Princess of the Timber Forest Owls

Rinoa didn't realize it was Friday, or that she hadn't taught her class today. Rinoa didn't remember the last time she'd had a full conversation with another human being, instead of just nodding at people and waiting for them to go away.

She was too deep in her book.

She'd been obsessed with books before, but never like this. It was a Sorceress's life, spilled out on the page. It was all of her questions answered.

Rinoa had started taking notes, lately, of important messages and sequences of events. Sometimes she'd go back and re-read an earlier chapter just to be sure she had it all down. She couldn't believe she still hadn't reached the end of the book yet. She'd been reading obsessively for ... it had to be a few days, now, but the days were all blurring together. And she was always just at the good part, just where things where getting interesting.

And she was learning quite a bit. Such as: early Sorceresses had used one another as their protection. They had formed an enclave and secured one another's hearts. Knights had only come later -- Knights had been an issuance by the town, an instruction. Allow these men to guard you, Or Else.

And then the Knights had started to betray. Did Edea know that that was the true nature of Knights? Only a Sorceress could guard a Sorceress's heart. It suddenly made so much sense.

She was hunched over her book, as she had been for hours. Her stomach growled, but she ignored it. She'd eat soon enough. Whenever. It didn't matter.

(Expecting one -- can be open if anyone else would pop in! This isn't the store proper, which is closed, just a back room.)

"Squall!" Rinoa was in a mood today. Everything she kept saying was coming out wrong. She hadn't pieced together exactly what Fandom was doing, but it was making her cranky. Plus it was cold out, which was hardly his fault but it was certainly aggravating her mood.

"Where are you?" she asked, setting down the bags of shopping she'd brought in with her. "I'm in an awful mood, and I want to pick a fight with you!"

Dammit. Fandom was making her talk like a crazy person.

(First thread is for the Knight, but if anyone else wants to stop in, FEEL FREE. Bring your popcorn...)

( This was HER club. )

This wasn't over. The Magic Box was hers. Sooner or later, Angelface would figure out that he'd underestimated her.

(Open for anyone who wants to talk to Rinoa Rita. The club itself is going up shortly!)

The Lady Rinoa Caraway concentrated, and a horn curled out of the side of her head. It wrapped around itself like a conch shell, laying flat, and she squinted at her reflection.

No. Not with this outfit. A swipe of her hand and it disappeared. Maybe more of a headdress?

( Rinoa understood the importance of presentation )

(OOC: Rinoa is now AU: she received her powers at age five, and is the Protectress of Galbadia. Oh, also: she's on good terms with her dad, and has barely met this Squall guy. ESTABLISHY AND ALSO OPEN.)

There were at least forty-seven things Rinoa hated about being back home. Near the top of the list was the bowing and scraping.

( Bowing and Scraping, a Phone Call Gets Through, a Text to a Knight )

Packing. There was so much packing to do. Someone was going to have to clean up these scrolls. Surely one of those suck-up weirdos wouldn't mind.

(ESTABLISH-A-MUNDO. furnaceface was cool with the phone call, yo.)

In retrospect, Rinoa should have chosen a dress that was easier to take off. But then wasn't that half the fun?

Maybe not. She was spoiled and didn't like having to wait.

"I think the files are nearly done," she said, fidgeting just outside the door to Squall's room. "I haven't called Dad to tell him yet. It's going to take me a few days to throw everything back together, and I need to go over the files again anyway. And then what? Did you know Seifer's going to college?"

And then, as if to prove she was especially attention-deficit tonight, she pulled him in for a breathless kiss.

Maybe he should hurry up and unlock the door.

(just for the knight, will probably be NSFW, as you do)

Rinoa had made it to class today. She had even gone to the Anarchist Club, at which point she had swiped the condoms and brought them back here.

She had been here ... pretty much since Friday, when she and Squall had failed utterly at going to the dance. The days were starting to blur together. Also, she was pretty sure today was Valentine's Day, which meant Squall hadn't gotten her a Valentine's Day gift, and sooner or later she was going to need to yell at him about that.

First things first.

"Did you know it's not just us?" she asked, stealing a moment to squeeze the words out while peeling off her shirt. "The sex thing. I thought you just looked extra-hot lately."

She hadn't really thought about it. Thinking had seemed counterproductive.

(OOC: this one's for the Knight only, and it's probably going to be NSFW so, so fast. I'm not sure if I'm back-for-good just yet but I'm dipping my toes in, at least.)

Seifer was back. The world hadn't ended. The island was restored. The paperwork was still here and in order. She hadn't killed Topher over that D&D game thing (or let Squall kill him, either) and ... okay, maybe she had used a lot more power than she had meant to while she was protecting the forcefield, and maybe she almost hadn't come back, but that was okay. And by "okay" she meant she absolutely wasn't thinking about that just now.

There was one very important thing left to check, and a phone number that could not ring fast enough.

"I need to speak to the general, please," she told the secretary. "This is his daughter, the Sorceress, and it's more important than whatever he told you about holding calls, so either you put this call through right now or I'll come there and set you on fire."

Well, that was one way to be patched through quickly.

"General Caraway," said a brusque voice in her ear.

Oh Hyne he was alive, and he was okay, and he wasn't gone forever. He really, really wasn't.

"D-daddy?" she said. "I-it's so good to hear your voice. I th-thought ..."

That was all the further she got before she started crying. So what if maybe, she actually told that man that she loved him, for the first time in years. Maybe it needed to be said every now and then. Shut up.

(establishy, will have links later! can be open post-phone call i you like)

So, there were lots of things that could distract Rinoa right now -- like calling Zone for updates, which he didn't have any, thanks a lot, Zone, or working on a gift basket thing for Jono, because he had a face now and that meant he needed a gift basket with edible things and other things that you could use when you had a mouth. But she didn't want distractions.

This time, when she dialed the office of the acting president, she informed the secretary that it was important.

"I don't care if he said not to be disturbed," she said, huffily. "Tell him it's the Sorceress."

Her eyes were narrowing at the less than enthusiastic reply.

"Fine," she said. "Go tell General Caraway that his daughter has only been waiting an entire month for any sort of update on Timber, and is pleased to see how little of a priority she is to him."

She slammed the phone down and was not crying. Her eyes were a little blurry because it was allergy season, shut up. Not because she had actually mistakenly thought that maybe he gave a damn and wasn't just playing along or anything. She didn't care about him. She hadn't bought it for a second.

(there is going to be a return phone call very very soon. the door is cracked, but the post is open; please note whether you're popping in before or after the phone call, as that's going to be a very different mood.)