Fluffy Goodness
(It's 4am on a beautiful Saturday morning {Yeah, like anything is beautiful when you wake up that early} and Raven is sitting on the edge of her bed, putting her shoes on. Dauragon is still asleep on his side of the bed, with Pookie curled up against him. Raven gets up, grabs a piece of paper, and walks downstairs. Once down in the ramble room, she tapes the piece of paper to the wall and goes back up to her room. She takes an envelope out of her purse and places it next to Dauragon's cell phone on the night stand next to his side of the bed. She then smiles at him, leans down and kisses his forehead softly. She grabs her luggage and heads downstairs to the front door)
Raven: I think that's everything. Ugh. I hate waking up this early. This so better be worth it...
(She continues babbling to herself as she walks outside to the waiting taxi)
(It's about 10am now, and people are starting to stir. Seph is sitting in a chair throwing Froot Loops at Fawkes, Crystal is making pancakes, Rufus is checking his stocks, and Sion and Seifer are fighting over the tv)
Sion: I got here first, so we watch what I want to watch.
Seifer: But Saturday Morning cartoons are on!
Sion: So? I want to see what the weather's like today.
Seph: Like it matters if it's sunny or not. You're as pale as Raven. Has your skin ever seen sunlight?
Crystal: Leave him alone, Sephiroth, he's a bouncer, of course he doesn't see sunlight.
Sion: *satisfactory smile* Yeah. Leave me alone, Sephiroth.
Seifer: *glaring* I can't believe she stuck up for you.
Sion: ^_^
(Hunter comes bounding in and sees Sion)
Hunter: Now if that's not a satisfactory smile, then I don't know what is. I'm betting is has something to do with Crystal.
Sion: whatever gave you that idea? o_o;
Hunter: *rolls his eyes*
(Irvine, Reno, Tasuki, and Kou come strolling in and head to the counter to get some pancakes)
Irvine: Hey, good looking. Got any fluffy goodness for four dashing, charming studs?
Crystal: Actually, I do.
Reno: Great! I'll have five and-
Crystal: Sion, Seifer, Rufus, and Sephiroth. Pancakes are ready!
Irvine/Reno/Kou/Tasuki: *fall over*
Crystal: *snickers* I made enough for you guys, too.
(They're all happily munching on some fluffy goodness, except Fawkes who's eating Froot Loops, and Hunter who's crunching on an apple, when Kou spots something on the wall)
Kou: What's that?
Rufus: What's what?
Kou: That. On the wall.
Rufus: *looking around* Which wall?
Kou: *pointing* That. There.
Rufus: Oh. I dunno.
Sion: *goes over to check the piece of paper and reads the title out loud* "Ramble Room Rules" What the...?
Reno/Irvine: No! Not more rules in our lives!
Seph: Great. Now Raven's posting her stupid rules along with always yelling them in my ear.
Rufus: Well, what do they say?
Sion: "1) Don't build fires in rooms that don't have fireplaces."
Irvine: We have a fireplace?
Kou: Dude, it's behind you. *points*
Irvine: Oh. Right.
Kou: Seriously, dude, what did you do before I came along?
Sion: "2) No bloodshed on the pool deck" "3) No drowning people in the pool."
Seph: Damn. She remembered her pool rules.
Rufus: They're kinda obvious rules, don't ya think?
Hunter: Shut it, Shinra.
Sion: "4) No killing. Anyone. Ever. (Unless otherwise given permission by Raven)"
Crystal: But that's my job! I have the license to prove it.
Seph: Like that rule has a snowball's chance in hell of surviving.
Sion: Umm, yeah... "5) Hyenas and wheels don't mix." "6) Hyenas and bungee chords don't mix either."
Seph: Is she trying to take away all my fun?!
Fawkes: *laugh of relief*
Crystal: I'm sure you'll find other ways to make our lives chaotic and torture poor Fawkes.
Sion: "7) Peanuts are flammable."
Seph: -_-; I told her, I didn't know they were.
Sion: "8) If you think it sounds like a good idea, it's not."
Hunter: Did she make that rule for herself? You know her ideas always lead to disaster and pain.
Rufus: Where exactly is Raven?
Hunter: Notice how Dauragon's still not up? I'll give you three guesses as to where they are and what they're doing.
Sion: "9) Touch my cat, my sister, or my baddie bishie boyfriend and die."
Tasuki: Not like we would want to. No offense, Crys.
Crystal: None taken.
Seifer: I'd die for just one touch of the sister...
Irvine: What was that?
Seifer: *nervous laughter* Oh nothing, not a thing.
Sion: "10) Listening/mentioning/liking nsync is punishable by death."
Everyone: *blink blink* o_o
Seph: Ha! That's one rule I know isn't aimed at me.
Rufus: So there is a first time for everything.
Seph/Hunter: Shut it, Shinra.
Sion: ^_^; "11) Rollerblading is not an indoor sport."
Crystal: Crap. The one time I do it, and she actually sees me...
Sion: "12) No annoying females allowed in."
Irvine: But Raven thinks all the game and anime chicks are annoying! No! I need women!
Reno: Chill, man. If they can't come to us, we'll go to them.
Irvine: *hugs Reno* You're so smart, man. My hero.
Kou: I sometimes wonder about those two... o_o;
Sion: That's all of them.
Hunter: Which rule should I break first? Rollerblading, peanuts, killing... *glances at Rufus*
Rufus: I'm the President of ShinRa! You can't kill me just so you disobey Raven's rules!
Crystal: Rufus, one more time, and no more fluffy goodness for you!
Dauragon: *standing in the doorway, holding an envelope* I don't know what these rules are, but if Raven put them up for us to follow, we're going to follow them.
Seph: Rule 4 has Shinra protected from killing.
Dauragon: Crap. We can still torture him though.
Hunter: *shrugs* Works for me.
Dauragon: Do it later! I have something to share with everyone.
(Zell comes bouncing in behind Dauragon)
Zell: You're going to share something? Is this show and tell, or story time?
Rufus: Oh gawd... someone put kindergarten boy down for his nap...
Dauragon: *vein starting to throb in his neck* Would you all sit down and shut up!
Everyone: o_o *scurries to the couches and sits down*
Crystal: This must be pretty important, huh?
Dauragon: I guess you could say that. *holds up the envelope* This is from Raven.
Kou: A letter from Raven? Where is she?
Dauragon: Allow me to read it:
"Hey guys,
I'm going to be away for two weeks as I'm attending some weapon seminars. I figured I might as well be kick ass in my chosen fields. I didn't mention any of this before because I knew you wouldn't let me go, or you would tell me how bad the idea is..."
Hunter: Yeah cuz we all know it's going to lead to pain and disaster.
"Would someone please hit Hunter for whatever snide remark he just made? (Dauragon stops reading to hit Hunter, then continues)
"Now. I know y'all will destroy the mansion and/or kill each other without me present (Sephy-sama, this is mostly aimed at you) so I have decided to leave someone in charge. I thought about Rufus, but most of you won't listen to him anyway. Irvine, Reno, Tasuki, or Kou... they'll just be drinking and I worry about strange national holidays they may start. Hunter. No. I want Rufus alive and I know you'd make it open season on him. I figured, what about Crystal? Then I realized she's messy and will be busy with her boyfriend, Amiboshi. I know... he's not your boyfriend *rolls eyes* Sephy-sama... love you, but too much power goes to your head. Squall and Quistis would be good choices. Both responsible, trustworthy, I like them both, and they run Garden well. But, they're too busy with Garden to keep an eye on y'all. So, who does that leave me with? My hottie baddie bishie boyfriend of course. I know you will all listen to Daurie, and he has permission to kick ass if someone messes/breaks/destroys/etc anything/anyone.
Love you guys! Behave, and I'll see you in two weeks.
~Raven"
Zell: She didn't mention me as leader...
Irvine: There's a reason for that...
Zell: Can I see the letter? Maybe you missed the part where I'm second in command.
Dauragon: I didn't. *sighs and tosses the letter at him* Knock yourself out.
Zell: *looking at the letter* What pretty handwriting she has. It flows so nicely.
Reno: So gay.
Dauragon: *grabs the letter back* Go away.
Zell: Where do you want me to go?
Dauragon: Far, far away from me.
Zell: *takes three steps back* This good?
Irvine: Zell, I think Squall needs your help with something.
Zell: Really?! I'm coming buddy! *runs out*
Irvine: I hate to do that to Squall, but it's the only way to get rid of Zell.
Dauragon: I'll remember that.
Hunter: Didn't you know about this, Dauragon? I figure she must tell you everything.
Dauragon: She mentioned something about a seminar coming up that she wanted to go to, but that's all. I couldn't get anything out of her.
Irvine: Wow. She actually kept something a secret and even sex and shopping couldn't force it out of her?
Rufus: I told you there's a first time for everything.
Dauragon/Seph/Hunter: Shut it, Shinra!
Rufus: I'm so not feeling the love in this room.
Kou You're just noticing the lack of love in your direction now?
Irvine: And they think I'm not perceptive.
(A little later that day, Dauragon is looking over the list of rules that were posted, and looking at the "To-Do" list that Raven left him)
Dauragon: "Feed my darling baby, Bogues" ... If it were up to me, I'd let the furry bed hog starve...
(Pookie saunters over to Dauragon and brushes against his leg and waits for him to pet her)
Dauragon: *glaring at the cat* I am not petting you.
(Pookie does this cute lil meow then jumps up on the arm of the chair Dauragon's sitting in and looks at him with big round eyes)
Dauragon: Alright. *he lightly pets Bogues then glares at her more* If you tell anyone about this, Raven will be wearing you as a fur hat.
(Bogues decides she's had enough bonding, jumps off the chair, and scrambles out of the room)
Dauragon: She's almost as bad as the hyena. *looking at the "To-Do" list again* "Change the cat litter twice a week" Irvine can do that... "Check the roof at the end of each day for any missing ramblers" What do I look like, Rufus, err a roofer? "Do re-assure my shoes everyday that I will be home soon... and watch out for those EVIL closet elves" I swear I'm going to have to have her committed one day. *flips through the pages* How many more are there?
(Elsewhere in the ramble universe... we find Raven stepping out of a cab (diff than the one she started out in. She had a plane ride and stuff in between) and looking around at the beautiful land around her)
Raven: This is so exciting! This is the perfect place for a seminar. I wonder where it is.
(A short child like man in robes walks out with a long staff to greet Raven)
Master Mage Clef: Welcome to Cephiro, the land of the will. Here you will....
Raven: Wow, so this is Cephiro? Oh no I hope Hikaru isn't here (Raven is then bopped on the head by Clef's staff) Ouch!
MM Clef: Listen when I talk to you! Anyway as I was saying, Here you will learn the fine arts of magic, the precise skills of archery and the
disciplined form of fighting. Any questions?
Raven: *raises hand* When do we get to go to the castle and see Lantis and Ferio?
Clef: *bops Raven over the head* You can not afford any distractions. Period.
Raven: Ow. But don't you think that distractions would be beneficial to my training? I mean if I see hot guys, and end up concentrating on my training more to avoid them, that must mean I am truly a master of my crafts.
Clef: -_-;; You're going to make my life difficult, aren't you?
(Irvine, Reno, and Kou are off in the corner drinking more than usual)
Irvine: I miss her so much, the way she smiled as she read about elves...
Kou: The way she let us drink all day and support us...
Tasuki: The way she usually forgives us when we do something stupid or against the law...
Reno: The way she dressed...
Irvine/Kou: Yeah...
Dauragon: *overhearing* For crying out loud you, four, she hasn't even been gone a day. Pull yourselves together. Go out and accomplish something and stop, I repeat, stop talking and thinking about Raven.
Tasuki: Yeah, you're right.
Reno: Let's go make Raven proud.
Rufus: By what, doing a job you get paid for doing?
Dauragon: And here's a list of things you might want to do. *he hands over the list and they leave*
Hunter: Wow, that was almost nice.
Dauragon: With them busy, it's just one less thing to worry about.
Rufus: I don't suppose that list said anything about dong their actual jobs... good for nothing Turk...
Dauragon: No, but they'll stop talking about my girlfriend.
(Just then, Crystal comes roller skating through the room, followed by a speedy Amiboshi)
Crystal: Watch out! Amiboshi can't stop yet!
Amiboshi: Argh! Help! Why'd I agree to this?
Seifer: *to Sion* One can only hope he crashes into something and badly injures himself.
(Amiboshi runs into Hunter and falls back)
Amiboshi: Thanks for stopping me, Hunter.
Hunter: What? *looks down* Oh, I guess it wasn't a bug that hit me...
Dauragon: What are you doing?! Raven forbade any rollerblading in the house.
Crystal: *circling Dauragon* But I'm not blading, I'm skating. Besides, you can't touch me. *scoops the cat from the window* or the cat! *circles the frustrated Dauragon once more*
Dauragon: Perhaps not, but I can still break the flute player. He is not protected by Raven. Once more, no one's to touch you.
Amiboshi: Umm... Crystal, can I hold the cat a second.
Sion: He doesn't really think Amiboshi touched Crystal, does he?
Seifer: Shh. I'm trying to savour the moment of Amiboshi getting beaten to a pulp.
Crystal: Uhh... maybe he'll just go home...
Dauragon: You have until 5, then I get my chain whip and the cat won't save you.
Crystal: *to Amiboshi* Drop the cat and run!
Amiboshi: I could always use my flute on him to make him fall asleep. *looks at a very scary Dauragon reaching for his chain* Or you can call me when Raven's back!
(Amiboshi skates to the door, crashes into it, pulls it open, slams into Squall who's at the door, and keeps on booking it)
Hunter: *standing next to the microwave* Hey, Squall, you want some popcorn? Fresh from the microwave.
Squall: *sniffs the air which smells of burnt popcorn* No, thanks... *turns his attention to Dauragon, who's hand keeps twitching near his chain as Crys continues to circle the room* Dauragon, have you seen Raven? I need to ask her something.
Dauragon: Raven's at a seminar for the next two weeks doing weapon training. *glares* Wait, what do you have to ask her?
Squall: Weapon training? She went to a seminar... *fades out as he starts to think and do inner monologue*
Dauragon: Hey, Leonhart... are you listening to me?
Crystal: *skating backwards around the room, spots Squall* Uh-oh... Squall's thinking aga-
(Seeing how Crystal was skating backwards, she failed to see the couch directly behind her. When she hits the couch, she falls backwards, face up, onto the laps of a very happy Sion and Seifer, who are sitting there)
Seifer: My prayers have been answered!
Crystal: *dazed* Wha?
Seifer: Huh? Oh, nothing, not a thing... just found a quarter, I can go make that call now. RUN! *he pauses a moment, enjoying Crystal in his lap, then takes off running*
Sion: *hand to head*
Squall: *coming out of thought for a second* My move! *pouts then goes back to thinking*
Crystal: Seifer's a weird one. He could've just used the house phone.
Sion: *stupid happy grin* uh-huh... *_*
Crystal: *sitting up beside Sion* Sorry about falling on you.
Sion: Trust me, it's all good.
Squall: *inner monologue thinking* Raven went to a seminar for weapon training? Why didn't she come to Garden? Did she even consider training with us? Maybe I wasn't approachable enough... maybe she felt awkward asking... thought she would be imposing.. no, can't be that. Raven doesn't know the meaning of imposing. What if she feels Garden doesn't have a good enough training facility... that must be it. She's afraid she won't get proper training, or worse... injured by a junior classman... *out
loud* Not on my watch!!
(Squall runs out of the room in a hurried panic. Everyone blinks a couple times and stares at the door he ran out of)
Rufus: Are we sure Zell is the crazy, unstable one?
Crystal: I wonder what that outburst was about...
(Hunter's sitting in a chair, leaning back a bit, with his feet up on the table. He's casually throwing popcorn at the cat)
Hunter: *mumbling* Damn microwave burnt my popcorn again. Is it possible to make a perfect bag of popcorn? I swear they purposely put the wrong cooking time in the instructions.
(Pookie starts to eat a burnt kernel and coughs a bit. Dauragon hears it)
Dauragon: *eyes widen as he spots Hunter* What are you doing?! You could kill the furball!
Hunter: *shrugs* She looked hungry. Besides, what do you care? You hate the fluff machine.
Dauragon: True, but Raven loves it, therefore the cat must live.
Hunter: You mean, the cat lives, at least until Raven gets home, that way the furball didn't die because of your neglect, and you can't be blamed for it.
Dauragon: Exactly.
(Back at weapon camp... we're inside a giant
auditorium. Raven's seated front row, centre, with the rest of the seats filled by random characters from various games and anime. Clef stands before the group, beside a podium, with a few other people standing by)
Clef: Good evening, and wel-
Guy at Back: We can't hear you!
Clef: *steps up to the podium, but is too short to see over it* I don't believe this... *yells at some near by techs* I thought I told you to lower this thing! *sighs* If you want something done right...
(Clef waves his staff over his head and focuses his will. There's a flash of light that lasts a few seconds before dying out. When it does, young, chibi Clef is no more, but a sexy, tall, teenage Clef is there in his place)
Raven: *stands and cat calls* This is definitely what I call getting my money's worth!
Clef: *now tall enough to see over the podium and reach the mic* Sit down, Miss Lynliss. I'm trying to do my introductory speech.
Raven: Sorry. *she sits back down, wiping away some drool*
Clef: *ahems* Now, good evening, and welcome to all. As most of you know, I'm Master Mage Clef, but some may know me as Guru Clef. I'm the head of the this seminar, as well as the teacher of Discovery of Magic. We will begin the actual training tomorrow after breakfast, but tonight, I want everyone to get to know their fellow classmates, as well as their teachers. I will warn you now, that not all your teachers are human. For example, the Fire magic teacher is a beast with a short temper who will probably roast your behind if you step out of line. *smiles* Have fun, and enjoy your night. *steps down, and leaves*
Raven: Why do I get the feeling that the Fire dude is going to be Ifirt, and why do I hope that fire is not my chosen field...
DAY 2:
(Crys is in the kitchen, making pancakes)
Crystal: Ok, everyone, fluffy goodness is ready!
Seifer: Alright! Crys, you are the best.
(Sion, Seifer, Rufus, Sephiroth, and even Hunter, wander over to get some breakfast)
Hunter: *after a few bites* Hey, not bad. Light and fluffy. Good job.
Crystal: Thank you. ^_^
Rufus: *taking another bite and looking around* Where's my good for nothing Turk and his accomplices?
Hunter: I thought it seemed quieter than usual around here for once.
Sephiroth: And there is a clear lack of booze scent lingering from in their corner.
Rufus: Yes, but where are they?
Dauragon: *walking in* Probably out trying to find and bring home Raven. *sits at the counter table* Crystal, may I get a plate of pancakes as well?
Everyone: Fluffy goodness.
Dauragon: *blinks* Excuse me?
Sion: She prefers you call them that. Crystal's proud of how fluffy she makes them.
Dauragon: Fine. Crystal, may I have some fluffy goodness?
Crystal: After you say "please"
Dauragon: *sighs* Breakfast is almost too much of a
hassle these days. *through clenched teeth* Please, may I have some fluffy goodness?
Crystal: Sure! But you have to wait ten minutes for the next batch to be ready.
Dauragon: *falls over*
(At weapon camp... everyone is slowly breaking off into their morning class groups after their buffet style breakfast. Raven's first class is Discovering Magic with Clef. After a few minutes the seven hopefuls are seated around Clef)
Clef: Good morning. I trust you all slept well.
Raven: With thoughts of you dancing in my head, I slept VERY well.
Female classmate: Amen, girl. *high fives Raven*
Clef: *beat red* Yes, umm... moving along, today we are going to discover what, if any, kind of magic dwells within you.
Male classmate: Yo, MMC. why's there only seven of us?
Clef: This is only the first class of the day. When we finish in two hours, you will all move to your area of weapon training, and some from there will come here.
Raven: *under her breath* And Clef says I ask stupid questions.
Clef: I will now pull each of you aside individually and help you find your magic. Shawn, you're up first.
(About ten minutes later Shawn returns and someone else goes)
Raven: So what magic are you?
Shawn: Fire. Rawr.
Raven: Coolies.
Shawn: Yeah, I've always wanted to meet Ifrit.
Raven: *blink blink* Good luck with that.
(twenty minutes pass and Raven's turn comes up)
Raven: *pointing behind herself* Why'd that chick run out crying?
Clef: She didn't find the magic within.
Raven: Oh.
Clef: Tell me, Raven, what kind of magic do you hope for?
Raven: Ice.
Clef: Why is that?
Raven: Because it's shiny.
Clef: *holds his head* Are you trying to kill me?
(A few hours away, Irvine, Reno, Tasuki, and Kou are standing in a parking lot outside of a grocery store)
Reno: Is this the place?