost. They were his family and only real connection. Unlike the others he couldn't really remember the orphanage. Only the bits and pieces that had been useful to Ultimecia. Enough to maintain her hold. Enough to twist. If Rinoa was left out, Seifer was the black sheep. Always had been.

She should know better than to expect anything would slip past his notice. He might not be world wise like some, but Seifer was sharp. He didn't like missing things. As she spoke, his shoulders slumped some with the realization of what she was saying. It dawned on him that as far as useful skills went his were very specialized. "...Don't suppose there's a monster problem around?" He could at least put himself to work there. Right? As it turned out neither of them were useful in normal ways.

[alittlelonger]

"Maybe. I'd have to use it more to know." And Rinoa wasn't ready to do that yet. Maybe in a few more months, when the thought of magical abilities didn't make her think about the sorceress. She knew it was her own road block she had to get past, and she didn't want to be stuck in it forever. After a pause, she shrugged. "I guess healing is exactly what I would pick for a power if I could." It might be natural to who she was, to take care of people.

Rinoa hated the idea of being used for the purpose of someone else. Even before Ultimecia got a hold of her, she had a very controlling parent who would have picked everything she did, said, and wore if he could. She knew her father loved her, but he also wanted to call all the shots. This was to a higher level, yeah, but it was the same rebellious streak in her that fought back against that control that wanted to know why they were there. And how they could get home. "Then we'll go check it out, once you're settled in more."

Rinoa smiled thinly at him. "Animals seem to be for hunting, not needed defense against." So no, no hunting monsters. But Seifer always seemed useful to her. At least he and Nida were trained by the SeeD. It was easier to see the good and use in someone else than in herself. "I know they are working on some watchtowers to help protect the village? We can probably offer some help there. I've been organizing fountain arrival patrols, like you saw." She did something. That was primarily it. "You could talk to Mr. Stark, he's in the forge. He always seems to have projects he needs help with."

She glanced at him though. "We can talk about this tomorrow. Maybe you'd like to rest for now. It's a lot, coming here."

[firacrux]

Again he nodded his understanding. They both knew what she meant; That touching on the subject of her powers here was akin to touching on the subject of her newfound status as a Sorceress. Something neither of them could have anticipated during the events of the war. It's not a road block she faces alone. Seifer, out of anyone, would understand. Likely he knew the most about it out of anyone near their group, barring Cid and Edea. Not that he was any more comfortable with the subject matter.

She had a controlling father and Seifer had a military school. They made quite the unfortunate pair in that regard. Living for themselves was a far out of reach dream. More than they could have ever imagined. "Alright." He sounds satisfied that at least there's a course of action. Something to aim toward after he'd had some time to find his footing.

Her confirmation was met with a frown. No monsters, little active need for defense. What use was a mercenary without a weapon or a purpose? Much less a Knight. At least Rinoa had some experience in her brief stint leading the Forest Owls. Surely some skills came out of that that would be useful in a situation like this. Problem solving, unique planning methods, and all in all she's really good at keeping up morale. Maybe she didn't realize how important and difficult that latter task really was.

As for work he's going to have to have a look around. "The forge, huh? Yeah I could probably lift boxes or something." Undignified to think he'd be going into menial labor but... hell. His pride had taken enough of a beating why not a little more? Who knows, maybe he'll like forge work once he actually got in there and stopped being petulant. Pride wasn't going to keep him fed.

She must have read his face. All this worrying, thinking, and freezing had worn him out, and he looked it. Not to mention on top of everything else they'd just come out of, he hadn't even truly recovered from the war yet. Really wasn't prepared to handle any of this. Wearily he nodded, where he'd been lost at staring into the fire. "Probably a good idea. If I'm still here tomorrow, guess I'll know this isn't a delusion for sure." Which would mean really putting himself to work on sorting out what he was going to do with himself.

One step at a time. Right now sleep sounded like the best one to take. Slowly he gathered himself to his feet, offering Rinoa one final glance. "Goodnight." The weirdness of staying in a strange old house with Rinoa in the same building wasn't lost on him. Just another piece to add to the pile.