♥ 002 [ video / phone call ]

[angelicdelights]

[ Hey, have a mildly irritated Rinoa pop on your screens, with a young Growlithe napping off in the background. Her hands are on her hips--yeah, that's right, she's gonna yell at you. ]

Can I just say something? If someone's talking to you, you don't ignore them! Especially if they're just trying to ask you a question...meanie! [ She sticks her

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[private call]

[usedgatlinggun]

[ A beat while Quistis catches up with the whole mess, and another while she contemplates exactly how much of an idiot she is. ]

Oh, Hyne, Rinoa, I'm sorry! I completely forgot to say anything; I should have warned you.

That... That's Leon. I honestly haven't asked for many details, but he's... he's not Squall. The resemblance really is uncanny, but....

He doesn't seem to appreciate being mistaken for Squall, and, well - he's not all that different from Squall, either. Just don't tell him I said that. He prefers to be left alone, I think, but you know his type.

[ She's a bit quiet after that. Leon didn't seem that withdrawn when she met him; in fact, he initiated contact. It strikes her as strange that he'd refuse to answer Rinoa's questions. ]

... Was he upset? [ She assumes Rinoa can tell. ]

[private call]

[angelicdelights]

[ She's quiet for most of while Quistis is speaking, just taking it all in. ]

...Leon. [ She repeats just to confirm; how hard would it have been for him to just say that? ] You know him?

Was he upset...? [ Pause. Think. It's hard to tell tone from text. ] Um. I asked him if he was Squall, so maybe?

[ After a beat: ] He used text, though, so I'm not sure.

[private call]

[usedgatlinggun]

We're acquainted; I've never met him in person. He's... fairly friendly with me, though, by his standards.

[ She sighs. It's not Rinoa she's exasperated with, it's Leon - she can't sort out why he'd be acting like this. ] I'm sorry for him. I mean, it's not my responsibility to apologize for him, but like I said, I should have warned you.

I'll talk to him and find out what's wrong, okay?

[ There's a brief pause. ] Squall is here. But to be honest, I've seen less of him than I have of Leon. It's... a little irritating, but then, it's Squall... I shouldn't expect any less. [ Her tone is a touch sharp. ]

[private call]

[angelicdelights]

Well, you've done better than I have! [ Small attempt at light-hearted humor. She didn't mean to make Quisty frustrated. :( ]

...No, it's okay. I kind of showed up suddenly, after all, and we haven't had much time to talk!

[ Sheepishly: ] But yeah, if you could talk to him, that'd probably be best. I can't think of what I did wrong...

...Wait. Squall's here too? [ Give her a minute. She's not sure whether she's happy to see that or irritated that he hasn't said anything...then again, it's Squall, so she shrugs it off a bit. ] I haven't seen him at all, either.

[private call]

[usedgatlinggun]

I can't imagine what you might have done, either; that's why it's so... frustrating. [ She sighs again, more resigned than exasperated, and you can hear the smile in her voice when she speaks next. ]

Don't worry, he's probably just being touchy. I'll definitely give him a talking-to.

[ But her tone drops again on the subject of Squall. ] It was fully two weeks after I arrived that I spoke to him. I've only spoken to him once since, too, and I've been here almost six weeks, now. It's almost like we're going to have to break him in all over again, or something. [ She sounds like she's trying to make this lighthearted, but her voice doesn't lend itself to the idea. ]

[private call]

[angelicdelights]

[ She gives a small noise of agreement to that first part, before focusing on the real-Squall-related matters. ]

I thought we trained that out of him, too! Well, when I talk to him [ Do you hear the determination in her voice? DO YOU. ] I'll set him straight!

...You don't ignore someone you've saved the world with, jeez.

[private call]

[usedgatlinggun]

No kidding! [ It's a little more vehement than Quistis meant it to be, but damn, she's been more annoyed about this than she was letting on - or than she even realized. ] I mean, it's not like I was expecting him to come pick me up or anything; he's too far away for that, but honestly! I've spoken to complete strangers more than I've spoken to him.

[ She quiets down a little, and sounds almost sad. ] I almost feel like I'm closer to the people I've met since coming here than I am to Squall, right now.

[private call]

[angelicdelights]

[ And Rinoa listens, because she can understand that Quistis was close to Squall. She knows it would suck to be brushed aside like that, and it makes her sad. ]

Sometimes...sometimes he can be a real jerk. [ They both know this.

She thinks for a bit, trying to come up with some sort of plan. ] ...He's not the type to talk to people, and maybe that means we just need to bug the hell out of him until he gives in again.

[private call]

[usedgatlinggun]

[ She laughs a little, despite herself. Rinoa's good for that. ] You might be right. Once we get settled in Violet, we should make a call to him. He can't ignore both of us with all our sundry charms, can he?

[private call]

[angelicdelights]

[ She's not sure what 'sundry' means, but that sounds about right, so... ] Sounds like a plan! He won't know what hit him...