angelo_wings | In a Field of Flowers, By an Old, Crumbling Orphanage (NFB-Establishy)

No one was sure what came next. The orphanage seemed like a good place to regroup. Nearly abandoned, out-of-the-way, and quiet enough to plan their next move.

Besides, Rinoa wanted to see it.

Squall	By some amazing twist of fate, Angelo was waiting for them when they got there. How the dog had followed them, no one knew. Of course, she did tend to just show up places out of nowhere... While Rinoa looked over the ruins of what had once been everyone else's childhood home, Squall followed Angelo out to the edge of a field of flowers, and knelt by her. Not actually reaching out to pet her, but... not staying too far away, either. (You don't care if she's a sorceress, do you? Rinoa's just Rinoa.)
Rinoa	Angelo! How did Angelo get here? Rinoa knelt, scritching quickly behind the puppy's ears. Angelo barked, pleased to see her owner standing and talking again. She'd been lying around asleep for weeks! Comas sucked. Rinoa released her dog, who quickly took to romping out into the flowers, troubles forgotten. A shame Rinoa couldn't say the same of herself. "What will become of me?" she asked in a low voice. Her toes scuffed the ground.
Squall	"Don't worry about it," Squall assured her. His voice wavered a little, because this whole "optimism" crap was new for him. "There've been lots of good sorceresses. Edea was one. You can be like her." And sure, Edea had gone and gotten possessed by Ultimecia, and so had Rinoa, but... Those details, while important, would just make Rinoa feel bad right now. And Squall didn't like it when Rinoa felt bad.
Rinoa	"Until Edea was possessed," Rinoa said, shaking her head. "I was, too. What might happen next time? What will I end up doing?" Watching yourself do awful things, powerless to stop ... it had been horrible. And she had only been possessed a short while. "Will I end up ... fighting everyone, the way she did? Scary thought, isn't it?"
Squall	Squall couldn't bear to hear her talk like that. He turned away from her and stared out into the distance, his features hardening. (Rinoa..... Even if you end up as the world's enemy, I'll... I'll be your knight.) It was a promise, to himself. He nodded once, to seal it.
Rinoa	"SeeD is supposed to fight Sorceresses. And the leader of SeeD is you, Squall," Rinoa said, continuing her train of thought. "Squall's sword will pierce my heart. I guess it's okay if it's you. Nobody else." It made sense to her. He was her protector; he should be the one to destroy her. "If that ever happens ..."
Squall	"That's enough!" Squall grunted, turning back to face her. "Don't even talk about it. I won't hurt you. You're not evil." He struggled, trying to find the right words. He would protect her, and he didn't have the slightest clue how, but he would FIND A WAY, dammit.
Rinoa	"Ultimecia is," she reminded him. "How will you protect me from her?"
Squall	"I'll come up with something," Squall told her. "Trust me." Because if he didn't, he'd die trying. "Just stay close to me."
Rinoa	"I trust you," she said, smiling to herself. Just stay close to me ... that was what had started all of this. She had been scared by the prospect of fighting alone, clinging to his arm, and trembling. I haven't forgotten your order, he had said firmly, still addressing her as his client. Just stay close to me. Her hand reached for his ring again. "Can I tell you a story? I had a dream. A scary dream. We had promised to see shooting stars together, but I ... I couldn't remember where to meet you. I started to panic. I ran everywhere, through the mountains, the deserts, the plains ... and then I realize I can't run any longer. But I want to see you. So I scream, 'Squall, where are you?' But then I woke up." A moment later she added, "Crying." Her cheeks flushed as she realized how silly this had to sound, to him. But it had seemed so real. She had dreamed it, over and over, since that night. "I'm sorry," she said. "You don't have to say anything."
Squall	It did sound pretty silly to him. "It was just a dream," he told her bluntly. "Don't worry about it." It was meant to be reassuring, but Squall was starting to get the idea that maybe telling Rinoa she was being stupid was not the best of moves. Besides, the underlying concern was legitimate. "How about this..." he added, scuffing his toes nervously. "I'll be here." He gestured out at the field of flowers in front of them.
Rinoa	The last bit was unexpected; she tilted her head oddly at him for it, trying to determine what he meant. "Why ... ?" He was going to wait here, until she had the dream again?
Squall	What did she mean, why? "The reason why you couldn't find me is you didn't know where to look. So, now you know." He stopped scuffing his toes and looked up at her, determination blazing in his eyes. "I'll be waiting for you. If you come here, you'll find me. I promise." And Squall never, ever broke a promise.
Rinoa	He wasn't teasing her? No. He was ... promising her. She had expected him to scoff. She returned his smile with a bounce of her own. "Okay, then," she said. "It's a promise. Next time, we'll meet for sure."

Edea	As they left the field, a woman clad in a long purple gown approached. Her eyes betrayed her concern. "So you are ... Rinoa," she said. "Forgive me. I have changed your life drastically." Edea. The Matron of Squall's orphanage. A Sorceress most of her life, and a benevolent one, though she had recently been possessed by a darker being: the sorceress from the future, Ultimecia. When the SeeDs had defeated her, she had been near death; enough so to cause her to unknowingly relinquish her sorceress powers. They had gone instead to the nearest potential ... Rinoa.
Rinoa	"I don't think it could have been helped," Rinoa said quickly. "I don't blame you, for what happened." Edea had been possessed, when she had taken over Galbadia. When she released her powers, Ultimecia had simply switched targets. "So instead, please ... advise me," she asked. "I'll be looking up to you as a wiser, experienced sorceress." Edea had had powers since childhood, and -- barring her possession, which might happen to anyone -- had never willfully misused them. Surely she must know how to control them.
Edea	Edea smiled, gently, at the young girl. "Let me advise you of a way to clear your anxiety," she said. "Find yourself a knight." She drew herself up as she explained further. "Since long past, almost all sorceresses have been hand-in-hand with a knight. A knight who will stay by her side, and protect her. In many cases, it seems the sorceresses without knights are those which use their powers in evil ways. Adel, the once-tyrant of Esthar, did not have one."
Rinoa	A knight? Seifer had called himself a knight when protecting Edea -- or, to be more precise, Ultimecia in Edea's body. "Do you have a knight?"
Edea	"Yes, I do," Edea said, glancing fondly at the short, unassuming man standing near the cottage's steps. Her husband, Cid. "He is with me now, and doing his best to protect me. A knight will present you with peace of mind, and protect your spirit. So, Rinoa, I advise you strongly to find yourself a knight." Edea nearly laughed at the happy wriggle the other girl made, unexpectedly. "What is it?"
Rinoa	"I've found an apprentice knight!" Rinoa looked at Squall, daring him to contradict it. He might still deny that there was anything romantic between them, but even he would have to admit he'd been playing 'knight', wouldn't he?
Squall	Of COURSE he'd pledged to be her knight, and to protect her always no matter what. Silently. To himself. She didn't have the right to just assume it, though, or to go around telling people... Squall shrugged sheepishly. Sure. Whatever. He was her knight.
Edea	Edea nodded to him. "Both a SeeD and knight to the Sorceress. It will be difficult, but there is a way." After all, Cid was headmaster of the same Garden where Squall had trained. She turned her attention back to Rinoa. "I don't envy your position," she said plainly. "Ultimecia is with Adel now. They are scheming to find Ellone. If they can use you to further that end, they will."
Squall	Squall considered that. "So it's not safe here. Rinoa needs to stay far away from Adel, and far away from Sis. We'll go somewhere else." Simple enough.
Rinoa	"We can't run away," Rinoa argued. "That doesn't solve anything." They couldn't hide forever. Sooner or later, they'd have to face what was waiting.
Edea	Edea frowned as a sudden thought occurred to her. "I'm not so sure that's correct," she said. "One moment, please." And with that, she disappeared back into her cottage.
Squall	"It's not running away, it's a strategic withdrawal," Squall told Rinoa bluntly. "It makes tactical sense. When it's safe, you can come back." (I don't care if it IS running away. I'm going to make sure no one ever hurts you.)
Rinoa	"And what then?" Rinoa asked, barely keeping her temper in check. "We move from place to place, and hope she can't catch up? That's no way to live! It might never be safe!"
Edea	"It will be," Edea replied, returning with a strange smile on her face. "SeeD is destined to defeat Ultimecia. She has heard the stories, and fears them." SeeD had been created to defeat Ultimecia, for that matter. Time loops made for odd causalities. "I sent Ellone on the White SeeD ship for years, to keep her away from Ultimecia's reach," she said. "Unfortunately, that ship has now been compromised. I suggest a different approach." And with that, she held out a small brochure.