Fanfic:A Mostly Normal Girl
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Trainee Barracks
"Mouse!"
It was one of those rare and Light-blessed hours that Gaidin-in-Training had free, amidst their many hours of studies and schooling. Stretched out on her stomach on her bed, Mouse was writing a letter to Nael. She looked up to see Jyllyana, a fellow Drin'far'ji, come bounding in with her usual bountiful enthusiasm.
"What are you writing?" Jyl asked curiously, dropping herself down to a seat next to the darker haired young woman. She peered over and then giggled, snatching up the paper. "Ooh, a love letter!"
Mouse's mouth dropped open and she made a lunge for it, but Jyl skipped out of her reach, continuing with the giggling and reading. Scrambling off her bed, Mouse chased Jyllyana over three more before cornering her, lunging again for the paper but missing a second time.
Being the larger of the two, Jyl did have the initial advantage. Playfully, she pushed Mouse's shoulder and knocked her back a step. Under Caden's tutelage, Mouse of course kept her footing, but elected to drop to a crouch anyways so she could strike out with an outstretched leg and spin, catching Jyl by the backs of her calves and knocking her to the ground.
Mouse sprung forward to tackle the sprawled our fellow Drin, straddling Jyl's mid-section and triumphantly getting her letter back.
"What's going on up here?" Riana Ji'alantar demanded, coming towards the door.
Mouse and Jyllyana rushed to their feet as the older trainee walked in and looked around suspiciously. Both girls stood with their backs straight and their hands behind them, trying their damnedest to keep their serious and well-behaved expressions on their faces.
"Nothing, Ji'alantar," Jyl replied and Mouse's hand signal corroborated.
Riana took a good look around, but she couldn't see anything out of place except their hair, so she departed with a look of warning to them both.
Once she was gone, the two girls all but collapsed into a pile of giggles, though Mouse's were just breaths, but the grin told it all. Besides, Jyl made enough noise for them both as they took seats on Mouse's bed.
"Seriously, Mouse," Jyl continued with a smile after a few moments. "I couldn't actually read it while I was running away from you - I'm going to have bruises, by the way. What are you writing?"
Mouse smiled. It is just a letter to an old friend, a dear friend, Mouse signed.
"An old flame?"
Of a sort, Mouse replied shyly. I was just about done anyways. She went on as she pulled the letter out from where she'd hidden it in the waist band of her pants, taking back up her writing items and signing off, folding it up and sliding it under her pillow to be taken care of later.
Jyl got that smile on she got when she was about to start teasing Mouse on something. They'd been in the same beds right next to each other since they Jyl arrived - just weeks after Mouse did - and they'd gotten to know one another pretty well over the past few years.
"What about that Dedicated?" Jyl teased, grinning and leaning back, holding up her hands in a joking defense.
Mouse smacked her on the arm anyways. She had barely told Jyl anything about that night on the battlements and definitely nothing about what he'd told her - not even his name - but Jyl had been awake when Mouse returned to her bunk, so she'd had to explain somewhat and had told her she'd been talking with a Dedicated who couldn't sleep either. The teasing had been never-ending, since Jyl could see the flushing of Mouse's cheeks when she came in.
You said you'd stop bringing that up! Mouse said with an urgent expression, although there was a smile lurking in there as well. I doubt that I will ever even see him again, let alone speak with him. It is not a matter, she went on.
Jyl held her hands up, relenting, but smiling still, like she knew something Mouse didn't. "I'm just saying that you seem to have a lot of choices and interested in almost none," she said.
Large dark eyes glanced down briefly as something akin to a blush crept in to cheeks slightly tanned from many hours working in the sun of the Yards. Jyl was totally wrong about Mouse having no interest in any of them, but one look in those blue eyes said that Jyl knew that already. Mouse forced herself to look up.
You know that's not true, she said, glad at that moment that she didn't have a voice to sound shy. Nael is just a friend... yes, we liked one another once, but I'm here and he's in the Borderlands. It's been years and we're just friends now. The Dedicated... The blush increased. He makes me curious, but I know he sees not me. I might have little experience, but I am not naive to think we'd be... special to each other.
Jyl smiled kindly. "There are lots of boys out there like that," she said. "Don't sell yourself short, though. You're a beautiful girl and smart, talented, all those good things. I don't know what I'm advising, just don't sell yourself short."
Lifting a slender but strong hand, Mouse brushed some hair behind her ears before signing. Perhaps, she said. Still... life is what it is. I have studies and training to worry about. I don't need to be worried about men, too, she went on.
"We all worry about our personal lives, even if we don't have much of one," Jyl said. "We're all just human and we're young. Even if we don't have time for things, we can still dream, right?"
Right, Mouse agreed with a smile.
Jyl nudged Mouse's knee. "Come on, you should come out with me. Dan, Marress and I are going to meet in the gardens. We're just going to play a few games until we have to get back to work, but it's better than being cramped up in here."
Biting her lip, Mouse tilted her head with a faint worried frown. Are you sure they would not mind? They were just planning to meet you.
"Of course I'm sure," the blonde replied with an easy smile. "You've met them and they like you. We've spent break time together. It'll be fun."
Mouse laughed silently. All right, all right... she relented. I'll come.
Jyl grinned, proud of herself. "Good!" she said, getting to her feet and grabbing Mouse's hand, practically dragging her out of the barracks, but Mouse didn't mind. After coming from a life knowing no one but her parents and her nurse, and her enemies, and then no one at all... it was good to have friends.
After a life spent running away and trying desperately to just survive, it was nice to be able to have a little fun in life, spend time with friends, forget about the past and even the looming shadows of present and future, ignore the heartaches that came with it all, and just be a ...mostly normal girl for a while.
