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Log 8-- Goofy...cheers Celes up. XD

Goofy wondered where the robot went and then shrugged his sholders. People came and left often in this place, never staying for too long.

Goofy picked up the hat and puff. He put the hat on his head and then held onto the puff. He decided to wander around for a bit.

Great, now where are we going? Irvine looked around on Goofy's head, he did have a good view from up here.

I dunno, but at least he's not throwing me around.

Celes sat on a bench in the garden. She had been more and more disheartened lately, and so was now sulking morosely before her favourite flowers. The roses comforted her but a little, though, and she found herself playing absently with her sword-- lately, she hadn't even felt like practicing with it anymore.

It simply wasn't -fair-.

Goofy saw a lady on a bench who looked really sad. He made his way over to her with a smile, he always had a smile. "Hello...why are you so sad?"



Celes sighed,
"I am upset because I feel useless," she said, pulling one of the roses into her lap and running her fingers over the petals as though that would help,
"My sister, Viki, grew up recently, and she has so much more potential now...which she wastes. But I'm still just a child and there are so many things that I want to do which I can't, because no-one would take me seriously!"

Goofy sat down. "Oh, you don't like being a child?" Goofy had been a child a long time, but it didn't bother him. "Maybe you will grown soon?" He didn't know how grown work, but thought that was a nice thing to say. "I'm Goofy, by the way." He suck out his hand polietly.


Celes shook her head vehemently,
"As a child, I can't be a proper soldier!" she explained, "I want..I want to be able to protect my ideals and those I love. But, I am not taken seriously in this form!"

She stomped her foot a little at this, and then blushed at her outburst,
"Euh. Sorry. It's just so frustrating. The only ones who take my desires seriously are children themselves...." her mind lingered briefly on Zexion, whom she had sworn to protect, "I'm Celes..Celes Chere."

"You can't do that as a child?" Goofy frowned, "I wonder why they don't take you seriously?" Goofy said as he unconciously roll ed the puff in his hand. "It's nice to meet you." Goofy said as he shook her hand.

Celes shook her head,
"Well, because being a soldier takes a lot of practice...so I guess they just think I don't have enough of it." she noddd, "Though, I think I'm a good enough fighter to be a soldier someday."

Goofy's positive attitude was also a bit catching, but Celes wasn't as easy to forget things as her adoptive sister and so maintained a bit of seriousness about the situation.

Goofy nodded, "That makes since. How much do you pratice?" Goofy hadn't really practiced anything, let alone fighting. "Show me what you can do." Goofy said with a smile.

Celes set the rose gently on the bench and stood, pulling out her sword. She felt a bit silly demonstrating for Goofy, but there was something soothing about working with it that set her at ease. It wasn't long before she forgot all about her troubles via the smooth motions of the sword forms she had remembered or studied.

Goofy watched in awe of Celes. She moved fluidly, like she and the sword were one. "Wow, that's cool." Goofy smiled and clapped his hand for her.

She finished with a flourish, blushing as Goofy clapped,
"Hey, thankyou..." she said softly, sheathing the sword and sitting back on the bench,
"I feel better now, at least. I haven't been practicing so much lately."



Goofy smiled, "That's great!" He looked at the sword, "Was it hard to learn how to do that?" Goofy was pretty clumbsy and couldn't do anything like that.

Celes smiled softly down at the rose in her hands,
"Oh. Not really-- I've a natural inclination towards it, though. Boyue says I used to be a soldier before I came here, though I don't remember that all too well."

Goofy smiled and nodded as he listened, "Wow, really?" That sounded really awesome. "I don't hink I was a soldier in my past." At least, Spooky didn't tell him so.

Log 10-- Viki and Jak again!

Viki flopped down in the grass outside the building. It was big and beautiful and put her to mind of something classic and mythical in a way. She couldn't be a hundred percent certain whether it was Greek or Chinese, really, but it was a pretty place. There was a battle arena in front of it too, but she definitely wasn't looking for a fight.

That was the last thing Viki needed!

Jak wondered the unfamiliar area, fingering the lance he found himself carrying when he came to town. Only, obviously this wasn't the town. "Much better then Halloween though," he mused absently, running a hand through his blonde hair while looking about him.

Spotting a familiar figure flopped in the grass, he smiled before waving the lance above his head and shouting, "Hey Viki!"


Viki blinked, looking up at the looming and happily familiar face as he came over near her,
"Jak!" She cried, hurriedly scrambling to her feet and launching herself in his direction,
"Ohhhh isn't this place so -pretty-?"

"Not today no," replied Jak, bending to pick up the dropped lance once more. "I wasn't around for Wonderland, but Oddball was and she said that she loved it." he said with a nod.

"So how have you been?"

"I've been good!" the now-teen enthused. She didn't seem -quite- as silly as she had been as a kid, but Viki definitely still had a lot of her eternal optimism and more than a little of her ditziness,
"Though, Celes keeps trying to challenge me to battle. I think she's lost a few screws."

She shook her head a bit, running a hand through her hair,
"Hey, let's do something!" she suggested. She didn't know -what-, but doing anything with Jak was always good.

Jak nodded with a smile, "Sounds like a Celes is enjoying this new world quite a bit."

"That sounds like a good idea...um......what should we do?" he said, glancing about them for anything that might be interesting.

"Oh, yeah, she's truly in her element all right.." she shook her head again, and fiddled with her hair a bit. Looking at him for a second had reminded her...She'd been talking with her adoptive mother for a while now, about Jak. Because there were a few things that confused her.

Only now, she was pretty sure she wasn't confused anymore. But she didn't really know how to address the subject.
"Er. Jak, we're best friends, right?"

That was a good way to start!



Jak tilted his head at her so he was looking somewhat up-side-down. "The best there is!" he said with a wink, making him look rather funny in the position he was in.

He couldn't help but smile and act weird around Viki. She just brought it out of him.

Viki laughed, clapping,
"Do another one!" she cheered him on, tilting her own head so that her hair fell into her eyes,
"Oh!" she tried to brush it behind one ear, but it kept falling back into her eyes,
"Well, that's not very helpful, is it?"

She seemed to have completely forgotten about whatever it is she wanted to say. Big surprise.

Smirking, Jak straitened himself so he could reach over and hold her hair for her. "You really should carry a hair tie with you. Just in case."

Jak couldn't help but notice just how soft her hair was. "Hmmm..." he mused absently.

Viki giggled, "Well, but if you're standing up, then I can't look at you sideways, right?"

She straightened and swung her arms back and forth as she did so,
"Oh yeah! I was saying-- so, we'll be friends forever, right? No matter what?"

Jak nodded firmly with a large smile. "No matter what, I'll always be there."

As she straitened herself, Jak stepped back to give her room, blushing slightly.

Viki completely counter-acted that by grabbing his hand in hers,
"Well, good."

She tilted her head thoughtfully, trying to remember everything her godmother had told her,
"And you'll protect me?"

Jak nodded firmly with a large smile. "No matter what, I'll always be there."

As she straitened herself, Jak stepped back to give her room, blushing slightly.


Viki completely counter-acted that by grabbing his hand in hers,
"Well, good."

She tilted her head thoughtfully, trying to remember everything her godmother had told her,
"And you'll protect me?"


Jak blushed a little more, but smiled gently at her anyways. "'Of course I'll always protect you. Forever and foralways," he said while nodding. Squeezing her hand gently.

Viki giggled, putting her other hand to her mouth,
"Fu fu fu..." she seemed to be amused at some private joke,
"And..." she scratched her head trying to remember all the requirements,
"Well, I think you've got them all anyhow."


Jak arched an eyebrow and looked at Viki in confusion. "Wha?" he asked. Wondering what prompted that last sentence.

Viki swung Jak's hand back and forth with hers, then used it to twirl around like a ballet dancer,
"Oh, just something my mother was telling me about," she said by way of explanation.



Jak adjusted his grip on her hand to help guide her in her twirl. Smiling at her antics and almost missing her answer. "Oh really? Well isn't that interesting."

Viki beamed,
"It's good! Because now you can be my boyfriend!"

Journal Entry: Viki discusses Mama-Shiaree's requirements in more detail.

Journal Entry: Celes grows?!

Log 14 -- Viki meets Ice Crystal


Viki bounced around, hopping from one foot to the other in front of the shop. What she -really- wanted was to find a carousel, perhaps. Or just the horses for one. She could probably get Shiaree or Grandpapa to help her make the carousel itself. It'd be -beautiful- and so much fun!

..much nicer than the -real- horses in the stable. They were all much too difficult for her to keep her balance on, and tended to take off with her whenever she stopped thinking about them directly.

Icey was rubbing his back, grumbling as he walked down the street. Well, it was more of a plodding, really... But he was still upset. Aurora found it in great interest to hop on his back as if he were a horse, when he really wasn't fond of having people on his back.

Stopping by a random bush that still had leaves, he pulled a branch off and stripped it of the little bits of green. He was a centaur, yes... But passengers were NOT something he enjoyed. HIs blue gaze turned while he snacked on the bush to a girl who was bubbling with energy. Curious... Discarding the stick leftover, he went over and tried to peek at what she was looking at.

Viki eyed the tiny carousel horse in the window carefully. Well, this would at least give her Grandpapa the -idea- of what she wanted him to make for her...though she'd of course need a much bigger one if she were going to sit on it.

She shifted her staff in her hands, setting it against the ground and leaning it in the direction of the shop window. She didn't know if she wanted to buy it just yet, though. Maybe there was another place around that had carousel horses too!

Carosel horses? Ah, he saw now. Shrugging, Ice Crystal turned and trotted back towards the bush. His hooves, of course, made a most wonderful clopping sound as they each struck the pavement in turn. Not entirely an even beat, but he couldn't help it. He literally had two left feet, two right feet... At least he'd gotten the hang of not stumbling, though. Or so he thought until he tripped right into the bush. What WAS it with him and bushes?!

Viki blinked, hearing the noise.
"Oh!" she turned around, spotting the little tauric pony and smiled,
"Hello there! I've never seen anyone like you around before! Are you one of those Pokie-man?"


Detaching himself from the tree, the green taur looked over as Viki acknowledged him. "No, I am not!" He frowned, glaring slightly. How insulting! "I'm a pony." A pokemon, how obsurd!

Viki giggled,
"Oh, sorry. I saw a pony Pokie-man, so I thought maybe you were just a green version of it."

She brushed her hands off on her skirt, though she wasn't sure -why- and held one out for the pony-man to shake,
"I'm Viki!"

"Well, I'm NOT." He pufed up a bit, still frowning and glaring. Reaching out, he took her hand and shook it. "Ice Crystal." He sat down, looking a bit comical. A horse sitting was already comical, but a centaur sitting was even odder looking.

Viki was unperturbed, and in fact didn't seem to notice either the frown or the glare,
"It's nice to meet you! I don't suppose you know anything about carousel horses? I'm going to ask my grandpapa to make me a carousel. The horses in the stable tend to run off with me when I try to ride -them-."



He shook his head, the frown relaxing a bit. "No, sorry. I can't exactly ride a carousel, now can I?" He motioned down to his lower body, making obvious the fact he couldn't sit on the ride, at least comfortably. Or any ride, for that matter. "You might be scaring the horses somehow, though. That might be the problem."

Viki laughed,
"Oh, well, that's true, isn't it? But you could still go on the park Merry-Go-Round! You should try it sometime!" ...she had, of course, completely forgotten about the carousel now.

"Scaring them? Well, Grandpapa said it's probably because I just don't direct them enough. I forget, you see, when I'm riding. I just let them do as they please, while I'm thinking of something else, and often enough that means they start running off."


The pony shrugged. Rides just weren't his thing, really. "Maybe you should try paying attention, then. Though why they start running, I don't know... They might be getting spooked by something while you're riding, thus the running."

Viki smiled,
"Well, I guess they could. But maybe it's just 'cause they don't know where to go without me telling them. I -try- to pay attention, but sometimes it's...." she blinked, spotting a pretty butterfly over in the bushes near him,
"Oooh! A blue one! Where is my camera?" she rifled about in her little bag, searching for the camera she'd brought along for whatever reason she could no longer remember.


"More than likely spooked. Horses DO have minds of their own and can walk along without guidance. How else would they have come out of evolution in one piece if they were afraid to wander without direction?" He sighed as her attention diverted. "You have a short attention span." He watched her dig a camera out, then stared at the butterfly. Something so small had taken her attention.

Viki really didn't hear what he was saying about horses, so intent was she on the butterfly. The camera, however, was not to be found, and she closed her bag,
"Must've left it somewhere. I can't remember why I wanted to bring it with me anyhow. Maybe to take pictures of Jak-Jak if I saw him."

She blinked, looking at the horse-boy again,
"Oh yeah. What were we talking about?"



A heavy sigh escaped as Icey waved his hand. "Nevermind, it wasn't important..." He got up, stretching one of his hind legs. "Anyway... I should get home, Mum will be wondering where I've gone off to." Turning to trot back down the street, he waved to Viki. "See you later, maybe. Have someone check that attention span of your sout, too..."

Log 16-- Celes gets...er... asked out? By Rufus? What a surprise!!

Rufus made his way into the castle at a casual stroll. This had been the first time in a while he had decided to come here. He hadn't felt comfortable here since he was small. Too many people.

Wearing the beginnings of spring goods that the designers had pumped out he looked like a model coming from a shoot.

Sighing he brought his wrist up to check the time looking less then thrilled that it was only half past noon. Far to early to go home since he had decided to skip classes today.

Celes didn't have the same worries about school. Her adoptive mother taught her all she needed to know, and she'd already finished her coursework for the day swiftly enough.

Besides, she didn't care so much about book-learning. She needed more practical, hands-on learning, that was the ticket. She'd spent the majority of the morning practicing her swordsmanship in the courtyard, and was now sitting in the cool breeze, letting the sweat dissipate from her body while contemplating another round.

She spotted Rufus easily enough, and gave a sort of half-smile,
"Afternoon," she said amicably enough. She hadn't been able to locate him in quite some time. Likely they'd both just been too busy with other things to schedule another session.

Looking up suddenly as he heard the greeting he turned to see who it was. When he spotted Celes he gave a grin and called back "Good afternoon. Been practicing?"

Walking towards her he offered his hand to help her up. He rather liked the blonde and was intrigued at having found her here of all places.

She took the offered hand-- not because she -needed- help up, she was, afterall, perfectly capable of lifting herself up and fairly rested at this point, so it wouldn't eve be an effort-- but because she knew that it was the friendly and civil thing to do.

She nodded,
"Of course. One can never perfect what one does not properly endeavor to improve through hard work and repetition."

She'd adopted that motto of sorts over the past few days to combat the protests both her adoptive mother and Viki had been putting up recently that she spent too much time with the sword for both her mental and physical health, and that she ought to be out and about meeting new people and making friends and doing...well, whatever else it was that Viki did which made their mother happy.

Celes was not, however, particularly inclined to do so. She did not reject socialization, particularly when it came to her as it did now- in the form of a person she knew would not be completely tedious- but, she was not about to actively seek out that which might distract her from her ultimate goal.

"Of course I understand completely. However they also say all work and no play makes for a dull life. So how about you and I go out to see a movie this evening?" Rufus replied smoothly.

He wasn't one to waste time beating around the bush or for that matter sitting at home moping around because he had been lied to and made a fool of.

it was time to get back into the playing fields and enjoy the company of a beautiful woman again.

Celes blinked. That had...well, she could now safely liken Rufus to a ninja. Sure, when they'd been practicing she'd felt some attraction to him, but she had simply dismissed it as typical urges that physical activity tended to escalate. Not something to worry about.

Her cheeks tinged a bit red,
"I...I'm sorry, a movie?" she asked, curious. Perhaps she was wrong about his intentions. Maybe there was some sort of movie out that would aid her in her training and he thought she ought to see it.

Rufus smiled as he noted the light blush slipping over her cheeks. Pushing a hand back through his soft blonde lockes he replied " It would be like a date. I buy you dinner and then we go watch a movie. Just nothing mushy. I don't think either of us would appreciate that."

Well, -like- a date wasn't exactly a date anyhow. And he did say nothing mushy, and that was really what made her the most nervous,
"Is there a particular movie you want to see?"

She didn't know anything about movies. She didn't -watch- movies. Or TV. Or anything like that. It was a waste of time that could be better used other ways. The closest she'd ever gotten was a video game, and she mostly used those for tactical simulations and stuff.

Shrugging he replied simply "We'll see when we get there. So I'll pick you up at eight and we'll go get something to eat first. Alright?"

It was simple either she said yes or no and he would roll with whatever she set out there.

"That...er...sounds...is there any particular -reason- behind this?" she was tired of being confused and lost. It wasn't like her at all. She was going to clear things up,
"It seems like you just brought it up out of nowhere. Are you just bored? We could always have a practice session again, if so. I still don't know how to fight properly without a sword."

Chuckling Rufus shook his head. She certainly was blunt. He figured he would never have to worry about her lying to him.

"I like you." he said looking back at the girl setting his blue eyes to her own. "I think we'd make a handsome couple and if you want another session you'll have to have dinner with me first."

If need be he would bribe the young woman into the date. After all he had never been known to give up on what he wanted before.

Ah. Well, this didn't seem to have anything to do with the romantic mushiness she'd seen while out and about between practicing. Still, she wasn't certain of his motives.

"But to what end?" she asked, curious.

Blunt wasn't the half of it. Celes had always been described as having a 'heart as pure as snow' and she certainly still fit the bill, despite her transference to this world and utterly different lifestyle.

"I will go with you, I just would like to know -why- you're asking me, that's all. You've never given me the impression you were interested in pursuing some sort of romantic relationship with me, and that sounds rather like what you're putting forth now."

Guess he needed to be blunt back. Taking a deep breath he did his best impression of not laughing and replied "Ok then consider this my first show of romantic interest. Go on a date with me and stop analyzing this so much."

Grinning cause he found the entire situation funny Rufus pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number.

Waiting a couple a of seconds he then spoke "Hello. I'd like to make a reservation for two. Tonight at eight. The table in the back where I can talk to my companion. Yes. Thank you."

Hanging up the phone he put it back in his pocket and winked at Celes.

"I just made a reservation at a very expensive restuarant taht it takes weeks to get a table in. If you say no they'll never give me a table again. Say you'll go with me?" he said as he took one of her hands.

Well -that- did it. Her face turned a fairly bright crimson. She had been so -certain- there was something else to it, that he wasn't really interested in her.

But perhaps she -had- been over-analyzing things a bit. Maybe he really was interested in her. It was odd to think about...she didn't think she could imagine the two of them walking about like Viki and Jak did...but still, there could be something.

She let him take her hand, though she did not respond to his touch really,
"I...well, I already said I will go, and I will."

An expensive restaurant? Three weeks? This all seemed a little much for a first date. Still, he seemed determined and she wasn't about to judge-- she had no basis for judgment anyhow, given she'd never done anything like this before.

"But..you will still practice with me?"

She wasn't sure she liked the idea of changing the nature of their relationship. Particularly not if it meant sacrificing some of her potential perfection as a soldier.

But still, there was -something- about him she couldn't deny. And she did, in a way, rather want to go. She could use this as a learning experience if nothing else.

He smiled at her blush. She certainly was a paradox. She seemed so cool at points but getting asked out on a date seemed to be enough to fluster her greatly.

"Of course we can still train together. I think that would be fun." Rufus said as he lifted her hand to his lips and pressed a short kiss to the back of it. "I'll pick you up at seven forty-five sharp be ready and wear something nice. It's a coat and tie restuarant so I will be."

Letting her hand go again he lifted his own in a small wave as he went off to get ready for his date.

Journal Entry: Celes, regarding Rufus

Rufus made his way through the park carrying a gym bag stuffed full of training gear. He himself was wearing a more casual clothing style from his usual look. He didn't feel like ruining a perfectly good suit since he knew he would likely end up on his back at some point during this session.

Celes had developed into a rather fine combat artist and he found her company invigorating. Smiling he looked down at his bag and hoped she would like what he had brought for her.

Celes had also taken a bit more relaxed view of her clothing and was wearing a pair of black yoga pants with one of those lovely built-in-bra sort of deep blue tank tops. She had a duffle bag with her as well, but hers only had a change of clothes in it, as she and Rufus sometimes went out to dinner after practice sessions and she didn't want to be all nasty and sweaty if they did.

She'd become slightly more conscious about her appearance since meeting him, as far as clothing was concerned, but still preferred more simplistic clothing if they weren't going anywhere special. Of course, most of the time with Rufus, anywhere they went was somewhere rather upscale, but still.


The young woman was settled comfortably in the grass, stretching, when Rufus came into view. A small smile lit her face and she waved at him,
"Got here early," she said, though it wouldn't be much of a surprise for him. She was nearly always early.

Smiling back at her Rufus nodded when she spoke. Plunking his bag down he dropped into a quick crouch to start stretching out his groin muscles. He certainly didn't want to pull anything there.

"I got caught in traffic. Who would have thought cars would have caught on so quickly." he said in a sarcastic tone. He had tried taking several different "shortcuts" but he had been made even more late by all the other people who had thought the same thing.

"You look well today. Home life most be treating you well?"

The blonde smiled, stretching her long legs out before her and bending forward to reach her toes,
"Kisala's starting to take an interest in martial arts, so I've been working with her a bit. It helps me practice too, so that's nice. I don't think Viki approves, though."

Viki had always been a bit of a pacifist, and she liked Kisala a lot, so it wasn't a surprise she seemed so unhappy about the girl's lessons.

"Everyone should know how to protect themselves. Vicki has her magic and you and Kisala have this." Rufus replied as he mirrored her actions bending so he could almost touch his nose to the ground. Not that he would, it was dirty after all.


She nodded,
"Yeah. She's just jealous, I think. They get along really well and all."

Celes would probably never really join Rufus in his hatred for dirt, though she did enjoy being clean whenever possible. She wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty when necessary, though. Or her clothes. Or her face...

She pulled in one leg and stretched again, then got to her feet,
"So what is it today?"

"I just thought I would let you pick today. Since I seem to always demand a certain session it's only fair you get to choose from time to time." Rufus said as he tucked his legs in under his body lifting up into a handstand before he came down the other way fully stretching his back out.


Celes tilted her head thoughtfully,
"Why don't we work on self-defense today, then? We haven't done that in a while."

And she had to admit she rather enjoyed the closeness self-defense provided.

Nodding Rufus moved into position as he said "Sounds good to me. Do you want to attack first or me?"

Shaking out his legs he bounced a bit to see if he had limbered up enough for this little training session.

She grinned,
"I'll attack first," she said, moving into position in front of him. Probably a back hold would be good to start, and she was hoping that starting off in front of him would throw him off a bit as well.

"Are you ready?"

Rolling his shoulders he nodded and dropped itno position. Where ever she may go he needed to be ready. She was fast and knew how to use it now that he had shown her a few things.

His hands sat at his sides in a casual manner but his muscles were anything but relaxed.

She knew better than to take his seemingly casual manner for granted. He liked to lull her into a false sense of security and she wouldn't fall for it again any time soon.

In a flash, she moved swiftly behind him, hooking her arms around his neck.

Grinning as she grabbed him he dropped to a crouch so she couldn't use the full length of her legs to her advantage. Half turning in her arms he made a quick grab for her ponytail. Part of defense was using everything about the attacker as a weapon.

Celes calmly accepted the ponytail pull, dropping into a crouch as well and pressing him forward with the intention of knocking him forwards onto the ground where she might get a better advantage over him.

When Celes pushed him towards the ground Rufus rolled taking her with him flipping her over and under him. Grinning he twisted so he could come face to face with her.

"That's called a reversal of places." he said with a slightly smug tone tinting his voice.

Celes' face lit on fire and she looked for some sort of way out of this particular position. She squirmed a bit, then attempted to roll him over so that instead she was on top and at the advantage.

Grinning as she squirmed to get out from under him, Rufus was thankful for his bigger size. If for no other reason then it gave him a weight advantage over her.

Grappling with her on the ground he knew she was at a disadvantage so he was curious to see how she would get out from this one. Shifting so his weight fell on the middle of her body he pushed down forcing her back into place.

"You're doing very well." he said close to her ear.

Slowly but surely, Celes figured out a rather effective way she thought might work to get him off of her. She shifted her weight a bit to one side, then pulled her legs up. With his weight on her mid-section, it was fairly easy to move her legs. The thought was that she'd get them under -his- midsection in a quick movement so that she could push him off with her legs. She had strong legs, and ought to be able to accomplish the task if he didn't figure out what she was doing ahead of time.

Rufus didn't notice the subtle movement until he realized that they were leaning to the side a bit. Frowning a small bit he thought for a moment before it dawned on him what she might be doing.

Making a frantic grab for her shoulders he knew he was going to be just a bit too late to stop her from throwing him back but if luck was with him he would be able to pull her into a tumble. Skill would determine who landed on top coming out of that.

As she pushed him over, he grabbed her shoulder and the surprise of the move dictated that his luck was indeed with him and they rolled a bit. Her efforts, however, were less on ending up on top and more on ending up not in a battle-lock anymore, and so rather than worrying about the roll, she attempted to wriggle her wrists out of his grip.

Rufus wasn't opposed to the break so he let her wrists go and rolled away from her but in a controlled manner. He wanted to stop near where she was. It always made it much easier to leg sweep an opponent if they were within leg reach.

Curlling a bit he let his shoulder cushion himself as he came back up into a crouch watching her tumble. If necessary he could somersault to where she landed and execute the sweep from there.

She reached out to stop herself, then leapt back to her feet with the grace of a cat, watching him carefully to see what his next move might be. She knew he thought fast and wanted to be sure she kept up with him-- she knew better than to think she might beat him hand-to-hand. Now, with a sword on the other hand...there she might've stood a chance.


Watching her legs land gracefully under her Rufus smiled. What a woman!

That thought however didn't stop him from swinging one of his long legs out to catch her in the back of her knee. Seraph had shown him how to defeat this move but he hadn't gotten around to showing her yet. How she reacted next would tell him if he should teach it to her or if she was fine on her own.

She'd been watching him carefully, so she could see when he moved, but hadn't expected what he did. She wobbled as his leg connected with her knee, and dropped down on it briefly, though she kept the majority of her balance. Rather than worrying about getting back to both feet, though, she decided to use the height difference to her advantage and reached out to grab his leg.

Not bad he thought as he watched her grab for his leg. Oop can't let that happen. Tucking his leg back in he used it like a spring almost and sent a kick straight out towards her face.

If she blocked it good, if not then he could stop before he made contact. It had taken him almost a good month to learn how to control his moves so that he could pull them at just the right moment.

The move was unexpected, but her arm -was- already out and headed towards his leg, and the change of the direction of it didn't really affect that any. As he kicked towards her, she pulled it in a bit towards where he was aiming and blocked the kick. As an afterthought she attempted to grab the leg once more, but figured he'd be too fast for that now.

Feeling her block connect with his leg Rufus was already moving onto his next strike. Dropping down to his extended knee while he twisted, he brought up and around his elbow to land a blow in the middle of her shoulder blades.

Following through he skipped his other leg around so he could push her legs out from under her ending his trip on one knee facing the way he had pushed her.


Celes landed on her hands and knees, breathing heavily. It was less the amount of action and more the swiftness of it all that had her nearly breathless. Of course, getting shoved in the back probably didn't help much either.

She held up one hand, half-laughing,
"Peace, need a break," she said softly.

Breathing deeply Rufus came up to his feet. Nodding he stretched out his hand to help her to her feet. "I could use a break too." he said congenially.

After all he had something he wanted to do before they finished here today.

She wiped a bit of sweat off her forehead-- fortunately that was the only place she'd broken out in a sweat thus far-- and took the offered hand. Usually she would insist on getting up on her own, but she appreciated the thought when it came from Rufus.

"Should we go ahead and get something to eat, then?" she had a feeling she was done for the day.

"Of course. My treat since you did so well today. I am impressed, not many people can hold their ground after a leg sweep." Rufus said as he unzipped his gym bag and fished out a towel for her.

Holding it out he gave her a full lipped smile that said she had done more to impress him today then any other.

She smiled back, taking the towel and leaning over to kiss his cheek softly,
"Thank you. I couldn't have asked for a better teacher, afterall."

She wouldn't have wanted one even if she could have. She had grown increasingly fond of Rufus over the last few months. He was elegant, like his adoptive mother and unlike her adoptive sister. And really, once one got past the cold exterior, there was a sense of kindness buried in there. Something she was sure very few got to see at all.

Grinning at the kiss Rufus took her hand before she could get too far out of his reach, and brushed a soft kiss on the back of it.

"A great student is easy to teach." he gave the compliment without even thinking about it. This young woman was so vibrant in his eyes that he wasn't sure if he was moving too fast or too slow, all he knew was that time with her stood still and he had only felt like this one time before. Which scared him just a little bit.

Coming up to his feet again from the crouch he had used to get the towels he held out his other hand. In it was a long ornate box that when opened Celes would see a beautiful oriental fan and a note that read :

"Because you have done more for me in these short few months then I could have ever done for myself in a lifetime."


She laughed at his compliment, shaking her head so that pieces of hair fell into her eyes and then pushing them away behind her ear again.

She was again caught off guard by the gift, and gently lifted the fan out of the box, a bit misty-eyed, though she managed to blink that away well enough-- soldiers did not -cry-.

She smiled softly,
"It's beautiful...," she said, turning the fan over in her hands,
"Thank you, Rufus."

"Not nearly as beautiful as you." he replied quietly raising a hand to brush one last errant hair back from her face. It was strange how honesty he could be with her. It felt nice.



She smiled, tinging a bit pink for a moment, then recovered herself and laughed,
"Flatterer," she teased, "But I do appreciate it. I love...to go out with you."

She looked towards the exit to the park, where the bathrooms were located,
"I'll just go get dressed, then, and we can go."

"I should get ready too." he remarked loving the way her cheeks turned that delicate pink colour. Smiling he offered his arm after he grabbed both her bag and his.

"I wouldn't be much of a gentleman if I didn't carry a ladies bag for her." Rufus joked as he swung the heavy nags up and over his shoulder. "I like spending time with you too."