dualislogs | Three Final Fantasy characters walk into a bar

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Three Final Fantasy characters walk into a bar

WHO: Squall, Seifer, Cloud, ??
WHAT: Trying out weapons
WHERE: Workshop outside the city
WHEN: Sep 3
WARNINGS: Fight! Potentially blood and injury

Holding a gunblade in his hand again, even if it's just blade without the gun, is exhilarating. Doesn't matter what else Squall doubts about his own future, he won't give this up anytime soon. Plus, it's great stress relief from the hellish invasion of memories just weeks ago.

There's a lot of things making this fun. One, he's never fought alongside Seifer before. Two, Cloud is... remarkably powerful, way beyond what his stature and figure would indicate. Three, the prototype gunblade is a great teaser to what Seifer is going to eventually make.

He falls back to stay out of range of Cloud's buster sword (how is he even wielding that so easily?), eyes flicking over to Seifer to see what he's doing. It's strange having to flip his thoughts from how to counter Seifer's attacks to how to complement it, but all those years of fighting each other is working in their favor now.

He runs in to swipe at an opening from the other side. He's precision and skill even without the trigger component. It's clear he's treating the sparring session like a real battle. Seifer's taught him that much.

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[Squall would appreciate this more if he can think clearly. He's just glad the pokey obstacle is gone cause he's taking advantage of Cloud's smaller shoulder. He waves his hand.]

It was a fight. [He lets his hand fall, landing on Cloud's leg.] ... I froze.

What if I can't fight again?

You froze because of Seifer, right?

[Well, looked like his shoulder was Squall's until he decides otherwise. He lifts his legs up onto the bed and shifts himself just until he's comfortable, absently leaning to the side and opening the drawer next to his bed, procuring for himself a brightly coloured bag full of artificially flavoured, synthetic "food", then turning his eyes to Squall.

...And yeah, he gets a bag, too.

He opens both, and then he puts Squall's on his lap. And starts to crunch at his own... food-like substance.

And.]

You can. You just need to train with him until the part of you that freezes up is over it. He's alright, and so're you.

[Squall only stops long enough to read the label on the package before he dips in. He's not picky. And Seifer's probably been making sure he eats right so junk food is welcome.

He nods glumly.]

I never freeze... [He sighs, crinkling the bag when the memory of Seifer bleeding makes him tense again.]

I'm... scared I'll kill him again. It's all I think about now when I face him.

I get it.

[He doesn't need further explanation. Of course, Squall's memories of actually doing it are still fresh in his head. He crunches thoughtfully on another artificially coloured and flavoured cube of... who knew what, really and nods slightly, his gaze moving downward to the chocobo chick in Squall's arms.

...That was currently cleaning the fur on Squall's jacket between his beak, blissfully avoiding all of this.]

You won't.

[A small pause. It's kind of a flippant thing to say, and something that makes his eyes move to Squall's once more- staring into bright blue with brighter. This close, he can feel him tense.]

I was technically there. He was desperate. He made mistakes because he was desperate. He's a tough bastard, and you got lucky.

[It's a decent observation and actually makes him feel better. Tough doesn't even begin to describe Seifer. They had to go three-on-one to take him down.

He strokes Boko's feathers gently, rests the open bag in his lap and takes out a star-shaped piece and chews on it. It's almost disgustingly sweet.]

You're right. This is stupid. I just... have to fight through it.

[They've been rivals their whole lives. There's no reason he can't get back on it. It's important that he continues to have the ability to fight Seifer.]

He killed Odin in one hit, you know.

[It was weird, really. The pair of them seemed almost the same. They fought differently, sure. Squall was precision and brute strength combined, and Seifer seemed to have been a kind of uncanny agility, with the same brute strength. They'd trained together- he's pretty sure of that, mostly through his inability to turn either against the other.

Neither of them is a pushover. Together, he'd been challenged. Truly so. Offence had been impossible, he'd been forced to do nothing but defend.

His tone stays even, casual- gentle enough to indicate the fact he cared, when his words themselves are as ever, plain.]

Keep swinging at him until the feeling goes away. It will.

[And. He dips his hand into his bag again to pull out something vaguely triangular. The entire substance they're eating is a weird, sweet foam. That crunches. It's weird. But it's vaguely addictive.]

If it makes you feel better, I'll sit in on your session. If anyone slips, they'll get healed. Then there's no danger.

[Crunch. And...]

Huh? The summon?

[It's funny how that went. It was the first time Seifer and Squall ever fought together instead of against one another. Maybe Cloud presenting as a challenge kept them focused. Who knows.]

... I'm good at that.

[Use his gunblade to solve every problem? It's a solution he's happy to accept. He's frowning again, easily visualizing a bloodied Seifer once more and hating it. They're soldiers. This shouldn't have become a problem.]

No healing. Unless it's a serious injury.

[He has to face the reality of it, after all.]

Yeah. The summon.

[It's a bitter loss of a great GF but... even Squall has to admit it was cool to see. He's removed a round piece from the bag as he speaks but forgets to eat it quick enough. Boko, attention drawn from the fur of Squall's jacket, spots it and closes its beak around it. He's only holding it for now and the piece is still in Squall's hand but.]

Ah...

Never heard of anyone being able to do that. A summon's just magic, isn't it?

[The memories of the Ancients, manifested. Or something like that. Or... whatever it meant where Squall was from. Regardless, it's magic. No physical form.

...Yeah, he's going to follow this up when Squall's better. His gaze moves to Boko's stealth move, and then away. That? Yeah, that's his version of a smile. He leans, lightly, to pick up the one loose ball from the pit, and tosses it back in, before turning his gaze to Squall.]

So that's settled. If you want to lie down with Boko for a while in here, just say. I'll make sure no-one bothers you.

[Squall shrugs.]

Maybe? No one really knows. They exist... somewhere. We let them live in our brains when we find them. They give us strength and eat our memories. Odin never came back after that fight.

[The mini tug-of-war with Boko results in a frustrated-looking Squall and a rather quick win for the bird who swallows the junk food in one gulp.]

... that's not good for you. [He grumbles under his breath and tries to clench the bag shut while Boko nips for it again. Boko gets it with a second try because Cloud is talking again.]

I'd like that. [Tug. Tug. Boko is not letting go still.] It's okay if Seifer does... or Rinoa. [Blink.] Have you met Rinoa?

[The brain? That's... weird. Really weird. He looks at Squall as he says that, some sort of faint concern in his eyes- but shakes his head- focusing on the other statement.]

Nope. Only met her in your head.

[The tug-of-war though. That's... rude, Boko. They've taught you better than that. He exhales a faintly disapproving note before reaching into his bag, and holding a star-shaped foamblock between his fingers toward him. Mid-tug, Boko releases Squall's bag and settles on what's being offered (animal logic. Less is acceptable, when minimal effort is involved) - and Cloud takes the opportunity to run his fingers underneath Boko's small tufts of ears.

...He can't discipline his child, clearly.

But. He rises- carefully taking the bag from Squall and laying him down on his side on his bed. Then he takes a few paces away, leaning against the wall- one leg raising to press his sole against it. His arms move around himself.]

I remember what she looks like, though. If anyone like that comes by, I'll let 'em in. Go to sleep.

[How else would they eat memories? It makes sense!

Squall looks like he's trying to come up with a good scolding when Boko gets distracted and he redirects his attention to give Cloud a disapproving look too. Before he can say anything, he's being re-positioned and it's... comfier actually. He settles in, curling his arms under him... and continues his disapproval while he reaches out to poke Boko in his feathery stomach.]

No.

[He tries to sound stern but it's a little unfocused. Then his finger drifts to point at Cloud while Boko warks indignantly.]

Don't feed him that.

[They have to raise their child right, okay. He drops his hand after and shifts from grumpy to petulant.]

I don't wanna sleep. That's all I've been doing.

[Person lying down on the bed? Boko abandons being scolded and hops off it almost instantly, giving a happy kweh as he rummages under the bed. He shortly returns, hopping back up on it with a certain printed blanket.

That's what he thinks of your scolding, Squall.

He drags it to where Squall's arms are folded up, forcing himself into them, and against his chest. And the blanket goes on top.

Cloud eyes the scene, not that surprised.]

Fine. So tell me more about things from your world.

[Respect his authority, dammit. He looks miffed, torn between trying to scold and... soft. He sighs and raises his arm for Boko to squeeze under and lightly cuddles him in turn. Discipline later. When he's feeling better.

Instead he shifts his focus to thinking about what there is to tell.]

I grew up in Garden. That's where I learned to be a mercenary. All I did was train... I never left the school until the day I became SeeD.

[He sighs, turning his head into Boko's soft feathers as the bird bumps against his cheek.]

A lot happened after. Some good. Some bad... [He stares blankly ahead, cheeks coloring.] I fell in love. [Then he shuts his eyes sadly.] And I didn't help Seifer.

[Boko's a free spirit, for sure. Most of the time, the bird does whatever the hell he wants to do, and if he were honest, that's a lot of what Cloud liked about him. But this in particular, it's probably his fault. It's learned behaviour for sure, taken from when he'd make his way to the roof to bring Boko back with him. The blanket's just sitting there, under the bed, and Boko immediately knowing where it is, is probably proof of that too.

But. If Squall noticed, he's not saying anything. That's something.

As Squall speaks, he listens, of course. But his brow creases at the latter statement.]

Yeah, you didn't.

[...It had to be said.]

But you've got this, right? For however long it takes either the Head or the Heart to try and kill us. You can make it upto him here.

[The only thing Squall really notes is the pattern on it. It looks like a moogle but he doesn't remember them featuring a red nose and antenna.

He flinches more than he wants to. But it's still a raw guilt he's trying to sort through. For failing the only childhood friend he had, the orphanage notwithstanding. He looks away, looking sadder than he normally would.]

I'm trying. [He shuts his eyes before slowly drifting them open to Cloud again.] He told you?

Not really. Saw it though. Went through a ton of his memories when he was possessed. It wasn't just you that let him down. Everyone did.

[And honestly? He doesn't know, if anyone did that to him, if he'd be as eager to forgive as Seifer seemed to be. And that'd come out when he'd spoken to Nida on the roof. Severely, actually. But, it's Seifer's decision. He can't judge Squall for it.

Only unlike Nida, Squall isn't throwing around the word 'brother', as if he hadn't done anything wrong at all. He actually looks upset. So.]

...You've got time. Even if she used your girlfriend to do it, at least the Sorceress brought him back. And even if we're here, you can still make things right. Then you can go home, together. And you can keep making things up to him- for as long as it takes.

[His breath comes out shakier than he wants it to be. The gentle ache in his head becoming an annoying throb. Something about that pricks him the wrong way even though it's true. He felt the same when he first broached the subject with Seifer. He feels guilt but he's also angry that because he was afforded a 'better' outcome in a situation he never asked for or wanted, that blame has fallen on his shoulders.

Instead of voicing any of that, he just brings his knees a little higher up, holding Boko closer as he looks off into the distance.]

He was my only friend but we weren't... actually friends. I decided I had to become stronger a long time ago. After Sis left, I didn't let anyone close. Seifer was the only one who kept bothering me. He'd challenge me to fights all the time and I wouldn't back down.

[He lifts a hand to touch the scar on his forehead.]

We gave each other this scar the day of my SeeD exam. That's the last time we trained together. The Seifer I know is strong. I... thought he went overboard trying to fulfill his romantic dream.

... I don't know anything about him at all.

'Sis'. The orphanage, right?

[That's got to be it. He's silent for a few seconds after Squall finishes speaking, his eyes staring off somewhere distant. His feeling is that perhaps that was Seifer's way of letting him know he was still there. Nothing like relentless bullying to make someone not forget you. He'd... done the same. Only instead of Tifa (he couldn't, especially after the day her mother died..) he picked fights with her friends. For many reasons, really. Punishment, scorn, for not saying anything-, even to fit into what the village thought of him, that he was bad, that he was irredeemable.

...But there's something else. Not being forgotten. That...was important. Even if the only way he could remind Tifa he was still there was with broken noses, knocked out teeth, broken arms, legs sometimes...

He got it.

At least he thinks he does. Seifer's way of making sure Squall couldn't distance himself from him, by instead of being his friend, who Squall seemed to be closing him off to, was by being a thorn in his side. A rival.

His eyes move back to him when he speaks up again to mention his scar. And he watches his fingertips trace it. That makes sense. He'd wondered why the two had them- especially at opposing angles. Must've been a hell of a training session.

He exhales. Quietly. And despite himself, his hand fidgets on his lap, making its way to support his head, half-moving his fingertips, lightly, against the shorter hairs at the nape of his neck.

He's tentative. Of course. He'll snap back and create distance again with nothing but a look. ]

You didn't. [He corrects, keeping his gaze downward.] But you know more now. You never thought about this when it was happening. Now you are.

Yeah. She took care of me back then.

[So important to his young heart that her unannounced departure made him decide he shouldn't have to rely on anyone ever again.

Squall doesn't get the reason for the bullying. To him it's just how things have always been while he tries to stay in his own corner. He does know Seifer shaped him more than either of them ever realized. Maybe that's why Squall never hated Seifer for anything he did either. He and Seifer have always been considered troublemakers. This time, the trouble just included the whole world and real lives.

He lowers his hand and looks up when Cloud touches his neck. There's only curiosity there before he resumes staring at a random point on the wall. There's the vaguest sense that he's easing into it, shoulders relaxing with his next exhale and a gentle nod. Cloud's right. It's a conclusion he's come to on his own too, but it's nice to hear it from someone else.]

He doesn't want to go home. I'm going to help him find another world if I can.

[Even though he wants Seifer with him in Garden, wants to go with Seifer wherever he decides, but his responsibilities bind him to Garden. He can break free. Of course he can. He can convince Rinoa to come with them, stop being Commander, but is that really the best choice?]

[Not really, unless Squall wanted the older, more cynical men to return the organization to the way it was - chasing gil and not caring about much else. But he doesn't know that. It's not even been voiced, so as Squall looks at him, his hand freezes- raising off his skin a few millimetres before he looks away.

In turn, he (gingerly) lowers it again, adjusting the way the taller man's head rests against his lap to. just. about. not result in a sore neck afterward. There.

Then he brings them back to the bed, at either side of him, fiddling with the bedspread.]

His other friends are at home, aren't they?

[Fujin. Rajin. They've been mentioned, in passing. Or was that a memory? It's a mess.]

What about them?

[There's another sigh at being adjusted. It's strange. Everything about how he's been acting since he got here is strange. He changed during the war to defeat Ultimecia, he's aware of that much, but being in Dualis has given him more time than ever to pay attention to these changes.

A few months, maybe even weeks ago, he wouldn't be resting his head in a friend's lap, no matter how injured or sickly he felt.]

I promised to take care of them. They'll have a place in Garden if they decide to come back.

[They're good people. Cared about Seifer more than anyone else. He turns his head again, ruining Cloud's careful positioning to stare at the blond, eyes wide in a way that makes him look his age. Too young.]

You're a soldier too, aren't you?

[Better? Better. Except he's moved again, so it must not have been better. He keeps his eyes downward, watching Boko's eyes slowly close- and watching his face nuzzle against Cloud's chest before the little chocobo's chest starts moving deeply in and out.]

Good of you. If they decide to go back. Telling them that he's gone to another world'll be hard for 'em to hear.

[Hopefully they'd believe him. But he doubts it, somehow.]

...I was one. It's been a long time since.

[He makes a half-roll of his shoulder in a shrug.]

We compressed time and time traveled. It won't be hard to believe.

[He's settling back in Cloud's lap, resting again.]

Did you ever leave that part of you behind?

[When you put it like that Squall... yeah. It shouldn't. So he cedes that point with a small sound of affirmation- looking down when his lap when it's claimed again, leaning back on his arms, splayed behind his back.

It's a difficult question. Parts of it couldn't be just discarded. Nibelheim, much less what'd been done to him. He'd carry it the rest of his life. But...]

Yeah. I don't want to be anything like the way I was back then.

[Squall shuts his eyes slowly.]

Yeah... I guess I feel the same way. Even though I have to be a soldier for a while yet.

[But shedding the past. He could do that. Despite his earlier protests to the contrary, he's growing tired again and shutting his eyes this long is possibly a bad idea as he finds himself starting to drift.]

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Three Final Fantasy characters walk into a bar

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