A Rose and its Clippers

[Agrias Oaks]

The knight walked down the slightly charred mahogany stairs, and looked around for the others, though she was certain Lilith would have better luck a that. Her mind had been elsewhere after a particular... event.

" We need a medic here!" She heard a soldier call out, and she glanced over to see Sai on the ground, followed by Abigail making the scene. She sighed in relief, happy to have the Mage in the group. She allowed the woman to do her job, before approaching her quietly.

"When you are done... do you mind if we chat a little, Lady Abigail?" she would ask sweetly, feeling a bit better, seeing mostly everything under control, "I shall be at my quarters, momentarily... I'm just going to investigate the extent of damage to the ship." she bowed her head in a knightly manner before turning in place, and leaving to her duty. She seemed preoccupied.

[Abigail Crescentlight]

The mage would blush lightly when Agrias' voice whispered beside her. She tensed and looked over, eyes wide and happy. She always enjoyed the woman being so close... and sometimes it made her forget what she was doing. Agrias... had a weird power over her that way. She was told where to meet and nodded. "Oh! Right, of course Miss Agrias!" she said with a happy smile and went back to concentrating on the Nobody.

It took her only another few moments, but she'd finish with a cheerful "All better!" before jumping to her feet. She felt so light and giddy knowing she was going to spend even a little private time with Agrias without having to worry about something trying to kill them in horrible ways. She nodded to the others with a smile. "Everyone else I think can make do with potions and such! I have an appointment!" She waved and made her way to Agrias' chambers, which she had already memorized the location of... because... you know... for emergancies...

She quickly made her way to the room, knocking twice before entering. "Agriaaass, I'm here!" she called in a sing-songy voice which unfortunately was terribly off key. She didn't possess an operatic air. That aside, she walked in, looking around. "You here?" she asked to the empty room. Agrias was of course nowhere to be seen.

"Oh... I guess I beat her..." she sighed dejectedly before walking to a comfortable chair next to a nightstand, on which was an open book. "Ooh! Agrias' choice of literature!" she giggled, picking the book up out of curiosity and reading. It was on the twenty-second chapter... regarding an amazing, legendary knight named Aeur Grauss fighting a horrible monster called... Altima?

She blinked, looking at the names again. So familiar... One of the illustrations in the book was so haunting. Yes, Aeur Grauss was a man, but to Abigail's eyes, he looked like- "Agrias?" she whispered, reading the end of the chapter again. It seemed that she died... but... she was clearly alive.

That's when Abigail saw there was another chapter still left. She read through it quickly, and the realization in those last few pages... well... it was heartbreaking. Her hand lifted to her lips and her eyes filled with tears. "No..." she whispered, remembering how much the Princess meant to Agrias, just from the few times she'd mentioned her in their association.

Abigail gasped suddenly. She thought she heard some movement outside in the hall, and instinct kicked in. She couldn't let Agrias read these pages... so she tore them from the book and set it back down as quick as she could to look as though she didn't touch it. She held the pages behind her back, trying to slyly slip them into her pouch. "H-hello?" she called...

[Agrias Oaks]

It was Agrias. She opened the door to her chambers and walked in, raising an eyebrow, though smiling at Abigail's presence, "Lady Abigail." she bowed her head respectfully at the woman, before shutting the door. Her eyes seemed to glow a little within the brightly lit room.

The knight walked over to her, speaking in a soft British accent, " Forgive my tardiness, apparently there was more damage to account than suspected." she smiled, reaching up to scratch a little at her head, before relaxing, "I wanted to speak to you, Lady Abigail, of your progress."

At this point, the knight rested her hands upon the woman's shoulders, giving her a soft grin, " You are an outstanding help!" she started, getting her hands back, in case the woman was uncomfortable, " You continue to surpass expectations, and your actions upon the fiendish castle were flawless! You lost naught one soldier! 'Tis impressive for your first battle, and I must commend you." The knight took a deep breath, chuckling, and stretching in place, " Like myself, I'm sure you must be tired, Lady Abigail, I apologize to keep you from..." she paused, glancing at the woman's eyes. She grew worried, "Goodness, what is the matter? You look so upset..." she reached up to wipe away a stray tear, "Have I... said something of offense??"

[Abigail Crescentlight]

Abigail smiled a little despite herself. Agrias was there! Who could stay upset? She wasn't even aware she still held those tears so prominently. All she cared about was being near this woman... This amazing, legendary knight...

Legendary Knight!! She gasped softly, but played it off as merely reacting to her words happily as she stuffed those pages into her pack as swiftly as possible. "P-please..." she whispered, blushing darkly at such high praise. She giggled a bit, much like a silly fangirl being told she could do anything by her idol. To a degree, this was exactly what was going on.

When Agrias had her hands on Abigail's shoulders... she felt a rush of warmth and happiness. She looked up into the woman's eyes... her own softening... closing... She leaned forward slightly... And then those hands weren't there! She stumbled lightly and realized what was going on. She laughed nervously, looking off to hide her blush.

"Goodness, what is the matter? You look so upset..." Agrias reached up to wipe away a stray tear, "Have I... said something of offense??"

Abigail gasped, realizing just now that she had never wiped those tears from her eyes. She silently cursed herself, but then did the one thing that she was most afraid to do. She threw her arms around the Knight's shoulders and held her close in a tight hug, resting her cheek against the metal of the woman's armor.

"I'm just... uhm... relieved, is all..." she whispered, part in truth part in cover-up. "I was scared for you, Agrias... I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."

[Agrias Oaks]

The knight gasped a little at the sudden embrace, but she would still welcome it, "Goodness..." she chuckled, closing her eyes and wrapping her arms around the small body of the White mage, "Thou caused me to fret a moment..." she spoke softly now, resting a gloved hand over the girl's black hair, and the other around her waist. Agrias closed her eyes, holding her there, "... but as long as you are alright. 'Tis fine by me..."

The golden haired woman stood there, before opening her eyes and looking down to the girl, trying to calm her, " I had no choice in mine actions, Lady Abigail, it had to be done before other, much negative things could happen. The needs of the many, exceed the needs of the few, in mine eyes... at least everything ended well this one time, yes?"

[Abigail Crescentlight]

Abigail looked up into Agrias' eyes, still held so warmly in those arms. She swooned softly, her cheeks a rosy color and her eyes soft. It was... so much like a fairytale. The damsel and the daring Knight... She couldn't be happier. She hung on Agrias' every word, taking it all in before speaking.

She lifted a hand, gently touching the other woman's cheek as she looked into those wonderful eyes of hers. She sighed, shaking her head a little. "I know... and it was brave of you, it really was... but Agrias... please promise me something?" she asked softly, her eyes so full of concern and worry.

"Please promise me... that you'll always come back..." she asked, completely unaware of the parallels she was creating.

[Agrias Oaks]

Agrias' amber eyes stared into the woman's caring hues, and she would smile a little, before nodding to her, "Lady Abigail..." she began, reaching to rest her forehead against the white mage's, and she would chuckle before pulling back, " I promise you, as a Knight. I shall return."

The holy one shook her head, reaching up to ruffle a little at the small girl's hair, "Besides, Lady Abigail, where in Heaven's would I go of no return, with you and Lady Beatrix looking out for my well being? My, I find it difficult to ever succumb to trouble with the aid you two bestow upon me. So, worry not! Alright?"

When the Mage had finally calmed, she would speak again, "Now, let us go and see the General, she should be expecting us and the new comers as we speak." She felt a little awkward, thinking back on what happened with Beatrix, tried to blame it on stress... she began to feel a little nervous for the new teammates, hoping to God that Beatrix would be kind to them.

[General Beatrix]

[glow=red,2,300]Whether by luck of the draw or just sheer coincidence, it was at that exact time when Abigail set off to reading the book did Beatrix pull out the iPod to gaze into. What was she up to? She hadn't been seen since they telepoded back to the ship; a White Mage was usually a threat to the Heartless, much like the Keyblade but significantly less. Nonetheless, they were still a threat. And besides, this gave a range for the whole ship, the iPod, since the sceptre was onboard.

She watched Abigail reading a very familiar book; this was the book on the Zodiac Braves, the story of Agrias and her people from Ivalice. Though it was terribly-translated, and the names were ridiculous, Beatrix enjoyed the story, until the end.

Then there was a knock at the door, and Abigail did something to infuriate Beatrix. She tore out the last chapter!

What the--!!!

She moved over to watch Agrias, and saw that she was heading to her suite, where Abby seemed to be for some reason, tearing out pages. She sat there and watched, waiting. Soon they would all be back on-deck, and then she could watch everyone together. Who were these new people?

This meant that Abbigail would be in the general's reach at some point. Good.[/glow]

[Lilith]

as the knight left she turned to the chocobo
"did she seem off to you?"
the vampire stood up and went to her nice clean clothes and moments later she was dressed.
"okay boy, i have to go do this I'll be back later"
she ran out of the room and rather quickly came across Lexia.
Lilith skidded to a halt.
"hey Lex, Agrias wants our group on the main deck asap... any idea where Ximar is?"

[Sai]

Sai shook his head a little as his wounds sealed up. Looking up, he saw the face of the white mage from before, the one that taught him Heal. He nodded a bit as she said she was going, and watched as she ran off. Now, he was surrounded by women all knealing down around him to assist. While this would be a normal man's fantasy come true, it had no effect on Sai whatsoever.

He stood up, brushing himself off as though nothing more than a trip had occurred, then looked to them. A firm "Thank you," was all they would get from him before he would begin walking along the deck. He checked his pocket to make sure the weatherwand had returned to him. It had. A relief, really that he had enchanted this thing to come back to him should he lose it. It had saved monumental amounts of time.

Looking about, he noticed Lilith approaching Lexia and walked up to the two, his eye dull as always. "The Main Deck?" he asked, head tilted somewhat. He then looked off trying to find some indication where it was. He hadn't been on this part of the Ship yet, so he was somewhat lost. "Is it that way?"

[Lilith]

Lilith twisted her body around to look at Sai.
"I'm guessing the main deck would be the largest..."
she suddenly ran off and came back around the other way coming to a halt next to Sai.
"yes that way"

[Leckseeuh]

Is it okay now? Lexia's muffled, small voice came from a cupboard close to them. Is it over? Her voice said, knocking on the closed door. She quietly creeped it open, spotting Lilith and Sai. She jumped out from her cramped position and over to them, brushing the dust off of her shirt and shorts. You guys oka~ay? I'm sorry I didn't go out there, I was just too afraid...I haven't fought in, what, a year? She scratched her head and laughed uncomfortably, rubbing the back of her leg with her foot. Yeah, so, if you don't mind I'mma just follow you guys.

[Sai]

Sai gestured for Lilith to follow the way. He would fall in line behind her, speaking with Lexia as he did.

"Afraid?" he asked, his one eye glancing in her direction. "Quite the feat... considering your circumstances..." He was referring to the fact that she was a Nobody, or at the very least VERY good at masking her heart and APPEARING to be a Nobody. He looked forward, continuing. "I can understand the instinct for self preservation... You must have doubted your ability to fight off such a wave and predictably hid to protect yourself..."

He was so clinical. How people put up with him was beyond his comprehension and understanding. Still, he somehow had people around him almost all the time. How strange.

He followed to the Main Deck, choosing a spot and crossing his arms to wait on whatever message the captain of this vessel had for them.

[Lilith]

Lilith walked with Sai and sat in the same area as him.
"something seems off..."

[Abigail Crescentlight]

This was it!! Agrias was drawing closer... SO close... Their foreheads touched... she could feel the softness of the woman's breath on her lips... Abigail's blush deepened, her eyes closed... she tilted her head back sooo slightly, that warmth... that wonderful-

She would chuckle before pulling back, " I promise you, as a Knight. I shall return."

Abigail blinked, her lips coming into contact with nothing. She stared up at the knight. "As a Knight" she had said... Then suddenly...

The holy one shook her head, reaching up to ruffle a little at the small girl's hair, "Besides, Lady Abigail, where in Heaven's would I go of no return, with you and Lady Beatrix looking out for my well being? My, I find it difficult to ever succumb to trouble with the aid you two bestow upon me. So, worry not! Alright?"

Wha-what the heck was THAT? She lowered her head, feeling all of three inches tall now. Agrias... had treated her as one would a little sister, or small child! Was her stature once again effecting everyone's perception of her?? She held back a heartbroken whimper, her hair hiding eyes that were almost about to overflow once more. She felt so stupid... thinking the way she did.

"Now, let us go and see the General, she should be expecting us and the new comers as we speak."

"Oh... right..." Abigail whispered, wiping her face quickly to keep more tears from betraying her feelings. She looked up, forcing a brave smile and walking behind the woman as she crossed her arms to hold them gently. It all made sense, she supposed... she was just some girl they picked up under the wreckage of Midgar... why would a legendary knight even pay her a second thought? Besides... there was something there between Agrias and Beatrix... she could feel it, even if she didn't want to acknowledge it.

A pause in the hallway... Abigail looked at the ground, holding a hand over her heart. Am I helping... or am I a burden? she wondered quietly to herself before looking up and giving chase after Agrias as they made their way to the main deck.