Chapter 1 - A New Face

[runawayprincess]

[ The camera is floating along, recording seemingly nothing. the hallway is empty. But then, it gently swings around the corner. Aha. There's a new face. Or, rather, a new back -- long dark hair tied at the bottom, legs in marigold, with little red ankle-high boots. Click, click, click, are her heels as she walks slolwy down the hall, until she comes to the end. She looks left, looks right, gloved fingers reaching up toward her lips in a thoguhtful pose. Then, she turns over her shoulder. Ah, now there's her face. Her gaze lifts to the floating little camera.]

It's a bit unnerving, with you following me like that you know. [yes, she's talking to the camera] I don't suppose you can tell me which way to go? [and the camera swings back and forth, as if shaking it's head 'no'. The girl frowns, and turns back to her dilema. Left.. or Right?]

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[runawayprincess]

[She pauses. They've never been really close like this. Not when it wasn't a life-or-death situation. She looks up at him through her eyelashes.]

We thought you were dead. [And when she says it, the words sound heavy.] I saw what happened. How-- ... How did you survive that?

[icanhastail]

I, uh... [Okay, this is not unexpected. But that doesn't make it any easier to handle. Because she's not going to like what he has to tell her - especially not the part about forgetting about her. Obviously that's fixed now, but it still happened.]

[Fortunately, he has an option that will at least give him some backup. He steps away from her, taking her hand at the same time, and gestures down the hallway.] Come with me, okay? There's someone you've got to meet, and he can help me explain everything. It's... okay, it's kind of all really weird and we still don't know everything and we probably never will, but we can at least tell you everything we know. Cambot, take us to wherever Squall is.

[With a quiet beep, the Cambot which had been monitoring them this whole time turns and starts floating off down the hall.]

[runawayprincess]

"Squall?" [She sounds confused, but it's all too easy for him to lead her around. She follows almost without thinking. At least at first. She stops, and digs in her heels] Zidane, Wait.

[icanhastail]

Yeah, Squall - he's my best friend. Well, one of them. [And they'll get down about half a hallway before she digs her heels in, jerking him to a stop and making him pretty confused.] Yeah? What is it?

[runawayprincess]

It's just -- you've been gone all this time, and now, here you are -- here we both are, who knows how-far-away from home. It's all so sudden. [Right, as if that explains anything.]

[icanhastail]

[Actually it kind of does a little. Because that was, more or less, how he felt when he got to the other world and that war among the gods.]

Yeah, it kind of is - we don't know how we got here, any of us. We kind of know why, but not really how or how to fix things. But now with you here, everything just got so much better.

[And he smiles at her, that smile that's so sincere.]

[runawayprincess]

[she averts her gaze. When did she become so bashful? She looks down at their hands... How her hand just fits so nicely in his.]

Are we really stuck here?

[icanhastail]

...Yeah, we kind of are. We don't know how to get home yet - but hey, if we've gotta be stuck somewhere, this is a pretty great place to be stuck! A lot better than where we came from- I mean 'we' as in 'me and Squall,' not 'me and you.' It really is a long story.

[You know, Zidane, you're supposed to be smooth. This? Is not smooth.]

[runawayprincess]

Well, it sounds like we've got plenty of time, at least. [whether or not she thinks that's a GOOD thing, is questionable]