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Entry tags:
(no subject)
Who: cloud strife & zack fair
When: early september.
Where: the coven!
What: bonding! between monsters! what can go wrong.
Warnings: none.
[What had been agreed, had been agreed hastily, as some form of prevention for a repeat of what happened the month before. What happened the month before, of course, being Zack going feral. Sephiroth, apparently, had been around to prevent things from being as bad as they could've been (Yeah. He still needs to talk to him about that...) but... yeah. here they were.
Except that's not really it. Partially it, sure. But not quite all of it. Not really. He'd agreed to this before Zack showed any signs of his condition overtaking him. Offered it freely. ...Even wanted it, in a larger respect than what he really understood. And they're here.
As Cloud lingers in the doorway of their shared house, made all the bigger, all the more vacant via both a missing housemate and one that couldn't tolerate the sun, he waits for the other man in the porchway, quietly just kind of... appreciating how the sun feels on his face. It'd been a while, after all.
And when Zack comes out of the doorway to join him...]
You good?
[A few steps down from the porch and onto the dirt road.]
You wanna back out, M'not gonna be sore about it.
When: early september.
Where: the coven!
What: bonding! between monsters! what can go wrong.
Warnings: none.
[What had been agreed, had been agreed hastily, as some form of prevention for a repeat of what happened the month before. What happened the month before, of course, being Zack going feral. Sephiroth, apparently, had been around to prevent things from being as bad as they could've been (Yeah. He still needs to talk to him about that...) but... yeah. here they were.
Except that's not really it. Partially it, sure. But not quite all of it. Not really. He'd agreed to this before Zack showed any signs of his condition overtaking him. Offered it freely. ...Even wanted it, in a larger respect than what he really understood. And they're here.
As Cloud lingers in the doorway of their shared house, made all the bigger, all the more vacant via both a missing housemate and one that couldn't tolerate the sun, he waits for the other man in the porchway, quietly just kind of... appreciating how the sun feels on his face. It'd been a while, after all.
And when Zack comes out of the doorway to join him...]
You good?
[A few steps down from the porch and onto the dirt road.]
You wanna back out, M'not gonna be sore about it.
no subject
...Not that he knows the truth about Zack. It's something assumed, the fact he's alive. But as for what he does know...]
Reminds me of Nibelheim, before the reactor. The way the natives're looking at you. It's kind of like how the townspeople did back then.
[His memory's still spotty. Reduced to snippets of things post-experimentation. A banora white in his hand, nothing in his head. A motorcycle, watching some emotional exchange at a beach. Things that could just as easily be imagined or dreamt, once, just as likely as stemming from anything real. All leading to a giant gaping void, and seeing Tifa that one rainy day at the train station.
...It's fragmented.
But what he's talking about, before the reactor, that's all intact. Including unspoken, quiet concern at the little Zack had shown of his own struggles. Struggles which were perfectly represented in the way that Nibelheim's townspeople had stared at their procession from behind locked doors, windows. How Zack himself had come so close to breaking his facade in that inn room.
At the next round of stares (there were so many people in the city, after all) he stares one group in particular in the eye, his arm raising to Zack's wrist.
One might think that he would be about to shove his arm away, but instead, his hand grasps around his wrist, keeping his arm over his shoulders. His own spare one moves to curl around his back, holding him just as close as they walk.
It causes some whispers. The odd outraged sound. But. He doesn't break his gaze from them.]
Whatever this place is doing to you, you're still you. Just like back then. You're never not gonna be. So screw what they think. Screw what everyone thinks. You're not a monster. Of any kind.
[And. Once past that particular group of bigots, he keeps hold. No reason not to. As for the question... He's not feeling it. He's really not. But, he can't refuse him. Never will. Of all people, Zack's important.]
Yeah. There's some place in the center. May as well get something, and then see what's around.
no subject
Zack nods and sighs, though before he can say anything, Cloud grabs his wrist and curls his arm around, returning the favor. It's not what Zack would have expected, but as he realizes that they're being glared at yet again, he understands where it comes from. Cloud wants to make it clear to these people that he isn't going to shun him -- and is even going to make a point of the fact that they're in this together.
All done in silence, without outwardly calling these people out, but that's enough. They don't need to make a scene.
And the words Cloud speaks, not to mention the conviction with which he says them -- that touches Zack most of all. They walk a few more steps, and then a warm smile tugs at his lips. ]
You know, after going on about the vows, isn't that pretty much what you just did? [ He winks at Cloud. ] Not so hard after all.
[ As much as they might be gawked at, Zack refuses to just go hide away beyond the city limits. They're just as entitled to go out for a meal on the town as anyone else, and he won't let the people here make him believe anything different.
A pause, and then he clears his throat and adds: ] Thanks, though. It is nice, to hear it. [ Even for someone as geared toward being positive as Zack, all of the prejudiced behavior does wear him down at times. ]
no subject
[Yeah, probably. What he just said does sound similar. On a surface level at least. But beyond that? It's nothing of the sort. Zack not being a monster, is a fact. Vows? Promising to look after someone, telling them it's going to be okay, like he did with Aerith? That's something he can't guarantee. No-one can. This world could decide tomorrow that it's through with either one of them. Regardless of what any of them promised each other. It's just how it is.
...But less about that. It's unspoken, unsaid, even if the look that marks his features is more pensive than ever.
But what is said, as they clear an archway into the coven's courtyard:]
You think the coven know more than what they're letting on? About how people come in here. About how they wind up leaving too. Blaming this planet for it seems...
[Bullshit.]
...I don't get why this planet'd give a damn about any of us. How it'd know us to get us here, or why it'd reverse things. A powerful group of magic-users? Seems more likely.
no subject
Cloud decides to entirely change the subject, and while Zack could make some remark about how this sort of paranoid talk isn't very romantic, just for the sake of flustering his friend, he refrains. Mainly because he's wondered the same thing. ]
Guess it depends on how much the planet is... well, an entity that can make its own choices. Aerith could talk to the planet back home, right? It had... I dunno, some kind of will.
[ In truth, Zack still doesn't really understand it that well. ]
But you've interacted with the Coven more than I have. Have they done anything to make it seem like they're hiding something? Seems kind of strange that they had all those mirrors set up already, like they were just waiting for us to come through.
[ After being burned so badly by Shinra, Zack isn't willing to take anything at face value. The Coven seems to want to take care of them at least to some extent, but for what reason? Because they stand to gain something from it? ]
no subject
He stays away- far away- from any of the groups of mages lingering about the place before he answers.]
Aerith told me she felt something here. She couldn't talk to it though, barely even knew what it was. Something to do with... [...Man. How did Aerith even word things to all of them, back home? Even recounting what she said is hard.] ...She said she was a stranger to this place. That was how she didn't know. She knew there was something. But that's all.
[That over with... his voice lowers all the more to respond to Zack's query about the coven.]
Not really. Doesn't mean that there isn't anything though. I've been here... [....How long?] ...over 6 months. Other than the welcome basket, there's never been any opportunity to talk to anyone about any of it. Sometimes, we get paid for clearing out areas, or working as meatshields for their scientists. They don't say a damn word, either.
no subject
His pace also slows, not wanting to be overheard by anyone who's actually affiliated with the Coven. Zack hasn't had any unpleasant run-ins with Witches and has no reason to assume all of them are bad (that would make him no better than the people of this city who are distrustful of all monsters), but he also knows that this kind of talk probably wouldn't go over very well.
His hands slip into his pockets as he chew over Cloud's words, and then his shoulders slump with a sigh. It all sounds a little too familiar, like they're being kept on a need-to-know basis. And given the mountain of secrets that Shinra had been sitting on, it's possible there's something similar here. ]
Well, maybe we just need to ask them. Set up an audience with that Nessie lady or something. [ He turns his head to eye Cloud with one eyebrow ticked upward. ] Or do you think it's pointless?
[ Chances are one of the other Mirrorbound has already tried this, right? ]
no subject
Who knows.
But that's not the point.]
Tried already.
[He responds, in a manner that could very well be considered quite flat.]
Me and Sephiroth arrived about the same time. Both had the same idea before we even knew each other was here. Both of us got nowhere.
[ Normally, he'd leave that as that (as defeatist as it is.) But, since he's speaking with Zack...]
...Could always try again.
no subject
At the offer, Zack sighs and waves Cloud off. ]
Doubt it'd lead to anything different. I might have a cute face, but if Sephiroth wasn't able to intimidate them into saying anything, I don't think I'll be able to charm 'em into it.
[ It's a frustrating result, but if they want answers, they'll need to find some other way to get them. Maybe by finding others who are distrustful of the Coven, whether Mirrorbound or not, and questioning them.
A pause, and then Zack shrugs and nods to the building looming ahead of them. ]
So, you gonna stop stalling now?
[ It's time to get platonically married! ]