The Lion Stalks the Savannah

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Hyne dammit.

[ Squall appears on the camera, his face tilted toward the sky. It's not easy to make out his expression, especially when the his pokegear is positioned low and near the ground. The angle is sharp but there's still a clear view of Squall's left hand tightening into a fist at his side. And to someone being extremely observant, they might spy a glint of silver metal on his middle finger (a ring maybe?) ]

[ His spine is taut and rigid. In the background, out of sight a murmur of "Kad... Kadabra..." can be heard. ]

...Never thought... Never even crossed my mind...

[ The SeeD scoffs sharply, shaking his head before looking down at whoever is holding his gear. Squall glares, his eyes somewhat brighter than usual but it could be a trick of the light... ]

Turn that thing off. Now.

[ It's late at night and although the festival is probably still in full swing, Squall's out on the outskirts of Goldenrod where the lights are actually dim enough for people to see the stars in the sky. The pokegear is still and level, obviously on top of something. Whatever Squall's planning seems like he doesn't want the camera to get skewed.

[ Squall walks into view and nods once at the pokegear. Dressed in his usual garb--jacket included this time--, Squall makes a motion to the side with a wave of his hand. ]

It's not a real gift but... I guess, I should still do something as thanks.

[ He nods again, this time more briskly as he adjusts the hold he has on the he received earlier that day, delivered sometime before he woke up. ]


[ Cyndaquil pops up, its face filling the entire screen before it runs past Squall until he's probably some distance away. Without warniing, Cyndaquil begins to use Swift, bright stars flying everywhere when suddenly Squall's Driblim floats into view with a shadow-ball charging in front of it, held up by two of its arms. The balloon pokemon lets go of the shadow-ball, hitting a few of the Stars made by Cyndaquil's Swift attack, creating a huge explosion of bright light, almost blinding anyone viewing Squall's post.

[ When the light dies down, smaller stars seem to fall from the sky before small tiny flames of will-o-wisps start shooting toward them, creating more smaller bright flashes of light. The roar of a Gyarados is heard before bolts of Thunder start to fall from the sky. Cyndaquil appears again and proceeds to use an Eruption, a massive rise of fire with a large enough smoke plume to almost reach the sky.

[ The small impromptu show continues with Squall's pokemon interchanging attacks to create displays of light not unlike regular fireworks.


[ When the show ends, Squall appears in front of the pokegear again and nods, although he doesn't really look that stoic as usual, if anything... He looks a bit uncertain, not that he'll ever admit it. ]

Hope you all like it. I guess, you can say this is my... present for you guys.

Thanks.


[[ooc: if anyone asks why Squall did this, he'll blame his Cyndaquil. Merry Christmas, everyone! And hope your characters enjoyed the little impromptu light show!! ]]

[ There are many reactions he could have toward this. Anger, surprise, wariness, suspicious, barely restrained aggression but somehow that's not the case this time. Instead, Squall actually looks rather relaxed(!?) and perfectly calm about what's going on. Of course, if one actually knew him, they might not he's twitching every so often and his hair is a bit well... fried and his clothes a bit frayed.

[ In front of him is a chess board, a game already in progress. Squall's fingers almost touch the tip of the bishop before he grasps a pawn and moves it forward. He lifts an eyebrow and stares at his opponent, a large yellow and black majestic bird-- ]



Your move. Quez.

[ Squall's lips twitches as he pets the large blue-and-black lion-esque pokemon--



[--resting its head on his lap, obviously napping. Quez crows at him before grasping a knight between its beak and carefully placing it on the board. Quez caws in victory, flapping its wings hard as electricity starts to spark in the air. Before the SeeD can make its move a white ghastly pokemon-- ]



[--grabs hold of one of Squall's rooks and swaps the positions of King and rook. Without Squall telling it too. He turns and glares at the ice-type before scoffing and shaking his head.]

Shiva. I do not need you moving my pieces for me. Got that?

[ Squall glares before rolling his eyes again. Gently he reaches out and strokes Shiva's head gently, the stern look in his face softening. A rumble in his lap causes Squall to glance down as the lion starts to stretch and roll over. Squall eyes the claws carefully before dropping the hand he used to pet Shiva's head to rub at the lion's belly ]

Finally awake now. Huh, Griever?

[ The last image the feed gets is Squall almost smiling before the pokegear drops and his Cyndaquil starts bounding toward Squall, jumping at the last minute to pounce on top of the SeeD's head ]

Dammit, Zell! Get off!

Aw, that's the end of it...

[ This time it's Squall recording the end of Suzuki's battle with the Azalea Gym Leader, Bugsy. Personally, he's scoffing at the tactics Bugsy used, planning his own strategy for his battle but hyne, dammit. He had to admit, although Bugsy was indeed weaker than Whitney, he still managed to put Suzuki on edge for a bit.

[ Watching Suzuki withdraw her last pokemon--Her Drifblim (so that's what Demon will evolve into, huh?--Squall walks forward, with a deliberate and slow applause. ]

Whoa, amazing! You're an expert on Pokémon! My research isn't complete yet. OK, you win. Take this Badge.

My turn. This should be quick.

[ Squall chuckles as he hands his pokegear for Suzuki to hold ]

I do have the type advantage.

Hurry up, then if you're so confident. This Gym isn't even worth a fraction of our time.

You're right. It's not.

[ The SeeD smirks and nods before taking a step forward. Almost immediately Bugsy straightens ]

I'm Bugsy! I never lose when it comes to Bug-type Pokémon. My research is going to make me an authority on Bug-type Pokémon! Let me demonstrate what I've learned from my studies.

Ever get the feeling... they're just reading a script?

That wouldn't surprise me. Now get on with it. I'm waiting, Squall.

[ Without further ado, Squall summons his goddamn Gyarados out of his ball and immediately calls out Dragon Rage. The ensuing battle doesn't take much time at all with the combined power of his Gyarados and his Cyndaquil who he switched out during the middle of the fight with opening attack of Lava Plume. For such a quiet man, the battle is very... flashy. Very, very flashy. :|b ]

Tch. Show off.

[ Squall throws Suzuki a full smirk before walking up to Bugsy to accept his new prize--the Hive Badge ]



[ That done, he stands next to Suzuki and holds up his badge with her so those watching can actually tell its the real deal. Damn, he looks even more smug than earlier and maybe even a bit happy and satisfied for once. ]

Shouldn't take that long for us to reach Violet. We'll see you guys soon, Warrior, Firion, Cecil.



[[ ooc: A few hours after this post! Badges were mod-approved for both Suzuki and Squall and Godmodding Rights for Suzuki has been graciously given from Dera. ♥]]

[ the video feed turns on and the first thing the viewer will see is Cyndaquil's face up close and personal. It looks frantic before it starts screaming into the pokegear ]

Cynda! Cyndaquil!! CynCyn DaQuil CyndaQuil QuilQuil! CynCynCyn Da Cyndaquil! QuilQuilQuil DaDaDa, Cynda Quil?!

[ Waving its arms, it points the camera toward its trainer. Squall looks like he hasn't had any sleep in days (weeks). He muttering to himself. Out loud. There's a wild, bewildered (even fearful) expression on his face. His fingers are digging into his right shoulder. He's without his jacket (and gloves) for once and if someone manages to look close, they might notice the faint burn marks on his wrists. ]

Not Dead. Not Dead. They're alive, they're not dead. They're not gone. Didn't fail them. Didn't let them down. Made sure they'd be safe. That's not them. Can't be them. Not them. Can't be them.

She's not here. Not here, not here, not here!! This isn't her castle. This isn't her trophy room. Not her castle. Not her castle. Not there. Not there. Not dead. They're alive. They're living. They're fine. Not dead, not dead.

[ He grips his head with both hands, shaking it furiously. The Cyndaquil cries out again but its trainer ignores him--apparently this had been going on since last night...]

Didn't fail. Didn't let them down. Didn't fail them. I protected them. all of them. Didn't I? Didn't I? Made sure of it. Made damn sure of it. Had to. I had to. I had to protect them. Be strong. I needed to be strong. For her. For them. For all of them. Wasn't I? Wasn't I?


[ Suddenly Squall's head lifts and he yells out, one arm flinging toward the side ]

Those aren't their bodies!! I didn't fail anyone!!


[ He quiets almost immediately, his eyes widen as if he's seeing something else in front of him.]

Hyne... No...

Cynda!! Cyndaquil!! Quil Quil Cynda!

[ The feed cuts as Squall collapses onto the ground, shaking his head fervently and his Cyndaquil looks pleadingly at the camera--obviously wanting someone to help its trainer.]



[[ ooc: Squall's reliving a twisted memory of Ultimecia's castle with dead (and decaying) bodies littering everywhere. They're ranging from his fellow classmates, to his friends in FF8 to even the Cosmos Warriors. He's also remembering the time Rinoa was trapped in space and in a coma. :> And possibly his sis 'abandoning' him, too, when he was like four. >>;]]