Quistis Trepe Quistis Trepe is a playable character in " Final Fantasy VIII " . She is a child prodigy and Blue Mage , and Instructor No . 14 at Balamb Garden . Her fans are referred as " Trepies " after her fan club . Profile . Appearance . Quistis wears a salmon zipped vest , with a gold - rimmed fold - over collar , that is zipped just below the ribcage exposing her midriff . She wears brown arm warmers and brown gloves , a long salmon skirt with a silver waistband , black pants , a brown belt and black shoes . She has blue eyes and wears her blond hair tied up held with a silver comb accessory , and has two long fringes framing her face . As an instructor in Balamb Garden she wears her SeeD uniform and a pair of silver - rimmed glasses . Personality . Quistis is known as a child prodigy around Balamb Garden . At the age of 15 she became a SeeD , and now at 18 is the youngest instructor in the Garden . She is less strict than the other instructors , leading some of her students to not take her seriously and to treat her with disrespect . Quistis tries to maintain her calm and due to her quiet assertiveness , stoic nature , and restraint , she mulls over her worries alone , kept at a distance from her pupils by her rank . Quistis would love to develop a more personal relationship with the people around her , particularly with Squall , yet hesitates to make a move . At first she mistakes her feeling protective of Squall for love , but later comes to realize the connection she felt was the latent sisterly feelings of responsibility from a time she had tried to comfort him after he had become estranged from his " Sis " . Despite her composed exterior , Quistis can get emotional . She thinks of herself as the group ' s " big sister " and takes it upon herself to look after everyone . As she regards the Garden as her home , she is fiercely protective of it . When she feels at ease Quistis displays her more easygoing side . Unbeknown to most , Quistis is the best Triple Triad player in Balamb Garden , and a member of a secretive card club . If she is in the party when they visit Zell ' s room in Balamb , she will playfully snub him by recounting an embarrassing story of him , and if the party visits the manor in Winhill , Quistis spooks her teammates by pretending to be a ghostly voice emanating from an old suit of armor . Story . Quistis was an orphan at the end of the Sorceress War , growing up in Edea ' s Orphanage with Zell , Selphie , Irvine , Seifer , Squall and Ellone , all of whom were cared for by their " matron " , Edea Kramer . She was nicknamed " Quisty " by her friends and was considered the bossy one of the bunch . When Ellone left , Quistis attempted to take her place as Squall ' s " big sister " , being there to break him and Seifer up when the two fought . Quistis was adopted but the arrangement did not work out , and she enrolled into Balamb Garden at the age of 10 , where Squall and Seifer were already students . Due to the use of Guardian Force s the three forgot their childhood memories of the orphanage , leaving behind only vague impressions , such as Squall and Seifer ' s continued rivalry and Quistis ' s feelings of sisterly protection of Squall . Quistis climbed the ranks of Balamb Garden ' s Card Club and became the card master " King " ; the highest ranked member in the club , at age 14 . At 15 she became one of the youngest students to become a SeeD and received her instructor ' s license at 17 . Even after becoming an instructor she could not stop thinking about Squall , starting to confuse her childhood " big sister " feelings for love . Quistis became something of an idol to some of the students , so much they created a fan club dedicated to her . Calling themselves " Trepies " , they idolize everything she does , but Quistis mostly ignores them , concentrating on her job as instructor . Two students she pays specific attention on are Squall and Seifer , the former due to her hidden feelings , the latter due to his repeated misconduct . When Squall and Seifer injure each other in a training match , Quistis is called to retrieve the former from the infirmary . She takes him to class but dismisses it after announcing the SeeD field exam is to be held later that day . Knowing Squall is behind in his prerequisite tests for the exam , she takes him to Fire Cavern to acquire the Guardian Force Ifrit . For the exam Quistis is to supervise Squad B , captained by Seifer with Zell and Squall assisting him . Seifer is unhappy with his team and their mission , and continues to defy Quistis who tries to brush it off . During the exam at the Siege of Dollet Quistis stays on the SeeD Assault Boat while her squad moves to secure the town ' s central square , and later fends off the X - ATM092 with a mounted machine gun when it chases Squall to the beach as they are about to withdraw . Despite two of her squad , Squall and Zell , passing the field exam , Quistis is dismissed from her position as instructor citing her lack of leadership skills , and her instructor license is to be revoked as of midnight . She partakes in the SeeD inauguration ball , but doesn ' t bother to dress up for it , and watches from afar as Squall dances with a girl . On the balcony she approaches him and asks him to accompany her to the Garden ' s training center where she attempts to confide in him . She receives a cold shoulder in return , as Squall cannot understand the point of relying on other people for emotional support . They run into Ellone being attacked by a Granaldo who calls Quistis by her childhood nickname , but she does not recognize her . After Squall and Quistis defeat the Granaldo , Ellone is led away by mysterious men in white uniforms . Now a regular SeeD , Quistis is called to track and contain Seifer when he breaks out of the disciplinary room where he had been banished as punishment for his misconduct during the field exam . Following him to Timber ' s TV station , she watches Seifer take the Galbadia n president , Vinzer Deling , hostage live on air , and requests Squall ' s SeeD team ' s assistance , as she knows they had been assigned a Timber mission earlier that day . Squall , Zell and Selphie meet with Quistis at the studio , but a sorceress appears and spirits Seifer away , saving the president . As G - forces storm Timber the group is forced into hiding . Rinoa Heartilly , the girl who danced with Squall at the ball who is now his client , secures them a safe house . As returning to Balamb Garden is made impossible by the train services having stopped , Quistis reminds Squall of the SeeD ' s official conduct during a time of crisis : Squall decides they should retreat to the nearest Garden , Galbadia Garden . The last train out is fully booked , but Zone , a Forest Owls member whom Squall ' s SeeD party was sent to assist in Timber , gives his ticket to Quistis so she can go with the others . Quistis vows to repay him one day . While the group passes through a forest Quistis falls asleep along with Squall and Selphie . They enter a mysterious dream world where the three experience the past exploits of a Galbadian soldier called Laguna in a Centra Excavation Site . As they come to , Quistis notes the others are not as nonplussed as she is , and concludes they had experienced a shared dream before . Quistis is familiar with Galbadia Garden as she had taken classes there before , and once they get there she heads off to talk with Master Martine . Quistis , along with the rest of Squall ' s group , Rinoa , and a Galbadian student Irvine Kinneas , are tasked with assassinating the Galbadian ambassador Sorceress Edea whom they had glimpsed at the TV studio earlier . With Squall as the group ' s leader , they take a train to Deling City to meet with their contact , General Caraway . The plan is to assassinate the sorceress using two teams ; one to trap her inside a gateway , and the other to snipe her from afar . Squall elects Quistis to be the leader of the gateway team , and heads off with Caraway and Irvine . Quistis is momentarily diverted by Rinoa who has another plan to stop the sorceress , but Quistis berates her , thinking Rinoa ' s plan is only contrived to oppose her father , General Caraway . Quistis leads Zell and Selphie to the gateway , but soon regrets what she said to Rinoa . She heads back to apologize with her group in tow , but gets locked inside Caraway ' s office . After discovering a secret entrance to the Deling City Sewers , the three make it back to their position in time to trap the sorceress , who has usurped power and declared herself Galbadia ' s dictator . The assassination fails and both teams are captured and imprisoned in D - District Prison with Squall separated from the others to be interrogated . Using Zell ' s knowledge of the prison layout and his martial arts skills , they recover their weapons and free Squall . With Irvine and Rinoa ' s help the party escapes on Galbadian vehicles . In retaliation for the attack on Sorceress Edea , Galbadia targets Balamb and Trabia Garden s for missile attack . Splitting into two groups , Squall ' s group returns to Balamb Garden to give warning of the impending attack , while Selphie ' s group infiltrates the Missile Base to stop the launch . It is up to Squall to assign Quistis in either team . While the Missile Base team fails to stop the launch and only barely survives the base ' s destruction by taking shelter inside a Galbadian war machine , Squall ' s team enables Balamb Garden ' s mobile functions and moves the Garden away from the spot the missiles were programmed to target . Left adrift in the ocean currents as the Garden ' s steering mechanisms have broken down due to lack of maintenance , they learn Headmaster Cid and Sorceress Edea are married , and that SeeD ' s true purpose is to defeat her . The adrift Garden is intercepted by the White SeeD Ship whose crew asks for Ellone . Ellone is the girl Quistis and Squall saved from the Granaldo , and after she reveals to Squall she is the one who has been sending him and his friends back in time to inhabit Laguna in a dream world , she departs with the White SeeD . If Quistis was in Squall ' s team , she invites him for tea to get his mind off things , but the Garden crashes in Fishermans Horizon interrupting their plans . G - forces occupy the town during their search for Ellone , whom Edea wants to find , and the war machine with the Missile Base team still inside is brought into the town . The teams are reunited and the G - forces are driven out of FH . Overseeing the care of the students with Dr . Kadowaki , Quistis serves , along with her friend and a fellow SeeD Xu , as Squall ' s assistant while on board the mobile Balamb Garden after he is promoted to the Garden ' s commander as Cid departs , reluctant to wage war against his wife . To celebrate Squall ' s promotion Selphie and Irvine organize a party for his honor and Quistis partakes in the concert by playing an instrument . After FH ' s technicians repair Balamb Garden to full functionality , Squall leads the Garden in a war against Sorceress Edea . As his first command as the new commander Squall liberates Balamb from Galbadian occupation . If Quistis is in Squall ' s party , she marvels at how neat Zell ' s room is when they visit his house , and recounts a story of Zell crashing the girls ' restroom in Garden with his T - Board , much to his embarrassment . Next the group visits Trabia Garden , Selphie ' s home Garden that was destroyed in a Galbadian missile attack . During their stay there Irvine reveals they all grew up together in Edea ' s Orphanage being cared for by Edea . Quistis and the others are shocked , and as her childhood memories return , Quistis realizes the affection she feels toward Squall is not love , but a sisterly bond . The group is forced to accept their beloved matron has become their enemy , but choose to fight her regardless . The Garden embarks to the old orphanage and is intercepted by a similarly mobile Galbadia Garden . The Battle of the Gardens ensues , ending in Sorceress Edea ' s defeat and Rinoa becoming comatose . After Edea ' s defeat , it is discovered that the sorceress they had been fighting was not their matron Edea , but an evil sorceress from the future called Ultimecia who had been possessing Edea ' s body to take over Galbadia and use its resources to find Ellone , whom she needs to reach her goal of time compression to make herself a god - like being . The SeeD ' s defeat of Edea snapped her out of it , and she helps the party by telling them everything she knows about Ultimecia . Squall searches for Ellone to find a way to revive Rinoa from her coma . Learning from the White SeeD Ellone is in Esthar , Squall opts to go alone , carrying Rinoa on his back , but Quistis and the others follow him . They enter Esthar and learn Ellone has gone to the Estharian space station , the Lunar Base , that was constructed to oversee Esthar ' s former dictator , Sorceress Adel , who is being kept entombed on the moon ' s orbit to prevent her from ever passing on her sorceress power . As Squall takes Rinoa to the space station to be cured , the others stay behind as Lunatic Pandora , an Estharian weapon of mass destruction that was constructed during Sorceress Adel ' s reign , now piloted by Seifer and the remaining G - forces , docks at the Tears Point , triggering the Lunar Cry that brings Adel ' s tomb back to the planet . Squall and a cured Rinoa return from space bringing an Estharian spaceship " Ragnarok " with them , but because Rinoa inherited Edea ' s sorceress power when she was defeated by the SeeD during the Battle of the Gardens , Esthar wants to contain her similar to how they contained Adel . A depressed Squall is left behind as Esthar takes Rinoa away , but as the others find him , Quistis pushes Squall into action . Inspired by Quistis ' s advice that he should follow his heart , Squall saves Rinoa from the Sorceress Memorial . After visiting the orphanage , the group is called back to Esthar by President Laguna ' s request to stop Ultimecia once and for all . They invade the Lunatic Pandora and fight through Seifer and defeat Sorceress Adel , making Rinoa the only sorceress left in their era . As Ultimecia possesses Rinoa Ellone sends her mind back in time starting the time compression . By believing in each others ' existence the group survives its effects and travels to the future where Ultimecia awaits allowing them to defeat her . Upon Ultimecia ' s demise the time compression spell breaks and the timeline begins to revert to its original form . The group is momentarily trapped in a time warp , but due to their belief and reliance on each other they return to their time safely . As Balamb Garden celebrates the victory over Ultimecia , Irvine and Selphie record the festivities as Quistis greets the attending Edea and Cid , is unimpressed by Irvine ' s advances , and helps Zell when he almost chokes upon consuming too many hot dogs . Gameplay . Quistis is a Blue Mage who wields whips in battle . Her Blue Magic is a Limit Break in which she casts enemy abilities that are learnt by using special items . The abilities can have varying effect , and their damage or healing amount is based on her current Crisis Level in battle . Her ultimate weapon is Save the Queen . Like other player characters , Quistis is a possible Triple Triad card . Quistis is also a Triple Triad player , and is the final challenger in the Card Club Group side event . She has the rare Gilgamesh card . Creation and development . When designing the characters , Tetsuya Nomura had wanted at least one female character to wear a skirt . Quistis was originally supposed to fill this part , but Nomura decided a long skirt worn over pants would look better and the skirt - wearing role was passed to Selphie . In an interview , Nomura has mentioned he was surprised upon learning Quistis was cast as Squall ' s teacher . Musical themes . Though " Final Fantasy VIII " does not have individual character themes , Quistis ' s theme is often considered to be " Tell Me " , a song on the . The song first plays when Quistis and Squall are talking in the secret meeting place in Balamb Garden ' s Training Center , and she laments the loss of her instructor position . Other appearances . Quistis has made appearances in the following games in the " Final Fantasy " series : Non - " Final Fantasy " guest appearances . Quistis has made key guest appearances in the following non - " Final Fantasy " games : Merchandise . Quistis has appeared in some merchandise , ranging from action figures to vinyl statues , Coca - Cola bottlecap figures and a real version of her Triple Triad card . Etymology . Quistis ' s name in Rōmaji is " Kisutisu Turīpu " . The origin of her name is unknown .