Selphie yay!s, and takes her cup. "Thankee," she chirps to the cowboy, sipping
the drink immediately afterwards, attention turning back to Aerith and the
others. Hope it's not spiked, IRVINE. c_c And then Kain comes up! Agh! She
wavewaves to him -quietly-, gasp, simply because he's not as cool, in her
book, as Cyan. Tch! A pause, and then Selphie hops up to her tiptoes, to
whisper something Irvine-wards. c_c She wants her video-cameraaaaa.

"No, don't..." Squall stammers low, as Raine steps away from him. The impression
of his evening crashing about him like broken glass is acute in his eyes, and
he shakes his head, aware that dancers are trying to waltz around the
stationary pair. Don't what, Squall? He takes a step... back. Old habits die
hard.

Bleak nods in acknowledgement to Kain, "Good eve, Sir Dragoon..." unfortunatly
while he cna pick up the need for an introduction... he has no way of knowing
who needs introduction. Things are also getting a bit uncomfortable for him...
which shows briefly before he seals all emotion and reaction away... taking
the Dragoon's appearance as a good distration to move away from the group.

Raine glances back to him. Though she doesn't say anything, the questioning
expression is clear on her face. What did he say?

Rinoa smiles brightly at Aerith, "I hope you enjoy your stay at Garden. It's
really a nice place. If you haven't had a tour yet, then I'd be happy to give
you one sometime after the party. I volunteered to give Bleak one, too."
Irvine would never spike the punch. Sheesh, he's got a reputation, but not for
that. He prefers his women willing *without* intoxication. He casually sips
his own glass of punch before hmming? at Selphie and leaning down slightly to
listen. "You want what?"
      
Aerith says, "Well... you know, this entire place is just so familiar, I've been
wanting to ask someone. Who built it?" She tilts her head the other way, still
smiling, if not quite as luminously bright as before. And now she's paying
most if not QUITE all of her attention to Rinoa; she might be able to answer
this question for her. And hey, she risks her life in... sixteen hours, not
like she has time to kill.

Selphie sigh!s quietly, not being heard properly the first time -- and repeats,
even putting on a little pouty face. "A video cameraaa~." A brief pause later
reveals a wide smile, though, as she takes a largish and quick sip of her cup,
before setting it down on the table. The girl then moves to take -Irvine's-
cup, and set it down, too. "C'mere! I almot forgot!" It's -not- about the
video camera, but heck, it sounds like it. Selphie is about to drag you again,
Irvine -- yuhoh.

Squall takes a breath, and shakes his head. "Not here. Some other time," he
tells Raine. It's a promise, not a putoff. He's surrounded by people, and
feeling like running. So turn he does, stalking out of the crowd. If Raine
follows, fine, he's not running from her. But... the crowds didn't help.

Anibell is a -fast- learner, apparently, just a little... unconfident. She does
enjoy the dance, though, when she's not staring at her feet, making sure she's
not stepping on Farrells. c_c;

Rinoa hmms and sighs, "I really don't know who built it. I know that headmaster
Cid made it into Garden. It was... well... a shelter or something before that.
I'm not a student here, so I haven't heard the history. I'm sorry. But I'll
ask around and see if anyone knows more."

Watching Selphie put her cup down, then his, Irvine has a confused expression on
his face. Uh oh... prepare for dragging. Comencing in five... four... The
gunman tries not to sigh, though he is slightly exasperated. Is he gonna have
to kiss her again? (Not that he'd mind that.)
      
Kain takes the opportunity now, "Ms. Aerith, may I have the pleasure?" He
extends his hand in her direction. This is a definite dance invite.

Bleak makes good use of the vaunted "Ninja Stealth" to unobtrusivly make an
exit. Mental prayers go out to the deities he worships that he is not
noticed...

Aerith mmms, and nods quietly. "Well, if I see you around, I'll be sure to ask
what you've found out." She smiles again, a little sadly. She can't just stay
here, unfortunately... her mother would kill her. She folds her hands behind
her back and looks upwards, peering at the sky quietly. And then blinks at
Kain again. "Excuse me?" She smiles pleasantly, if a little confusedly.

Raine blinks and is left behind rather confused. She doesn't follow, she just
watches him walk and leave before she turns to walk to a table. She sits down
in a chair, lying on arm along the table near her and seems to think silently.

Kain smiles, and explains, "Would you care to dance, Aerith?"

Rinoa nods and smiles, "I'll see what I can find out." She sighs, "For now,
though, I have to see how Angelo is doing. It was nice to meet you. I hope to
see you soon." She, too, then disappears into the crowd.

Aerith tilts her head slightly, looking puzzled. "Have we met?" She waves to
Rinoa as she heads off, and then continues to look quizzical at this strange
tall blond man.

Farrell chuckles slightly as progress is being made. "You catch on pretty
quick," he says as he throws in another move. And since this player hasn't the
slightest idea about anything regarding dancing, let's just say it was
semi-fancy and may actually be a surprise to his partner. (Shrug)

Selphie isn't dragging poor Irvy to -someone-, this time, no...! But she -does-
drag him, nonetheless. Well, for a few seconds, anyway -- eventually clearing
her throat, pausing in her steps. "--Ahem. Outta the waa~aaay!" It doesn't
really clear a path, but Selphie starts with a new vigor, tugging Irvine alll
the way. Heh heh heh. Seems she's heading to an isolated table off to the
side, with a largish cloth over whatever is -on- the table. Hrm~.
Alright, so much for Social Experiment Squall #2. As usual, it ends with the
subject departing swiftly with his head in a whirl. Keeping to the perimeter
in case anyone tries to nab him again, he beats a retreat, slowed only by
noticing Bleak sneaking away in much the same manner.

Uh oh... what in the world is Selphie up to? Irvine follows along faithfully,
trusting that whatever it is, it's not something to be worried about... too
much. Blue eyes flicker over the table and the cloth covering it. "Huh. What's
under there?" Duh, cowboy, more then likely she's about to show you.
      
Aerith says, "Oh yes..." She nods, placing the face and identity. "You were the
one who could jump very high, yes? Tell me, do you have any relatives named
Cid?"

Aerith says, "Oh..." She shrugs a bit, smiling slightly. "I know a man named Cid
Highind.. he.. looks a little bit like you."

Raine sits alone at her table, a hand brushing over the table cloth as she
stares at her fingers brushing over the material. She looks slightly upset,
not particularly sad, but she's not smiling and also the fact she's separated
herself from everyone else would indicate that she's not happy or having a
good time.

Kain looks odd, "He shares my name? I wonder...if through the centuries...before
the convergances...he could be...my descendant?"

Mwa ha ha ha. Selphie stops by the table, and flips the table-cloth off of it,
revealing a largish catering-type box. Hm! "It's this -cool- idea I got from
this -awesome- video game...!" She flips the lid open, revealing lotsa little
mini-slices of cake. What is she UP to? "Help me find someone to help pass
these out!" Hrm. c_c

Aerith says, "It could be..." She leans up a little, squinting at Kain's face.
Hm. "You look a little like him... he's shorter, though, and older." And how
could someone's descendant be older than them, after all? "It's probably just
a coincidence. Or maybe he got adopted."

Kain smiles, "My offer still stands," He's trying to turn things back to
dancing. Which is less confusing.

From a video game, huh? Irvine has to just stop for a moment and stare at the
number of 'mini-slices'. Huh. He blinks, realizing she just said something,
"Pass them out?" Oh sure, guess who automatically just volunteers.... "I can
help you with that." Of course, one look at the crowd from over his shoulder
makes him mutter, "And we'll be here all night too."
      
Aerith opens her mouth to speak - but Selphie returns! With goodies. So she
smiles apologetically and looks over at them, ducking and moving to one side
as needed to get a clear view at the snacky treats.

Laguna walks in casually, still with the same attire people are used to seeing
him in. He notices everyone in the room, one by one, and walks toward Squall
first, although silent for right now. He takes notice of Raine for a long
while before he catches himself and abrubtly looks away.

Selphie shakes her head, giggling. "No -way-! That's why I told you to find
someone. If people overhear 'cake,' we won't need to do alot of work." In
fact, Irvy doesn't have to do a -thing-! A random group of Cadets approach,
wondering what's going on. "Hey! Help me pass these out to everyone, okay?
Make sure everyone gets one! Even if hate cake, or happen to be lactose
intolerant!" Hrm. c_c She takes one slice especially, grinning at Irvine.
"This is gna kick -total- butt!" Bwahaha.

Squall, stalking his way out of the Quad, slows as Laguna arrives. Especially
since the man seems to be coming right at him. And, as usual, the Loire
Younger looks... upset, displeased, sulking, stressed... it's the Squall Mix.
But he lifts a hand (gasp) to Laguna, muttering, "Hi. I... want to talk to you
soon. But I have some work to do."

Kain takes this silent rejection with grace, and follows the food.
Laguna nods sternly at Squall. "Sure thing." It's still a bit awkward, but he
enjoys every time he sees him. Even if it only is about business, it's good to
talk to him too.

Anibell seems well enough! She's not confused by Farrells moves at all! She's a
natural, indeed. However! Despite the fact it's not midnight, a watch on her
wrist -chimes-. Not loud, but it does -chime-. She -gasps-! "Ohmygoodness!"
Breaking away from him, she starts melding back into the crowd, "I'm sorry, I
gotta go!" No shoe is left behind, but she does drop... her hair bow! GASP.
She's runnin', man.

Selphie with cake is a frightening concept to Irvine. He can't quite put his
finger one *why* except that sticky frosting used to be a temptation for her
during their childhood... and he still remembers her chasing him around to
'paint' him with it. Oh yeah, that would be why.

Likely the one high point in Squall's evening, and he grins faintly at Laguna
and nods. Weeeeird. "Uhm, about tomorrow's battle... I don't..." he lifts a
hand to scratch his neck (what a familiar gesture) and frowns deeper. "It's
going to be dangerous," he finally sums up, dodging his worry.

Aerith joins the bustling crowd and takes a piece of cake when it becomes
proffered. Mmm, caaaaake.

Kain looks at the cake like it's something from the moon. "What in the world is
that?"

Kain takes a piece of cake. "Nice cake."
      
Selphie moves her head in a 'follow me' motion to Irvy, and holds the cake up
high over her head as she weaves through the crowd. The group of Cadets waste
no time in helping themselves, then passing out the other slices -- somehow,
there's -just- enough to go around, and no one takes 2. Ahhh, the wonderful
life of Garden. o_o; Selphie is -scanning- the room like a hawk, looking for
someone in particular... Hrmmm... Bumping into a few people on the way, she
-almost- drops the precious slice. c_c; But -- Ah! Squall! There he is! He's
trying to escape. c_c; Irvine might find it -hard- to follow, since she's much
smaller, and now weaving through the crowd as if her life depended on it. Once
close enough, she waaaves her free hand. "Squaaall! Wait, wait, -wait-!"
Hoahboy.

Farrell notices the dropped item after a brief moment of shock, looking down at
it and still trying to piece together what had just happened. Once it hits
him, he realizes that it's not to be unexpected. Picking the hair bow up, he
quickly makes his way through the crowd after Anibell, but the chances are
that he'll never even find out where she went. At least he'll have a new hair
bow. ;)
Ah! And Selphie -doesn't- notice Laguna on her way, by the by. c_c

Ward steps in the door to the Quad and peers about a bit, watching the general
revelry and grinning. It's been a while since he's been at a party of any
kind. It's not that he doesn't get invited, he's just been in Midgar for a
while, and that's not conducive to parties, trust me. ^_^

"Yes, it is." Laguna gives him a slight smile. "And I'm aware of the
consequences. Was that what you wanted to talk to me about?" A slight glance
around and he notices Ward walking in; giving him a nod and grin, if he
notices.

Indeed, Irvine tries to follow but eventually loses Selphie to the crowd. He
tries to peer over the tops of everyone's heads, but he's only so tall, after
all, and Selphie is excessively short. Shaking his head, he weaves his way
back toward the refreshment area, figuring eventually she'll realize he's
missing. That or he might actually spot her somewhere.

Aerith nibbles at her cake and wanders about, looking up at the Big Glowing
Floaty Donut up above Garden. Sigh... the entire place just seems so familiar,
but at the same time so... so different. It's -clean-. And -nice-. Even the
Gold Saucer had that sort of furtive scumminess to it.
      
Squall shakes his head at Laguna's question. "No, I just don't --" and then he
hears Selphie's woild cry. Frowning and looking back, he spies her advancing.
"No, it's about something else." Guess full explanations come later, in
private, as he watches the weird girl bear down on him with... cake?

Farrell failed in his attempt. Ah well. Does he look hurt? Nah.. just
disappointed. Partly with the fact that he now has something that doesn't
belong to him and with very little means of returning it. At least for now.
Anyway, he pockets the bow and looks around to get a grip on where he is in
the quad. Oh yeah, not far from the refreshments. Now he'll have some. Next
stop: Drinks!

Laguna notices the approaching and hysterical Selphie show up. Since she doesn't
notice, he bows his head slightly at Squall and turns to face the crowd.
Again, his eyes fall on Raine... and they stay there this time. . o 0(I knew I
shouldn't have come. I'm endangering the mission...)
[Garden] Card Captor Julia  will get Mankind to help you out, Vinnie..

Cake, indeed! She also doesn't notice the missing Irvine, but she'll find him
soon enough. Huffpuff, huffpuff. As if Laguna wasn't there -- don't worry,
we'll get there -- she holds out the slice to Squall, looking -way- too happy
for even her -own- good. "You're not -leaving-, are you? Here, just don't
leave yet! Okay? We're having a contest!" Note that she hasn't told anyone
-else- of this 'contest.' "Whoever gets the toy coin in their cake is gonna be
the king or queen of the festival!" Beam. Giggle. Hoahboy. "Good luck!"
Turning, she -means- to head towards the Stage. However, a Laguna nearby
rather grabs her attention, and she -stops-. -Gaaaaaasp-. Run,b oy. Run.
"S-s-sir Laguna...!" Wide-eyed, fan-girlish... She didn't notice him at the
meeting the other night, and... well, she's never seen him -young- before. *_*

Squall takes the offered cake and eyes it numbly, as if wondering what to do
with it. There's a feeling of... denoument after expecting to be asked to
*dance* *again* by the overbearing Selphie. He can't help but feel a tiny bit
relieved, and he nibbles at his cake, glancing to the door and starting for it
again.

Farrell finds himself leaning up against yet -another- wall after all has been
said and done. Except this time he has.. a beverage! With that in mind,
he's... drinking it! Holy hell! The pinnacle of tonights events, to be sure.
Isolation is being his friend tonight, it appears. And he likes it.

And before Squall can really take off, he frowns and peers at his cake. Nibbled
a bite in and something bumped his teeth. Poking a bit at the confection, he
frowns as he tugs a plastic disk out. Glancing over his shoulder at Selphie,
he looks puzzled.

Arriving just as Farrell appears to be leaving the table, Irvine actually
quickens his pace a little to catch up with him. Holy cow, he had forgotten
all about him, and his escort too um... that guy, Bleak! Feeling slightly
guilty for it, he unwittingly disturbs Farrell's moment of isolation. "Hey,
lost you tonight."

Aerith just demolishes her cake quietly in little nibbles, while looking up at
the summer sky and the bright pulsing torus of light above the Garden. It's
not fireworks, but it's still nice.

Kain hmms in thought. He looks over Selphie's way. Then at Squall, whom she
accosted. He has noticed Squall's demeanor...and given Selphie's...he suddenly
grins wickedly.

Laguna turns sharply as his name is called and whispers to himself. "Sir
Laguna?" He notices Selphie and grins. "Oh, hi!"

Farrell looks over at Irvine as he speaks to him, letting a few seconds pass by
before replying. "Who are you again?" he asks, pointing at him with one finger
from the hand holding the cup. "Oh yeah, you're that.. guy." Yum.. Sarcasm.

Selphie pulls herself away from Sir Laguna, motioning for him to hold on -- whom
she will get to sign her Movie Poster of The Sorceresses Knight later -- and
blinks to Squall. Given his facial expression, and spotting the little coin,
she -beam!-s. n_n "Hee~eey! Squall, -wow-! You're gonna be the -King- of the
-Festival-!" Clapping happily, she hops back in front of him. "Whoohooooo~!
What're the -odds-?" Yeah, what ARE the odds, Selphie? -She- delivered his
cake, and no one elses. c_c

Kain laughs evilly. He then gets the "I was right" smug look on his face.

Aerith gives Kain a startled look. And then... smiles weakly, before kinda
edging away from the refreshment table area. Nnh.. no evil laughter... c.c Kya
ha ha and Gya ha ha are bad enough.

Squall stares at her, then the coin, and looks remarkably like he regrets not
swallowing the plastic thing. "Uh." Nice acceptance speech there. Mentally
kicking himself, he manages a wan grin. "Right, uhm, thanks, Selphie." Sure,
it's a gift, he gets to keep the coin and go about his business. He nods,
once, and turns back on his mission to get out of this madness.

Irvine squints at Farrell with one eye, frowning slightly, "Sorry, I didn't mean
to... oh hell." Crossing his arms over his chest he just kinda stands there
and *looks* at Farrell for a moment, "You gonna sit there and sulk?"
      
Raine raises her head after thinking for this long, she's decided to stop
sitting alone and except the fact that she was never good at going to parties
and dances. She stands to push in her chair before she begins leaving the
table, her hands idly fidgeting briefly with the collar of her dress as she
walks.

Kain turns to Aerith, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to offend you...I just
completely saw what happened to Squall coming. He's anti-social. Selphie is a
social butterfly...so she's going to force him to open up." Selphie's evil
plan has been laid bare for Aerith's aprooval.

Farrell smiles, bringing the cup back toward him and then to his lips, taking a
sip from it. "I, my friend," he begins after swallowing the beverage, "am not
-sulking-. In fact, I'm observing.. and having a damn good time doing it, too.
I don't know if you've noticed this or not.." he leans in toward Irvine and
says in a quieter tone, "I don't exactly know the majority of these people..
therefore, 'mingling' is not in my vocabulary tonight. If I had a choice, I
wouldn't be here.. but I live up to my word." Sheesh.

Selphie's job is done. Oh yes, it is -- she's delivered the coin to Squall, so.
She'll let him go, waving brightly. "Bye~ee!" Heh heh heh. Okay. Where was
she, now? --Oh, YES. Sir -Laguna-. Beaming! his way, she clapclaps her hands,
bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Ohmygosh, ohmygosh! Before you leave, will
you sign something for me~? Pleee~eeease?" It occurs to her that if Irvine did
this to someone, she'd drag him off by the ear. Oh well. "Pleasepleaseplease?"
--Hey. Where -is- Irvine? In mid begging, she glances around for him. c_c

Laguna follows Selphies movements with wide eyes. "What the-... Sure." he
responds. Then he follows her head in looking around the area. Maybe I'll help
her look for whatever-... Raine! He can't keep his eyes off of her this time.
Everything went blank.

Irvine is off talking to Farrell, actually, and if Selphie were to stand on
someone's shoulders, or step onto a chair, she might spot the hat. Otherwise,
the cowboy is nowhere to be seen. Snerting at Farrell's comments he replies,
"You know, if you don't mingle, you're not going to meet anyone. I didn't
realize you were such a sourpuss, Farrell." Then again, Irvine was the Mr.
Social-Prettyboy back when they were kids too, he's just forgotten.

Selphie whoohoo!'s happily, thrusting a fist in the air. XD "Booyaka!" She will
plot further about Laguna's demise at a later date -- now... to find Irvine!
Which she doesn't really feel like doing. She starts to say farewell! to
Laguna, but... he's looking elsewhere. Siiiiigh. *_* Ahem. She hops a few feet
away, and rather than move around and look... She opts to just stand where she
is, hands on her hips, and... shout. n_n "--Irrrviii~iiine!" Sigh... Can't
take her anywhere.

Raine continues walking to leave the quad...though along the way, she notices
Selphie, all gitty and hyper that she is. Raine tilts her head slightly as she
smiles a little. She does, catch sight of something familar and stops walking
before she turns further to see who Selphie is speaking to. Raine blinks a
little in surprize before she takes a step toward Laguna. "Hi."
      
Farrell wasn't really being a sourpuss before, but he is now.. no thanks to
Irvine, of course. "Listen, man.. I'm only being myself.. if I were to go out
there and just introduce myself, it wouldn't be me. Besides, I wouldn't want
to steal the spotlight from you." He looks away for a moment, then back at
Irvine.. daggers right for the eyes. "You were always in the spotlight..
leaving me off to the side to watch." In a lighter, carefree tone: "And that's
how I've grown. To be by myself. If someone wants to know me, they'll
introduce themselves. Kinda like Selphie, there. We met by chance, not by
design. So get over it."
      
Aerith just.... blinks, several times, at Kain. And smiles, gently. "Really."
n.n; She goes over to pour herself some punch, and hopes quietly that it's
spiked. Ideally with something strong. c.c

A moment of straight silence from Laguna until finally, "B-bu.... I ..... uh
.... you know. Uh... I... uh just." He sighs and takes a deep breath in. "Hi!"
he exclaims with a smile pasted on his face. Okay, where's the cramp?

Kain nods at Aerith. However...he seems to have decided that after the evil
laugh mistake, she will no longer wish his company. Elegant being that he is,
he doesn't force himself. He then walks off in Selphie's direction.

Raine tilts her head at Laguna's behavior before she shakes it with an amused
smile. She rights her head, "What are you doing here?"

Slightly surprised by Farrell's stinging words, Irvine doesn't reply right away,
merely glaring at him for a moment. Finally, he just shrugs, "Have it your way
then... have fun in my shadow, 'rell." He turns away, shoving his hands into
the pockets of his duster as he walks away from his childhood friend. That
just about wrecked an otherwise lovely evening. Then comes a small voice
calling his name... what now? He tilts the hat back again, glancing around for
the source of the voice.
Finally a cadet walks past him and points him in Selphie's direction, "Your
girlfriend's looking for you. *snicker*"

See, she knew it'd work. So there. She gives up after another call, deciding
that he'll find her, now. Crossing her arms, she rocks back and forth on her
heels. Head bobbing to music... in her -head, Selphie idly plot^H^H^H^Hwonders
how she'll get Squall to wear a fake, gaudy, plastic crown...
      
"A.... a meeting. I think... Yeah, a meeting." Aha! There's the cramp in
Laguna's leg. He's to the point of timing it before it occurs. Especially
recently. *pause* "How do you like it here so far?"
      
Kain walks up to Selphie. "Lady Selphie? May I have a word?"

Raine nods and seems oblivious to the cramp...since he's not limping or grasping
it in pain, "It's nice here. Everyone is more friendly and polite than back in
Midgar." She pauses for a moment while redirecting her eyes before looking
back to him and asking, "How long are you going to be here at the Garden?"

Finally relocating Selphie, Irvine arrives at her side just as Kain finds her.
He pauses, turning slightly to look at the Dragoon too, somewhat defensively.
*growl* Does he have to chase off another AYB, er, or something like that.
He's not in the best of moods suddenly and it's hard to hide.
      
Farrell grits his teeth, glaring at the back of Irvine's head, trying to set it
on fire with his mind. Irvine was only partly responsible for ruining
Farrell's life, so one night is pretty insigificant considering that much. And
the whole reminder of what past he shared with Irvine regarding the feeling of
being left out of things time and time again makes him snap."Dammit!" he
yells, throwing his cup to the ground and turning a few heads. Stomping away
from the table, he's headed for the exit, looking as if he's ready to knock
the crap out of anyone that gets in his way.

Selphie blinks at a voice! Irvine! Beaming towards Kain, she -- "Not Irvine,"
she says, audibly. o_o "Uhm." Seemingly, she has to -think- about her response
for a moment, but... hey! Beaming in the other direction -- "Yes Irvine!"
Whoohoo, score. Mad Irvine. "I leave you alone for like, 3 minutes, and -what-
happens?" Sparing a glance to Kain, looking both impatient and all
worried-like, "Well, yeah! Just one, right? Hold on, okay?" Okay. Back to
Irvine. "Wha's wrong?" Head cocked to the side, brow knitted -- what could
have -happened-?

"Who? Me? Oh.... right. Well, I think we'll be leaving again to Midgar for the
final showdown." Laguna hides his cramp that grows stronger by the second.
"I'm glad you like it here. It's a really big chage from that awful place."
Perhaps beads of sweat are visible from him straining his leg.

Kain gazes in Selphie's direction, and offers the wisdom of the Dragoons.
"Squall is a private person. Do not force him to be in social situations he
does not want to be in. It is not your job to open him up. Only he can open
himself up. If you must make someone king of the festival, " He gestures at
Irvine, "Use him. Or if for some reason you cannot, use me. But do not force
those who are solitary to be social." Having offered the wisdom of the
Dragoons, he turns back the other way, and departs.

Raine 's eyebrows raise for a moment before she asks, "Are you feeling alright?"

Irvine mutters in Selphie's direction, "Old wounds creeping up to the surface,
Selphie, I gotta go for a bit." Of course, he's not budging just yet, looking
at Kain expectantly, arms crossing over his chest. Rolling his eyes at the
diatribe, Irvine calls out, before Kain can go too far, "I think we know
Squall a wee bit better then you do. Thanks." He's not in the mood to put up
with anything right now, even if Kain's intentions were good.

Selphie uh!'s, looking -hurt-! Not because he's leaving, but because that was so
vague! She starts to say more, even in mid-motion to takes Irvine's hand!...
When Kain talks. And talks. And -talks-. She looks at him oddly, finally,
after Irvine pipes up. "--Uhm, maybe you should enroll here for the classes."
She holds up an index finger, smiling. "That's -one-," referring to her
comment about him being able to have -one- word with her. Shaking her head,
she looks back up to Irvine, worried again! "Can I help? Should I come along?
I can leave, they're all big kids!" Not that she -wants- to, but.

"I'm fine. Just a bit nervous." He looks around. "I believe I'll catch some
fresh air... Would you like to join me" This is addressed to Raine, obviously.

Raine blinks and her eyes lower to the ground for a moment. "You're nervous?"
She crosses her arms to look at him.

Leaning over, Irvine kisses Selphie's forhead, murmuring to her, "I promise I'll
tell you everything, darlin', and I know you don't wanna leave, so stay. I'm
upset right now, and I'd rather you not see me like this, 'kay?" It's taking
all his willpower at the moment to maintain this outward calm. The more he
thinks about Farrell, the angier he gets. And Kain's sudden psychoanalysis of
Squall didn't help much, especially as he perceived it as an attack on
Selphie. Better go quick before he makes an ass of himself.

Selphie blinks a few times after the brief show of affection, looking still --
but not -quite- as -- confused. "...Oh... kay." Nodding at Irvine, she -does-
hold her arms out, wanting a -hug, dammit-. "Breakfast tomorrow?" How cute.
Jeezus. She sounds like a little girl asking her Daddy who's always at work...

And she's older then he is too, so no pedophile comments from the peanut
gallery. Irvine most definately does hug Selphie when prompted, closing his
eyes, finding some kind of temporary sanity in the affectionate gesture.
"Yeah... I'll see you then. I love you." Aw... he even admits it in public!
Quad - Balamb Garden

Aerith, from her quiet seat, smiles softly and sips her punch.

Selphie beams. Okay, everything's better now. She got a hug, and an I Love You.
Yay! "Love you too~! Now go be mad," she says, scrunching her nose to look all
'angry.' "Grr!" Oi. Avert your eyes. @_@

Kain goes back in Aerith's direction. "Enjoying yourself?" He left for a
while...and now he returned. Cause everyone else is more or less gone.

Irvine can't help but chuckle, though it's temporary, walking backwards a moment
to watch her as he departs. Finally, he turns and disappears through the exit,
immediately entering brood mode.

Selphie lets out a -huff-. "Hoookay." Turning to regard the Quad, there's a few
hangers-on still left, and... alot of trash. "Hoah, -man-." n_n;

Aerith hms? at Kain. Eh heh. "Well, I was actually about to head out to my
room... it's, ah, a big day tomorrow." n.n;

(End of Log.)