Page 64 - RKJ 2019 Online Flip Version

She stopped mid-sentence when Moogle sporadically quirking upwards despite blatant
bat her hand away and shook their head once
more. Before she could even ask why, the
mascot sidestepped around her, and walked
towards Selphie at a slow, deliberate place
until they were close enough to just be within
arms' reach of each other. The sorceress
couldn't help but turn around, all while
wondering what the heck was going through
that Moogle's mind to dismiss the free ticket
she offered to escape this predicament.
Judging by Selphie's current bemused facial
expression, Rinoa hazarded a guess that she
wasn't the only one feeling this way.
And she guessed that this feeling only
intensified for her friend when Moogle decided
to extend their arms in the universal, 'give me a
hug' gesture. Rinoa couldn't decide if this stab
at a peace offering was genius or insanity as
she raised a hand over pursed lips and side-
stepped to the left so she could continue
watching the madness unfold with an
unobstructed view.
In a split second, the confusion written on
Selphie's face was wiped clean and replaced
with a more disgruntled look as she remained
motionless in some kind of bid to hold her
ground and start a stare down. This lasted for
a good ten seconds before Moogle must have
decided Selphie had blinked and took a half-
step closer, arms still raised.
When Selphie remained resolute, Moogle
took another half-step forward. Eying her now-
trembling but still-clenched fist, Rinoa prayed
that Moogle's head could withstand the faintest
possibility of a right hook if the intense stress
of the past few weeks clouded her judgement
enough.
"I'm sorry, kupo."
A moment after the high-pitched apology
broke the silence like a popped party balloon,
Rinoa noticed Selphie began to tremble more.
It wasn't confined to her balled hand either -
her face was struggling to maintain the ire and
indignation. The corners of her lips kept
With a hearty wave to Rinoa and a nod to
efforts to anchor them down. The gap between
her fingers and the distance separating them
from her palm widened in between
concentrated attempts to tighten the slack.
But once the first giggle escaped, it was all
over. The smile remained and the fist reverted
to an open hand, her resolve effectively gone
for good.
"Ok, so maybe…I was overreacting about
that whole, 'you're out to get my feather
crown' thing. Just a little." she sheepishly
admitted before she let her grin grow even
larger. "C'mere, you big lug!"
When Selphie practically tackled Moogle
as she accepted the hug, Rinoa let out a long-
drawn exhale and a few nervous giggles of her
own. Never had she never felt so much relief
over something so ridiculous in her life.
After the hug had naturally run its course,
Rinoa walked past the mascot and over to
Selphie.
"I think you should do the honors."
She shot the sorceress an incredulous
look. "But I haven't even gotten around to
finding out-"
"Selphie…"
"Ok, ok! I'll do it. Jeez."
Despite how loudly the front of her chunky
heels repeatedly hit and scuffed the floor in
protest, Selphie made good on her words as
she sulked over to the door and opened it
wide.
"You're free to go, Moogle. Drive safe if
you don't live on campus."
"And by safe, what she means is get a taxi.
'Cause driving with a mascot head stuck on is
the opposite of that." Rinoa wryly pointed out.
Unsurprisingly, the brunette shot her a dirty
look for the comment.
"Yeah sure, what she said."
"Will do, kupo."
Selphie, Moogle left the room - the former
thankful that the latter had the decency not to
tail them. Instead, she simply gestured to the
retreating mascot.
"I didn't want to say it earlier but, is it just
me or did Moogle sound a lot like Irvy? You
know, like the time I accidentally-on purpose
kicked him in the cowboys?"
Rinoa waited a few seconds before
answering. "Yeah…now that you mention it, it
kind of does. But isn't he on that mission with
Squall until tomorrow?"
"Yeah but it's not completely unheard for
them to come back earlier if it goes well."
"But…if that was the case, wouldn't Squall
be home too then?"
"Not really. I remember a bunch of times
where Irvine's left earlier because they only
needed a sniper for part of a mission since he
made SeeD." she explained. "Anyway, Mr.
Kinneas is soooo gonna get the Trabian
Inquisition when he comes home from that,
quote-unquote, 'mission that ends tomorrow.'"
"…And if it actually was a, quote-
unquote, 'mission that ends tomorrow?'"
"I'll cross that bridge when I get there." she
answered with a shrug. "Anyway, we should
probably get out of this pantry before someone
accuses us of stealing hot dogs."
The sorceress sighed under her breath as
they both walked out of the room. There was
no changing Selphie Tilmitt's mind sometimes.
-—-
When Rinoa retired to the guest dorm
she'd been assigned to much later that
evening, she had two thoughts on her mind.
The first was whether or not she could take
these heels off without bending over.
And the second?
Wondering if it was a good idea to wake
Mr. Moogle.