"Said the raven to the gunner..." (Raven & Jayda)

The dragon pounced and Raven's hand shot up to shoot it, but was interrupted by Jayda swiping one of his disks and chucking it at the dragon mid-flight. He saw her take aim out of the corner of his eyes and had a moment of Oh shit... before he leaped after her. He knocked her over and covered her just as the bullet struck the disk, erupting it in in a mushroom-cloud of fire and debris that encompassed the entire room. Raven could feel the intense heat the disk had generated pressing on his back as the room was torn apart.

When Raven looked up, the simulator was broken. The entire room was it's origional white room, but had charred blacken spots where the heat was too much for the simulator to withstand. It took him a second to realize that he was still on top of Jayda, but when he did, he quickly jumped off of her and sprang to his feet, a ting of rose hitting his cheeks. He kept is back to her as he said, "You... uhhh... you definitely upstaged me there..."

Raven walked a few steps away from her and lit up another cigarette before looking up at the two-way mirror he knew his sister was behind. He gave a short look over of the destroyed simulator and then shrugged at her with a What are you going to do? look on his face. He then turned back to Jayda and said, "I don't think we're going to get much more training down in here anymore... What do you want to do?"

Just at the end of Jayda's roll, her head turned with the hope in her eyes that she hit her mark just in time to see Raven leap at her. There was no time to react, and even if she could through the momentary shock, there would be nothing Jayda could do. The next thing she knew, Raven had her under cover as some massive explosion erupted within the Training Center, shaking its very foundations as if a real earthquake ripped through the whole Garden facility. Even though she squeezed her eyes shut, she still felt the heat from such a blast surround them as a spark of panic jolted through her mind.

Then everything went completely still and silent, leaving Jayda to slowly pry one eye open to see if it was all over. As Raven got back up, she was completely unaware of his awkwardness as both of her eyes were now wide with awe and disbelief at the burnt vacant walls that only meant one thing. The simulator overloaded by whatever the explosion was from... and then it hit her.... It was as if Jayda never heard his words at all as she sat up and slapped both of her hands over her mouth and looked up at him as if she seen a ghost and muffled her words through her fingers. “Oh great Hyne.... Ah did this, didn' Ah?.... Oh Raven, Ah'mma sew sorry.... Ah thought Ah grabbed that thingie-mah-jigger that grounds dem monsters sew they can't move! Ah didn' mean tah blow things up!”

The echoing sound of a door snapped her frantic reaction to the entrance where she saw Shade strolling in, and now Jayda really began to panic when a “what if” swept through her mind. She quickly scurried to her feet and rushed toward Raven to stand in front of him and began rambling her apologies profusely as Shade approached them. ”Shadey, please don' be mad! This 'ere be all mah fault! Ah, Ah....made the mistake o' usin' one Raven's gadgets an' Ah knows Ah shulda known bett'r than tah dew sumthin' layk that n'vr knowin' other people's arm'ry but this e'ere ain't his fault....It's all myne... An' Ah know it was really stupid o' me an' Ah culda.... Ah mean Ah did..... Ah put Raven's life in danger by doin' sumthin' sew dumb an' Ah'm..... Ah'm sew sorry.... Ah'm sew sorry tew the both o' yew....”

Shade had reached the both of them by the time Jayda said she made the mistake and just stood there silently with her arms crossed as her friend and comrade continued babbling her apologies. At the mention of putting Raven's life at stake, Shade slid him a glance that revealed nothing of her own thoughts before settling her gaze back on Jayda. When she was done, the gunner's eyes now drifted to her feet as her fingers began to fidget with her belt during the eerie silence that followed. But Shade knew Raven well enough, brother or not, that he was not about to let Jayda take the blame for anything, but Shade already had her mind made up and calmly held up her hand to quiet anything he might have to say. Her other hand rested upon Jayda's shoulder, and it was then she felt her friend trembling a bit. “Jayda.... I'm afraid I am going to place full blame for this on you... and you alone”

Before Jayda could raise her head looking as if someone shot her dog dead, Shade snuck a wink at her brother before his own temper would go off. Now returning her steel hues to see Jayda looking utterly defeated with guilt, Shade felt her own heart pang with the same for having her dear friend suffer, even if it were only for three seconds until Shade explained her reasons. “Everyone is going to know that you did this, and knowing that, no one is ever going to take Jayda Kinneas lightly ever again. People never took your skills seriously because all you show them is your sweet natured side, or you give all the credit to others all the time in whatever battle you've contributed too. So for once, you're owning up to what your skills actually do Jayda. When people see this? When they even hear about it? Anyone would think twice before scoffing at you ever again. Got it?” Jayda's widened eyes remained fixed on Shade as she swallowed hard and gave a slight nod in silence. Be it shock, or embarrassment, or whatever was going through the gunner's mind, she accepted Shade's decision. Then Shade revealed a rare smirk of humor and continued in hopes to lighten the mood between them. ”And besides.... you honestly think a little boom in the Training Center is putting Raven in danger or risking his life? Come on, Jayda.... you know to give him more credit than that.”

In hearing that, Jayda's stupified look returned before she facepalmed herself and groaned into her hand. ”Ah don' know what yew wanna dew now, Raven..... but Ah thinks all Ah wanna dew right now is thunk mah head in the damn dirt layk an ostritch...”

Raven dusted off the ashes from his back as Jayda began to sputter out an apology to him. He didn't mind in the least that she did what she did. In fact, he was sort of proud of her. Jayda had finally acted on her instincts to save not only herself, but him too. Of course, it put them in danger also, but that was one of those nasty little side-effects you overlook. Raven began to try and let Jayda know that, but he saw Shade come through the now damaged doors to start storming toward them. Though he was the older sibling, this was her domain. She was in charge here. So Fury shut his mouth up and just listened as Jayda scrambled to apologize to Shade also. It showed a lot about Jayda that she took all the blame for what happened.

It wasn't all her fault, though. Raven knew that and he knew Shade would feel the same. Jayda did what had to be done. That was the end of it. She shouldn't have been the one apologizing for what happened. In fact, no one should. This was how it was supposed to be. Plus, Raven thought the simulator could use an upgrade anyway. Always fighting in that boring jungle got old after a while.

But Raven was caught completely off guard by Shade's next words. How could she say something like that to Jayda? His eyes snapped to her with a look of confusion furrowing his brow before he saw the wink. He curiously watched his sister as she explained why Jayda had to receive the brunt of the punishment. A chuckle and a smirk crossed his lips as he heard what was said. He would personally add to that rumor... as soon as he found someone who wasn't too terrified of him to talk to.

Jayda turned to him and confessed how embarrassed she was and Raven's smirk grew wider. He rubbed the back of his neck where he now had a sunburn and said, But, Miss Kinneas, you just blew up the entire simulation chamber. You are now one of the elite few that have personally forced countless SeeD students in detention to have to clean this place up. And for that, you need a drink. Let's go induct you into the club."

As he was heading for the door, he slipped Shade his account number and whispered to her, "Go ahead and charge me for the repairs. It's my fault I pushed her." And with that, he walked out the door, heading for the closest bar.

Hearing Raven's added comment, Jayda dropped her hand and raised her face to reveal a smirk of her own up at him. It never took much to lighten Jayda's heart, and such a moment proved that as she was right back to being her cheerful, humorous self again. "OhhhhHHHHhhhhh! A'mma elite layk yew now, Raven? Dew Ah gets meh a purdy club patch tew?" She chuckled as she headed slowly toward the door, still commenting on the "club" and unaware fo Raven's exchange with his sister. "An' I want it tah match mah hat! An' it sayin' sumthin' layk..."Good. Bad. I'm the one with the gun!"

Shade said nothing as her brother slipped the account information into her hand and whispered. When they were both gone, she simply crumbled up the paper up and shoved it into her pocket with a slight shake of her head. Like she would ever make him actually pay for this? When he had her two precious nieces to raise and support? She scoffed with a smirk while slowly turning around to head out the door, only to pause as she watched the two walk down the hallway side by side with Jayda still chattering away. Raven didn't push Jayda at all. Shade knew that. He simply knew how to give her the confidence she needed where Shade failed to do over the years for her friend. It's pretty much why Shade scheduled Jayda to be using the Training Center when she knew Raven would be there.... So with a knowing smile, Shade headed off in the opposite direction to get the repairs scheduled.

Meanwhile, Jayda was still trying to bury her remaining embarrassment. She didn't feel as bad as before, and no doubt within the hour, she would have put the whole incident behind her. But in doing so, Jayda used humor. Remembering that she previously saw him rubbing the back of his neck, she leaned a bit as they walked through the Garden and saw just how bright his skin had turned. With a faint whistle, she spoke with a hushed tone so not to draw unwanted attention from the crowds of students they passed by. "Whay blow meh ov'r with Shiva's icicles, Raven... yew give a whole new meanin' tew the term "redneck"!

Since there was no place to have an "adult" drink within the facility of so many under aged children, they would have to drive to the neighboring town. Balamb was a small community, and Jayda knew of a quiet pub, since she naturally assumed Raven didn't like crowds all too much. So once they reached the garage within the Garden, the cadet handed Jayda a set of keys to one of the facility vehicles. She stood there gawking at the young man after reading the tag to the keys, yet her voice remained calm and genuinely sincere when she spoke to him. "Did'ja loose sum brain cells, son? That whay yew gawt garage detail? Dew Ah look layk a girl that drives sum lil' volvo? Tsk, tsk, darlin'..... that ain't no car....." The young man tilted his head, obviously confused, which led Jayda to look at Raven and cross her eyes to show she was about to loose her mind.

With a little huff of a sigh, Jayda took it upon herself to step into the little office herself and snatch up another set of keys strung up on the wall. When she turned and stepped out, she gave Raven a bright smile and jingled the keys in front of him while trotting off to the vehicle she chose. She stopped in front of an enormous black utility vehicle, all shiny and new as the chrome trim gleamed against the garage lights. It was such a grand scale, that even a chrome step bar was at each of the four doors in order to be climbed into. "Now that's ah car!" Her beaming smile turned back at Raven, and in all her courteous manner, she held up the keys again with a tilt of her head. "Ya want dibs?"

Raven caught up with Jayda after slipping Shade his account number. She was mid-way through a sentence about club patches when he caught her, apparently she hadn't noticed him stop. When she did look to him, he nodded and said, "I'm sure something can be arranged. Maybe we'll get one for Shade and Brix too. They can all say 'The Good, the Bad, and the Grumpy.'"

They leisurely walked through the facility on their way to the garage. Jayda must have been over her embarrassment because she continued on about several different things. The whole time Raven just continued to listen and nod while he enjoyed the walk. Eventually, though, she sneaked a peek at his neck and then dropped the joke on him. He just grinned and said, "Does that mean I get a matching hat too?" He rubbed his neck unconsciously, "Cuz if Ah'm gunna look tah part, Ah might az well dew a gewd job." He sneaked her a look out the corner of his eye.

He kept quiet after that until they reached the garage. He leaned up against one of the columns while Jayda walked over to the guard house to get the keys. He watched as she talked calmly to the kid behind the desk, who in turn seemed extremely confused and slightly frightened. He looked at her confusingly when she turned around and crossed her eyes. He shrugged to the cadet when he looked at him for an answer when Jayda went inside the guardhouse only to return a moment later with the keys.

He chuckled at the dumbfounded look the cadet was left with as they walked together to the truck. He couldn't help but shake his head at the monster of a truck in front of him. Just the thought of little Jayda behind the wheel of the metal monster in front of him was enough to make him break into a grin. She turned to him and asked if he wanted to drive and he held his hand up. "I know better than to get between a woman and her truck. You go ahead and drive. Besides, I'm still learning my way around this place."

Raven walked over and climbed into the passenger seat and relaxed. He reached down and turned on the radio. He shot Jayda a look when "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" came on...

((OOC: Sorry it's long >< Was having fun .__. ))


Jayda restrained most of her giddiness from being shown so not to appear like such a goof ball, but she did do a happy shuffle with her feet and a bounce to her hips as if the keys were like a magnet to the lock on the drivers side door. After having to use the chrome step bar to virtually climb into the massive vehicle with grunts and giggles, Jayda plopped herself comfortably behind the wheel and waited for Raven to get in and buckle up. Once the engine was revved, Jayda couldn't help but squeal lightly with excitement as her hands drummed against the wheel with enthusiasm. But when the current song blared through the radio speakers, her eyes popped wide as she looked at Raven just as he looked at her. "....oops...." Surely it was record time for a person to blush so fast as Jayda did just then as her fingers slapped frantically against the radio controls to find another song. FINALLY, "Redneck Girls" began to play as she chuckled and busied herself driving the monster looking truck out of the Garden garage.


The drive was pleasant enough, and the day in itself was clear and slightly warm, but perfect for just the windows to be down and enjoy the breeze while heading to the small town of Balamb. About halfway there, Jayda happen to be glancing around the scenery of surrounding sloping meadows patched around with small clumps of forest when suddenly, she slammed on the brakes when something caught her eye. She stared out Raven's side window while biting down on her bottom lip and tapping her finger tips along the steering wheel as she shifted her gaze nervously around. Then she unbuckled her seat belt, put the vehicle in park, only to flip around in her seat to look carefully out the back window while sitting on her knees. Finally, Jayda looked to Raven with a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she gave him a smile. " Ah won't tell iffin yew don't tell!"


With that said, she shot into action and opened the door and hopped right out to trot to the very back of the truck and lower the tailgate to hoist herself in and crawl quickly to the large toolbox bolted against the wheeldrum. Several random tools were tossed aside as she hummed a little tune during her search until a giddy "Ah-hah!" when she pulled out a very small box containing the more tiny screwdrivers she needed. She looked up at Raven and shook the small box victoriously with a beaming smile before inching back out of the vehicle to land with a hop on the ground. When she returned to the open drivers side door, she tossed her hat at him "Wanna hold that fer meh, kind sir?" And with a cheerful chuckle, Jayda disappeared under the truck.


If Raven were to check, he'd see only Jayda's legs sticking out from beneath the vehicle, knees bent with one crossed over the other and bobbing in tune with whatever she was singing out loud as she worked. "Take a Louiseville slugger to both head lights....slashed a hole in all four tires.... dumdee-dumm-dumm-dahdaahhhh...." It only took a few minutes and soon Jayda was "Yahooo!"ing and shuffling back out to climb into the driver's seat again and tossed a small chip that served as a locator beacon device strung with various colored wires into his lap. "They can't track this 'ere baby now!" After buckling in again and slamming the big ol door closed, Jayda had the truck in gear and wildly skidding off the road and tearing into the bordering meadow straight for an enormous mud pool she spotted lining one of the forest sections.


The engine was roaring by this point as the over sized truck was bouncing to and fro towards its off road destination as Jayda carried on the casual conversation as if they merely taking a Sunday drive. "Ya see....Ah fig're....ain't tew oft'n Ah geyts meh the chance tah play with the big toys.... sew when oppor-tune-iteee knocks, ya gotta grab it bah the horns an' jus' hold on an' wing it!" As the last words left her mouth, she gave him another one of her bright cheery smiles as the truck veered sharply to right, diving straight into the mud hole without Jayda looking where she was going. "Bah the way, Raven.... we gotta werk on yer attempt'n tah talk all fancy layk meh.... yer drawl ain't quite rahyt..." Her hands frantically spun the steering wheel in the opposite direction as her foot slammed on the gas pedal, sending the once clean monster truck spinning wildly about through the mud. "An' Ah found mud-giggin ain't as hard as sum think....jus' gotta let the big ol' bull dew most o' the werk while jus' holdin' on tight!" There were some unseen slopes within the large murky mud that sent the front wheels soaring through the air before coming back down to a slam into the muddy pool and taking off again, sending the driver into a fit of giggles.

Raven chuckled when Jayda blushed. He just shook his head and said, "What's a matter, Jayda? Don't like that song?". She didn't respond. So Fury just averted his eyes out the window as she found the right song and started the drive into town. He rolled down the window and enjoyed the ride as they went along.

Until Jayda slammed on the brakes.

Raven, not expecting to be driving into hell, decided he didn't need a seat belt. So when Jayda slammed the breaks, his head went flying forward until it collided with the dash board. Raven shook his head to get rid of the stars flying around his head while cars honked and drivers screamed at the sudden stop. He looked over to Jayda quizzically when she held up the tools and tossed him the hat.

The view continued when she snaked her way under the truck and Raven watched from the rear-view mirror. She was definitely a wild one, that much was certain. She seemed so care-free, excluding her fears about her brother, to him. Nothing eve diminished that smile on her face and she always found a way to help another.

She was truly a good person, and it was that thought that made Raven take a step back and really look at himself. He was the opposite of Jayda in every sense of the word. Where she was nice and caring to everyone she met, he couldn't give a rat's ass about anyone. Where she could find humor in almost any situation, he stayed professional. But the trait that he truly admired in her was that she could take all the loss and pain she'd gained and still be able to find a way to have fun. Fury could never do that. He was always too focused on what had to be done, he never focused on what he wanted to be done.

Which she must have decided she was going to show off just then.

Raven kept the puzzled look on his face as Jayda scooted herself back behind the wheel and tossed him the small tracking device. He couldn't help but smirk as she pulled off the side of the road. He grabbed the bar above his head to steady himself as they bumped and bobbed across the rough terrain they were on. He looked to Jayda and said, "Grab life by the horns... that would make a good car slo-" he was cut off by her making the sharp right, sending mud up the passenger side and flying in the window. He tried to roll the window up, but he was too late and was covered in thick brown mud. He spat a clump of mud on the floor and said, "Sorry, my accent wasn't up to your standards, Miss Kinneas. Maybe you could teach me that drawl sometime."

Raven held onto the bar for dear life. He had never thought that he could get sea-sick on land, but he was.

Jayda glanced through the windshield to give attention to the direction the vehicle was taking through the enormous mud hole, and just as she was laughing to Raven's comment about his untrained drawl, she turned to add her own humorous reply when her eyes suddenly widened at the sight of his mud covered face just as she whipping the truck in the opposite direction to spray a wild wave of mud against her own side. "Why Raven! What a nayce lewk fer yew!"


Just as she was about to erupt in a fit of laughter over the roaring engine and the blaring music, the spray of mud smacked Jayda directly into the left side of her own face because she, too, had forgotten her window was also left rolled down. She let out a startled scream before giggling again and gunning the tires to rip through soggy ground for her next round about within the bog while returning to the conversation sounding rather serious about the following facts. "Not tah mention whut it does fer yer youthful complexion.... oh! an' did'ja know mud will help with the swelling tew yer head, too?" The tail end of the 4 wheel drive truck was fish tailing wildly about through the mud as Jayda struggled with the steering to find some sort of traction for the tires to grasp, but in all her chaotic fun, she almost forgot to turn on the wiper blades. Doing so, she continues giggling merrily and purposely braking through the mud pool at a long skid sideways to send an enormous wave to spray beside the bed portion of the truck. "Whoo hoo! I dew believe that one izzah new record! And Ah bet'cha didn' know that thar be a special trainin' class in Timber that teaches student jus' how tah drive in condi-shuns layk this, did'ja!?"


She didn't see the poor fiend unfortunately gliding through the air, minding it's own business when accidentally taking a wrong turn during it's leisure flight through the air. What appeared to be white and black striped sting ray now became a massive squashed bug against the entire windshield of the truck with a resounding loud THUD! that shook the all terrain vehicle just before the windshield wipers went SQUISH! through the guts and innards now being spread across the glass along with the mud, and leaving the driver to wince and shriek from the startling collision. When she slowly pried her eyes back open and saw the guts of the fiend smeared over the windshield, Jayda brought the truck to a more subtle stop and slowly turned her head toward Raven with a slow blush rising to her cheeks and a nervous smile. "Did'ja wanna drive now?"

Raven slowly finished rolling the window up and began to wipe the mud from the side of his face. The thick brownish goo caked his face but he couldn't help but chuckle. Especially because of the fact that she was trying to make a joke about him just as she got smacked in the face with the same stuff. He actually laughed at the fact that was still able to brush it off like it was nothing. "Helps with big heads, huh? Maybe we should get some of that stuff for that guy with the robotic arm who is always talking about his experiments."

He kept wiping the mud from his face as Jayda hooped and hollered when the truck tore through the mud and bogs. It was nice to see her smiling again, especially since she had just been so down ten minutes ago. That was another thing Raven couldn’t do. He couldn’t take something that hurt him like what she had been feeling and just let it go. It took him years to get over the loss of Jesse and then the only thing that really helped him move on was finding his daughter. The fact that even thought she was depressed about her brother, only to be able to put a smile on her face made him wonder if he was going about life all wrong.

But then again, you can’t teach an old dog new tri-

Raven’s thoughts were interrupted by the sudden screaming from Jayda and the sudden THUD! of some poor creature being smashed across the wind-shield. Seeing Jayda close her eyes in her screaming moment of insanity, Fury reached out and grabbed the wheel. He tried to see through the blood and guts to try and maneuver them away from certain death. Finally, Jayda decided it was a good idea to step on the brake, bringing them to a slow stop. There was a moment of silence as Fury tried to lower his heart-rate and Jayda stopped to feel embarrassed.

Finally, Jayda piped up and asked if he wanted to drive. Raven nodded and grabbed the keys from her before jumping out to climb into the driver’s seat. After they were both in, he fish-tailed the truck out of the bog and back onto the road. He chuckled as he said, ”And people say girls can’t drive.”

A few minutes later, they were driving through the small town of Balamb. After getting directions from Jayda, Raven parked the truck and got out. He looked at Jayda’s mud-caked form and said, ”I hope this isn’t a formal place, because we’ll probably get kicked out.”

Jayda gladly gave up the reigns to the truck as she climbed over to the passenger side after Fury got out. She was still giggling at his previous joke about Simon while searching through the glove box for a spare rag to wipe her face off with. Problem was, what she previously wiped with her hand had now dried in smeared streaks across her cheeks and was proving rather impossible to improve with a dry rag. "Awwwah, Raven... I knows Simon drives ya batty sumtimes, but his heart is in the righ' place.... he's jus... um... well..." She chuckled again and gave her temple a few taps with her fingertip as if drawing out the word she was searching for. "Persistant?"

She gave him a knowing wink before trying to clean her face again while Raven drove them into Balamb. "Darn tootin righ' gals can drive! It's whay they had mah momma fly the Ragnah-rock durin' the Sorceress war instead of mah Pa! Ev'n he sed he'ddah crashed the darn'd thing in a matter o'minutes! Shadey sez Ah drive layk my momma... sew that must be a good thing!"


Once Raven parked the truck and Jayda unbuckled herself, she gave him a dumbfounded blink to his question before chuckling and giving her head a slight shake while opening her door. "Now dew Ah look layk a girl who'd go to sum fancy place, Raven?" After hopping out, Jayda slapped her now filthy cowboy hat back on her head and led the way across the street to a rather plain looking door with only the licence ID of the establishment pasted at eye level. When she peeked inside, she smiled at the fact that only a handful of patrons were inside and all randomly scattered at the high bar table. She looked over her shoulder and gave Raven a nodding smile, knowing he despised crowded places as she led the way in.


It was one of the smaller pubs within the town,which always kept to a low lighting, and quite possibly the cleanest bar Jayda ever came across. They're glasses were always sparkling clean, and that alone was the biggest reason she came here. A handful of round tables were scattered across the floor and there were two older looking vision screens that hung at opposite sides of the bar walls that currently displayed some local advertisements regarding fishing equipment as various memorabilia of worldly events were nailed along the wood panel walls.


She figured Raven was more the bar table type, and so she slid into one of the high stools, trying to hide the fact that she had to give a little hop first in order for her bum to reach the seat. With a bright smile through her mud streaked cheeks, Jayda reached across Raven to slide them over a bowl of pretzels. "So! Watcha wanna drink? First round's on me."

Raven followed Jayda through the door and into the dim light. He made a quick scan of the room, finding tactical locations, possible threats, and escape routes. He caught himself halfway through the act, but finished it anyway. Old habits die hard and compared to his other ones, this one was actually useful. There were a few patrons scattered about, but all seemed to be keeping to themselves. The bartender was a man in maybe his late forties who was cleaning the glasses for future drinks. Raven nodded to Jayda when she turned around and smiled at him before following her over to the table.

Raven hid a smirk when he caught a glimpse of her jumping to reach the bar-stool out the corner of his eye. He had already seen her blush enough for one day. So he made it look like he was smirking at a picture on the wall. It took him a second to realize it was a picture of His parents with Jayda's and Zell and Seifer. He kept his gaze locked on it for a while longer before he pulled his eyes away from it. How was he supposed to become apart of a world that he knew nothing about?

Raven gave a slight shake to his head to clear his mind of the thoughts and looked at Jayda. He raised an eyebrow when she said that the first round was one her. "Now, Jayda, the whole reason we're here is to celebrate you blowing up the simulator. Why in Hyne's name would I let you pay?" At that moment, one of the barmaids was walking passed the table. She was a sweet young girl with curly blonde locks and big blue eyes. She most likely was the bartender's daughter. "Miss? Can I get two shots of your strongest whiskey?" The girl smiled at him and nodded before taking off towards the bar to pour the drinks.

Raven turned back to Jayda and said, "There, it's settled."

Jayda carefully removed her tattered hat from her head and set it upon the table beside her before leaning the other way away from Raven to snag a bowl of peanuts to join the bowl of pretzels. She knew she would be diving in both bowls for some variety in her snacking as she listened to her companion politely refuse her offer to buy the first round of drinks. "Now Raven, Ah can't beh takin' all the credit, ya know..." She grinned with a slight blush across her cheeks before popping a couple pretzels into her mouth first. After chewing and swallowing, she already had another pretzel in her fingers as she spoke again, even pointing the twisted cracker at him with a knowing smile. "We're also cel'bratin' yew helpin' meh find mah confidence again!"


When the waitress returned with their drinks, Jayda gratefully thanked her, but asked the girl if she would just leave the bottle so Raven and herself could refill their own glasses on their own. After tossing back the glass and downing the fiery drink with a single swallow, Jayda fought back the instinctive need to cough, only to point her glass at Raven with her eyes brimming with swollen tears from the burning liquid scorching her throat as her free hand reached for the bottle to refill her shot glass. "Ah tell ya what.... since we're both cel'bratin', then we split payin' fer the bottle..."


She didn't slam the whiskey bottle on the table, but she did set it down firmly as if the deal was done before raising her glass to Raven in a toasting gesture with a sound wink. "So there... Now it's settled!" Before hearing if he agreed or not, Jayda tossed back the next gulp.

Fury reached out and grabbed a handful of peanuts when Jayda slid the bowl over. He placed the small pile of peanuts in front of him and began to crack them open while Jayda tore into the pile of pretzels. He just stared at Jayda when she said she couldn’t take all the credit. She could take all the credit and she should. She was the one who did it all. All Fury did was just distract the damned thing long enough so that she could do something. But Fury knew it was a moot point to argue, so he kept his mouth shut.

He popped a few peanuts that he had freed from their shells in his mouth just as she said they were celebrating him helping her find her confidence again. ”I didn’t do anything, but piss you off. You were the one who got your own confidence back.” He turned and thanked the girl as she dropped off their drinks and swirled the amber liquid around in its glass. He suppressed a smirk when Jayda tossed back her shot and looked at him with tearing eyes. ”Alright, fine, we’ll split the bottle, but only if you beat me at a drinking game.”

Fury waved the waitress over again and had her bring a few more shot glasses over to where they were seated. He then filled up all ten of the glasses and divided them evenly between the two of them. He reached into his pocket and began fishing for something as he said, ”Have you ever played ‘Quarters’ before? seeing her shake her head, he pulled out two quarters and continued, ”Well, it’s simple. All you have to do is bounce this quarter off the table and try to land it in one of my shot glasses. If you make it in, I have to drink a shot. If you miss, it’s my turn. Whoever runs out of drinks first loses.” Fury handed Jayda one of the quarters and said, ”Ladies first.”

A drinking game? She had to beat him at a drinking game!? Now, Jayda was accustomed to having a drink or few here and there, but consuming alcohol wasn't what concerned Jayda at all.... it was the fact that she had to beat Fury at something in order to split the bill with him. For a moment, Jayda paused to give Raven a deadpan "are you serious?" look when he spoke of the deal simply because NO ONE ever beat Raven at anything.... ever. Shade beating him now and then in a stubborness contest just didn't count. So after a playful roll of her eyes, Jayda gave a dismissive wave of her hand with an amusing chuckle. "Oh fayne, Mr. Raven... iffin' that helps yer pride, then Ah'll take ah crack at this lil' game o' yers... "


After listening to Raven explain the simple rules and goal of the game, Jayda took the quarter and feigned a great amount of interest in it first. She began by holding the quarter up to the light and turning it to and fro within her fingers and squinting her eyes as if searching for any flaws that may hamper her aim, or the quarter's bounce and flight into a shot glass.

She pretended to be satisfied by her first examination, then her next test brought the coin to her lips, clamping down on the quarter with her teeth to confirm it was indeed a real quarter.

After that, she flipped the coin a few times from her thumb to catch in her hand, giving Raven an overly serious look after clutching the quater in her hand after the fourth flip. "Gotta check fer authenticiteee, dee-nah-matics an' weight an all, ya know...."


After giving him repeated nodding bobs of her head that she was well satisfied with the quality of the quarter, Jayda gave a chuckle at her own silly antics and placed the quarter poised on the table and carefully aiming for one of the shot glasses placed in front of Raven. Little did she know that her tongue peeked out through her teeth as she concentrated hard on her aim for several moments before flipping the quarter with a faint grunt, only to watch the coin soar and spin through the air to smack Raven spot on in the middle of his forhead first, then land with a "plunk!" into one of his glasses.


At first, Jayda's bright eyes popped wide open in shock as both of her hands slapped over her mouth to bite back her initial reaction to laugh. Then, after sliding her hands slowly from her lips, she gave a rather embarressed, half tilted grin. "That thar styll counts, ryght!?"

Raven leaned back in his chair and watched Jayda as she dismissively passed off his challenge. If she won, he would uphold his part of the bargain, but if not he still lost. It was a lose, lose situation for him, but he couldn't help but feel like it was a win, win. He reached up and scratched at the stubble on his chin as Jayda studied the quarter intensely. He reached passed her and slid an ash tray in front of him before reaching into his vest and grabbing his smashed package of cigarettes. He plopped one in his mouth and lit it just as Jayda spoke about the quarter. He rolled his eyes and said around the cigarette, "Just shoot the quarter already, Miss Marksman."

A couple walked in the pub just as Jayda was firing off her quarter so Raven's attention was turned towards them when the small silver circle plopped him in the forehead. His eyes shot back to the table just in time to see the quarter "plunk" into the shot glass. He stared at the glass for a long moment with his cigarette hanging loosely in his mouth. It was Jayda's voice that broke him from his trance. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and put it out in the ash-tray before saying, Yeah... yeah that counts..."

Raven grabbed the glass and fished out the quarter. He knocked back the shot and placed the glass back on the table. It was his turn. He grabbed the quarter and studied it quickly. Then he looked up around the room, like he was studying it long and hard. He made sure to look everywhere except straight at Jayda. Finally, he looked her straight in the eye and gave her a wink before saying, "Gotta check the aeronautics and and such. Ya know?"

Raven slid along the table so that he was next to Jayda and aimed the quarter at the glass. He lowered his eye to table level and spent about ten seconds lining up his shot. Then he leaned back in his chair and looked Jayda right in the eye. Without tearing his eyes away from Jayda's he called out, "Miss? Can we get some more to drink over here?" As the waitress came close to the table, Raven flicked the quarter, still not taking his eyes away from Jayda's. The quarter soared through the air before it collided with the mug of beer that was on her tray for another patron with an audible "ting". Then the quarter tumbled downwards until it landed in the shot glass with a "plunk". Raven raised his eyebrows and shoulders in a "what are you gonna do?" gesture towards Jayda.

Raven looked to the waitress and said, "Can you bring another bottle please? We might be here a while"

Jayda gave a delightful faint applause for herself to hear thatthe attempt counted fair and square and watched eagerly as Raven now took his turn after drinking his shot in one gulp. When seeing him reenact her own studious antics with the quarter, she narrowed her eyes at him with a smirking chuckle just before Raven prepared his aim.


She was rather curious when he moved next to her as she eyed him suspiciously at first. "Yew nev'r sed movin' yer seat wuz allowed... Ah'll have tah rememb'r that..." Then her left eyebrow slowly arched up when seeing Raven lower his head all the way down to the table's level, which led Jayda to roll her eyes and drop her forehead into her palm. "Uuugghhh.... Ah'm doomed now.... yews goin' all sniper mode on meh with this!" Now when Jayda looked over again to find Raven wasn't even looking at the quarter anymore as he ordered more drinks, she definitely knew the game took a serious turn.


Then he flicked the quarter while still looking at Jayda, but Jayda was now watching the coin only to arch both eyebrows high when it struck one of the mugs on the waitress' tray to then fling and plunk! right into the shot glass in front of Jayda. She was genuinely impressed, and just about to compliment him on such a skillful shot... that was until she looked back at Raven and saw that challenging smirk on his face.


Ohhhhh... that look meant war....


Now Jayda kept her eyes locked with his with a rather deadpan looking expression as her fingers dug out the quarter before she tossed the drink back down her throat with a single swallow. With the shot glass slid aside, her fingers now rolled the quarter skillfully back and forth across the tops of her fingers as she pondered on her next shot.


Then a slow grin spread across her face as she carefully pulled out her old revolver from hip holster and gave it a little twirl before flipping the safety switch and setting it carefully on the table. She stuck half of her index finger in her mouth for just a brief second before popping it back out and holding it up in the air while giving it a serious gaze and moving it slowly from side to side before returning her hues back to her challenger. "Dem wind velocit-ees can beh rath'r tricky, ya know..."


She then placed the quarter carefully upon her thumb of her left hand, closing one eye and squinting really hard with the other as her hand slowly shifted left to right, then forward and backward, yet far too high to ever make it into any of the remaining shot glasses. After tedious seconds ticked by, Jayda flipped the coin over the table to begin soaring across the room as her right hand swiftly snatched up her gun and fired a ear shattering shot. The coin had already ricochet off of the wall and was soaring back, yet still over shooting it's target until the bullet clipped the quarter on it's ridged edge for the coin to suddenly spin rapidly in place in mid air to then make a dead drop straight into one of the shot glasses.


Her head turned slowly to look back at Raven with a beaming smile. "That counts, tew, ryght?"

(OCC: Yeah.... I know it's long, but I was having fun this time ><)


Raven kept the smug grin on his face even after Jayda’s usual cheery smile dropped into a deadpan stare at him. This was actually going to be interesting. He just shook his head as Jayda locked her eyes with his while she knocked-back her drink and fished out the quarter. She obviously meant business now. He could tell by the way she was acting that this friendly little game of theirs was about to get a heck of a lot more competitive. Especially since Jayda was rolling the quarter across her knuckles like a mob boss.

It was when a grin finally reappeared on her face that Raven became worried. That was never a good sign, even with someone as sweet as Jayda. He reached down and grabbed a hand full of peanuts to crack open and eat as Jayda did what she did with her finger. He watched with mild amusement and even added, ”That they are, Miss Kinneas,” when she told him about the velocities, putting her own accent on the word.

Finally, she was ready to make her shot. She aimed her quarter and flung it through the air, sending it soaring through the air. Raven could see that the quarter was well over shot. Heck a blind man could see that. When the quarter bounced off the wall, he thought that maybe Jayda just screwed up, when his ears were assaulted with a loud crack! of a pistol that made him start for his own. That’s when he realized it was Jayda’s and the bullet had deftly struck the quarter, sending it tumbling down into the shot glass.

Raven let out a chuckle and said, ”Yeah, that counts too.” He then repeated his previous act of fishing the quarter out and then drinking his shot. He grabbed the quarter and started to line up his shot. Little did he know (which may have been from the alcohol and maybe him just being distracted) was that two out-standing citizens of Balamb’s lower-classed citizenry had made their way through the front door. The two walked into the small pub and approached the bar. Just as they reached it, one of them pulled a gun on the bar tender and tossed a burlap sack at the man as the other pulled out a switch-blade and pointed it at him. The other patrons in the bar either ducked for cover or ran out of the place.

Raven was still oblivious to them when he smiled at Jayda and said, ”I’ll be right back. I need to make a run to the bar for something.” He walked up behind both of the men and pushed through them to the bar. He leaned just a little too far over the bar to reach down and start searching through the utensils. He looked up at the barmaid, who was cowering off in the corner, and asked her, ”Miss? Do you have any spoons?” The girl gave him a terse nod and then a shaky point of the finger towards where the spoons were. Raven gave the man with the switch-blade a gentle shove as he tried to reach the part of the bar where the spoons were. He finally grasped one in his hands and placed it gingerly on the table, just how he would place his own daughters gently into bed. Then he placed the quarter on the handle and pointed the spoon back to the table.

He looked up from his work to see the two men staring at him. He blinked once as he tried to decipher what exactly was happening when the one with the gun shoved it in his face and said, ”Do you think this is funny, buddy? Well? Do ya?”

Raven’s eyebrows furrowed when the boy shoved the gun in his face. He looked the boy straight in the eye and completely ignored what he said. Instead, Raven said to the boy, ”You are blocking my shot. I’m going to politely ask you to move, please.”

The boy with the gun couldn’t believe it! The idiot was threatening the guy with the gun! He was going to have fun killing the idiot… after having his fun with him that is. ”Oh, yeah? Well, what’s goin’ to happen if I don’t?” The boy leaned in, pressing the barrel of the gun to Raven’s cheek.

Raven blinked once before his hand reached up with blinding speed and knocked the gun upwards and grabbing the boy’s wrist. He twisted the wrist and spun the boy around while his other hand reached up and grabbed a handful of the boy’s hair. He slammed the boy’s head across the bar, hitting the spoon and sending the quarter flying through the air. He didn’t even stop to look at it as he turned to face the other boy who was rushing him with his knife. The boy stabbed at Raven’s gut and he side-stepped out of the way, slamming his hand down on the wrist and twisting the knife back up towards the boy’s face. He stopped it barely a hair’s breadth away and asked, ”Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to play with knives?”

The boy squirmed and writhed in pain as Raven walked him over to the bar and said, ”Now, say you are sorry.” The kid looked up to him like he was insane and Raven forced the knife closer, so the blade was pressing on his skin. The boy sputtered out an apology so fast Raven didn’t even think he did it. Then he walked him over to where Jayda was seated and said, ”Now apologize to her for ruining our drinking game.” This time the boy sputtered out the apology before Raven got the opportunity to threaten him. As he apologized, Raven looked at the table. Just as the boy concluded the apology, Raven tossed him aside and said, ”Ha! Didn’t think I made that, but I did!” He gave Jayda a big toothy grin as he swished the quarter around in the shot-glass for her to see.

{{OOC: Mine's a long one too O.o }}


Although Jayda was the competitive sort, she found herself more determined to keep Fury in this light hearted mood rather than winning the shot game.... but there was no need to tell him that. It was obvious having the competition was what amused him, and if that's what it took to see him have a good time once and while, then Jayda was more than happy to keep the game going whether she won or lost. Since the very first day she met him, Raven always seemed lost in heavy thought, or stressing out over his daughters, or always trying to better himself in his skills and weaponry. He needed the fun far more than she did... and little did Jayda know Raven was about to have even more fun when the stragglers ventured into the establishment.


When he smiled before rushing off for the bar for something, Jayda smiled back, but was at a loss for what Raven was after since they had plenty of shot glasses and liquor as it was. As she watched him, it was then Jayda noticed the threat of the two men and one of them already holding out his switch blade. She tried hissing Raven's name to get his attention and warn him, but he was too focused on whatever it was he was after on the other side of the bar. One part of her mind instinctively knew Raven was too smart to be caught off guard, yet there was always that other side that worried too much over the "what if's". She hissed his name again when Raven was aiming the spoon and quarter, but it was too late.... the other scumbag already shoved his gun arrogantly into Raven's face and Jayda's pistol was now aimed dead on at the idiot's head who had the audacity of threatening her drinking partner.


What gave her trigger finger pause was the unexpected amusement of the situation by Raven's reply at the threat. He was that determined to win the damn game!?!? Now, with her free hand facepalming herself, Jayda slowly shook her head with a slight chuckle after hearing the punk's threatening reply. All that was left to do was replace her pistol back in it's holster at her hip and simply enjoy the show.... When seeing the lightning quick movements, Jayda had to giggle at the partner's shocked expression at seeing his thieving companion get his noggin slammed on the bartable. "Ooooooooo now that thar haddah hurt!" But to her surprise, Raven also used the defensive move to fire his quarter across the room towards their shot glasses! Her widened gaze continued to watch Raven as he swiftly disarmed the knife from the second scoundrel before forcing the foolish youth to apologize to the barmaid. It was then Jayda noticed the quarter was about to over shoot it's destination, and would have landed in the bowl of peanuts until her hand shot out and caught it silently, only to swiftly toss it into one of the shotglasses before Raven turned around to bring the thief to their own table to get an apology from the trembling youth as well.


When Raven noticed his victory and was smiling again, Jayda did as well with one thought in her mind that it was well worth losing that round just to see him having so much fun.


With her smile still beaming, Jayda took the shot glass from Raven's hand to fish out the quarter and keep the secret safe as she downed the drink quickly before sitting the glass back down at the table with a playful slam and a challenging gleam within her hazel hues. "Awrigh' thar, Mr. Raven.... now it's mah turn!" After giving a curt nod and a tip of her hat, Jayda side stepped around him, giving the thug he tossed aside on the floor a swift kick to the gut as she sauntered off. "That's fer disruptin' our lil' game!" She smirked a bit with satisfaction when hearing the "oof!" of pain before carefully selecting her aim and targets as she flipped the quarter repeatedly into the air and catching it in her palm without looking at it.


Her expression turned studious as her other hand came up to her chin as if deeply pondering over each random location within the bar, silently calculating her aims as she began pointing in different areas quietly. Finally, she climbed onto the pool table and reached into her back pocket to pull out a small slingshot that appeared aged with years. Carefully placing the quarter within the thick band of rubber, she pulled back the coin as her other hand held the metal handle firmly in her grasp and raised it up with one eye closed and the other narrowed. But she wasn't even facing the table where the shot glasses were. Yet just like in a game of pool, she announced her targets before making her shot. "Metal Award plate o' outstandin' Customer Service, left corn'r wall..... then bankin' off the picture fraym o' Balamb Garden.... then off o' the fourth pan'l o' the cee-lin' fan.... an intah the third shot glass frum yer right..."


Just at the very moment Jayda was about to release the quarter, someone grabbed her rear.... and with a startled shout, her grip released the coin as she spun around by instinct and kicked the greasy hair oaf who dared to sneak a grope. The heel of her boot thwacked him across the jaw and at the end of her spin, Jayda crouched down and snatched up one of the que stick chalks shaped like a square and yanked it quickly into her slingshot, aiming it at the flying quarter that struck the wall behind the bartable instead to ricochet off the table to then spin rapidly into the air. With a loud "thwang!", the slingshot fired again for the blue chalk to go soaring after the quarter, nailing it dead on to beam across the room, then ricochet off of one of the windows while Jayda shot across the pool table to snatch another chalk square. Aiming yet again, she fired within a fraction of a section, striking the quarter at it's side for it's direction to change and spin rapidly towards their table to strike the surface, bounce and spin in mid air, then plunk victoriously into her appointed shot glass.


Even though it didn't go as planned, Jayda whipped off her cowboy hat and gave a joyful leap upon the pool table with a cheerful WHOOT! before blowing at her slingshot as if it were a gun that just fired a successful shot.

Raven chuckled as Jayda moved away from the table and kicked the hoodlum in the stomach. His face twisted with confusion as she began studying the room. What could she possibly be thinking? They were quickly running out of things they could do that was over the top. His brow furrowed deeper when she jumped up on the pool table and pulled out her sling-shot. She pulled back the rubber band with the quarter in it and called out her shot. Fury was so focused on watching her, he didn't see the man come up behind her to sneak a grab at her rear.

As the rubber-band sent the quarter flying through the air and Jayda kicked the man square in the jaw, Raven sent himself in motion. The man stumbled backwards from Jayda's kick and Raven was there to grab him by the shirt collar. He spun the man around and landed a punch square to the man's jaw, sending him sprawling backwards across the bar. Jayda was already correcting her quarter's flight as Raven grabbed the man off the bar and slam him up against the wall. In one fluid motion, he pulled his knife out of it's shoulder holster and jabbed it into the man's sleeve, pinning him to the wall, and scaring him half to death. He forced the man's face up to look at him and said, "Stay," and started to take a few steps away from the man. The man saw how the Raven's eyes had switched from the emerald green to the golden hue and became too afraid to move. Raven smirked and nodded to the man, saying, "Good, Boy."

He turned back to Jayda just in time to see her leap in the air and whoot to the heavens. He didn't even care that their little game had been interrupted again by the sleaze-bag, because seeing Jayda having fun was infectious. It made him want to smile to and he hadn't felt that way in a long time. Raven chuckled and said, "Ok, ok, you got it," before fishing the quarter out and drinking the shot again.

Raven flicked the quarter repeatedly as he looked around the room looking for a target. Finally, his eyes rested upon the man he had pinned to the wall. Raven smirked and flicked the quarter towards him and said, "Hey, Dummy" The man looked up to him and responded with a "Fuck Yo-" just as the quarter reached him. He was cut off by the quarter lodging itself in his throat. The man started to cough and the cough sent the quarter flying back across the room towards the shot glasses. The quarter was going to fall short and Raven noticed it. He reached out and extended his hand in the shape of a gun as his eyes turned to gold again. He lowered his thumb to his index finger like the hammer of a pistol slamming in to fire a round off. The air around his finger became dense with humidity before a bolt of lightning shot out from his finger and struck the quarter. The quarter bounced mid flight from the force and plopped straight into the shot glass.

Raven blinked and his eyes were back to normal before he acted like he holstered his hand. He looked up at Jayda to see that the humidity and static from the lightning had sent her hair standing on end and in all different directions. Raven's smirk turned into a full-blown laugh at the sight as he handed the shot to her.

After Jayda's happy dance and seeing Raven smile and chuckle, she hopped down from the pool table as he fished out the quarter and drank his shot. She hoped he didn't notice her slight stagger, but Jayda quickly regained her balance even through the momentary spinning in her head. Her own chuckling came to an abrupt stop when seeing the very man who previously groped her butt cheek was now pinned to the wall with Raven's knife. In her tipsy stupor, Jayda leaned forward a bit at the pervert with a curios tilt of her head, then looked back over her shoulder at Raven with an awe impressed expression across her face. "Whay Raven.... yew gotta teach meh that thar trick!"


Seeing that he was thinking of the next way to out do her, Jayda remained quiet, yet as studious as possible through her slightly drunken state. But seeing Raven approach the groping sot wasn't expected. Yet when he shoved the quarter into his mouth and made him cough it out, Jayda erupted into a fit of giggles, only to gasp suddenly in surprise at Raven's creative use of magic through his gun hand. She applauded wildly at his successful shot and even took the shot glass with a formal bow. "Whay Ah dew believe Ah've been outmatch'd, Meester Raven!" With a quick toss of her head, she drank down the next shot of alcohol, but as she leveled her head again, a sudden dizzy spell took over, leading her feet to stagger again. She didn't even realize the coin was now in her own mouth from forgetting to fish it out of the glass first.


Another bout of giggles escaped her until Jayda saw her reflection against a bronze award plate hanging on the wall, yet her fuzzy vision didn't comprehend it was herself, and she shrieked in alarm. It was all a simultaneous act of accidents, blessed by the fates of drunken stupors. Her shout of fright by her own hairy appearance cause the quarter that was in her own mouth to fly out across the room just as her hand swiped her revolver from its holster to shoot what Jayda thought was hideous fiend reflection that some how snuck into the bar!


The bullet naturally ricochet off of the bronze plate and nicked the quarter soaring through the air to miraculously plunk into one of the remaining shot glasses still sitting on their table. Jayda went completely still, staring wide eyed at the glass for a few silent moments before slowly turning her frizzed out head to Raven. With a swaying motion of her gun, she gave him a lopsided grin and chuckled. "Ah meant tah dew that!"

Raven was beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol when he took another look at Jayda's hair and burst into laughter. He just couldn't take her seriously when her hair was standing on end and she stared at him with a thousand-yard stare. It didn't help that her usually bubbly personality was multiplied by the effects of the alcohol and she was giggling and smiling left and right. She tilted the drink back and dropped the quarter down her throat along with the whiskey. His smile grew wider as he realized her usual southern drawl was pulled out even longer, making her speech long and slow. She was definitely feeling pretty good at that point in time, but she wasn't going to be that way in the morning.

He was just going to suggest they leave when she screamed at the top of her lungs and shot a plague on the wall. The bullet pinged off the plague and struck the quarter, plopping it down in the shot glass. What Jayda didn't see was that the bullet kept going and struck the owner of the bar in the rear-end. He howled and hollered as Jayda nonchalantly swung her pistol in the air and assured him that she meant to do what she had just done. Raven smirked and rolled his eyes at her as he grabbed the shot-glass and pulled out the quarter as the bartender walked over to their table. He kicked back the shot just as the bartender reached their table and began raising hell about how they were tearing his place apart and that they needed to leave immediately. Raven just shook his head and stood up. He put his arm under Jayda's and lifted her up out of her chair to help her out the door. "Come on, Miss Kinneas. We gotta get you home before Shade kicks my ass for taking her daycare provider away."

Once outside, Raven realized they couldn't take the truck they came in. They sure as hell weren't going to drive back to the Garden so he decided they were going to walk. And so they began to gimp down the street towards the Garden again.

And finally!! .....a whole hearted laugh from Mr. Raven! And the whole time he laughed, naturally, Jayda erupted into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. Unfortunately, their humor was short lived when the hot headed bar tender arrived, scolding them about his arse and demanding they leave the establishment. Still.... Jayda snuck out another delirious giggle or two as Raven had to assist her onto her unstable feet, yet she still somehow managing to swipe one if the liquor bottles from the table before they left.


Now outside, Jayda spun about a few times looking this way and that, yet unable to locate where she had parked the obviously enormous utility vehicle covered in mud sitting just a few yards away. On a much later sober moment, she would most likely blame the sun being in her eyes for not seeing it right there in front of her.... "Awwwwww shuck-ah-tash! Truck mustah been tow'd off.... Guess'in we're ah gonna beh waulkin' back, Rav'n!" With her first few steps awkwardly shuffling, Jayda managed to find her balance and led the way out of the small fishing town.


During the wobbly treck back to the Garden, Jayda offered Raven what was left of the whiskey bottle she had taken from the bar. She figured he paid for it; they weren't about to leave it behind. Conversation consisted of either guns, because Jayda found the ones Raven spoke of from the world of Cacoon to be absolutely fascinating, or they spoke often of Raven's two little girls and what silly little antics those two came up during the week.


They were just about half way to the Garden complex when the ground beneath them began to shake. At first, Jayda thought the trembling was a large vehicle heading their way and began looking all around, but found it rather odd that there was no sound of an approaching engine getting any closer as the ground shook with more force. "Well wut in tarnations issah goin' on 'ere? Are the werms drunk tew!?" Just then, the source revealed itself as a very large hand exploded from the ground and began flopping around as if trying to reach for something.


Jayda's bright eyes went wide like a kid in a candy store and headed right for it.... chattering her enthusiasm along the way...


"Ooooohh! Look'it, Raven!! Iss'ah Lefty! Yew got tah re-serchin' the bestiary o' this 'ere world yet? This 'ere be part o' the Vysage fiend!" Once she reached the enormous stone like hand, Jayda managed to keep away from its grasp, giggling the whole time until the tipsy gunner boldly reached out and grasped one of it's fingers into her hand and began shaking it like a common friendly gesture between friends. "Whay howdy, Mr. Vysage! Nice tah meet'cha tew! But yew sure be a long way frum home! How'dya geyt all the way out 'ere? An' where beh yer partn'r?? Little did Jayda realize Raven was trying to quietly warn Jayda to get away from the threat without pissing the damn thing off....


Just then, the right hand popped up through the ground several feet away, and just like with the left one, Jayda skipped off to that one too with a giddy pace. "Ohhhhhh! There yah are!" And just like with the first, Jayda just had to shake a finger to Righty too... "How'dya'dew, Righty! Ah'mma thinkin' yew tew is quite lost in these 'ere parts! Hey now! Watch where them fingers be tuchin'! Nonono....don' be tuchin' the bum! That'sah nono!" And once again, Jayda was completely clueless of Raven hissing her name and warnings while desperately trying to wave her to come back.


Suddenly, the mummy looking stone head exploded through the ground in-between the two hands with a horrible threatening moan. Jayda looked back at Raven with a slight sway in her stance, yet still found the whole unexpected arrival to be rather humorous. "Ya know.... Ah always tried tellin' Shadey that a Vysage is jus' all grumpy layk, cuz the poor darn thing is in need of a desperate manicure!" Just as she turned back around, the head was in the process of conjuring a quake spell with it's massive hands just as Jayda gave it's forehead a sound thwack! with her hand. "Oh-yew-stop-dat-it's-nawt nyce!!" Her other hand reached up and grabbed her lopsided cowboy hat to put it on the Vysage's head as she giggled again. "Thar ya go! Maybe that'll cheer ya up!"


By this time, no doubt Raven was face palming himself by the time the Quake spell began to erupt around them.....

And there it was...

Raven knew the night was going to well. There just had to be something that went wrong to make it difficult for them. It seemed like whenever he finally started to have fun, something came up that sent him right back to work. Though it seemed that Jayda wasn't letting the monster dampen her spirits, much to Raven's dismay. He did everything short of shout at her to try to get her away from the beast and she just wouldn't listen. He couldn't help but chuckle at the stumbling way she greeted the Vysage. He hadn't gotten to brush up on the local fauna on the world yet like Jayda had asked, but he could tell just by looking at it that this beast was no moogle.

Raven only had enough time to reach out and grab Jayda before the quake spell shot out towards them. He tossed her aside so that she wouldn't be hit by it and was struck in the back by the earth-element spell. He tumbled across the ground and struck his back against a nearby tree. He staggered to his feet, which was made even more difficult with the added alcohol, and stared at the beast. It may have been just the alcohol, but he could have sworn Righty and Lefty were flipping him the bird.

Raven reached for his pistol in its holster on his leg and drew it up to aim at the beast. Suddenly, the beast became three, which led to him swearing about him luck under his breath. He began firing his pistol repeatedly at the trio, but the bullets seemed to be having any affect. This was actually because not a single bullet was striking the ghastly ghoul. He became furious with his inability to hurt the beast and once again, his eyes struck gold. He dropped his pistol to the ground and stared at the beast with golden-speckled eyes as it moaned a frightening moan at him. He raised his right arm at the beast, revealing his normal tattoo there was glowing in a deep purple light. He thrust his arm upward and the Vysage, Righty, and Lefty all tore up out of the ground, revealing a body much too small to support the three appendages.

Raven stared at the floating monster for a long moment before bursting into laughter. He never laughed so hard in his life at something so stupid, but here he was laughing his head off. The vysage seemed less than amused by the laughter and while floating in the air, began to conjure up another quake spell to throw at him. Fury noticed this through bouts of laughter and gave a dismissive wave to the beast, sending it soaring off through the air to disappear in the distance.

He continued to laugh at the vysage for a while longer until he finally composed himself. When he walked over to Jayda his eyes were back to normal and his tattoo wasn't glowing anymore. He helped her back to her feet and they continued on their way back to the Garden. "I still can't believe... pfffft... that... he was so TINY BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

Jayda let out a startled whoop! when Raven suddenly snatched her arm and pulled her away from the irritated fiend, yet she was still giggling hysterically at the whole stuation. Even when seeing how serious Raven was trying to be when he pulled out his pistols and tried to aim.... while staggering a bit here and there....and blinking a whole hell of a lot.... with his arms swaying around..... "Ahhhhhhh litt'l tew the left!! Nonono... more tew the right!!" Jayda honestly thought she was helping, even though her shouting directions to Raven's aim only made it more difficult for him to concentrate.


Wait.... she had guns too!!


With a yelp of excitement, Jayda reached for her own guns at her hips, yet her fumbling fingers dropped the left one. Then trying to re-load them while holding both guns at the same time was quite the challenge when everything decided to spin around her at that point. By the time Jayda got a single bullet into at least one chamber, there were at least six bullets fallen at her feet. So while Raven began shooting wildly at the Vysage, Jayda was mumbling various curses under her breath while chasing rolling bullets around the ground. Then she happen to glance at the fiend after catching some of her ammo to see the damn thing flipping Raven off with both hands and she broke out in hysterical laughter. "Whay Ah nev'r knew they culd do dat!!"


Well, apparently that was enough to tick Raven off and his powers ignited eventhough Jayda knew he really dispised relying on them. "He mus' beh really drunk!" But this time, they proved quite useful for a good laugh! When the creture popped right out of the ground, revealing the true size of it's body. Jayda laughed so hard she completely lost her balance and fell back on her rump. As far as she knew, no one had ever attempted to research what lied beneath a Vysage, not that it was ever really possible to do so, but leave it to Raven with the accidental ability to reveal the creature in all it's comical vulnerabilty. But the best victory was seeing Raven break out in hysterical laughter again. Totally worth the inconvenient encounter of a fiend.


Now being helped back up on her feet, Jayda was howling with laughter right with him as she staggered her way to where the creature was ripped out of the ground to retrieve her hat. Bending down to pick it up and stand straight again proved quite a challenge as her feet went sideways this way and that while spinning about. "Ah ain't updatin' the creature logs as tah what ELSE is so TINY on dat dar thang!" Realizing she announced her thoughts out loud, Jayda's eyes went wide as she slapped her hand over her mouth from saying something so boldly as Brix would. Little did she realize her cheeks went as red as a Ruby Dragon, too. Either she needed to invest in duct tape, or learn to keep her hand over her mouth when she drank, lest she say anything else that made her want to plop her head into the ground like a scared chocobo!

Raven let out a howl of laughter as Jayda's face turned beat-red. She slapped her hand over her mouth as Raven doubled over with laughter. He stumbled and tumbled over onto the ground he was laughing so hard. He looked up from the ground to see the embarrassment still spread across Jayda's face and his brow furrowed, ending the laughter. He staggered back to his feet and straightened himself out in front of her. He pried her hand away from her mouth and held it open in his hand for a moment before slapping the now almost empty bottle of whiskey into her palm and wrapping her fingers around the neck of it. He stared at her for a long moment, trying to look into her eyes, but finding it extremely difficult since she had ten eyes now and they all kept moving. "Don't... don't think. Just drink." He gave her a big toothy smile when he realized the rhyme in his own quip.

"Now, come on, we still have a ways to go." he said as he started to walk along in the dark. He quickly realized that he got turned around when fighting the vysage and didn't know which way he was going. He couldn't let Jayda know he was lost, though, so he picked a random direction and started off. They walked for a while again, talking about simple things and people they knew. Raven liked hearing her talk about the three girls and her brother as children. Especially since the stories always brought a laugh from her.

Suddenly, Raven realized that they were in an open field. He looked around and also noticed dozens of pairs of beedy-black eyes staring at them. They were completely surrounded by large, yellow chocobos. Which gave Raven an idea.

Though he had ridden a chocobo before on the surface of Pulse, it had been a long time and he probably couldn't even do it sober. He figured he could get them back to the Garden faster than them walking if they were on the back of a chocobo. He slowly approached one of the yellow chocobos and held his hand out to it. The wild chocobo seemed apprehensive to his hand, but Raven didn't notice, he just kept approaching the chocobo until he was soo close to touching it. His hand barely brushed the chocobo's beak and...

WAAAAAAARK!

The chocobo screeched before standing up and pecking Raven on his head. He cussed at the bird which rewarded him with another peck to the head. He turned to Jayda and shrugged, which earned him several pecks to the back of his head. He swung around and smacked the chocobo on it's beak and said, "Will you stop that? I was just trying to be your friend." The bird sqwuacked again and reared back to peck him again, but he dodged it that time. He spared a glance to Jayda and said, "Maybe we should get moving before Mr. Nasty over here gets any angrier."