Room 421, Monday, Midday

[angelo_wings]

Rinoa hoped for the hundredth time that Squall wouldn't mind, that they were missing fall break. She really could use time at a spa. But the sooner they found a committee to place in charge of Timber, the sooner they could start the transitional process, which meant the sooner they could move the Galbadian troops out. Assuming this wasn't some big trap set up by her father, of course. If it was ... if it was, he was going to find out exactly what happened when you double-crossed a Sorceress.

She had made reservations at the Timber Hotel. After all, the train that served as the Timber Owls' headquarters had been destroyed, back when she was still Squall's client. As for the Owls themselves, Zone and Watts had been in hiding on the White Seed ship, but, according to their letters, had made their way back to Timber after Ultimecia's defeat. She had asked repeatedly about a new headquarters, but Zone's letters were constantly cryptic, insisting that there was a high risk of interception by Galbadian forces.

(There was, but she suspected he hadn't set up a new HQ yet, and was happy to have an excuse to duck the subject.)

She would find them, or more likely, they would find her. Unless they didn't want to be found? A lot had changed since she was their chief strategist, after all. She had no idea what sort of welcome she would receive in Timber.

None of which was helping her pack.

(Just for her Knight. Squall and Rinoa will be headed back to their world over break to deal with Timbran / Galbadian relations, zomg.)

Comments

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall didn't have much to pack. He'd taken the time to fetch their weapons from the weapons locker downstairs and then come back up to Rinoa's room, but he wasn't expecting her to be anywhere near ready yet.

And he'd left plenty of room in his bag, in case she needed it.

He knocked on her doorframe and tossed his bag on the floor. "How is it coming along?"

[angelo_wings]

"It's ... coming," she said with a sigh. "I don't know. I grabbed clothes. Do I need anything else? I forgot to ask if the hotel will let me bring Angelo. But they let me when she was just a puppy, back when I first got to Timber, so ... that should be okay, right?"

She flopped down on her bed. "I have a start on the list," she said. "I don't know how hard it's going to be to find everyone, though."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"Some of them might have been captured," Squall pointed out. "Or killed. We'll find whoever we can, and they'll have ideas of who else to include."

He shrugged. "And if there's anything you find you're missing, we can always buy a replacement. Don't worry too much about it."

[angelo_wings]

That earned him a Look.

"Okay," she said. "Let's try to be less callous about the possible death of people I know and care about. I know it's a possibility, we all lived with it, but that doesn't make it any nicer to just ... throw at me like that."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"..."

Oh. That was, apparently, cold and callous of him. He didn't like sugarcoating the possibility of death, but... maybe he could be less blunt. If it made Rinoa happy.

"Sorry," he told her. "What I meant was, the list is a good place to start, but we don't have to stick to it. We'll adapt to the situation on the ground."

[angelo_wings]

Rinoa made a face. "No," she said. "I mean, you're right. Some of them may have been captured, or even ... killed. It just ... I wish you hadn't just said it all flat like that."

She drew one of her knees up onto the edge of the bed.

"I should have asked him sooner," she said. "Deling's been dead for a long time, and Seifer's been better for months, so ... it's been my dad in charge ever since. So if any of those people were killed lately ..."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall walked over to her and sat down. "Don't dwell on it," he told her. "You can't change the past, only the future. What happened, happened. And now we're going to set Timber free."

[angelo_wings]

"If this isn't a trick," Rinoa said. "What if he's up to something? I call the resistance leaders out into the open, and he crushes them. I'm asking them to take a big risk."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"He's not that stupid," Squall answered forcefully. "He's not going to start another war."

[angelo_wings]

"I'd destroy him," Rinoa said darkly. "He knows that, doesn't he?"

Not just for betraying Timber's trust, but for using her to do it. For allowing her to think she mattered to him, that he wanted to be a father to her again, all so he could secure his position as President.

It ... would be ugly. Not even Squall would be able to stop what would come next.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall nodded. "And if he somehow miraculously survived you, he'd have to deal with me. And then SeeD. And Esthar. He's too smart not to know that he'd be doomed."

[angelo_wings]

She had been worried that he would try to talk her out of it, or recoil when he realized that she was talking about striking down her own father.

There was, instead, a wave of relief when she realized that he would stand behind her if she did.

She reached up and tugged on his shirt, pulling him so he could sit beside her on the bed.

"Then we ... assume he's not going to trick us," she decided. "And we go. We get the committee together, and we make it clear if the committee is attacked in any way, Hell itself will rain down on Galbadia."

Squall was right. Her father wasn't that dumb. And ... and some part of her wanted to believe that he wanted them to be a family again, even as screwed up as things were, and wasn't just using her as part of some insane power grab.

"I ... have some names," she said. "Not many. I don't know who to include."

There weren't many revolutionaries left in Timber. Galbadia had taken care of that.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Of COURSE he would stand behind her no matter what. That was what he was there for. He sat down and put an arm around her. He would ALWAYS be with her.

"The Chief," he suggested. "Of the Forest Foxes. She was helpful."

[angelo_wings]

"She was," Rinoa agreed readily. "She's on my list. So is her husband, the pub owner of the Aphrora. I just hope they don't start bickering like always."

They were lovely people, individually, and very skilled resistance fighters for their respective groups. They were also prone to loud, messy arguments in public places. Asking both of them to be on the committee might be playing with fire, but they both legitimately had earned a spot, and would be useful allies. She'd have to tell them to leave their differences at the door.

"Miss DiMarco, at the hotel, was on there, too," she added, worrying about ... the next name on her list. "And Zone."

She was holding her breath.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall... didn't have a high opinion of Zone's competence or organizational skills. His brow furrowed -- but he held his tongue, because the LAST time he'd insulted the Owls, it had led to a fight. If she wanted Zone included, that was her right.

"...For sentimental reasons?" he asked.

[angelo_wings]

Rinoa folded her arms.

"You don't know the history of Timber," she said. Her tone was sharp, but more wary than openly attacking. "And regardless of what you think of him, I'd like to remind you that he's the lead of the only active resistance movement in Timber."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"That's a good point," Squall agreed. "It's definitely symbolic. ...What does the history have to do with anything?"

[angelo_wings]

Rinoa huffed out a long exhale.

"You never cared about it," she said, a touch sullenly. "You never asked. You decided we were idiots, and we didn't have a chance. We knew we didn't, but we thought it was important to fight, anyway. And you never asked us why. You just ... told us how stupid we were being."

Okay, fine. The Owls had been a sorry excuse for a resistance group. But that didn't mean it was okay for the SeeDs to all roll their eyes at them.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"You wanted Timber to be free, and were willing to risk your lives for it," Squall replied, confused. "I didn't think you needed any more reason than that."

He paused, choosing his next words carefully. "It just seemed like... like you weren't prepared for the realities of warfare. Which is understandable. But you were trying to fight a war without killing anybody."

[angelo_wings]

"I never said we weren't trying to kill anybody!" She was staring at him. "We weren't willing to blow up Deling's train, but that's a little extreme, don't you think!?"

Okay, and there were other reasons to that, but he'd make fun of her even more if he knew about those.

"Do you know who founded the Owls?" she asked. "Or when, or why? You didn't need to know, and you could do your job just as easily with us without knowing, but ... maybe you would have actually respected us if you had known the least thing about us."

Or maybe not.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall shrugged. "It wasn't important at the time. And I haven't thought about it, since. But... it's important to you, so if you want to tell me, I'll listen."

A few years, and a few epiphanies, had taught him at least SOMETHING about interpersonal relationships. One of the things he'd learned? NEVER tell anyone to go talk to a wall.

As for her other question... "I don't see how you think that's extreme. There weren't any civilians on the train. If you blew it up outside the city, there wouldn't be any collateral damage."

[angelo_wings]

"It's not just important to me," she said, standing up abruptly so she could pace the room. "The Owls were founded by Zone's and Watts' fathers. They were captured by Galbadian troops during the invasion, and dragged to the gates of town. They were executed, in public, to set an example for everyone else. Right in front of Zone and Watts."

She risked a glance back at him to see if he understood yet how serious all of this was.

"They joined as soon as they were old enough to be let in," she said, simply. "The history matters, Squall."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

...Oh.

It wasn't just important, it was personal. Zone and Watts kept at the revolution, even though they sucked at it, because it was unthinkable for them not to.

And they probably got stuck being in charge because nobody else wanted to be.

It probably would have helped Rinoa if Squall said any of that out loud, but he didn't.

What he DID say was "I didn't realize. ...Should you include Watts on the list, too?"

[angelo_wings]

Squall never said all that he was thinking, but his reaction, at least, told her that he understood. And that helped.

And so she sat back down again, a lot of her anger drained.

"Watts won't want to be on the list," she said. "He hates the idea of being in public. But I'll ask, just in case."

It was important to put them on the committee, because it was showing respect to Timber's past, and honoring their fathers' sacrifices. It brought the horror full circle.

"Of course there were civilians on the train," she chided. "Whoever was driving the train. The employees. And all of Deling's guards were there. Many of them hated him as much as we did. And even if they didn't, they don't deserve to be blown up on a train."

Yes. It was Deling's faceless guards she had agonized over, on that train.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"They were still on the other side," Squall countered. "They were still complicit. If you're going to fight a war, you can't afford to agonize over every death. Besides, anyone that close to Deling was probably..."

Oh.

"...You were worried your father might be on the train," he guessed, quietly.

[angelo_wings]

Rinoa closed her eyes, hunching over her own knees.

"Go ahead," she said softly. "You ... can say it. Whatever you're thinking."

She had passed up a prime opportunity to rid the world of a monster, because her estranged father (who she hated, and who was up to his elbows in the monster's crimes anyway) might -- might -- have been in range of the blast.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Caring that much about random bad guys you didn't know, Squall couldn't understand. Caring that much about someone you loved, regardless of the circumstances? That was an entirely different story.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "I didn't realize you had a good reason."

[angelo_wings]

That brought her up short.

"Wait, what?" she said. "How does ... why does that count as a good reason?"

She stared at him. "Everyone on that train could have been someone's father. Deling probably has kids. And my father was head of his army. It's war. Casualties happen. It's not like the attacks on Timber stopped just because I went there."

No. As far as she could tell, Galbadian soldiers still had just as many raids looking for resistance groups. Which had told her that her father had made it very clear which side he was on, and that she should act accordingly.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall shrugged. He understood very few emotions, and this was one of them. "Yeah, but you care about your father, even though you hate him. Love doesn't have to make sense."

[angelo_wings]

Love was too frustrating to bother making sense. Dammit.

"Would you have understood, then?" she said. "It doesn't matter. We weren't like you. We weren't soldiers. We couldn't be quite so callous about collateral damage, I guess. A life is still a life."

Something else was bothering her, now.

"How am I supposed to forgive him?" she asked. "He did Deling's bidding."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"All lives are important," Squall agreed. "But sometimes, you have to prioritize in order to accomplish what you need to."

He shrugged. "You don't have to forgive him," he told her cautiously. "You just have to work with him. You can put it behind you, for now."

[angelo_wings]

She exhaled, messily. "And what if no one in Timber wants to negotiate with him?" she asked. "He was Deling's general. I keep saying that we want to end this quietly, and no one wants more war. What if people do?"

She looked over at him, carefully. "Trabia Garden is gone. Zone and Watts' fathers were executed. Maybe Galbadia should be made to pay for its crimes."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall considered that. "If people in Timber wanted war, there would be a lot more resistance," he decided. "And it would be more violent. We have to assume they just want freedom." Because they had to start from somewhere. "There can be peace, or there can be justice. You have to decide which is more important."

[angelo_wings]

"So you think everyone now wants peace," she said. "I do, too. But maybe we want peace because all we've had is war. Maybe later, we'll be sorry we gave up the chance for justice, just to have peace. Maybe ..."

She rumpled her hair.

"What do you think?" she said.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall shrugged. "I don't know. I think people want the wars to be over. I think that if people started blaming each other for all the things they'd done wrong, it would just end up going in circles. I think..."

He looked at her, a little worried. "If war breaks out again, we'll have to either sit back and let it happen... or else stop it. I don't think you want to have to make that choice."

[angelo_wings]

She was very careful not to meet his eyes.

"There's a third option," she said.

He was a SeeD. He had to realize he was leaving something out.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall nodded. "Pick sides," he agreed. "Or start our own side."

They could always try to bring peace to the world by subduing it. But... That's what Ultimecia had been trying to do.

"You've said you don't want that. I don't think you'd like yourself if you tried."

[angelo_wings]

She wouldn't. Except ...

"I won't let him destroy Timber," she said.

She didn't want to start a Sorceress War, but if Galbadia attacked ... she would stop them. She would make them sorry.

Everyone had a line. That would seem to be hers.

"I don't care how ugly it gets," she said, simply. "Those are my terms. If he moves against Timber, then he'll get war."

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall nodded once, firmly. "And he'll lose."

Caraway wouldn't be that stupid.

[angelo_wings]

Okay. If he understood that, then ... then okay.

"Timber may not want my help, anyway," she said softly.

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"If it turns out that it doesn't... we'll reevaluate. For right now, assume that it does." They wouldn't turn down her help, would they? They knew her.