Final Fantasy [Begins]

[Shadow Wolf]

Jin

Things have certainly gotten lively...

The alarm wasn't ordinary, but it was enough to wake him up. A boy raging as he punched a comrade and a third one protesting as he found out that his friend slept with a girl.

Heh... human interactions...

As Jin stood there watching the show taking place in the house, he wondered if this was the way he had to deal with people when he faced the situations in life. Not that he didn't want to, but his indoors life wasn't of any help when it came to social life. So far, he knew only of a few things. Markus spent the night with Eden, and Nova spent the night -though apparently he didn't have sex- with Alex, which apparently made Kite angry. As he went through these events in his own mind, he was snapped back to reality with a simple question (or more like an order).

"Don't you have something better to do?"

Eden's glare and her tone of voice was enough to make Jin realize that he was in the wrong place. Silently but quickly, he made his way downstairs. Maybe a bit of alone time could be useful...

"...or not..."

He was greeted by another chapter of Trouble at the Myst Manor. Seeing Nova in pain on the floor as Kite blurted the words "I don't care" in anger made Jin felt like once again, he was in the wrong place.

-"Jin, nothing will happen if you don't take the first step man. I know you're used to live a quiet life, but you're missing all the fun in life. Try to be a bit more open OK?"

-"OK boss."

-"Meh, drop the formalities. Markus sounds better."

-"OK... thanks Markus"

As he recalled the advice Markus gave him, he finally gathered the courage to speak a few words.

"Guys?"

He was greeted by a cold stare from Kite, making him panic a bit, but that didn't stop him from at least finishing what he had to say...

“Are you two going to be alright?”

It seems that his words were enough to calm the mood a bit. Kits silently headed for the kitchen to grab something while Jin, offering his hand in help, assisted Nova in rising to his feet again. Peace would only last for a short time, as Eden's prescence made the silent feel like a heavy boulder on everyone's back once more. Kite and Jin tracked her commanding steps as she went to the kitchen and back with a cup of coffe in hand; and as they expected, they both received the commanding glare to leave the area as soon as possible.

Ugh... twice already... she definitely doesn't like me.

The nearest exit was to go upstairs and Jin did not hesitate to take the exit and avoid trouble once more.

_____

"Jin!"

That greeting he was familiar with... Markus was there raising his hand to pick up his attention while Alex was healing his wounds, trying her best to hide her red face.

"Heh, I bet you're surprised about the events right? Don't give it too much thought. You'll get old if you keep that frown man."

"Eh... right. But that's not what's in my mind."

"Well, I'm no psychic. Speak up"

"Uh... where do I start..."

As his words began to flow out of his mouth, Jin spoke to Markus about three issues which were on his mind: The battle with their ex-teammate and how he felt like some sort of barrier protected him from at least some of the bruises he picked up from said battle; how he felt like he hasn't been able to interact much with the crew; and finally, the origin of the weird tattoo he has on his left arm, which he noticed last night before going to sleep.

"Well, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Alex also has new skills."

Oh yeah... now that I think about it...

"Dont get lost on your head yet Jin."

"Ah, sorry." Jin quickly removed his hand from his forehead to pay attention to Markus.

"We all have new tricks, along with the marks we have in our bodies. As you can see, I also have one." Markus showed the brand on his right forearm as he spoke. "...and I'm sure that Alex also has one somewhere in her body."

"Umm..." Alex's face was bright red as Markus said these words.

"Chill Alex. We won't ask you to show us your tattoo."

"O...OK" Her embarrassment was clearly evident as she was no longer able to hide her blush from the duo.

"This isn't a happy story, however. Even though our abilities are cool and all, we have been branded and are now what some people may call "L'cie."

Jin gaze got a bit lost as he tried to recall if he ever heard that name before.

"You don't know what L'cie are, right? L'cie are pretty much humans, expect they have new perks and are chosen to complete a mision of sorts. Remember that you told me that you felt like a barrier protected you from harm? Well, that's prob one of your new powers. OK, so about the mission... I'm pretty sure you had a vision, right?"

"Yeah, something about a crystal, the beast we fought in the city a few days ago, and a city falling down or something like that."

"Well, that. We need to find out where and how we fit there. If not, we'll end up like our lovely Bella. Things aren't so happy if we complete our mission either, as we'll prob end up turned into crystal statues."

"Hmm... so either way, we lose eh?" Jin's words expressed a bit of frustration as he collected all the info he acquired from Markus. His thoughts, however, were interrupted as he heard a light sound coming from Alex.

"I don't want to..." Alex was visibly shaken by the conversation.

"Hey, don't cry. Look, I'm sorry for this. I just wanted to know what was all of this about. It wasn't my intention to make you cry." For ome reason his hand found a way into Alex's head, maybe as an effort to show support and encouragement for both her and himself. "Look, I don't know how this thing works completely, but none of us wants to see the city destroyed, right? So don't feel sad. We'll find a way." He felt like he had to do anything to make Alex feel better, though he only made her blush once more.

"Hah, not bad Jin. Just don't let Nova know you're hitting on Alex."

"Quit it man."

Markus was now laughing as the scene became a bit awkward by his last words. Despite all of this, Jin was actually feeling better. It was good to enjoy a good laugh after all the trials they have been through in the last few days, even if that laugh wasn't actually his own.

"I'm going to get ready. I'll meet you in the lounge later." Jin was about to enter in the room again when...

"Jin" Alex's voice stopped on his tracks for a moment. "Thanks... for your words."

"Eh... sure." His face was a bit red, though he managed to hide it as he entered the room. As he closed the door, he heard Markus say something to Alex.

"Don't worry. He's quiet but kind. You can trust him."

As he proceeded to get himself ready, and as the thoughts of the impending doom tried to invade his mind, he softly muttered the words that he would say to his trainer, if he wasn't inside his mind.

Thanks Markus.

________

OK, so I apologize for the lack of quality in my post. It's been a while and I feel kinda rusty. I believed I tagged everyone in the post and if it wasn't apparent, I made the suggestion of gathering everyone in the lounge, as I believe not everyone is informed of the plans for the day (I think only Eden, Nova and Markus know of the future meeting with Kara). Feel free to PM me if there was anything odd about my post.

EDIT: OK, so I'm currently trying to make the characters a bit more accurate with their words and thoughts. Thanks for bearing with me as I learn how to write correctly.