Fed-Ex was never like this.....

After Shade rolled her motorcycle out the Ragnarok hanger, she proceeded back into Balamb Garden prepared to be bombarded with problems. She still didn't turn her earcom back on.... Once inside, her secretary was immediately at her side, having been informed by the navigation department that the Headmaster's airship was detected and in route. So as they ventured further into the Garden, Shade was reluctantly informed of every situation since the last call. "The simulation fiends have been destroyed and there's a technical team working on the system as we speak. They believe the explosion effected the program, which was why the subjects were scrambled about the Garden. Only a few minor injuries, but I'm afraid containment efforts have led to a lot of structural damage."


While rubbing her head, Shade asked the foreboding question. "Just how much did Raven blow up?"


The young Seed's gaze shifted nervously through her notes as her fingers fumbled through the pages, all the while, struggling to keep up with Shade's quick pace. "Um....thus far, rough estimates total to about 238,000 gil, but the ball room hasn't been assessed yet." She winced at hearing the Headmaster groan. There was still more to report. "The Headmaster of Trabia was quite delighted with Miss Jayda's company...."


"Well, at least there's some good news..." Shade mumbled.


"That is, until he became a bit too.... bold, and then... well, once Miss Brix found out, then Mr. Crowley found out, and then of course, Mr. Fletcher found out, and then of course that led to...." She stopped abruptly when Shade came to a complete halt and turned to her with a look of rage that led the young woman to take a step back and quickly ramble off the rest before her Headmaster would explode. "He already resigned!!! Mr. Fletcher made sure of it after threatening the Headmaster's genitals!! Miss Jayda is fine and currently with Mr. Crowley and Miss Brix!!"


At this point, Shade didn't want to hear any more issues. The guilt washed over her like tidal wave. It was her fault Jayda had to deal with the man, and her fault for knowing what happened due to leaving her earcom turned off simply because she wanted a little peace and quiet. Looking away with self blame, Shade waved the secretary off. "Whatever else you have to report, just leave it on my desk. I'll get to it first thing in the morning...." She saw the girl nod slowly and begin walking off when Shade's memory came back to back to her. "One more thing.... I have a delivery on the way. So if a furry looking guy with ears shows up asking for me, make sure to contact me." She chose the opposite direction to take while keeping to a casual pace this time. After several moments, Shade found herself venturing into the very ball room mentioned in the report, and found shattered glass from the ceiling and debris all over the place. Instead of fuming over it, her eyes tore away from the destruction and she headed for one of the balconies to hopefully find some solitude by the cool evening breeze.


Her thoughts somehow drifted back to that portrait. How she appeared so at peace, and envied that look for never having it. She envied this Gohrick even more for seeing it, when she couldn't. As her steel shaded hues scanned over the horizon, the weight of this world's possible fate reminded her that such an expression would never be possible. There's was far too much at stake. Her own teammates were at stake. Her bother was at stake. And even though surrounded by their support, Shade still felt utterly alone on the inside, but it was a truth she would never express or reveal. Her tough exterior was indestructable, a wall of steel no threat could breach. Anyone could fancy her looking any other sort of way, but the real Shade was as hard as stone. She had to be.

“So, a delivery? What’s the fee for such a delivery?” Kyto asked, making one of his rare entrances to actually inside of the Calamity, for once breaking away from the precious Ring of Fate that made up the engine.

“Um…no charge? Look, it isn’t that complicated really. I did a portrait-“ Gohrick started, only to be interrupted by Jiranto.

“Wait, you actually painted someone? Must have been a special someone…you rarely paint anyone unless you are going to have them attack themselves…” Jiranto said, adjusting his goggles over his eyes.

“Shush you, and no comments from the shoopuff gallery,” Gohrick said with a slight smile. “So yes, there was something about her-“ he started, only to be interrupted once again, this time by Jareb.

“Ooo, a she? Does dear captain ex captain have a crush?” He teased with a smirk, twirling around his chief’s knife as he walked by the corridor.

“Keep walking Jareb, just keep walking, else that knife find a special place to be hilted,” Gohrick said with a playful glare. He was used to his crew, and he didn’t take anything to heart with the good natured teasing.

“Anyway, as I was saying, there was just something about her…she was like a stone in a rushing river, yet there was something that was just…more. Like an Onion Knight, there was just something deeper and more powerful then what met the eye…” he said, before he showed the crew the painting. He felt a bit of pride and humility as they looked at his work, though Kyto actually pushed Jiranto out of the way as he got a closer look.

“Wow, what a hot looking babe!” He said with a grin, only to have his face slammed into the table they had gathered around by Hydria.

“Eteud puo, tu hud lymm ran y pypa ... Cruf cusa nacbald vun ynd ...” she said with a bit of a glare, unlike her brother, she didn’t wear the goggles all the time, and her spiraled eyes were quite an intimidating feature that she used to her full advantage.
Kyto groaned in pain and held his face, the left side was now bright red against his pale skin.

“Dammit Dria, no need to be that violent, and don’t call me an idiot boy…I can call it like I see it,” he muttered, before turning and walking out of the room in a bit of a huff. Gohrick could only sigh and slightly roll his eyes…He swore those two would never get along…

“Anyway, Etzel, we need to get to the Balamb area so I can deliver this…it’s already been a few days because we had to pick up Cypher, so I don’t want to delay this anymore,” he said, looking over at the Viera. Cypher was currently in his room recovering from some nasty injuries he had gotten from some sort of Wurm Dragon thing…it hadn’t been pretty.

“Hm…alright then, we must head East, then North by 20 degrees…we should be there within the hour,” Etzel said, before making her way out of the room, followed by Hydria and Jiranto, leaving Gohrick to his work. He had actually taken the picture and was setting it in a frame made of Onyx wood before everyone had come in to find out what had happened to the Deling City trip.

He sighed slightly as he looked at the artwork, before giving a faint smile. That had been a fun night, only marred by what had happened to Cypher. Still, the blue haired warrior was recovering under Setona’s care. He would live.

It was about an hour later before the Calamity entered Balamb territory, and as such, territory of Balamb Garden. True to her word, it wasn’t too hard to find, and it was very large, much larger then he had first anticipated.

“My, what a wonder of technology…if only we could get these in Spira,” Jiranto said in awe as they flew by the garden, the flames of the Ring of Fate burning brightly in the sky. Gohrick had to agree, something like that was out of a dream…

“This world is just fantastic,” he said with a grin, before Etzel got the ship ‘parked’ in the sky. Because of its odd design, the Calamity often times couldn’t dock, but simply sat in the air, and because of the fuel it used, it was never an issue: It feed off the very oxygen in the air, which powered the flames, which provided lift and propulsion.

Gohrick placed the picture in a bag and strapped it to his hip, before getting ready, including his weapon of choice, the Artistic License he had strapped on his back. With the straps on his hips holding his ink, he looked like some sort of crazed artist…so he looked the part he was. The ship fired down a grappling hook into the ground, anchoring the ship, as well as providing a way down and up the ship via a small elevator like device. Gohrick got in and descended, leaving the crew on the ship.

Once on the ground, he started his walk up to the garden, having ‘parked’ the ship far enough away so as not to be right on top of the garden, so it was about a 15 minute walk. Also gave plenty of time for people to feel more prepared about having an airship just right there. As he walked up to the gate, he took in the awe and wonder of such a place.
“Wow, what a place…” he said with a grin, before walking up to the gate guard.
“Um…hi there. I’m looking for a Madam Shade…Um…Shade…You know what, she never did give me her last name…My name is Gohrick Trisona, I have a delivery for her,” he said, giving the guard a kind smile, only to be stone stared at by the man. Gohrick blinked a few times before leaning in closer.

“Um…could you call her for me? Please?” he asked nicely, before the guard seemed to get over whatever shock he was in and reached for the phone.

Elise quickly clicked the button to her monitor by the 3rd alert, to then see a young SeeD cadet's face who was stationed at the entrance. "Headmaster's office...."

"I have a Gohrick Trisona here with a delivery for Headmaster Shade? Dude looks like a cat..."

"Oh! Oh yes! I'm on my way!"


Within just a few minutes, the secretary came jogging to the entrance wearing the usual appointed Garden attire with her light brown hair tied back into a curly bun at the crown of her head. Her brown eyes were as warm as her smile as she approached Gohrick eagerly with her hand extended in welcome. "Welcome to Balamb Garden! We've been expecting you, sir, but I'm afraid the Headmaster couldn't be the one to greet you. She had to oversee some repairs to the Training Center, so if you'll just follow me, we'll let Miss Shade know that you have arrived."


Within the hub of the facility, the main deck was a complete circle that revolved around the elevator shaft of the Garden. It was pristine and neatly decorated with sections of various plant life and benches in-between each corridor that led to various titled portions of the facility. Elise chose to go right of the Main directory panel being the quickest route to the Training Center just after the Library. Although she showed no signs of shock by Gohrick's appearance, she was rather curious being that she'd never seen a Mithra before in her life. They happened to pass a group of 1st year students who were mostly around the ages of 7 or 8 years old, when one little girl was heard asking another classmate if the cat like stranger was related to moombas. It led to giggling girls and Elise having to offer her apologies to Gohrick for their bold rudeness. "They're not accustomed to seeing many out worlders, Mr. Trisona. I assure you they simply find you fascinating." Then she motioned with her hand the corridor they were to take to the Training Center.


She led him to the observation tower, where also, the control panel to the entire simulator program was located. It was a complete and total mad house! Several technicians were scrambling about at various sections of the panel, now stripped of it's outer panels exposing all the wires and gadgets that controlled the cursed thing! They were shouting amongst each other as random sparks erupted from the wires until another explosion shook the room from within the Center itself. A female's voice screamed in rage from the speakers within the room that left the technicians faces turn ghostly white. "What in the hell are you idiots doing up there!?!?" Even the glass to the large observation windows shook from the velocity of her voice.


Meanwhile, down upon the ground, Shade was panting from exertion. After taking down four T-Rex's, an Abyss Worm, two Blue Dragons, and five Chimeras, Shade was ready to strangle someone to death. She was practically drenched from sweat as she quickly brushed aside her dampened hair away from her weary eyes for the countless time. She had been stuck within the cursed place for nearly an hour now, with no way out because the locks were jammed to the steel doors at both ends of the Training Center. She even tried the hidden balcony, but the cursed thing was sealed off as well. "Headmaster, I assure you, we're doing everything humanly possible! The system won't let us bypass the bestiary program due it's safety protocol installed after the mishap a few days ago when the fiend simulations got loose!"


"JUST UNLOCK THE DAMN DOORS!"


A few of them shrieked with fright as they all went scrambling about again, but within seconds, Shade heard the all too familiar sound of static, which meant another glitch was about to appear. While still bent over with her free hand against her knee, Shade slowly turned her head only to groan at the next challenge. Coming slowly to form was a prowling Behemoth. This just wasn't her day. Fed up by this point, Shade had a brief cynical moment to stand straight and face the Observation room. She could see the silhouettes of bodies rushing about through the window as she glared up at them with her arms outstretched. "Really, guys!? A Behemoth?? Are you TRYING to kill me??" Due to her exhaustion, Shade failed to stay alert, nor did she notice a twin to the first mighty fiend materialize beside the first. By the time she began to turn back around, the first already had it's massive arm swung back and swinging its first blow.


Her body took the full brunt of the strike and she sent soaring backwards several yards before slamming into a tree. After collapsing to the hard ground, Shade struggled to scramble back onto her feet looking worse for wear, but shaking off the pain to her spine. "Someone's getting FIRED for this!!" She didn't even spare that room a glance as she quickly swiped away the perspiration from her brow before preparing herself to take on, or deliver yet another series of blows.

Gohrick swayed on his hips as he listened in to the call the guy was finally making. Jeez, they made it seem like they never saw a Mithra before. He didn’t stop and stare at each of them like that, and he thought that with their uniforms and such, that they looked a bit strange…

“Due looks like a cat…”

“It’s because I am a cat!” Gohrick interrupted with a smile, ignoring the glare he was getting from the guard. Honestly, he was used to it, and for a moment, he stared at the guard. He seemed to fidget slightly, before Gohrick smiled.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell a soul,” Gohrick said mysteriously, causing the guard to look even more confused and worried. Poor guy was not a good choice as a guard if Gohrick could get under his skin already, but it wasn’t for him to say…maybe the guy was a good fighter? Whatever the case, it didn’t matter to Gohrick, as he tilted his head slightly, before turning and seeing someone approaching.

He smiled back at the woman and shook her hand with his own furry paw. He tilted his head slightly as he heard that poor Shade was already going through more chaos, but something that was said stuck to his head.

‘Headmaster Shade? Meaning…wow, that’s very impressive…, no wonder she was so frustrated when we met…’ he thought, but kept that particular thought to himself. It wouldn’t do to show just how little he knew about his new friend.

“It’s quite alright, I understand that she has a lot on her plate,” he said with a grin, before following behind her. When Shade told him she worked at a Garden, he expected flowers and the like…then she explained it was a training facility. What he was seeing though…It made him really appreciate just how far behind in the times Vana’Diel was. Perhaps later, with Shade’s permission, he could have the crew stop by and just take a look around…it would be something to see how the Valsis siblings would react. Specifically Jiranto…he was so into technology of new worlds it was almost scary.

He kept pace with the woman, who he wasn’t quite sure of her name, and heard the young girls making mention of something called a Moomba. He chuckled slightly at the sight of happy children before he found himself almost walking past the woman as she started to apologize for the children.

“Please Madam; there is no need to apologize for the children. They are simply curious, and I am slowly understanding as I wander that not every world has beings like myself. And please, just call me Gohrick…Mr makes me feel so old,” he said with a teasing grin to the woman.

“And…forgive me, I don’t think I actually caught your name either…please, forgive my own rudeness,” he said with a slight bow of his head, before continuing to follow behind her, following the green lined corridor to, he supposed, was where Shade was located.

As they entered to the observation room, he completely paused for a moment at the door front. Absolute chaos…that might actually be an understatement for what he was seeing in front of him. Wires and panels and gizmos flying through the air with sparks trailing behind them.

“Oh my word, just what on Gaia is happening?” he muttered as he was unsure where to move to avoid being in anyone’s way. He stayed close behind the woman and fought the urge to cover his ears. There was just so much noise…speaking of noise, he suddenly cringed as he heard a voice demanding what was going on.
He tilted his head slightly, before smiling.

“Ah, Madam Shade!” he said with a grin, before realizing she wasn’t in the actual room. He paused for a moment, before seeing everyone looking out of a large window. He moved closer to the window and saw, to his surprise, Shade inside the training room. She looked like hell warmed over then got ran over by a flock of angry red chocobos! He quickly turned back to the woman.

“What is going on?” he asked, before looking back and wincing once again as she screamed for them just to open the doors up. He continued to look down at her and tried to wave, before he saw something appearing near her…

‘A behemoth? Are you kidding me?!’ he mentally screamed, before he saw her look up.

“No, turn around!” he screamed down, only to see her get hit by the second beast. He growled slightly and turned around.

“Why can’t you get her out of there?!” he screamed, his fangs now showing more predominately as they tended to when he grew upset. Though, at this point, he was moving past upset quite quickly, especially when the only person who answered him did so in a condescending way.

“We’re doing the best we can, so move out of the way creature,” he said, before nearly pushing Gohrick out of the way so he could go back, sit on a chair, and start typing away.

“Creature…” Gohrick echoed, his vivid blue eyes narrowing slightly, before he growled deeply and leapt towards the man, making him scream and fall out of the chair.

“Geez people, its damn glass…” he seethed, before grabbing the chair with both hands.

“Get out of the way, I’m going through the glass!” he yelled, before spinning and throwing the chair at the glass wall, causing someone to scream loudly in shock and fear. The chair broke through with almost no problems and shattered the entire pane, causing the chair and glass to fall down towards one of the Behemoths. With that, he unattached the portrait and placed it on the side, before taking a few running steps and jumping out after the chair. While in mid air, he gave his brush a twist and flick as he unsheathed the Artistic License and pulled out another brush in his free hand. With the skills that only a falling Mithra could perform, he started his art.

“Lightning Art!” he yelled, as he drew the symbol in the air, creating several lightning bolts that struck down towards the Behemoth that had hit Shade. Without even knowing if they had hit the mark or not, he landed in a crouch and growled deeply, armed with a brush in both arms, before turning and looking at Shade.

“Hey…just thought I’d drop in…I hope it’s not at too bad a time,” he said, giving her a bit of a feral smile…something that looked much more dangerous than the feline that had a licking contest with her pup and summon.

Her stance was poised to lunge an attack as the two Behemoths decided to spread out a bit, which Shade predicted they would then choose to attack her from both sides. Just splendid, she thought. Then the exploding crash of glass erupted in the air, but Shade didn't dare tear her gaze away from the massive fiends before her. She simply assumed it was her brother causing more destruction again to get a job done. But it was enough to distract one of the beasts as it flinched back just in time before getting struck by a random office chair and fallen glass.


What did catch Shade's attention was a voice shouting out a command for streams of lightning to suddenly billow out from the air and slam into the second Behomoth. She took advantage of it's momentary distraction to sheath her sword and activate her Gryphon crossbow to fire a round of steel arrows into the creature's face in hopes to blind it, but only scraped one eye. With two of these things, keeping to a good distance was the wiser course. But she also realized.... that lightning was a magic spell. Raven never used magic....


Just then the caster landed in a crouch nearby, causing Shade to blink once or twice in disbelief. The cat painter from Deling city!? Before Shade could react to the unexpected assistance, the Behemoth that was wounded released a roar of rage and blasted a hurling stream of fire in Gohrick's direction. Upon protective instinct, her hand flung out with a sharp snap of her fingers and a cry of her own. "Mighty Guard!" Suddenly, an explosion of stark white feathers erupted from above and immediately encased Gohrick and herself in a whirlwind until the dramatic speed turned into faint blue glow about them within a matter of seconds. Even if Gohrick barely dodged, he was well protected.


The first Behemoth wasted no time, seeing his counterpart already struck twice, and went into a running charge, but that wasn't what concerned Shade. She saw the immanent glow of its horns and knew it already charging it's Meteor attack. She stood her ground aiming the Gryphon with precision, allowing the cursed beast to get deathly close until at the very last second, she fired the prod section of the weapon that served as a lethal boomerang. She took the brunt of his own fire blast behind her protection spell in order to obtain a guaranteed strike as the spinning steel prod nailed the creature across both eyes.


It lurched back in pain as Shade took a dive to the side to get out of it's way and rolled across the ground to land on one knee to extend her arm for the prod to return. It's razor sharp edges sliced the Behemoth one again across it's back before slamming back into place to the stock strapped onto her arm. She spared a moment to search for Gohrick again with her nerves on edge now over his safety. "Are you insane?? You plan on painting a portrait of this too? Maybe you see the two of us snuggling these things like puppies!?"


Then she shot a glare up at the observation room. "NOW someone is REALLY getting fired for this!"

Gohrick only had a chance to blink before he saw the stream of fire heading right towards him. He felt the magic surround him, but his mind went pure instinct as he rolled to his side. And he rolled much faster than he was expecting, ending up back on his feet and stumbling slightly, feeling a bit dizzy. He shook his head, before turning around, seeing Shade go to town on one of the beasts, leaving the other for himself. He felt oh so special at this point…
He stared at the beast for a moment, before it roared and started to charge right at him. Gohrick mentally sighed, before he actually turned around and started to run away from the creature. He was running right for the wall. A dead end. He mentally moaned, swearing he had spent too much time around Cypher, for this plan screamed suicidal. However, it was the best he had in mind and something that he needed to do in order for his next steps to work.

So, it was with a cry of both terror and bravado that he jumped up as he neared the wall, caught it with his claws, before jumping backwards as the Behemoth smashed into the wall. It dented the hell out of the metal, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that the Behemoth was stunned as Gohrick found himself landing on the beast just behind its neck. He looked around slightly, before laughing.

“Yes, Hi ho ugly, awa-“ he started, before the Behemoth roared in rage and started trying to buck the feline off.

“Hey, be nice! Oh come on…” He grumbled, gripping the fur tightly with his paw and holding on for dear life. He gripped tightly with his legs, before realizing something. The Behemoth was suddenly on its hind legs, and was still trying to get Gohrick off of him…Perhaps…well, it would be a rush.

Gohrick sheathed his Artistic License and quickly readjusted himself, gripping the fur tightly and ‘standing up’ on the back of the beast. He then flipped forward up into the air, balancing himself in a hand stand by using…the two horns of the Behemoth. He smiled down at it, staring right into its ugly mouth, before he spun downward hard as the creature roared, trying hard to use his limited weight to throw off the balance of the beast. As he rotated, his feet slammed in hard into the beast’s nose before he quickly back flipped back into the air, pulling out his small brush once again.

“Lighting Art!” he cried out, sending the bolts of the lightning right into the creature’s face this time, causing it to fall over backwards on its back hard. Gohrick landed hard and was panting…Geez, what the hell did it take to cause something to fall over now a day? Oh, he knew it was far from over, but it wasn’t every day he took down a behemoth in a way that could have lead to him being eaten and swallowed so very easily.

He turned over at Shade who had just dealt with her own creature and was yelling at him now.

“I don’t know Shade…they kind of remind me of you, a bit rough on the outside, while still kind of cute,” he said with a playful wink. What could he say; being in danger like this, knowing his life could end at any time…best not have any regrets as they say.

However, such teasing and bantering was short lived as his own creature was starting to get back up. He mentally sighed, before he pulled out the small brush, ready to create another spell. He quickly drew the spell in the air, before the white smoke started towards the creature.

“Reclusive Art!” he cried, as the white smoke would cover the creature. Now, he wasn’t too sure about these creatures, but he was hoping greatly that when the smoke cleared, the Mini spell attached to this smoke would make things a bit easier.

Her suspicions back in Deling city were spot on. This guy was an absolute nut case.


But Shade silently acknowledged his risky tactics with a smirk none the less. He may be foolish by his choice of moves, but they proved effective. If such was the way the Mithra handled himself in a fight, then so be it. But the protection spell wouldn't last much longer, so it was back to the game at hand.


Wait.... did he just call her cute!?


The thunderous roar of the Behemoth she previously blinded snapped her back to attention. Apparently, the lack of sight didn't prevent the beast from preparing it's Meteor spell. With her eyes narrowed, she was even more frustrated at the fact that she couldn't use her form here, so she shot for the nearest tree alongside the simulation path. She may not have the physical qualities of a Mithra, but it gave her an idea. After firing another round of arrows to distract the creature, she swiftly took to the limbs with a series of hoists and flips through the branches. Once high enough, she snapped the Gryphon back to her hip belt and jerked her Wolf's Bane free. With a snap of the lever, the curved teeth encased the blade and Shade took a daring leap for the Behemoth's head.


It was a long shot. One she never tried before, but as she soared closer to it's head, Shade swung her sword to strike hard against one of it's massive horns. Her body followed the momentum and direction of the swing to then grab onto any portion of it's thick fur to prevent a painful fall to the ground. Naturally, the creature lurched from the blow, which swung Shade about for a brief moment before she let go to collapse with a roll across the ground. She cursed under breath when she saw the horn only cut half way through and the illuminating glow by the conjuring spell was growing brighter.


There was no time to waste. Shade bolted behind the damn thing, but came to a skidding halt when she came face to face with a scene she could hardly believe. The Behemoth Gohrick was fighting was now the size of a Moomba? And now growling and attacking the painter's feet like an angry pup.... The look on her face would probably be deemed comical, but the roar from the beast she attacked reminded her this was no joke. She bolted after Gohrick again and snatched him up by the back of his shirt. "This is gonna get ugly!" Once she had him behind her, she reached down the front of her shirt and jerked against the necklace for the magnetic clasps to give way. A faint whisper was all it took before she threw the pendant into the air.


The storm cloud explosion from above was instant, as were the violent winds that followed. Griever wasted no time diving through with an ear shattering roar that shook the entire Training Center. Meanwhile, Shade drug her companion back behind a tree and braced herself for one hellacious fight. Due to the limited space within the Center, the massive summons ended up landing on the Behemoth, sending it shrieking with pain. As Griever positioned himself for another attack, Shade looked away for a moment and stared at Gohrick with little amusement. Cute? Really, Gohrick? You see these things as cute?"


What followed her words was a fiery blast of epic proportions. Her hand instinctively shot out on the Mithra's head to force him to duck as streams of Griever's fire attack whipped right past them.

Gohrick stared as the smoke cleared and noticed the much smaller Behemoth, which roared at him and charged, coming up to his waist. He raised a foot and stomped hard on the creature’s head, stunning it as he held it in place. He stopped for a moment and stared at the much smaller creature, who seemed quite intent on eating his boots and legs. He raised an eyebrow down at it, before smiling.

“Aw…aren’t you an adorable killing machine,” he said with a smirk, before unsheathing his paint brush. He pushed hard with his foot, before bringing down the paintbrush with a sickening thud on the creature’s head. It stumbled before falling over, its head and face covered in black ink, either dead or ko’ed, and it didn’t matter much to Gohrick at this point. He sighed slightly and sheathed the paint brush, before taking a look back in Shade’s direction, only to raise an eyebrow as he saw her running and jumping up a tree.

‘She moves like she’s a Mithra in training…’ he said, clearly in a bit of awe. He continued to watch her, before now staring in shock as she jumped down at the creature and tried to cut off its horn. She could give him a lesson or two in daring antics. However, it wasn’t enough to cut the creature’s horn off. That’s when things got a bit iffy for the feline. He saw Shade running quickly at him, before he realized he was being carried by the scuff of his jacket. He heard her say something about getting ugly, but he was still trying to get over the fact that she was handling him like a kitten! He knew he wasn’t the buffest in the world, but this was insane!

That was, until the tornado of magical energy appeared in the middle of the training center. He gasped as he felt the energy flow through him, as a magical being himself, he shuddered to think what was causing this, but he knew it came from Shade. There was no other reason that the two auras were linked.

He was held down behind the tree as the cries of the Behemoth filled the air. He barely heard what Shade had asked him, and as he looked up at her and that small grin of hers, he actually broke into a smile himself and laughed before responding.

“A bit cute…clearly, they don’t have your appeal, but in their own rights, yes…” he said with a smile, before his head was forced down again. He felt the heat on his fur and curled up tighter against Shade. Alright, he knew the two of them were together, but that didn’t stop the fact that the heat was insane, as well as the fact that he had never seen a summon, so he didn’t have a clue what the hell was going on.

He continued to hunker down; curled up close to Shade, before he noticing much of the same smells he had before when they had last been this close. It caused him to shift slightly and curl more into himself then into her. After a few moments, he raised his head and tried to see what was happening, marveling at the size and power of the summon before him. He then actually smiled and laughed slightly.

“And here, I thought the lion was tied to your bike only…little did I realize that you were in fact tied to a true lion,” he said with a grin that came from the heat of battle.

Oh for Hyne's sake..... he was showing off again. Not that Shade could blame her summons for doing so. He rarely had the chance to stretch his legs and use his abilities of late, but even she knew Griever was going a bit overboard when she felt the ends of her matted hair begin to singe. She also felt Gohrick lean into her, which led to a pang of guilt. Once Shade was confident they were in the clear, she slowly peeked around the tree to see the massive Behemoth was no more and sighed with relief. Now getting back on her feet, there was damage to be assessed. And having this folly of mistakes at a time like this did not help improve her mood. She gave Gohrick a curt nod as a confirmation that the battle was over and won before stepping out from the trees, assuming he would follow.


By the time she reached Griever, he already approached the remaining Behemoth still effected by Gohrick's mini spell. He towered over the little beast, being nearly twenty feet tall, but as intimidating as the lion hybrid appeared, he simply reached out with one enormous paw and started batting the unconscious fiend around like a ball. Shaking her head, Shade approached him and gave the Guardian Force a hearty pat against his crimson fur. "Gad to see at least one of us had some fun...." Greiver gave no acknowledgement to her comment, but lowered his head instead to sniff the unconscious Behemoth, then release a rather loud snort of annoyance. His flaming hues narrowed slightly, then with a powerful swing, his paw thwacked the fiend across the room to slam against a few trees. If Gohrick hadn't of finished it off, it was certainly KO'd now.


Shade had to admit, the little stunt was fairly amusing. She turned to face Gohrick again, unsure if her companion would be overly concerned by Griever's presence. Most were, but it was expected. He breathed of raw power which was obvious by the flickering flames within his eyes. "He's not all rough and tough as he appears, I assure you," Shade gave a tilt of her head for the Mithra to know it was safe to approach the summons without fear. After doing so, she took a moment to examine Griever over to be sure the first Behemoth didn't get a lucky shot. "He's rather mellow as Guardian Forces go.... a bit stubborn at times..." She carefully looked over all four wings littered in gold and red, then tipped at the ends with steel arrow heads. Thus far, not a single scratch on him. Her hands reached up and dove into his thick mane of fiery hair and feathers to hear a thunderous purr erupt within his throat.


But then... he caught a whiff of Gohrick.


With a curious tilt of his large head, Griever's interest piqued. With a rather slothful approach of his thick paws, he casually approached the Mithra to lower his snout and get a better sniff of the painter. This was no scent the Guardian had ever come across before, and his persistent nose was nudging the poor guy in all directions. Shade made no attempt to stop him, while standing aside and simply crossing her arms to watch the scene unfurl. Finally satisfied, Griever pulled his massive head back an inch or two to visually study the stranger before leaning forward once more to slap his large tongue against Gohrick and give him one long lick up the side. Naturally, his tongue beheld the rough, sandpaper texture as a feline hybrid, but one as enormous as Griever would have his bout of saliva as well.


Now that his approval of his summoner's companion was complete, Griever gave his bulky form a hearty shake and slowly lowered his haunches to sit at Shade's side. She was lucky if her head even reached his knee. Shade didn't dare smirk. She knew she didn't have to. She was sure Gohrick now realized he just got his pay backs for the lick he snuck on Shade's nose just days ago. But in all honesty, even Shade's lips couldn't resist the twitching at seeing all of Gohrick's fur on one side sticking straight up into the air.

Gohrick stayed behind the tree slightly, before actually climbing up to get a better view of the amazing creature in front of him. He moved up and climbed up and out on a branch, crouched down low as he stared, his body moving slightly as he examined first from afar.

He watched the creature playing with the downed Behemoth, reminding him of himself as a kitten, before he watched the creature go soaring through the air and slam into the trees. And it was done with such a casual flick of the massive feline’s wrist. It was both amazing and terrifying the ease and power the summon was showing. As he saw Shade move closer and actually petting the creature, he finally jumped down from the tree and moved in closer.

He moved normally, but there was an unusual sway in his shoulders as he drew closer to the large feline, his body moving with the sways, as if he was trying to see the entire summon at once, but just couldn’t tell where to start.

Gohrick smiled as he heard Shade speaking that he wasn’t as rough and tough as he looked, and Gohrick gave a gentle smile towards Shade. Hm, that certainly sounded familiar, he just couldn't imagine where he had said that before, why just today alone. He chuckled slightly.

“So, like summon like summoner?” he asked with a small smile, before he looked up at the twenty foot tall summon. He giggled slightly as he heard the deep purring noises coming from the creature, only to suddenly stop as he found him face to face with the summon. He tilted his head slightly and smiled once again, before sniffing the creature back, giggling slightly as he was nudged and pushed around. Gohrick really needed to work on that if he was going to be involved in these battles…first Cypher, now Shade…Seemed all his new friends were getting him in trouble nowadays.

He smiled as the lion pulled back a bit, before leaning in once again and giving him a massive lick. Gohrick’s feet actually left the ground for a moment as the rough tongue caught him and Gohrick found himself laughing slightly at the situation. He landed once again and stood there in a bit of a laughing shock, his entire left side now drenched in kitty drool, his fur all kinds of sticking up.

He looked up and over at Shade and smirked slightly. He had seen her lips twitching at the situation and he honestly couldn’t blame her. It was hilarious that after such a battle for their lives, and with the adrenaline still pumping in his veins, he actually jumped up with a laugh and started to move towards Shade.

“A pleasure to meet you once again Madam Shade, and must I say…it seems we’re fated to continue to meet under exciting circumstances,” he said with a chuckle before leaning over and catching his breath at the entire situation.

“Now, I’m not too sure about you, and forgive me if I come off as rude, but I’ve already had it with this particular section of your garden…and it seems that now we have a way out, unless your techs finally got the doors open,” he said with a grin, before standing back up and moving towards her, giving her a half hug, not realizing he was doing so with the damper side of his body, before letting go and moving back towards the wall, then looking at the laying lion.

“I mean, unless we want to stay in here and watch your giant feline bat around a few more fiends,” he said with a fairly easy going smile, as though he was talking about going out and catching a sphere showing or something.

With a tired nod, Shade was a bit relieved by Gohrick's light hearted nature about the mishap, but she stiffened a bit by the partial hug. Not so much do to the fact that she ended up slimed as well, but physical contact with others just left her sorely uneasy. She didn't correct him or shy away, since he made the contact so brief, but was instantly relieved when the subject turned to getting the hell out of the Training Center. "I've had more than enough of this place to last me a month, my friend," She replied with an annoyed roll of her eyes before setting off in the direction of the Observation room. She beckoned with her hand for Gohrick to follow, and without a word, Griever proceeded to as well.


"I want to...." With a faint sigh, Shade forced out the next words she always found to be a struggle to speak to anyone when called for. "...thank you... for assisting me just now." When she stopped just under the shattered window, her narrowed hues looked up while hearing the echo of voices from above still frantically shouting at each other. "It's a crying shame that even any of those SeeDs were too afraid to help, besides cowering behind wires and fuses..." At that moment, Griever lowered himself without command, as if knowing Shade's thoughts before she could speak them. Still glaring up at the Observation room, her hand reached out and took his mane to hoist herself up and upon his back. Finally, she tore her eyes away to look down at Gohrick and extend her hand. "Seems we're both in need of a little cleaning up." She mumbled, with a faint lift in the corner of her lips.



Once she knew Gohrick had a good hold and was ready, Griever slowly got back to his feet to approach the wall. His shoulders were still a good ten feet lower than the room above, so he simply lifted himself up to brace his front paws against the wall for the added height needed so they could reach the only exit available. Once Shade clambered across the window sill, she stood aside, but expected with Gohrick's previous feline stunts during battle, he wouldn't need help climbing right in as well. In the meantime, Shade crossed her arms and glared at every single technician in the room, who now were fidgeting and struggling to avoid her heated gaze. She let them squirm for a bit without saying a word. There was one technician still on his back and underneath the control panel, completely oblivious that Shade was within the room and contemplating each and everyone of them to be punished. Suddenly, his voice rang out...."I GOT IT!!" Just then, the resounding thud to the locks were heard and the steel doors below slowly opened. He looked rather victorious as he slid out from under the panel, until he saw the Headmaster standing there looking angrier than she did just seconds ago. Within seconds, his eyes rolled and he fell back to collapse against the floor in a dead faint of fright before his head thwacked against the edge of the control panel. Finally, she turned and headed for the door, expecting Gohrick would follow. Just before she walked out, she growled over her shoulder at them. "I'll deal with you lot later..."


She'd rather not let her visitor see her foul side as she led him out of the room, so Shade opted to change the subject once they were out of hearing range. "I must admit, Gohrick, I've never seen skills like that before. Quite intriguing...." While speaking, Shade tugged off her jacket and scowled at the new rips and tears it suffered during the ordeal. "Seems your talent proves useful in multiple ways. I've never seen the like..." Now she was trying to pick out the debris within her disheveled hair as the two were gaining stares by every person they walked by.

Gohrick smiled and nodded his head as he followed behind Shade, leading him back towards the observation room. He looked up to his right and saw the giant summon following just as well. It certainly had to make for an interesting sight…
He tilted his head slightly as Shade started to speak once again, watching her body language as she seemed to just struggle to get the words out. He smiled and shook his head and waved a paw.

“Think nothing of it Madam Shade. If anything, it was a good exercise, and I still owed you greatly for allowing me to paint you…and besides,” he said, before giving a heart filled smile,” You’re my friend.”

He said it very simply and as a fact, something that just was and there was almost no room to argue against it unless someone really wanted to. He stared up and heard the techies still arguing over something up there.

“Hm…maybe you should get some Al Bhed here instead…I’m sure Jiranto and Hydria could have helped in the situation, the pair of them just absorb technology…once they understand it of course,” he said with a teasing smile. He certainly wasn’t trying to get anyone replaced, but geez…it was a glass window. Come on, how hard would it have been to break the glass and get a rope down there? Well, at least common sense seemed to have died here as well…poor guy, Gohrick knew him well!

He looked down at himself as she mentioned a cleanup, and while he hadn’t been hit by the creature, his clothing was looking quite scuffed up and dirty looking from his rodeo experience. That and he did now have ink over his pants and jacket. That he minded less than the dirt though.

“Eh, perhaps you’re right on that one…” he said, patting him down and getting the yellow fur and dirt off his pants. He sighed slightly…he just got here and was already a mess. He hoped he could use some sort of facility here…he would hate to have to run all the way back to the ship, then all the way back here.

He finally reached up and took her hand before climbing up the lion’s mane as well and took hold of the fur, getting a good grip so he wouldn’t just fall over. He chuckled slightly as the summon got up and Gohrick felt a tingle of excitement…He would love to see just how fast her summon was in a flat out run…Oh, that would be such a rush! He smiled at the thought, before ‘waking up’ as the creature created a bridge to the broken window. He waiting till Shade got in before he climbed up the lion’s leg. As he passed its head, he stopped and gave him a playful lick before whispering his thanks to the creature, climbing the rest of the way up and jumping into the room.

Gohrick paused as he looked around the room for a moment, before spotting his bag just where he left it. He sighed in relief before walking over and grabbing the bag, securing it to his hips once again, not even paying attention to the death glare she was giving everyone else in the room. He did jump slightly as someone yelled out that they got something or other. Gohrick looked over as the man rolled out from under the panel, stared at Shade, then promptly passed out. He tilted his head slightly, then looked over at Shade. Because he wasn’t seeing her face, he was spared seeing the look, but knew whatever the man had seen had scared him out of his mind.

As he followed her out of the room, he paused for a moment and lightly poked the knocked out guy’s shoulder for a moment. No response, but he was breathing at least. He winced inwardly as he saw the bruise already forming on the poor guy’s face.

“Nice meeting you all, “he said with a grin, leaving the stunned looks as he turned around and started to follow Shade once more, hearing her go on about his skills. He found himself blushing faintly under his fur and scratching the back of his head.

“Oh, they aren’t that special,” he said humbly, reaching over and picking off some sort of bone splinter from her shoulder that looked like it came from the Behemoth. He took a look at it and chuckled slightly, before dumping it in a nearby trash can.

“I’m not a fighter by nature…I’m a artist…but these worlds aren’t destined for peace, so I had to use what I had…Granted, in a fair fight, I’m nothing special,” he said with a small smile.

While hearing Gohrick speak humbly of himself, Shade felt the Griever pendant materialize once more beneath her shirt which confirmed the Guardian Force dismissed itself once they left the Center behind them. She always felt a subtle wave of unspoken assurance when feeling the solid presence of the pendant against her skin, and a faint breath of security eascaped her lips. The moment was short lived though, when her attention returned to the moment at hand and Shade found awkwardness creeping back up along her spine. Knowing why Gohrick was really here, her gaze drifted to the wrapped package in his hand to then quickly look away. The memory of that day was still perplexing, so she tried to distract the conversation to things she was more comfortable with.


"I trust you found your way to Balamb without any difficulty..." She casually pointed in the direction they were to take next as she tried to think of what all to speak of. "And as you can see, it's no dormitary for flowers...." They passed several SeeD students of various ages in standard Garden uniform, who in turn, drank in the unfamiliar sight of a Mithra. Shade herself despised being stared of, so whether Gohrick didn't mind such gawking or not, she took it upon herself to lead him to the dormitory section of the Garden. "Um... the guest quarters are located back this way... you can clean up there.... and the least I can do is offer you a meal for all the trouble..." But before they made it out of the Main Lobby area, Shade heard giggling from behind. She only counted on sparing a brief glance of annoyance, but her head jerked back again in shock at seeing a 7 year old first year student following them and trying to catch Gohrick's tail as it swayed about while they were walking.


Well this was.....awkward..... and now that the little brown haired girl had caught it, she was thoroughly confused as to what to do! Her little face turned up to see the Headmaster just staring down at her in disbelief, which led the child to abruptly release Gohrick's tail and shoot her small hands behind her back with the most pitiful expression of guilt a child could give. With a deep breath, Shade rubbed at her eyes before stepping over to the girl and bending down to whisper something in her ear. Whatever was said, the child nodded her head with a faint smile, only to wave good bye to the Mithra and run off back to her class.


Now turning back to Gohrick, Shade really didn't know how to react to this, save for a mumbled apology before leading the way again. Then the odd silence to her own thoughts returned, not knowing what else to say or converse about, which made her feel utterly foolish. When she recalled Gohrick's comment about him being her friend, it led to Shade recoiling from such an innocent gesture. How people found such a thing so easy to say.... so easy to give.... She already lost so many who claimed to be friend, thus making it virtually impossible for her to accept others into her life. She already had to worry about such a thing happening to the very brother she never even knew she had. Her shadowed hues shifted from Gohrick to the appointed dorm set up for visitors and she pulled out the access card from her pocket to swipe it though the panel next to the door. After a resounding click, she opened the door for him but didn't dare veture in. "Everything you need can be found within. It's much like a small efficiency apartment, quaint but clean. Mine is down the hall... the only name on the damn door... I'll be outside in the hallway waiting for you till your ready."

Gohrick simply continued to walk behind Shade, taking in the sights while he was mildly drumming on the edges of the package he was carrying. After that rush of life and death, Gohrick was feeling primed, and actually had a bit of spunk in his steps. He could certainly see why Cypher did it more often than not, putting his life on the line with crazy moves like that. However, such an event was, Gohrick hoped, be rare and far in between. As he told Shade, he certainly was no fighter at heart…he only did what needed to be done.

He giggled slightly as she mentioned there were no dormitory for flowers and shrugged.
“Not all plants come in green leaves and pink petals…” he said with a small grin, taking a look at some of the students as they passed by. He even waved to a few of the ones who were really staring, as if they were on something. Again, as he told the woman who had leaded him to Shade, he was getting more and more used to it. He turned back towards her as her voice drew him back out from his own sightseeing and inner thoughts.

“It was no trouble Shade, and I don’t want you to think that. Actually, I was going to ask if it would be alright if my crew dropped in…Between the Valsis siblings and Jareb’s desire to see what this world has to offer for cooking, they all have had their curiosity baited…If not, that is alright, as I can plainly see this is a very hectic time for you…” he rounded off, scratching the back of his head. The last thing she would need is a bunch of strangers walking around while she was trying to deal with everything. As if she didn’t have enough stress.

“Actually…considering everything, perhaps it would be best to postpone that request till a more…appropriate time,” he said with a small smile. However, any further thoughts on the matter were paused as he felt someone grabbing on to his tail. He paused mid step and closed his eyes tightly for a moment. His brain went completely dead for a bit, something that always happened when his tail was grabbed, before feeling his tail released. He turned around to see a young girl looking all kinds of guilty, causing him to take a small breath and just chuckle slightly. With a friendly smile, he reached out with his paw ruffled her hair playfully, before watching Shade say something to her even he couldn’t pick up, though granted his mind was still barely snapping back to reality, it didn't surprise him that much.

“There is no need to apologize for the youngling Shade…she was just being her age. Nothing wrong with it,” he said, waving off the incident and quite glad to put it behind him. Though, perhaps he should wrap his tail , though that was never very comfortable. He was in his own thoughts once again, before he heard the clicking noise. He hadn’t even realized that they had been walking this entire time.

‘Geez, one tail grab and I become a space case…I really need to do something about that…’ he thought to himself, before nodding his head, making his way inside.

“Madam Shade, it doesn’t make sense for you to just be waiting out there. You should go and freshen yourself up, or, if you prefer to wait till later, at the very least come inside and relax for a moment. To just stand out there in the hallway…it just doesn’t make sense,” he said, leaning against the door frame and tilting his head slightly.

“And, I do want to thank you very much for the chance to clean up, it is very kind of you,” he said with a smile, leaning in, before stopping and pulling back. He was considering giving her another hug in thanks, but considering each time she seemed to freeze up or look like she was struggling with some inner comment, he resisted the urge for once, but instead, just gave her a warm smile.

Whu-wuzzat!! The tiny nose twitched about like mad as Skittles' head darted to the left, then to the right before leaning back on his hind legs to stand as best as a small squirrel could. Whuzzat! Wherezat!? Again, his little head bobbed around in all directions with his nose trying to find that scent again... he knew that scent! But where did it go?? Just then, Haylo batted the back of his head with her paw and growled playfully to gain his attention back to the chasing game they were playing. But Skittles was persistent, and however those two managed to understand each other, the squirrel's shifty body movements and rambling chatter led the winged pup to understand him. She gave a small leap into the air and an excited bark with her tail wagging for them to get started on their new game of search!


Meanwhile, as Shade still stood in the hallway, she was casually rubbing the back her neck to ease the aching tension of the day, as well for that usual awkwardness that constantly jabbed at her spine. Sure she knew she needed to freshen up herself, but in her set ways, Shade was rather accustomed to taking care of her own needs last for the day. Her tired eyes glanced up for a brief moment to see that smile of his return and she knew Gohrick was simply trying to be friendly, but as a team leader for so long, and now solely responsible for so much more, Shade wasn't accustomed to someone pointing out any form of concern for her own well being, no matter how small. Her tactical mind was about to thwart the offer by diverting the subject to his friends Gohrick previously spoke of when Shade heard a faint yip coming from down the hall.


She should have predicted this, but now it was too late.... Even though Skittles and Haylo were still yards away, nothing can prepare one for unpredictable madness, especially when it came from a transforming squirrel with an attention deficiency problem and a winged puppy with no sense of balance. When Shade turned and saw the both of them bounding down the hall at lightning speed, a faint groan escaped her as one hand reached back to nudge Gohrick out of the way. Her other hand pointed out at them with a firm voice that just grew more strict and loud the closer they came. "Don't you do it.... Skittles! I mean it!! Slow down! Don't you dare!!"


But there was no stopping his determination. His new painter friend was here! He has nice wonderful smells and he's fun! And in all of Skittles' excitement, the winds erupted without him willing them to. He simply chattered like mad with glee and continued zipping down the hallway until his body suddenly shot through the air into his spinning transformation. "...oh shit" All Shade could do with only the width of the doorway behind her was to be sure her hand pressed Gohrick aside safely so the same glomping tragedy in Deling City wouldn't happen again. Just before Skittles made contact, Shade caught only a brief glimpse of his form before being slammed and tackled against the floor within the dorm apartment. The air was literally punched from her lungs as Shade now found herself face to face with somewhat of a Gohrick copy, yet with spiky blond Cloud hair, but looking rather pleased with himself as he shot up to his feet and made a bee line straight for the real Gohrick to grip him into a tight hug while he was already getting lapped in the face by Haylo's tongue.


At this point, Shade was simply too exhausted by it all. While still on her back struggling to heave precious air back into her lungs, all she could think of was that she needed a damn vacation. For now, she heaved and coughed while trying to speak. "I think.... I'll have to..... take you up.... on waiting for.... you right here...."

Gohrick stood there, leaning on the door frame and found his arms crossing slightly as he just watched her shift and avoid his gaze. Clearly, he had, inadvertently, caused her to become uncomfortable once again. His head tilted slightly, and for once since she had seen him, his face grew concerned, and far more serious than he had been when fighting those Behemoths. It was hard to believe at times, but he was the Captain ex Captain of the Calamity…he could read his crew and others quite well, and while he couldn’t always pinpoint the issue, he was always there to be an ear. However, just as he was about to open his maw to say something to that affect, he heard the pitter patter and yelping of some very familiar sounding familiars.

He turned his head down the hallway and a smile broke out once again on his face. This…This was going to be interesting. However, as he saw the figures running towards them faster, he realized he still had the picture strapped to his hips. Even as he was being nudged out of the way, his fingers worked quickly and he had just finished unhooking the picture as he heard Shade start yelling out her commands. He was nudged once again inside the room, and seeing the bed, he turned and tossed the picture unto the bed, sighing in relief as it bounced but stayed on the bed. That was when he heard Shade once again, though in a tone of repressed recognition of a horrible fact.

He was pushed once again, and was clear of the doorway when Shade just went down on the ground, covered by a furry feline with spiky blonde hair. He winced and bit his lower lip in pain just from the sound of the impact, but he didn’t have much time to sympathize for her when he suddenly had a flying pup in his face. He blinked in surprise, before chuckling as his face was ‘assaulted’ by the excited puppy. He reached up and pet the puppy, only to suddenly be hugged tightly by his double, just as Haylo pressed the paws against his chest. He stumbled slightly, before falling over with a slight “Oof” as he landed, just not as hard as Shade did, on the ground. He reached up and ruffled the blond hair and looked up at the flying puppy, which graced Gohrick with more licks to the face.

‘Oh, if only the crew could see me now…’ he thought, before turning his head and seeing Shade just down on the ground. He heard her and nodded his head, before trying to pry himself free from…himself.

"Ok ok, I missed you guys too...Geez, I feel sorry for whoever else was in your way on the path down here," he said with a smile and a shake of his head.

“Alright…by all means, make yourself at home,” he said back to Shadewith a slight chuckle, before getting back up to his feet. He saw Shade once again and didn’t think she was going to be moving before catching her breath. Again, thinking only with the best of intentions, and knowing exactly what it was like to be tackled by that happy fur ball of energy (having gotten tackled twice now in less than a week), he just wanted her to be comfortable instead of having to stay on the floor. So, he moved towards the bed and moved the picture to the side of it, before moving back towards Shade and crouching down. He moved his arms, one under and behind her head, the other under her knees, before picking her up bridal style and laying her down on the bed.

“There, that should be more comfortable then the floor…” he said with a smile, before he gave the duo of pets a pet each. He then started towards the bathroom, removing his weapons and emptying his pockets, leaving all the content on the table. He then started to remove his open jacket as he headed in. As he turned the corner and closed the door, if Shade was looking at him, she would see the missing patch of fur down that went from his right shoulder down to his left hip. Once in the bathroom, he quickly finished stripping down and started up the shower, washing out the ink and sweat of the battle.

Whatever crazy antics Haylo and Skittles were pulling over Gohrick, there was little Shade could do. She seriously contemplated over using leashes again.... But as she squinted up at the ceiling trying like hell to breath through the stabbing pain in her ribs, she felt herself move, yet not by her own muscles. Instincts were simply the norm with Shade, especially due to keeping them honed being in frequent battles of late, as well as her daily training routine. So when feeling her body lift from the floor, she jerked, but bit down on her tongue hard to stop her reflexes from kicking in, or the poor Mithra would have found himself through a cursed wall. With a clenched jaw, Shade remained sitting on the bed while averting her heated scowl of wounded pride away from him while one arm was still wrapped against pain within her rib cage. After a mumbled 'thanks', she welcomed the silence that followed until he moved away.


Shade took the brief moment to snap a fierce scolding glare at Skittles who was far more distracted at getting his hair to match Gohrick's. He gave up with a pout and a stomp when it turned green.


Now shaking her head with frustration and embarrassment, her glance caught site of the Mithra just before he closed the bathroom door. Her scowl returned, but more so with confusion when the door clicked closed. Was that a scar? Due to the striking contrast of skin and fur, it was obvious that a portion of his hair was missing across his body, and it was the only assumption that came to Shade's mind. She made the mistake of trying to sigh, then flinched forward by the stabbing pain again. This time, it seemed Skittles successfully broke a rib or two.... One of these days she really needed to master a Cure, or something better.


To hopefully distract herself, Shade's head slowly turned to the object on the bed beside her. With her free hand, she slowly slid her fingers close to it to toy with the wrapping Gohrick used to keep it protected. Yet for some odd reason, even though Gohrick said it was hers, Shade couldn't bring herself to unwrap it, as if she were invading something that was still his. Now pulling her hand away, she heard a delightful squeak of victory and looked up at Skittles who was now pointing to head and nodding frantically with a proud, beaming smile. Finally, he had copied Gohrick's hair perfectly, but Shade wasn't about to let the little rat feel smug now.


"You still got the ears wrong..." She growled with a sneer, and now satisfied to see the look of shock on his face. He zipped around to take another look in the mirror on the wall only to scowl with frustration to see one ear on the side of his head and the other sticking straight up on top of his head. Meanwhile, Haylo was too busy trying to reach the objects Gohrick left on the table. She could smell another paintbrush, and it smelled so delicious as she struggled to keep her wings flapping to reach it. Shade hissed through her teeth, only to see the puppy get startled and then collapse with a thud on the floor. After staggering back up to all four legs, she shook herself quickly and went straight for the bathroom door with a wagging tail to simply hunker down and scratch at it with impatience for Gohrick to hurry up.


Hopefully, the two could just behave for ten seconds. Just ten seconds to lay on her side until the pain in her ribs subsided and once Gohrick was ready, she would tell him he could certainly invite his shipmates to the Garden while she would endure some R&R in the infirmary where Shade could hopefully clear her damn head and get herself back on track, while licking the wounds to her wounded pride.

Gohrick let the hot water run down into his fur, staring down and watching the water darken with dirt and ink and dried blood. He sighed slightly…damn scar never healed. He mentally shrugged and started to wash up, using the provided body wash and shampoo, cleaning up his light brown fur and darker hair. He didn’t want to spend too much longer in here then he had to, mainly because he had someone waiting for him.

He wrapped things up and grabbed the towel, drying off and wrapping it around his waist before he heard the scratching at the door. He opened the door still only in his towel before reaching down and petting Haylo.

“Come on little on, give a feline a bit of privacy will ya?” he said with a smile, before giving the pup a playful poke on the nose and closing the door back up. He hadn’t exposed his back this time, amazingly enough. He knew she had seen it, but the prospect of a shower and his own level of trust towards her already developing had caused that lap in judgement to remove his jacket before he was inside the bathroom.

He sighed slightly as he stared into the mirror, his own vivid blue eyes staring back at him, before he simply shook his head. He found a wrapped toothbrush and some paste to clean up his mouth, before looking down at his dirty clothing. He sighed slightly; he really didn’t want to have to put them back on after getting all cleaned up. Something Shade said registered though. These were guest rooms, which meant, if everything else was like it was, there might be…

He quickly started to search the bathroom cabinets and drawers, before finding what he was looking for. Or rather…well, they were clean, and that was all that mattered. Still, from the pants, there was going to have to be some modifications…

After a good ten more minutes, after about 25 in the room, he finally exited the restroom. He was dressed in grey black slacks that went down to his ankles, which then moved into the black boots he had on beforehand. Since he was going for the sharp, clean look he had used a rag to quickly clean them up so they looked decent with the outfit. He had found a basic belt to hold the pants up well enough, since the size seemed a bit bigger than his narrow hips allowed for. Then again, in a world of no Mithra, how could he ever find anything that would fit right? The jacket was the exact opposite problem, as it was shorter and smaller then he was expecting, but then again, he kind of liked how it felt. He left it open, just like he had with the old one so that his scar could breathe and not bleed into anything. Another reason he didn’t wear shirts. He finished off the look by finding a comb and slicking back his hair a bit.

He had looked at himself in the mirror before leaving and thought he had looked pretty decent. Nothing amazing, but hey, for something he found laying around, better then he usually looked. The only problem had been the lack of a tail hole on the pants…something his claws had easily fixed, and he hoped that Shade wouldn’t be too angry at him with.
He then saw…himself…checking out the mirror as his ears kept changing ever so slightly. At least the hair was right now. He turned his attention to Shade and saw how she was favoring her ribs, causing him to tilt his head once again.

He found himself moving closer to Shade, before offering her his hand for assistance in standing. He knew she was hurting, but still had made sure he had been squared away first and foremost...

"Shade, are you sure your alright? You were hit pretty hard, both by the beasts and by your familiar...," he said, unsure how to go about this without causing any more damage to her pride and stature.

Haylo slumped down on the floor with her rump and gave a sneeze at her nose being tapped before tipping her head backwards and sideways for her little loppy tongue to hang out over the side of her mouth. A puppy's patience doesn't last long, so she got back up and began sniffing about the room again. Skittles finally gave up of perfecting his latest form and went back to being a multi colored squirrel again for some chasing fun with his companion.


Meanwhile, Shade waited rather patiently actually. The brief time of solitude led her mind to routinely go over matters still at hand with the Garden, as well as more wordly issues that still needed addressed or finalized. Esthar was proving to be more childishly stubborn than she expected.... Ragnarok progression slowly declined.... A new Headmaster for Trabia needed to be appointed... But for now, the peaceful moments gave Shade the time to adjust to the discomfort just as Gohrick finished up and ventured back out. Seeing his hand and hearing his question of concern, Shade lifted the corner of her lips just slightly and gave him a nod. "Don't worry. It's just some bruising.... I'll be fine." At least she hoped that's all it was. "Trust me, I've been through far worse than this..." She spared a glare back to the rodent scampering across the floor chasing Haylo before slowly rising from the bed. She neglected to take Gohrick's hand not out of rudeness, but simply because she didn't wish to see him worry any more than he already appeared. If she managed to stand on her own, then it proved she was better than she felt or looked. She also decided to revert the conversation again to distract any attention away from her. "Now.... let's see about getting your friends here, alright?"


As she headed for the door, it was then Shade noticed the alterations Gohrick had to make to the uniform. After a tilt of her head , she then looked back at him with a raised brow, but nodded to to his cleverness. Still, there was another matter to address. Whether it would lead Gohrick to feel uneasy over what she noticed or not, that didn't matter to Shade. She was rather used to pointing out things people would much rather her bluntness would ignore. "I should be asking you the same...." Her hand motioned in the direction of his own suspected injury she previously saw with her steel hues studying his face closely. "That need looked at?" Before she got an answer though, the chair by the small desk against the wall came crashing to the floor before one hyper squirrel went leaping upon the desk top to come to a skidding stop. He jerked about to see Haylo's little paws desperately clinging to the edge and her wings flapping like mad with little grows of determination as her hind legs were running in mid air, but going nowhere. With a wincing sigh that led Shade to flinch a bit, she made her way around Gohrick to fetch Haylo under her arm and shoot Skittles a deathly glare. "I think you've broken enough for one day..." Her rib was a jabbing reminder, and Skittles took the hint with a lowered head and his ears down flat.

Gohrick simply nodded and brought his paw back and put it in his pocket with a small smile. He watched her get up on her own and it made him realize what a strong woman he was staring at. Here was a woman who had been stuck in a nightmare training room, battled nasties before he showed up, battled another round after he showed up, wielded such a powerful summon, and had to deal with the running of a facility such as this one as well as two hyperactive pets…it was enough to humble even the mightiest and self important of Kings, and still, she put herself last. He gave her a honest smile and simply nodded his head as she waved off her injuries. Certainly, someone like her had probably been through much worse.

“Well, I’m quite certain that they would love a chance to look around, but again, only if this is a good time…I wouldn’t want to cause added stress to you Madam Shade,” he said with a nod of his head. He started to follow her out, before pausing and moving back to the bed, grabbing the picture and smiling slightly as he turned back around, seeing her eyeing the altercations to the pants. Unable to resist himself, and trying to lighten the mood a bit, he raised his own eyebrow back at her.

“Madam Shade, are you checking out my ass?” he asked teasingly, before giving her a wink to show he was joking around. As he started moving closer to her, she said something that made him pause and seem to freeze up worse than having his tail grabbed. He mentally berated himself for not paying attention to what he was doing and showing his back to her. As he tried to figure out what to say to her, he was thankfully saved by the table crashing, causing him to jump slightly as the sound and turning to find out what it was.

“Oh for the love of all that is good and founded, what are you two up to now,” he said with a slight chuckle, before watching Shade move over and grab the little pup. He realized his own error and bent down to pick up his paint brushes and items, pocketing them in his borrowed pants. He then strapped the package to his new belt, before picking up and strapping the larger paint brush on his back, bringing him back to the topic at hand. He couldn’t just ignore her, or act like she didn’t say anything, not after everything she had done for him.

He turned and looked her right in the eyes, his vivid blue eyes no longer looking jovial and lively, but slightly scared and saddened. It certainly wasn’t a look that she had ever seen on his face. Only a few, like Cypher, Setona, and Jiranto had.

“Madam Shade, it is a fairly long story, one that I wouldn’t want to inflict upon you. The short of it is, simply, it’s wound that will never properly heal, because of what was used on the weapon that caused it. Its...almost like a brand,” he said, unable to keep his eyes locked on her own. It seemed like a great shame to him, and it was. It was a moment of weakness that showed him just how dangerous the world was…and was spurred him to learn more of his artwork and magical core. It was why he was able to do what he could do now.

“Now, enough of this,” he said, shaking his head before giving he a small smile,” it is you that really needs the medical attention,” he concluded with a smile.

Just pretend you didn't hear that.... you didn't hear that.... didn't hear that.... Had it not been for the excruciating pain within her mid-section, Shade may have felt enough embarrassment by that ass remark to slightly blush. But Shade never blushed, so perhaps it wasn't even possible. Still, she was now grateful for the distraction within her ribs to prevent such a risk. Teasing or not, Shade wasn't sure how to handle such humor properly.


But the sudden shift to Gohrick's demeanor after her inquiry of his wounds caught her attention. She said nothing, nor pressed the matter further, recognizing such a look of discomfort in his eyes so familiar to her own when broached with a subject she'd rather not discuss. She could respect that, thus left her question to be disregarded. Until he bent down to retrieve his belongings....


The SeeD jacket was styled to be short, and when Gohrick reached down to pick up his things, the hem rose up to the middle of his spine. Seeing the wound from a distance was a slight shock alone, but now seeing such an injury up close set off alarms within Shade's instincts. That was no ordinary wound.... While struggling to keep her reclusive composure, Shade bore witness to a different Gohrick. One that was obviously hurt far deeper than that wound could ever reach. She listened to his short explanation through the pounding of adrenaline rushing through her veins and roaring through her ears.


Somebody hurt him... and the word brand just tict her off.



Shade didn't even hear his last words at all. With a slow and calm bend to her knees, she placed Haylo upon the floor and slowly rose back up. But not so much due to the stabbing pain in her rib cage, but to bide her the few seconds needed to control the mounting emotions. He may not be able to meet her gaze, but her gray hues flickered against the rays of sun beaming through the window, as if they danced across the steel of a blade. At first, Shade thought to use his suggestion over her own medical needs as a means to get him looked at the infirmary as well. But what jabbed her in the gut was such a trick may risk loosing his trust. Instead, she took a step forward, annoyed for the first time by the fact that he rather taller than her, but dismissed it by boring her demanding gaze into his.


"I'll make a simple deal with you, Gohrick..." She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes a bit so he would thoroughly understand she was dead serious. "I'll give in just this once.... and have my injuries tended to, but on one condition..." Again, her head tilted slightly, but in the opposite direction. "You do so, as well with yours." What she didn't mention was the fact that if she learned somehow as to who did such a thing to him, she was going to personally hunt the bastard down.

The wound in question, the one that Gohrick had foolishly allowed Shade to see, not once, but now twice, was a grievous looking wound. It looked open, yet was not bleeding. Yet still, the body’s natural defense seemed determined that something was wrong, giving it a slightly glossy look as his body tried to heal it. It wasn’t a very deep looking cut, but it was one that had burned and destroyed the fur and was about two inches wide, leaving it quite noticeable even under the darkest of light.

Gohrick simply stood there, unable to meet her eyes, even as she stepped up and spoke to him. Instead of meeting her eyes, he looked at her nose, her cheek, her forehead, anything except those steel eyes of hers. He just…felt too shamed and dirty to. Even though it wasn’t his fault, even though times on that inter dimensional ship had been hell…he didn’t have that right to bring it up with her, not when she had enough problems already as it was.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he looked back up into those eyes of hers, his own still fleeting slightly to the left and right. He knew she needed to go, and he wasn’t about to say anything to cause her not to get checked out at the infirmary, but geez…the less people would know about his scar, the better off it would be.

It had been bad enough when the Valsis siblings found out…oh how long it took to calm Hydria down, and he actually found himself feeling sorry for the fiends he ran across later that day, following her path of destruction. Jiranto had been just as upset, but managed to handle his emotion a bit better then his elder sister. Cypher…Cypher had been a special case. He was the only one who asked who and where…Gohrick never told, and he had some nice incentive to with that blade pointed at his chest. This was just something he wanted in the past. He just wanted to forget all those nigh-

‘Don’t think about it!’ he chided himself mentally, and pulled himself back to her eyes. He knew he had spaced out bad there for a bit, and who knew what emotions ran over his face during that time. Expressions of grief, sadness and self hatred, that’s what ran over his face, but maybe he could save a bit of grace with some play acting.

“Alright Shade, that sounds like a deal. However, I’ve already had some people look at it, and it can’t be cured according to them…but I’ve yet to be in this world before meeting you…maybe I’ll have some better luck,” he said, giving a smile that, unfortunately, didn’t quite meet his eyes. So much for that idea.

Mentally, he was sighing and berating himself, something he rarely ever did, and seemed to be channeling the unconscious Cypher at this point. With a shake of his head, he bottled it up again, and locked it tightly. He gave a slight sigh, and an actual smile to Shade now.

“Alright then Madam Shade, you will have to lead the way though. However, before we go, should we drop this off in your room?” he asked, indicating to the portrait he still had nice and secured on his hip.

Something was terribly wrong.... far worse than just an injury that wouldn't heal. And by the looks of it, it was going to be a rather complicated task. Her lips pressed hard into a thin line to keep herself under control, especially for Gohrick's sake. She watched every twitch across his pained expression, and even watched his eyes, even though he refused to look back at her. Whether he meant his vulnerability to show or not, Shade saw it for what it was. A pang of guilt slapped her across the face for making him recount whatever memories were haunting him, but if that's what it took in hopes to see him healed in any way, even if only just the physical wound, Shade would see it done... somehow.


Surprisingly, he agreed to her terms, even if reluctant. He spoke of the same hope she dared to have. That maybe... just maybe, there was something here within her world that could prove successful. Shade had only one shot at this chance, but it was in another's hands besides her own. For now, seeing the Mithra attempt to be light hearted again, Shade gave a nod now that he was ready. When she turned away and headed for the door, her weariness returned, but she refused to allow her step to falter. Within a few moments walking down the bare hall, she stopped at the door that indeed had a narrow silver plaque with her name inscribed on it. How there were times she wished she could just rip the thing off.... But for now, she unlocked the door and opened it enough to slip the portrait inside and carefully lean it against the wall. As she turned and closed the door behind her, she managed a faint smile back to Gohrick. "I don't think... I could ever thank you enough for that portrait...." A sigh burst though her lips, more like an attempted chuckle that was restricted to silence as she looked away in thought. "Or for that brief time that gave me a rare moment to reflect on things I always toss aside..."


Not knowing why she mentioned such a thing, Shade shook her head a bit before looking up again. There was a pause where she studied the shades of blue within his hues, but then shook her head again as if dismissing something. "Come on.... this way..."


Once in the infirmary, the receptionist blinked in surprise at seeing the Headmaster walk through the door, then again at the foreign guest. Still, she lit up with a friendly smile and nodded that she would let the physician know they were there. Shade waited for the young girl to be out of hearing range before wincing again and turning back to Gohrick. "I'll ask you something first, before having your wound looked at...." Depending on his answer would determine if Shade pressed the matter upon him to have his injury looked at. Her gaze was steady and her voice oddly sincere after she swallowed down another pang of pain. "Do you trust me?"

Gohrick, while externally acting almost as though he normally did, was mentally a wreck. Just having to have those few moments come back and haunt him was like a harsh spike whip in the face that he wasn’t normal, that he was tainted, and that he could never have real happiness. Still, he put on his best mask and followed Shade out of the room, his emotions back in check and under lock and key. Two locks this time for better storage, he thought.

As they walked the bare halls, Gohrick could only imagine what was running through Shade’s own mind. He hadn’t told her what happened, but just alone mentioning that it was a brand, she had to have some ideas what that meant. Still, she didn’t seem to react to it, and was actually taking him to get it checked. He didn’t have much hope if he was honest with himself. After having it for so many years, he just accepted it as part of his life and moved on. For each one that saw it, he would make up some story of false bravado, something he had vanquished in a very elaborate story.

However, Shade was different. He just…he couldn’t stand even the thought of lying to her. There was just something about her presence, something so real and solid and down to earth that he would feel even more sickened with himself to even try and lie. So, part of the truth he told her…only a part though. The rest only very few knew, and he wasn’t planning on letting that circle grow.

He noticed as they went up to Shade’s door, that she only opened it just enough to get the picture in, but not enough to actually let Gohrick see inside. He could only imagine why…if her hectic life was anything to judge it by, it probably wasn’t up to her standards to let anyone see in…

“Don’t worry about it Madam Shade…it was my own honor and great pleasure. Again, it is I who should be thanking you. But, regardless, you are very welcome, and I’m glad at the very least it gave you some time to yourself to think,” he said with a smile, before once again following behind her.

Again, as they passed the hallways, he noticed some of the looks, causing him to stand up straighter, so his jacket didn’t ride up once again. He smiled at a few, and noticed a few of the confused looks he was getting. Then he noticed that he was wearing an outfit similar to some of the students there.

“Oh, I didn’t even notice…” he said with a smile, scratching the back of his head. “I’m in the school uniform, aren’t I?” he asked rhetorically, as it was quite obvious to him now. He mentally sighed and wondered if anyone was going to call him on it. He bet he looked like a transfer student, walking around with the Headmaster, in a uniform…the thought didn’t bother him, if he was once again honest with himself.

Once they walked into the office, Gohrick found himself relaxing his posture once again, if only because there was a wall behind him now. He turned to Shade as the woman got up and headed towards the back, slightly surprised that she turned around and asked him such a question so abruptly. What mentally startled him even more was not even missing a beat his answer came out.

“With my life, Madam Shade. You have given me no reason not to trust you, you have been kind, courteous, and quite wonderful to me, an off worlder, a male Mithra. How many have tried for my hide, I’ve lost count, but you…Again Madam Shade, with my life,” he said with a smile, a real one that reached his eyes as he stared back into her own.

The depth of Gohrick's answer told Shade much more than a simple yes, and from what little she learned of him so far, trust was quite a valuable thing to him. She could only hope to what heavens were out there, that he would continue to do so in the next few minutes to come. After keeping her steady gaze locked with his, she gave him a single nod and motioned for him to have a seat on the quaint sofa in the waiting room. "I'll be just a moment...." She nearly added that he better not run off, but decided to trust in him as well. After venturing within the back of the office where the cubicals were located, Shade spoke softly to the receptionist before allowing the physician on duty to examine her.
The receptionist nodded briefly and went to another room. Minutes later, she came out again and gave Gohrick a warm friendly smile as she handed him a cold glass of water while he waited.


Back in the examining room where Shade reluctantly sat on the bed, Shade could only imagine he was nervous as hell. He hardly had it in him to even speak about whatever caused him such an infliction. Just how was she going to get him through this? She rubbed at her head as the scans circled her to show she did indeed have two fractures and one broken rib. She was definitely going to catch hell for this....


Minutes later, hell arrived....


When Brix entered the infirmary, it was if the room itself had changed entirely. Brix's presence had a way of filling up a room, or perhaps, it was simply due to her audacious flare. Regardless, she sauntered right in as if she ran the place....because she did. One would never guess such an unbelievable possibility that one as brash and obnoxious would be head of Balamb's medical field. Her attire bared no hint that she was even of sound mind. Still, in all her scant leather garments and boots that made men wince at the groin, Brix marched right on into the infirmary with an abundance of attitude. First she headed right to young receptionist with her usual flashy smile. "Watch need me for? Sounded pretty damn important!" Before getting an answer, her attention looked about the room until she spotted him. What the.... her brilliant blue eyes widened at the site of the Mithra. And then her friendly demeanor kicked in. "Why hellooooooooo there...." When she tilted her head to study Gohrick from head to toe, she slanted her head so much so, that even the chaotic locks of her blond curls flopped to the side. "Whatever you are.... you're sure a cutie, aint'cha!"


"Um... Miss Dincht? Headmaster Shade?"

With a sharp jerk back to the matter at hand, Brix truned back about with a spin on her heel. "Say what? Who? Oh yeah!! Shadey! Where? ..in there?" she pointed and leaned to look toward the cubical section and headed in without waiting for the receptionist to answer. "YO SHADEY! YOU IN THERE!? WHO'S THE CAT LOOKIN' DUDE? HE'S CUTE!!"

During the time Brix was within the cubical, all one could hear was Brix's big mouth. "What the hell did you do now, damnit!?" Then a growl or two that could only be Shade, followed by more loud mouthed complaining. "I swear, Shade! Would you let yourself heal for once before marching your ass back out in a blaze of glory!?!? There ain't going to be much of you left that I can fix at this rate!!" Another pause of silence was soon followed by..."Oh shudap already, you grumpy gloomer!"


After several moment of silence actually succeded within the medical bay, the previous physician came out while shaking her head with a chuckle. She sobered quickly before looking to Gohrick with a smile. "You may go back now." Now if Gohrick hadn't run off in fear by now, he would simply find Shade sitting on an examination table looking more pissed off than ever. Her mid section was completely wrapped up, and she obviously wasn't happy about it at all, while Brix was behind her fastening the bandage at her back so Shade couldn't possibly reach it. With weary eyes, Shade greeted Gohrick an eyeroll. "Gohrick, I would like you to meet Brix Dincht.... and as hard as it is to believe? She may just be the one who can help you..." and may he someday forgive me for this....


After Brix cinched the clasps to the binding, she straightened herself with such a pose that bulged her abundant chest a bit too much against the low cut hem of her top. "Well nice to meet ya, sugar!" Her smile lit up the room as did her cheerful disposition. She looked around Shade's shoulder and got in another dig. "Yup! He's a damn cutie! S'pecially with those ears!" Her flashy smile then beamed back up at Gohrick. "Gotta love a guy with fuzzy ears!" She leaned away from Shade again and gave her comrad a resounding smack against the arm that led Shade to "oomph!" and lurch forward. "You always do manage to find the cute ones, Shadey!"