Taking Back What is Mine [Open]

Raine Loire peered up at the building she always called home.  The bar and the little place connected to it that she had owned.  Raine remembered dying but she didn't remember anything more than that.  She just remembered waking up here.  It wasn't easy to tell what had happened exactly.  Why she was back, even she didn't really have a clue.  It was strange, really.  She had seen things upon her return.  There had been a whisper, one of a name that she recognized giving before her untimely demise.  She had to wonder though, could it be the same person?  Just how much time had passed since her passing?  Raine didn't even get to look at herself to know if she had remained as young as she had been or if she had aged.  She had been given back a mortal life but she wasn't sure how much time they gave her back and how much time she now had.

Stepping up to the door that lead into the bar, Raine turned the doorknob and walked inside.  There, on the old wooden round tables, rested white flowers in glasses with water.  Raine raised her eyebrows as she walked over to the nearest one.  Gently, Raine plucked it out of the glass of water and brought it up to her nose for her to take in the scent of the flower.  She had forgotten the smell of them but as she took a whiff, she was reminded of why she had loved them so much.  These flowers reminded her of innocence, purity and the like.  It had been a long time since she last stood here.  Just how long, she couldn't be sure but it sounded like a decade and then some.  That is, if what she had heard about that name were true.  If it were, then it meant her son had to be somewhere in his late teens.  Yes, Raine remembered having a son before dying.  What had become of him, well, she couldn't be sure but the mother in her wanted to find out.  If only to be sure that he was doing well even if she was now a total stranger to him.

Raine's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a door creaking open and someone letting out a gasp.  Out of instinct at hearing a sudden noise, Raine turned her head to look over at who had just arrived.  It was a woman adorned in a long, black dress with short blond hair.  She looked as though she had just come from Raine's home!  Immediately, Raine's brows furrowed.  "Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?" Raine asked her in a huff, putting her hands on her hips.  The white flower in her hand long forgotten as she stared this intruder down. The woman looked as white as a ghost just now.  The way she was looking at Raine with wide eyes made it look as if the woman were seeing a ghost.  Honestly, she technically was in a way.  Raine's spirit had haunted this place a little.  No one would be expecting Raine Loire to be alive once more.

"I-I'm sorry, R-Raine!  I didn't mean...t-to disturb your...your resting place!"

Raine's brows furrowed more.  "You're in my home!  Get out!" Raine growled at her in warning.  The woman didn't move, just simply stood there.  She wasn't sure what to say from the looks of it.  She just reminded rooted to the spot, as if she were too fearful to move.

"B-But...this is my home!"  Raine's eyes narrowed.  How could it be this woman's home?  It was Raine's!  This bar, everything belonged to her!  It couldn't possibly be this mysterious woman's home! 

"If you don't get out now, I'm going to make you get out!" Raine retorted.  Although her voice was calm, it was dangerously calm in tone.  Raine meant business.  She had no problem with tossing the woman out on the street.  She had done it numerous times with unruly bar goers in the past.  Even though Raine was a normal woman, there was a very good reason to be afraid of her when she was angry. 

"B-But-!"

"I said out!" Raine said firmly.  The woman didn't budge.  Raine took that as her cue to walk over to the woman, sling her over her shoulder as the woman flailed to get loose, letting out a petrified scream, before Raine opened the door and threw the woman unceremoniously out into the street. 

"AND STAY OUT!" Raine shouted at her before slamming the door shut and locking it for the time being.  Raine needed to sort things out.  How had that woman gotten into her house?  Wasn't Ellone still here?  What of Laguna?  Had he ever returned home?  Also, what of their child?  If that much time had passed, had they all moved on?  Raine wouldn't expect them to wait for her if that were the case.  She would just have to catch up and see how they were doing, if she could.  For now, she needed to get things here sorted at home.  Things seemed different here in the bar.  It was clearly not used but yet kept very clean.  No doubt, the people of Winhill had kept it going for her.

What Raine didn't realize, when she had tried to lock the door, that it never actually had locked up.  As she walked to the set of step leading upward, Raine opened the door and headed up the steps into where she used to live.  Raine couldn't help but take pause and look around.  Everything had changed so much!  Whomever that woman was, she hadn't been lying.  She had changed Raine's home into something far from what it used to be.  Raine's eyes narrowed in annoyance before she wandered over to a few canvases, picked them up and headed back down the stairs.  The woman she had thrown out had long since left, screaming as she went with no intention of returning to the bar or Raine's home.  Opening the door that lead out into the street, Raine threw out the canvases.  Raine had taken back her home and she wasn't going to part with it for anything.

A week later...

Tagged : Raine and Rinoa! (And Laguna maybe?) | Words : 603 | Notes : This is bad starter.

Squall couldn't believe he'd actually come here or that he'd brought Rinoa with him, but there was no doubt, something had compelled him to travel to Winhill. The sign read "Welcome to Winhill" as he drove past, and Squall sighed audibly at the buildings up ahead - but it was not a sigh of annoyance or distress like usual. He didn't know why Laguna wanted him here. The message that his...adult figure had left on his phone a couple of days before hadn't specified anything - only that Squall and Rinoa, or his "cute girlfriend" or whatever he'd said, should come to Winhill. Squall didn't have any reason to listen, really. He could have just said he was too busy or that he wasn't interested. But Squall hadn't realized, until receiving the message, that he'd wanted an excuse to get away from the Garden and take Rinoa with him. Winhill was quiet while the Garden was always a mess of screaming, chattering, gossiping students who all had a problem they wanted their headmaster to solve, and really, nothing could have put Squall's mind more at ease than to leave the Garden, finally. He hadn't heard one person besides Rinoa speak to him for hours now, and it was relief that he felt as a result. He wouldn't say any of this to Rinoa or Laguna, but...he was maybe glad to be here. His opinion might change once they actually got to Winhill and figured out why Laguna wanted them to be there, but at least the drive had been pleasant enough.

Approaching the town wasn't a simple job of just driving into the streets due to how antiquated the place was, something Squall remembered and realized as he turned off beside the main pathway and let the car roll to an easy stop. He was left staring from the driver side window at the peaks of rooftops. Winhill would always be what some might call a boring place, but Squall could understand why people liked this type of town. There was...charm, if he had to use such a word. His eyes shifted over to Rinoa in the passenger's seat, and he raised his eyebrows at her. "I don't know where we go," he told her, starting to open the car door and get out. Laguna hadn't specified, if Squall remembered right, only that Squall needed to pack some things because he'd be "staying a while." Obviously, he'd have somewhere to stay lined up...or maybe not. His...adult figure had never exactly had all his chocobos in a row, judging by Squall's visions of him.

He moved around to the other side of the car to open the door for Rinoa, still staring towards the town for a familiar face even as he pulled their belongings from the back seat. It only now occurred to Squall that because Laguna could be forgetful, that he might not be expecting Squall and Rinoa today. Squall had sent him a short text message to say they'd be here today, but nothing else. If Squall and Rinoa ended up walking aimlessly around town for a few hours before anyone paid them any mind...Squall's relaxation was going to go down the drain. His hopes already weren't too high.

With both their bags in tow, his in his hands and Rinoa's under his arms, Squall turned to her and motioned his head in the direction of the town. "Hopefully he's waiting." He started leading the way into town, another sigh - this one a little more annoyed than before - leading the way as he stepped in.

FEEL YOUR HEART BEATING FAST

{Words} 710 {Tagged} Raine, Squall, Laguna? {Wearing} THIS

Rinoa could feel this excitement building in her that she couldn't seem to get rid of. When Squall had told her to pack her bags, she had done so, but she'd also asked him the obvious question. Where were they going? His answer had been...well, it had left a lot of questions in Rinoa's mind. Still, she hadn't bombarded him with a bunch of questions, because as soon as Laguna's name had been mentioned, she had backed off of it. That was...tough for Squall. It didn't take a genius to figure out, though it helped that she was close to him. Unlike Selphie, who put up a conscious effort to try and understand Squall, Rinoa could do so with significantly less effort. Besides, she understood father problems, so she didn't press him too much on the subject of Laguna. But from what she had gleaned later on, Rinoa could feel her happiness budding. This was what she would like to call, the first vacation they took together! Even if it was only for a day or two, it counted as a big deal to her. Which was why she had packed twelve different outfits, though she had managed to pack them in such a manner that no one could tell just how extensive her wardrobe was. After all, she didn't want to dampen Squall's cheerful mood with how much she had packed. She was probably already pushing it with the fact that Angelo was along with them - currently standing on shaky legs in the back seat, his nose pressed against the window.

With a light hearted smile - one that was increasingly more rare through her interesting...condition - Rinoa's dark eyes turned from her fluffy companion, to her...well, other fluffy companion. She was just in time to hear the sigh that rolled out of his throat. Rinoa grinned at Squall while she reached her arm over and laid a hand on his arm. "I'm really excited.", she ventured easily. Squall's moods were getting increasingly better, but Rinoa wasn't fazed by them at all anymore.

When the car shifted to a stop, Rinoa glanced around them. It wasn't like they just came to Winhill all that often. Squall had let her listen to Laguna's voicemail, but she realized then that there had been really no clues on what they were going to be doing...or even where to go. "He didn't exactly spell it out for us." Rinoa couldn't be bothered with being upset over such a small thing. It was with pride that she waited for him to open her car door. Matron had obviously given him some skills as a gentleman. "Thanks hun!" Bouncing out from the front seat, Rinoa brushed the seat of her shorts off and surveyed where they were. "Hmmm, what's the chances he'll answer the phone?" Probably not very high, since this wasn't exactly the most...um...well, steady man you could think of. Rinoa considered herself high energy, and after being friends with Selphie and Zell for so long, she figured she was ready for anything. Laguna on the other hand, was just about more than she could handle for energy levels.

The eager barks of her companion came as he sprung out of the car, past Squall and toward her. A light giggle escaped her lips while she stroked his ears. "Calm down, Angelo. I'm excited too and I'm not barking about it.", she gently chided. Rinoa stood to wait for him to pass a bag to her, but he seemed willing to tote all of their things. "Squall, I can carry at least one.", she protested. Rinoa fell in place beside him as he started to walk toward the town, but her dark eyes kept eying the bags he was carrying. It appeared as if they weighed nothing to him. How on earth was he so strong anyway? She eyed him from the side as they walked, catching the now annoyed sigh that he expelled. Quickly jumping in, Rinoa curled her fingers around the underside of his bicep and gave him a gentle squeeze there. "I'm sure we'll find him. It'll be an adventure!", she encouraged brightly.

{NOTES } <3

It had been a sudden idea; a split second decision upon his reunion with Raine that he had contacted Squall without thinking. He had invited him over and the moment he hung up the phone he practically forgot about it a couple of days later when Squall sent him a text message that told him that he would be arriving in Windhill later in the day. That led to the sudden realization that he hadn’t even informed Raine that he had made the phone call to invite their son over. Logically, an intelligent person would inform the other about the arrangement but Laguna thought to keep it to himself as a surprise for Raine. Never minding what she might have wanted to do prior to Squall’s arrival to get ready or clean up.

Instead he left the bar earlier in the after noon and started making his trek toward the entrance of town. It had been awhile since he had last seen Squall. In truth, he hadn’t seen him since Ultimecia had been dealt with. There was very little effort from either end to reconnect after the sorceress from the future had been defeated and instead each focused on their own duties: Laguna in Esthar (which he was kicked out of) and he imagined Squall had gone back to Balamb Garden to continue running the place. Clearly the qualities of a respectable leader had not been passed down through Laguna’s end.

The ex-president hadn’t been back in Windhill very long; only a few days in fact, but the day after his reunion with Raine was when he had contacted Laguna. Even after the last few days had passed, he was still having a hard time fully grasping the fact that Raine was still alive. Every time he saw her working behind the counter he would eventually urge himself to move over and just simply poke her in the shoulder. She would give him a strange look, he would smile, offer no explanation to what he was doing, and move back away with his urge satisfied. He didn’t have anything to dress up in that was formal for such an occasion so he kept things to a casual state.

Windhill was a small town and the population wasn’t very large; even with having only been around a few days now, he could point out any newcomers. Given the fact the pair had luggage with them as well, it meant that they stuck out like a sore thumb. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and headed toward the pair from their right. His mouth was twisted into an impossibly wide smile from the excitement he was feeling. If he were a dog, he imagined his body was shaking all over. ”Hey you two!” He called out to them and lifted up a hand to wave to the two.

When it appeared that he managed to managed to grab hold of their attention enough to get them to pause in their walk, Laguna closed the distance between the two. ”Good I caught you before you got too far. Right, before we go through all the pleasantries of meeting with one another, I have someone I want you, Squall to meet. Come on, this way.” He was very eager to get the show on the road that he was leaving very little room for the two to argue the fact. He reached over and grabbed one of the bags and tossed it over his shoulder before taking long quick steps back in the direction of the bar, ”Come on, keep up. So much to discuss today. We’ll catch up back at home.”

He led the pair across the town, his upbeat attitude never faltering. It didn’t take very long for him to bring the pair to the bar and when he arrived at it, he paused at the door and glanced over his shoulder and eyed the pair (Squall more-so than Rinoa). ”…Are you ready?” He twisted the handle and pushed the door and held it open for the pair, ”She’s inside… try not to shock her too much, I didn’t tell her you were coming.”

I am only just waking up, Raine hadn't been aware of what Laguna had done the day after they had reunited. Right now, it seemed like they were trying to go back to the way things were when they were together. Raine ran the bar while Laguna sometimes spent time in the bar or went out. What he did, she could only guess but she trusted him enough to know that he'd return. It felt odd though whenever he left. Laguna was something familiar in this world to her. Now that a considerable amount of time had passed since her death she was still struggling to catch up on the times. Winhill hadn't changed much but there were still different people now and then as well as the fact that she had to get used to the realization that some people she knew then had passed away from old age. It was alien to her, this time. Hopefully, she could get used to it. More familiarity would do her some good. Often times, she wondered how Ellone and their son had been doing. Laguna appeared to be just as alienated by the sudden turn of events as Raine had been. He seemed to still be getting over the fact that she was alive again. He acted strangely, poking her or finding excuses to touch her as if he feared she wasn't really there. At first, she was confused by his behavior, often giving him strange looks each time he would do something like poking her. Eventually, she caught on to his antics and realized it had to be because he was afraid she would suddenly disappear as if this all had been some sort of cruel dream he had. It sometimes annoyed her to be poked but she knew the reason behind why he did it and paid it not much mind. In fact, she knew that Laguna needed to reassure himself that she was now here in the present. Raine knew Laguna took some time when it came to strange things like this one. Today, the bar had been particularly slow. So, Raine had busied herself with cleaning the place. Laguna had been in earlier but when she asked him where he was going, he didn't really say much that would hint at anything. She had no idea what sort of surprise she was in for while she busied herself with cleaning the bartender's counter, the glasses, the tables and seats. Heck, she even washed the windows. If she had known what she was in for, she might've been more careful in her appearance. Without time to prepare, since she wasn't aware of the surprise Laguna had in store for her, Raine's hair was a bit messy. Well, for her it was. Instead of wearing her usual head band, she had taken it off after it drooped whenever she was doing something in a bent position while cleaning. Raine hadn't yet put up a closed sign but she was considering it by the time Laguna had returned. Hearing the door open, Raine didn't even turn to look. She already could guess who it was. She had been in the middle of checking her stock of drinks but from her viewpoint, she could see Laguna. It wasn't hard to spot someone dressed like he was as well as his dark hair. So far, no one in Winhill had such hair coloring. "Back already, Laguna?" she questioned him as she examined the amount of tequila left in a bottle nearby. She had yet to take notice of the fact that they had company. If she knew, she would feel very self conscious right now given the fact that, to her, her hair looked slightly wild after the cleaning she did. Raine might also worry if she looked as though she got dirty all over the place. Right now, for the moment, she was completely unaware of who just entered the bar.

words, 681 tags, Squall, Rinoa and Laguna notes, Raine has no idea xD Template made by Nocty